Monday, June 29th, 2026
Erdogan to NATO: Include Turkey in European security
ANKARA, JUN 29: Turkey must be included in all of Europe’s defense and security structures, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday, a week ahead of a key NATO summit in Ankara. His remarks come as Europe seeks to revamp its defenses in light of the threat from Russia and the risk of a US pullback from NATO, as the military alliance gears up for a key summit in the Turkish capital on July 7-8. At issue is Turkey’s access to the European Union’s 150-billion-euro ($176-billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE)Read More
Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli incursions into Syria
RIYADH, JUN 29: Saudi Arabia strongly denounced on Monday the Israeli occupation’s continued violations in the region, the latest of which included incursions into the Syrian territory and artillery shelling targeting the provinces of Quneitra and Daraa. “The Kingdom expresses its categorical rejection of the Israeli occupation forces’ intimidation of innocent civilians and their violation of international laws and norms”, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Saudi Arabia reiterated the importance of halting Israel’s violations against Syria’s territory and adhering to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement inRead More
In Sudan’s Kordofan, a key city reels as paramilitary offensive looms
EL-OBEID, Sudan: In a displacement camp near El-Obeid in Sudan’s southern Kordofan region, Agsam Hamad trudges through searing heat to fetch murky water from a distant well, as paramilitary forces unleash their fiercest assault yet on the strategic city. “We walk long distances for this water and it is undrinkable,” the 35-year-old mother of seven told AFP from the camp on the edge of El-Obeid, a key prize in the three-year war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). “Our situation is very difficult. We need foodRead More
Iran, US to work on negotiating peace deal in Doha after de-escalating weekend strikes
TEHRNA, JUN 29: Iranian and US technical teams working on the implementation of an interim peace deal are expected to meet in Doha in the coming days, a source told Reuters on Monday, after tit-for-tat weekend strikes threatened to derail the fragile accord. Mediators have established communications channels to de-escalate any incidents, and technical talks are set to continue, the source, with knowledge of the discussions, added. However, a senior Iranian official was reported as saying technical meetings were not confirmed. The US and Iran signed a 14-point Memorandum ofRead More
Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi move SC seeking suspension of sentence in £190m case
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have approached the Supreme Court challenging the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) verdict in the £190 million case, seeking suspension of their sentences and immediate release. The IHC, last month, rejected the petitions of the ousted prime minister and his spouse seeking the suspension of their sentences in the £190 million corruption case, observing that their main appeals were already fixed for hearing. The petition — filed in the Supreme Court — argues that even after admitting the appealRead More
Iran’s President says $6bn of Iranian assets in Qatar to be released: state media
The release comes under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 17, 2026, between US President Donald Trump and President Pezeshkian, with Pakistan and Qatar acting as mediators and guarantors DNA TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced that $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar will be released, according to state media. The funds, originally tied to oil exports and transferred to Qatar in 2023 after a prisoner exchange deal, had been inaccessible since the October 7 Hamas attacks and subsequent regional tensions. The release comes underRead More