Turkish Minister of Defense Ismet Yilmaz denied a report that some Turkish soldiers had entered Syria at the weekend and said Ankara was not considering sending troops into the neighboring nation, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.
“It is not true,” Yilmaz told a Turkish parliamentary commission when asked about the claim in a Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs letter to the UN Security Council. “There is no thought of Turkish soldiers entering Syria.”
The Syrian government has said Turkish forces were believed to be among 100 armed men who entered Syria on Saturday in 12 pickup trucks mounted with heavy machine guns, in an operation to supply insurgents fighting Damascus.
At the weekend, Turkey’s army shelled Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia targets in northern Syria after the group seized an air base north of Aleppo, Syria, and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutolgu demanded that it withdraw from areas it has captured from Syrian rebels.
US President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Russia to stop bombing “moderate” rebels in Syria in support of its ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a campaign seen in the West as a major obstacle to efforts to end the war.
Yilmaz also denied reports that Saudi Arabian aircraft had arrived at NATO-member Turkey’s Incirlik air base for the fight against Islamic State group militants, but said a decision had been reached for Saudi Arabia to send four F-16 jets.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
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