Region

Türkiye and the Levant

Stories under this heading cover Türkiye as well as the Levant – a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia, consisting of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestine.

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Ten people were killed when Israel attacked an aid centre in Gaza

Ten people were killed when Israel attacked an aid centre in Gaza

According to the news channel Al Jazeera and the Palestinian news agency Wafa, at least ten Palestinians who were desperately seeking aid from a controversial and heavily criticised United States–backed organisation have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza over the last 48 hours, according to the besieged enclave’s Government Media Office.

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Polio outbreak in Gaza

Polio outbreak in Gaza

A polio epidemic has broken out in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. This was feared after the polio virus was found in sewage samples earlier this month. The World Health Organisation's (WHO) top official, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said last week that an outbreak was only a matter of time.
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Türkiye mediates talks between Somalia and Ethiopia

Türkiye mediates talks between Somalia and Ethiopia

Türkiye mediated talks between Somalia and Ethiopia on Monday (1 July) to ease diplomatic tensions between the two African neighbours, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie and Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi held a frank and forward-looking discussion on their differences, mediated by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The negotiations are the latest effort to mend diplomatic relations between the East African neighbours. Tensions arose after Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with the breakaway region of Somaliland in January, which Somalia condemned as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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UN agency UNRWA urgently suspends aid to Rafah

UN agency UNRWA urgently suspends aid to Rafah

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has suspended its operations in Rafah. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the organisation that provides aid to Palestinian refugees, conveyed this information on Saturday evening (1 June) via X. 
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A new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean

A new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean

A ground breaking meeting between the President of Turkiye, Recip Tayip Erdogan, and Greek Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Monday (13 May) is being hailed as the dawn of a new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean. Mitsotakis was in Ankara as the guest of the Turkish leader. There are no unsolvable problems between Athens and Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, as he and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis praised the state of relations between the two neighbors while pledging to further enhance bilateral ties. "We had a constructive and positive meeting and discussed problems in Türkiye-Greece relations; We will solve problems through dialogue," Erdoğan said at a joint news conference with Mitsotakis. Erdoğan said that Ankara and Athens are committed to resolving issues via "cordial dialogue, good neighborly ties, and international law" as outlined in last year's Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness. Improvement of bilateral relations with Türkiye is yielding concrete and positive results, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "I can only begin by thanking you for the warm hospitality today in Ankara, it was a fourth meeting in the last 10 months, which I believe proves that the two neighbors can now establish this approach of mutual understanding, no longer as some exception, but as a productive normality that is not negated by the known differences in our positions," Mitsotakis said. He said bilateral relations have been progressing, as agreed by the parties, on three levels: political dialogue, positive agenda and confidence-building measures. "I believe that it is a positive development in a difficult time for international peace, but also for the broader stability in our region," the Greek leader said.