Author: AFP

Russia on Tuesday expelled a British diplomat it accused of spying, telling London it would not tolerate “undeclared” intelligence officers operating on its territory, accusations that have ignited a fresh diplomatic feud with London. Britain has rejected the claims one of its embassy employees was a spy, the latest in a string of espionage allegations that come with relations between the two countries running at an all-time low. The spat also comes a week after Ukraine was given permission to start firing UK-supplied long-range missiles at Russia — drawing scorn and threats of direct military retaliation from President Vladimir Putin…

Parliament has made significant strides in digitizing and providing remote access to its vast collection of parliamentary archives, with nearly 30 million documents cataloged, and 12 million of them already digitized. This achievement comes as part of the ongoing “Paperless Parliament Project,” which has earned Parliament a first-place award at the Turkish Informatics Awards. Under the leadership of Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, the initiative has now advanced with the launch of the “Digital Parliament Project,” further accelerating the transition to digital. The newly developed Archive Management System software enables easy access to all archived documents through a single portal, making…

Ukrainian drones on Monday hit a fuel and energy facility in the Russian region of Kaluga, a source in Ukrainian military intelligence said, the latest cross-border attack on energy facilities. The claim came as authorities in Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second largest city — said 19 people were wounded by a Russian missile strike on the centre of the town near Russia’s border. Moscow and Kyiv have been intensifying cross border drone and missile attacks and Russia last week launched its new Oreshnik missile on Ukraine, spurring calls for de-escalation. “As a result of an operation by the Defence Intelligence of…

Russia said Monday that its air defences had shot down eight ballistic missiles fired by Ukraine, amid heightened tensions over Kyiv’s use of Western-supplied long-range arms against Russia. “Air defence forces shot down eight ballistic missiles,” Moscow’s defence ministry said in a daily briefing. It did not say what kind of ballistic missile Ukraine used or where they were shot down.

Pope Francis on Monday railed against the conflicts in Ukraine and the Palestinian territories, where he said “the arrogance of the invader prevails over dialogue”. The 87-year-old’s words, to diplomats at the Vatican, came just days after he called for an investigation into claims Israel was conducting “genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza. Marking 40 years of a peace deal between Chile and his native Argentina, Francis recalled ongoing conflicts and criticised the arms trade, highlighting “the hypocrisy of speaking about peace and playing at war”. “This hypocrisy always leads us to failure,” he said in Spanish, adding that “dialogue must…

A senior UN official on Monday called on all parties involved in the conflict in Lebanon to “accept a ceasefire,” as new Israeli strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. The violence follows top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell calling for an immediate ceasefire on Sunday and after a US envoy said last week that a deal was within grasp. “The situation remains grave across the region,” senior envoy Muhannad Hadi told the Security Council on behalf of UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland. “Israeli military operations continued across the Blue Line with Lebanon, as did the firing of…

With an intensive Israeli military operation in Gaza’s besieged north in its 50th day, remaining residents are left “scavenging among the rubble” for food, UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge told AFP. The Israeli army announced it would intensify operations in the ravaged north of the territory on October 6, with troops encircling the northern city of Jabalia and adjacent areas at the time. Speaking to AFP from Gaza City, where many of the north’s residents have fled since the operation began, Wateridge gave insights gleaned from speaking to displaced Palestinians and colleagues from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. She said…

UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon expressed worry Monday over deadly strikes on Lebanese soldiers, which Beirut blames on Israel, despite the army staying out of the war between Hezbollah and Israel. “UNIFIL is seriously concerned by numerous strikes on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) inside the Lebanese territories,” the peacekeepers said in a statement, using the acronym for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. The army has reported 19 members killed while on active duty. The army’s “role remains vital for the full implementation of Resolution 1701 (2006), which is essential to ending the ongoing violence between Hizbullah and…

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday he was “optimistic” for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, as Middle East tensions dominated a G7 meeting near Rome. The Group of Seven foreign ministers also discussed the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Hamas military chief. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the talks in the towns of Fiuggi and Anagni with ministers from Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and host Italy. “I am optimistic about Lebanon,” Tajani told a press conference as international efforts for a ceasefire intensify — even if it…

International humanitarian NGO Danish Refugee Council warned on Monday that Gazans are at long-term risk from unexploded and unused ordnance in the densely populated Palestinian territory. “These remnants of war, which fail to detonate upon impact or may have been abandoned during warfare, pose a long-term threat to civilian populations, often causing injuries and deaths long after the fighting ceases,” said DRC’s Corinne Linnecar. The NGO, which has a presence in the Gaza Strip, said in a report that ammunition, exploded or otherwise, can be found in many populated areas of the territory. The report said 70 percent of Gazans…