The Turkish presidential spokesman and UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs on Wednesday discussed the current developments in Syria and Afghanistan, as Turkey stressed that it cannot handle a new wave of migration.

In a meeting at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, Ibrahim Kalin and Martin Griffiths discussed the humanitarian situation and aid issues in Syria and Afghanistan.

During the meeting, Turkey stressed that reaching a political solution is essential for ending the current humanitarian crisis in Syria, expressing satisfaction over the UN Security Council Resolution 2585, which ensures the continuation of cross-border humanitarian assistance to Syria.

The importance of ensuring stability and peaceful transition of power in Afghanistan was highlighted, along with an emphasis that Turkey cannot handle a new wave of migration.

It was also emphasized that the international community should take responsibility urgently and decisively.

The sides agreed that Turkey and the UN should maintain close coordination to prevent humanitarian crises.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal also met with Griffiths in Ankara.

On Twitter, it said that the "satisfaction with the close and developing cooperation between Turkey and #OCHA has been confirmed" during their meeting.

"Turkey's efforts for the alleviation of humanitarian needs of Syrians were discussed and Turkey and UN's joint work in this regard was reviewed. The importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Yemen and Afghanistan was also stressed," it added./agencies

The EU is concerned over the potentially serious environmental effects of a massive oil slick in the Mediterranean originating from Syria, an official said on Wednesday.

At a news conference, Tim McPhie, spokesman for Climate Action and Energy at the European Commission, said authorities on the Cyprus Island have been closely monitoring the situation and are ready to take action.

At the request of the Greek Cypriot administration for technical support, McPhie said, European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has moved to send a vessel to the region.

Last week, a massive fuel oil leak occurred from a power plant in Baniyas, located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, according to naval tracking firm Tanker Trackers./agencies

The US on Wednesday did not rule out working with the Taliban against Daesh/ISIS's Afghanistan affiliate after withdrawing from the war-torn nation.

Joint Chiefs chairman Mark Milley, the top American military official, succinctly said: "It's possible," when asked at a news conference if the US would cooperate with the Taliban against the Daesh/ISIS-K terror group.

The acknowledgment is a major development for the US, which had been at war with the Taliban for two decades in what marks Washington's longest conflict. Daesh/ISIS-K claimed responsibility for an Aug. 23 suicide bombings outside of Kabul's international airport that claimed the lives of nearly 170 Afghans and 13 US service members.

The horrific attack took place as Afghans flocked to the Hamid Karzai Airport en masse in the final days of the US extraction effort that saw more than 124,000 people ferried out of Afghanistan.

Also asked about collaboration with the Taliban against Daesh/ISIS-K, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he "would not want to make any predictions."

The US is "going to do everything we can to make sure we remain focused on ISIS-K, understand that network," he said.

"And at the time of our choosing in the future, hold them accountable for what they’ve done," said Austin. "It’s hard to predict where this will go with respect to the Taliban."

Austin is slated to travel to the Gulf next week and he said the trip will focus on thanking regional partners "who have done so much to help save and shelter Afghan civilians."

"We're not going to take our eye off the ball. And that means relentless counterterrorism efforts against any threat to the American people from any place," he added./aa

Ten people were killed when suspected Ugandan rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) set fire to 16 vehicles in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) volatile northeastern Ituri province, media reports said on Wednesday.

The attack took place around 11 a.m. local time (0900GMT) along the Komanda-Luna road near Ofaye, Congolese army spokesman in Ituri, Lieut. Jules Ngongo, told reporters, without providing details.

John Vuleveryo, coordinator of the Convention for Respect of Human Rights (CRDH) non-governmental organization, told reporters that the vehicles were headed to Beni in North Kivu province from Ituri, protected by FARDC soldiers and UN peacekeepers. However, half of the convoy was blocked from proceeding, with the rebels then attacking the unsecured area.

"Gunfire lasted several hours. We deplore this new attack, which comes at a time when convoys are regularly accompanied by FARDC soldiers or MONUSCO (UN Organizations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) forces," Vuleveryo told the LaPrunelleRDC newspaper.

Nearly 100 passengers are believed to have been kidnapped by the rebels, according to reports.

The burnt vehicles included 14 cars and two trucks.

Several attacks have previously targeted vehicles along the same stretch of road.

The ADF has been accused of killing more than 1,000 civilians in Ituri since 2019, according to the Kivu Security Tracker, a monitor focused on violence eastern DRC.

President Felix Tshisekedi proclaimed a "state of siege" in May in Ituri and North Kivu, replacing senior civilian officials in the province with army officers in a bid to curb growing insecurity.

The US in March placed the ADF on a list of "terrorist organizations" affiliated with the Daesh/ISIS terror group./agencies

A woman in Ivory Coast who was suspected of having the Ebola virus has been found to be virus free after a second laboratory test was carried out, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday, declaring that there is no evidence of the virus in the West African country. 

The Ivory Coast government and WHO had earlier in August confirmed an Ebola outbreak in the country's largest city, Abidjan, involving an 18-year-old woman who was hospitalized with the virus after arriving from neighboring Guinea.

“With the new results from the laboratory in Lyon, the WHO considers that the patient did not have the Ebola virus disease, and further analysis on the cause of her illness is ongoing,” the WHO said in a statement.

“The WHO is now downgrading its actions in Ivory Coast from response to readiness mode.”

The second test by a lab in Lyon, France followed tests conducted by a lab in Ivory Coast which led health authorities to announce their first Ebola case since 1994.

More than 140 contacts were listed in Ivory Coast and Guinea.

But the WHO said no one else has shown symptoms for the disease or tested positive for Ebola.

Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates.

Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks.

After Ivory Coast announced the Ebola case, immediate response measures were implemented in both Ivory Coast and Guinea.

About a dozen WHO experts were mobilized to support the country’s efforts and 5,000 Ebola vaccine doses were sent from Guinea to Ivory Coast./aa

The EU on Tuesday agreed on a joint approach to preventing a new wave of migration stemming from the crisis in Afghanistan.

Interior ministers from the 27 EU countries adopted their conclusions on the situation in Afghanistan after a “very dynamic” debate, Slovenian Interior Minister Ales Hojs told reporters after the meeting.

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson welcomed the statement, saying that “it shows that member states can agree, even on migration issues.”

“The best way to avoid the migration crisis is to avoid a humanitarian crisis. And that's why we need to support Afghans in Afghanistan,” Johansson said, referring to the ministers’ commitment to ensuring humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable population with the help of international partners, especially the UN and its agencies.

The joint statement vowed to help Afghanistan’s neighbors and transit countries “to reinforce their capacities to provide protection, dignified and safe reception conditions and sustainable livelihood for refugees and host communities.”

According to the statement, the bloc is determined to prevent “uncontrolled large-scale illegal migration movements faced in the past,” which can be mostly achieved by strengthening support for “the countries in Afghanistan’s immediate neighborhood to ensure that those in need receive adequate protection primarily in the region.”

In order to prevent people from taking a dangerous and illegal journey to Europe, the bloc will launch information campaigns to “combat the narratives used by smugglers.”

Without giving precise numbers, Johansson said the bloc has been working on resettlement programs to provide immediate international protection for the most threatened groups, such as female jurists, human rights activists, and journalists./aa

The world has started acknowledging the success of Turkey’s unmanned aerial combat vehicles, the country’s president said on Tuesday.

With its unmanned combat aerial vehicle Akinci, Turkey has become one of the world’s three most advanced countries in combat drone technology, Erdogan said, adding the world speaks about "the success of the armed drones used in the fight against terrorism, as well as in many conflict areas from Syria to Karabakh."

He was speaking at a ceremony at the National Defense University.

Noting that Turkey has become a country that can produce many defense industry products ranging from tanks to cannons, missiles to radar, bombs to rifles, he said: "In the next three to five years, I hope that when we complete our projects … by protecting the country’s climate of stability and trust, we will be at the top of the list in this field."

On July 8, the Bayraktar Akinci made Turkish aviation history by climbing to 38,039 feet (11,594 meters) – a new record – in a flight that lasted for 25 hours and 46 minutes.

The Akinci, which to date has made 874 sorties in test and training flights, hit its targets with full accuracy in a July 5 firing test with warhead ammunition developed by Turkish rocket producer Roketsan./aa

Luxembourg's foreign minister on Tuesday harshly criticized Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa for their refusal to take in Afghan refugees ahead of the European Union interior ministers' conference.

Talking to the German daily Die Welt newspaper, Jean Asselborn said: "I hope that there is resistance to Mr. Kurz from Austria and Mr. Jansa from Slovenia who are both clearly and definitely in line with Orban, Salvini, and Le Pen. They all reject direct human solidarity at this extremely dramatic moment with the tortured people in Afghanistan."

“You lose the quality of being a European. In contrast, the majority of the member states must stand for the values of the European Union," Asselborn went on to say.

Kurz has repeatedly expressed his opposition to granting protection to refugees from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Jansa whose country currently holds the rotating EU Council Presidency, had declared on Twitter that one should only accept people "who helped us during the NATO operation" in Afghanistan.

The EU Commission had recently called on all EU countries to accept more people from Afghanistan through the resettlement program of the UN refugee agency.


"The European Union should be ready to provide 40,000 to 50,000 resettlement places for Afghan refugees," according to Asselborn.

“With this we would bring girls, women, former judges, human rights activists or other people whose lives are in immediate danger to the EU in a legal and safe way in cooperation with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)," he added.

So far this year around 330,000 Afghans have been displaced, more than half of them fleeing their homes since the US began its withdrawal in May, according to the UN./agencies