Author: Daily Sabah

MMA standout Dagi Arslanaliev is poised to make his highly anticipated return at ONE Championship’s ONE 171: Qatar, scheduled for February at the Lusail Sports Arena. The 30-year-old veteran will clash with Croatian sensation Roberto Soldic in a thrilling welterweight showdown, with both fighters eager to rebound from recent setbacks. This bout headlines a trio of newly announced MMA matchups for the Qatar event. Featherweight contenders Shamil Gasanov and Martin Nguyen will square off in a pivotal clash, while bantamweight rivals Bibiano Fernandes and Kevin Belingon are set to rekindle their storied rivalry in a high-stakes encounter. Arslanaliev’s legacy Arslanaliev,…

ONE Championship is gearing up for an electrifying night of martial arts action in Qatar, with two world title fights headlining the highly anticipated ONE 171 event on Feb. 20 at the Lusail Sports Arena. The marquee event will bring together top-tier athletes, including stars from MENA countries, and promises a thrilling evening of combat sports. Main event: Haggerty vs. Wei Rui In the main event, reigning ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Haggerty will defend his title against China’s kickboxing icon Wei Rui, marking one of the most anticipated clashes in recent memory. Haggerty claimed the belt last November…

Hasan al-Hamada, the new defense minister of Syria under the anti-regime forces’ interim government, lashed out at the PKK/YPG terrorist group controlling parts of northeastern Syria and pledged their elimination. In a social media post on Saturday and after a visit to Manbij, a key town liberated from terrorist groups by the Syrian National Army (SNA) of the opposition, al-Hamada described the PKK/YPG as a “poisoned dagger in the back of revolution for years.” “Now it is a dagger on the entirety of Syria’s back,” he added. Al-Hamada said they were heeding calls in eastern provinces of Syria for their…

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the PKK terrorist group’s members in the YPG must leave Syria as the country tries to form a new, unified administration, which he said needs to be inclusive and tolerant. “Elimination of YPG is Türkiye’s strategic goal,” Fidan told a live broadcast on NTV channel Friday. He highlighted that the PKK’s Syrian offshoots have no place in the country’s future while noting that the safety of the Kurdish population must be ensured. “Syria now has a national ruling government,” Fidan said, adding that the new administration would not recognize the YPG or others. “They will…

First Lady Emine Erdoğan called for swift global action to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, as she warned against the environmental consequences of Israel’s genocidal attacks on Gaza. The first lady chaired the third meeting of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Zero Waste, where she said a fairer world was possible through mutual efforts. “There are only five years left till 2030 goals and we are still far from the pledges previously made with the goal of not leaving anybody behind,” the first lady told the meeting, which took place at the Dolmabahçe Presidential Office in Istanbul.…

Türkiye hopes the rest of Syria will be cleared of terrorists and occupiers following Bashar Assad’s toppling by anti-regime forces, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday. Speaking to members and supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) at an event in northern Sakarya province, Erdoğan warned of persistent problems on the eve of a “new era” amid recent developments in the Middle East. Much of northern Syria is plagued by Daesh and PKK/YPG terror groups that took advantage of the power vacuum and occupied swathes of land early in the civil war. The main opposition Syrian National…

The Syrian National Army (SNA) on Friday seized a strategically significant dam on the Euphrates River in Aleppo province from the PKK terrorist group’s Syring wing YPG. Tishrin Dam, located to the south of Manbij and providing a large portion of water and electricity to provinces east of the river, was occupied by the PKK/YPG terror group in 2015 with the help of the United States. It was one of the first locations the group invaded west of the Euphrates, and the U.S. military set up a base at the dam in January 2016. Tishrin, along with Tabqa and Baas…

Türkiye’s priority is ensuring stability in Syria and preventing the Daesh and PKK terror groups from gaining a foothold there following the ouster of Bashar Assad, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday. Speaking alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the capital of Ankara, Fidan said the two discussed ways of establishing prosperity in Syria and ending terrorism in the country. “Our priorities include ensuring stability in Syria as soon as possible, preventing terrorism from gaining ground, and preventing Daesh and the PKK from dominating there,” he said. Blinken said: “We’re very focused on Syria, very focused on the…

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Friday that 981 irregular migrants and 31 migrant smugglers were intercepted in nationwide operations on Thursday. Yerlikaya said the “Shield-35” operation involved more than 26,000 personnel who inspected more than 366,000 people during operations. “Türkiye is exemplary in migration management as it respects human rights and freedoms, laws and civic values while not conceding public order and security. We tackle the migration issue with all its aspects, from regular and irregular migration to international protection, voluntary, safe and dignified returns to source countries and fight against migrant smuggling and with border management,” Yerlikaya said…

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held meetings with Hungary’s president and prime minister in Ankara on Thursday, discussing bilateral relations and regional and global developments, the Communications Directorate said in a statement. Erdoğan met with Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Tamas Sulyok at the Presidential Complex. In his meeting with Orban, Erdoğan said both countries have the will to further strengthen their ties, which he said were “at an excellent level” with a history that spans over 100 years. “Voicing his pleasure at hosting Prime Minister Orbán and his delegation on the occasion of the closing ceremony of the 2024…