JERUSALEM -- Israeli former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday asked President Isaac Herzog for an extension of the mandate to form a new coalition government, his Likud party said in a statement.
The Likud formally submitted to Herzog a request for additional 14 days to put together a coalition government, the statement said. (Israel-Netanyahu-Mandate Extension)
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ANKARA -- Fifteen oil tankers were banned from passing through the Turkish Straits due to a lack of proper insurance amid the European sanctions on Russian oil, Türkiye's maritime authority said on Thursday.
The Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance of these ships is invalid due to the European Union (EU) sanctions and such insurance cannot be compensated in the event of an accident, the Turkish General Directorate of Maritime Affairs said in a statement. (Türkiye-Oil Vessels-Straits)
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ANKARA -- Turkish and Finnish defense ministers met on Thursday as Türkiye urges the Nordic country to lift the embargo on its defense industries to pave the way for Finland's NATO membership.
"We expect all our allies, especially Finland, to support and contribute to Türkiye's fight against terrorism and the modernization efforts of the Turkish armed forces," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said after a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Antti Kaikkonen in Türkiye's capital Ankara. (Türkiye-Finland-Defense Ministers)
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JERUSALEM -- Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank during a raid on Thursday, official Palestinian and Israeli sources said, as the violence in the region has been escalating this year.
The three were shot in the Jenin area in the northern West Bank during a raid to arrest suspects in "terrorist activity," the Israeli military said in a statement. (West Bank-Israeli Raid-Killing Palestinians)
