Tag: Syria

  • EU reaches migration agreement

    EU reaches migration agreement

    The bloc seeks to adopt common refugee and asylum rules based on ?compulsory solidarity? The EU’s migration ministers have reached an agreement on new asylum and migration rules, Sweden notified on Thursday. The proposal will not go to the European Parliament for adoption before next year’s elections. Ministers meeting in Luxembourg agreed on “a general…

  • Turkish President Erdogan unveils new cabinet lineup, replaces 16 of 18 former ministers

    Turkish President Erdogan unveils new cabinet lineup, replaces 16 of 18 former ministers

    By John SolomouNicosia [Cyprus] June 6 (ANI): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after being re-elected on May 28 for another five-year term, on Saturday unveiled his new cabinet, causing many surprises, replacing 16 out of 18 of his former ministers, including the interior minister Suleyman Soylu, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.…

  • Ankara could get the F16, but US-Turkey ties remain uneasy

    Ankara could get the F16, but US-Turkey ties remain uneasy

    Washington – Aiming to secure support for Sweden’s bid to join NATO, US President Joe Biden signaled a transactional approach in his engagement with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The recently re-elected Turkish leader has been one of the most consistent but complicated members of the transatlantic military alliance. Biden spoke with Erdogan on Monday to…

  • US to announce more Russia sanctions

    US to announce more Russia sanctions

    Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken said the new measures would target drones and “disinformation” The United States will unveil a new round of Russia-related sanctions on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told reporters. Washington’s latest restrictions will target the allegedly Iranian-built drones that have been used to devastating effect in Ukraine. Blinken told reporters…

  • World leaders congratulate Turkey’s Erdogan on his re-election triumph

    World leaders congratulate Turkey’s Erdogan on his re-election triumph

    French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he won Sunday’s run-off election to extend his rule to a third decade. Erdogan and his supporters continued to celebrate the election win on Monday, while Turkey’s opposition, led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, warned of “difficult days”…

  • More than 9,000 Afghans submit an asylum application to the EU every month

    More than 9,000 Afghans submit an asylum application to the EU every month

    In publishing its monthly report on Thursday, the European Census Bureau said that in February alone, 76,500 people applied for asylum in the EU, which represents a 40 percent increase compared to last year. The EU has added that based on available statistics, the number of first asylum applications in February last year was 54,370.…

  • Germany approves tougher migration measures

    Germany approves tougher migration measures

    Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the heads of Germany’s 16 states have agreed new measures to tackle soaring migration after crisis talks. In the first four months of 2023, approximately 101,981 asylum applications were submitted in Germany, an increase of 78 percent from the same period in 2022. Almost 218,000 applications were submitted in Germany last…

  • The upcoming election could be the most consequential in Turkey’s recent history

    The upcoming election could be the most consequential in Turkey’s recent history

    By John SolomouNicosia [Cyprus], May 8 (ANI): The era of Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has dominated the country’s political life for more than 20 years and won five parliamentary and two presidential elections, may come to an end this month, as most opinion polls predict that the CHP -leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, known…

  • Huge increase in employment among women from non-Western countries

    Significantly more female immigrants from non-Western countries, and their descendants, are in employment compared to 2012, shows a new analysis by Dansk Industri (DI). A decade ago, approximately half had jobs. Today, the figure is 64 percent. The increase of approximately 14 percentage points far exceeds the increase in employment among ethnic Danes. In comparison,…

  • The Finnish Immigration Service is reviewing the volume forecasts of applications for the years 2023 and 2024

    The Finnish Immigration Service is reviewing the volume forecasts of applications for the years 2023 and 2024

    The Finnish Immigration Service makes forecasts in cooperation with other authorities and stakeholders and is responsible for coordinating the work of the forecasting network. The number of residence permit applications increases as the demand for foreign labor increases The number of first work-based residence permit applications is predicted to rise to 19,000 in 2023 and…

  • Q&A with Liisa Liimatainen from Iran and Saudi Arabia

    Q&A with Liisa Liimatainen from Iran and Saudi Arabia

    After his career as a news reporter, Liimataien became a non-fiction writer. Her first book “Iran: The Veil and the Challenge” was published in 2009 and deals with Iranian society and women’s issues. Another book, “The Other Face of Saudi Arabia” was published in 2013. His most recent book, “The Peacock and the Camel” is…

  • My ♥ CPH: Video game professor Alessandro Canossa

    My ♥ CPH: Video game professor Alessandro Canossa

    On a scale of integration from 1 to 10, I would say that I am… an 8. Around 10 means you are completely like a Dane, and I don’t think I am or want to be a Dane. The Danish culture, society and people are fantastic. They have, you know, a lot of respect, but…

  • Finland becomes NATO member as Russia warns of countermeasures

    Finland becomes NATO member as Russia warns of countermeasures

    Finland officially became the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday, after completing ratification in well under a year – the fastest membership process in the alliance’s recent history. As Western allies strengthen ties, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Tuesday that Russia may get “tough” with a hostile European Union.…

  • Stoltenberg predicts when Sweden can join NATO

    Stoltenberg predicts when Sweden can join NATO

    The Nordic country’s path to membership in the alliance has been held up by Trkiye Sweden’s path to NATO membership may become clearer after the upcoming elections in Turkey, which pose a threat to the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after more than two decades, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has told Politico.…

  • The executioner of divorced women

    The executioner of divorced women

    Salma, whose real name is something else, got married in Syria but did not enjoy the marriage. When the war broke out, she fled to Sweden, and some time later she divorced her husband. Salma is one of the women whose name and picture have been posted on the account. By then she has been…

  • A Spanish man is accused of terrorism in Finland

    A Spanish man is accused of terrorism in Finland

    A young Spaniard living in Finland is accused of committing a terrorist crime and planning battles in Syria or West Africa. He denies the charge.

  • Powder in letters sent to Swedish counties declared harmless

    Powder in letters sent to Swedish counties declared harmless

    Copenhagen, Denmark – Investigators in Sweden determined that a powdered substance found in letters received Wednesday at several county administrative offices was not dangerous. Swedish media reported that employees were evacuated in some locations and that at least two people were taken to hospital after the suspicious letters arrived. Several police districts issued statements later…

  • Amnesty International’s annual report: Finland’s border measures threaten asylum rights, double standards in the fight for human rights

    Amnesty International’s annual report: Finland’s border measures threaten asylum rights, double standards in the fight for human rights

    The Finnish government considered several legislative proposals in order to prepare for state influence at the borders. Amnesty believes that these reforms did not take sufficient account of their impact on human rights, and the combined effects of these proposals could potentially limit the right to seek asylum and breach the absolute ban on deportation.…

  • The UN Security Council votes against the Russian resolution on Nord Stream sabotage

    The UN Security Council votes against the Russian resolution on Nord Stream sabotage

    New York [US]March 28 (ANI): The UN Security Council did not support the Russian-Chinese resolution on the international investigation into Nord Stream sabotage on Monday, Russian news agency TASS reported. The resolution was supported by 3 countries, with zero votes against and 12 countries abstaining from voting. The resolution thus did not receive the nine…

  • Turkey’s president says he will support Finland’s NATO bid

    Turkey’s president says he will support Finland’s NATO bid

    ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday his government would move forward with ratifying Finland’s NATO application, paving the way for the country to join the military bloc ahead of Sweden. The breakthrough came when Finnish President Sauli Niinisto was in Ankara to meet Erdogan. Both Finland and Sweden applied to become…

  • Turkey’s Erdogan says he will support Finland’s NATO bid

    Turkey’s Erdogan says he will support Finland’s NATO bid

    © Provided by Xinhua ANKARA, March 17 (Xinhua) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed Friday to ask parliament to vote on Finland’s NATO membership, but delayed Sweden’s proposal, saying Finland has taken concrete steps to address Turkey’s security concerns. “We have observed concrete and sincere steps from Finland recently. As a result of Finland’s…

  • China calls for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia

    China calls for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia

    Pentagon – China hopes there will be a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine and urges Russia and Ukraine to come to the table for peace talks, China’s foreign minister told his Ukrainian counterpart in a phone call on Thursday. China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Qin Gang told Dmytro Kuleba that…

  • This week’s editorial: Jubilee in Ukraine

    After a year of war, Russian ammunition depots are running out of supplies, which is hardly surprising given the number of missiles, bombs, shells and rounds of bullets they have rained down on Ukraine. No end to the conflictHowever, the Ukrainians are also running out of firepower, no matter how much their friends supply. The…

  • Denmark increases aid to Turkey

    DKK 141 million in totalThe extra 35 million means that Denmark has now donated 141 million kroner to Turkish and Syrian victims. The majority of the funds will be used to provide food, shelter, access to health services and help to process the psychological trauma. Counseling is vital, believes Jørgensen, who visited the tent camps…

  • Erdogan portrait lit up in NATO-bound country media

    Erdogan portrait lit up in NATO-bound country media

    The demonstration in Helsinki was organized by pro-Kurdish ?anti-authoritarian? activists A group of protesters burned a portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in front of their nation’s embassy in Helsinki over the weekend, Finnish media reported on Wednesday. Four people ended up being arrested during what turned out to be a chaotic incident, the…

  • Portrait of Erdogan burned in Finland in front of NATO voice media

    Portrait of Erdogan burned in Finland in front of NATO voice media

    The demonstration in Helsinki was organized by pro-Kurdish ?anti-authoritarian? activists A group of protesters burned a portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in front of their nation’s embassy in Helsinki over the weekend, Finnish media have reported. The episode occurred amid tensions ahead of Wednesday’s vote on NATO membership. A majority of MPs passed…

  • Finland sends more material aid to Turkey and Syria

    Finland sends more material aid to Turkey and Syria

    The aid package includes tents, blankets, heaters and food supplies.

  • Always look on the bright side – the costs of NATO membership

    Always look on the bright side – the costs of NATO membership

    Military disasters and corporate failures pave the way for groupthink. However, all is not lost. “Always look on the bright side of life,” they say Monty Python who would be in a good position to replace their “Finland” song with a “NATO” song covering Finland’s current membership intrigues. In April 2022, the fanfare arising from…

  • UN Weekly Roundup: 18–24 February 2023

    UN Weekly Roundup: 18–24 February 2023

    Editor’s note: Here’s a quick snapshot of what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the UN’s perch. One year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Last Friday marked one year since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. There were several meetings at UN headquarters during the week to…

  • Danish air support to help Turkey

    A call for helpTurkey requested air transport support through the European Air Transport Command in Eindhoven. The defense estimates that the plane will fly to and from Turkey up to and including Sunday 26 February. Two earthquakes struck eastern Turkey near the Syrian border on February 6 before another tremor struck on February 20.

  • Putin warns against expanding the operation in Ukraine and suspends the nuclear agreement with the United States

    Putin warns against expanding the operation in Ukraine and suspends the nuclear agreement with the United States

    Western countries, including the United States and Britain, have already supplied Ukraine with heavy weapons, including US-made HIMARS rocket launchers and M777 howitzers. Putin also announced that Moscow would temporarily withdraw from the last remaining nuclear deal between Russia and the United States, the New START Treaty. He stated that the agreement was originally drawn…

  • Fighter jets, earthquakes, NATO efforts: Are US-Turkish ties on the mend

    Fighter jets, earthquakes, NATO efforts: Are US-Turkish ties on the mend

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday came in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that have shattered the Turkish leader’s projection of his country as a regional hegemon. With Turkey turning into a recipient of generous US humanitarian aid, will Ankara play the role of…

  • Blinken calls for NATO expansion during the visit to Turkey

    Blinken calls for NATO expansion during the visit to Turkey

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a visit to Ankara on Monday that the Biden administration supports the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. He also expressed confidence that both Sweden and Finland will soon join the NATO alliance. The US Congress must approve the $20 billion sale of F-16s, which includes…