ANKARA -- Türkiye will host Israeli and Palestinian leaders separately next week, the Turkish presidency announced on Thursday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will pay a visit to Türkiye on July 25 and meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency. (Türkiye-Israel-Palestine-Visits)
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BEIRUT -- The Lebanese and Israeli militaries came close to a direct confrontation on Thursday in the southern Lebanese border village of Kfarchouba, where the two countries are carrying out construction work, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The tension was sparked by the village's administration opening a motorway with a bulldozer parallel to the Israeli bulldozing activity in an area near the Blue Line, a demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, as well as Lebanon and the Golan Heights, a local source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. (Lebanon-Border Village-Tension With Israel)
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BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government on Thursday decided to ask the Swedish ambassador to leave Iraq and recall its charge d'affaires from Sweden in protest against the planned burning of the Quran and the Iraqi flag in Sweden.
A statement by the government said Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani issued the directives "in response to the repeated permission of the Swedish government to burn the Quran, insult Islamic sanctities, and burn the Iraqi flag." (Iraq-Recalling Diplomat-Quran Burning)
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ANKARA -- Türkiye's central bank on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by 250 basis points to 17.5 percent from 15 percent in a move against high inflation and currency fluctuations.
The central bank "decided to continue the monetary tightening process to establish the disinflation course as soon as possible, to anchor inflation expectations, and to control the deterioration in pricing behavior," the institution's monetary policy committee said in a statement. (Türkiye-Central Bank-Rate Hike)
