JERUSALEM – Turkiye has officially denied the claims that an ancient inscription found in East Jerusalem and brought to Istanbul during the Ottoman period will be delivered to Israel. The Times of Israel news website had reported on March 12 that Turkiye had agreed to return the 2,700-year-old Siloam inscription to Israel as a gesture [&...
GENEVA – The UN Special Envoy on Syria has appealed to all parties to work with the United Nations to end the country’s 11-year war ahead of peace talks in Geneva. “As the conflict in Syria enters its 12th year – marking another grim milestone – Syrians continue to suffer in profound ways, and the […]
BEIRUT (AA) – Lebanon’s prime minister announced Monday that he would not seek re-election in parliamentary polls scheduled for May 15. “I believe in the inevitability of change and the need to make room for the new generation to have its say through the upcoming parliamentary elections. I announce my decision to refrain from running,” [&helli...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Yemen on Sunday condemned “in strongest terms” the attack against the Turkish Martyrs’ Memorial carried out by Houthi elements in the capital Sanaa. In a statement, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry said the action cannot harm the “fraternal relations between the brotherly countries of Yemen and Turkey.” On Saturday morning, Ho...
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran strongly condemned Saudi Arabia’s mass execution of convicted criminals over the weekend, saying the move violates “basic principles of human rights and international law.” Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 81 people — the largest mass execution in the country’s history — accusing th...
Doha, Qatar – AFP Chad’s military government and dozens of opposition groups started peace talks on Sunday in Qatar as a first step towards ending a rebellion and holding elections. The landlocked African nation was thrown into turmoil by the killing of longtime leader Idriss Deby Itno in battle with rebels in the country’s n...
PARIS (AA) – France has warned Iran that its “irresponsible and dangerous” attack in Iraq can hurt the prospects of returning to the nuclear deal. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said the attack, claimed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), “threatens the stability of Iraq and the region.” Earlier, Iran’s Islamic...
Casablanca, Morocco – AFP Royal Air Maroc took off from Casablanca for Tel Aviv on Sunday in its first direct flight since Israel and Morocco normalized ties in 2020. Aviation sources and local media sources said a Moroccan business delegation was on the inaugural flight, delayed by three months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “...
TEHRAN (AA) – Iran on Sunday claimed an overnight attack on what it said were Israeli facilities in Erbil in northern Iraq with precision-guided missiles. In a statement on Sunday, the public relations wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for Saturday’s strike in the Kurdish Regional Governmen...
ANTALYA, Turkiye – Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister has said that he expects an agreement with Turkiye and Qatar on operating the Kabul airport. Amir Khan Muttaqi said that agreement had been secured on “a number of issues regarding the Kabul Airport.” However, a few outstanding issues still had to be resolved. Spe...
