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Erdogan says Biden, U.S. complicit in alleged Israeli war crimes
“We are an unwavering NATO ally. However, we do not believe that this impedes our ability to establish positive relationships with nations such as China and Russia,” Erdogan told Newsweek.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration are complicit in what he called Israeli war crimes and violations of international law in the Gaza conflict, and he called for sanctions against Israel, Reuters reported.
In an interview with Newsweek during the NATO summit in Washington, Erdogan said Israel’s “brutal murder” of civilians, its strikes on hospitals, aid centres and elsewhere constituted war crimes.
“The U.S. administration, however, disregards these violations and provides Israel with the most support. They do so at the expense of being complicit in these violations,” Erdogan was quoted as saying.
“At this juncture, who will impose what kind of sanction against Israel for violating international law? That is the real question and no one is answering that,” he said.
Israeli consistently rejects charges that it has committed war crimes in its battle against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It denies deliberately targeting civilians, read the report.
More than 38,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, have been killed since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to Gaza medical authorities. About 1,200 Israelis were killed in the cross-border Hamas raid that triggered the war.
NATO member Turkey has denounced Israel’s assault on Gaza, halted trade with it, and voiced support for Hamas. It has repeatedly criticised Western countries for backing Israel and called for Israel to be punished by international courts, Reuters reported.
Asked about Turkey’s cordial ties with Russia and China, and Ankara’s recent contacts with the BRICS group and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Erdogan said Turkey carried out its diplomacy with a “win-win” approach and therefore could not rule out engaging with non-Western entities.
“We are an unwavering NATO ally. However, we do not believe that this impedes our ability to establish positive relationships with nations such as China and Russia,” Erdogan told Newsweek.
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UAE President arrives in Pakistan on first official visit
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad on Friday on his first official visit to Pakistan, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo News reported.
He was received by Prime Minister Sharif and senior officials, with his aircraft escorted by Pakistan Air Force jets upon entering Pakistani airspace. The UAE president is accompanied by a high-level delegation.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the visit aims to review bilateral relations and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.
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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un signals continued missile development over next five years
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that the country will continue developing missiles over the next five years, following visits to major munitions enterprises in the last quarter of 2025, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
Kim said the country’s missile and shell production sector is “of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrence,” according to KCNA.
The report said Kim ratified draft documents on the modernization of key munitions enterprises, which will be submitted to a major ruling party congress expected to be held in early 2026. The congress is set to outline North Korea’s development plan for the next five years.
KCNA’s report follows Thursday’s disclosure that Kim oversaw the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine alongside his daughter, widely seen as a potential successor, as well as the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
Regional
Turkey detains 115 suspected Daesh members believed planning attacks
Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Daesh members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Istanbul Police obtained information that Daesh members had planned attacks in Turkey, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor’s office posted on X, Reuters reported.
The police raided 124 places in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said. Several pistols and ammunition were seized, it said.
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