ANKARA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Israel's recognition of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland would not benefit Somaliland or the region.
In December, Erdogan had said Israel's decision to formally recognise Somaliland, a northern region that declared itself independent in 1991, was illegal and unacceptable, and he accused Israel of trying to destabilise the Horn of Africa.
By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - An independent United Nations body on Tuesday condemned what it described as vicious attacks based on disinformation by several European ministers against the organisation's special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese.
In the past week several European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, called for Albanese’s resignation over her alleged criticism of Israel. Albanese, an Italian lawyer, denies making the remarks.
By Laila Bassam and Tala Ramadan
DUBAI, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Armed group Hezbollah rejected on Tuesday the Lebanese government's decision to grant the army at least four months to advance the second phase of a nationwide disarmament plan, saying it would not accept what it sees as a move serving Israel.
Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army in August 2025 with drawing up and beginning to implement a plan to bring all armed groups' weapons under state control, a bid aimed primarily at disarming Hezbollah after its devastating war with Israel in 2024.
Feb 17 (Reuters) - Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday, where he was greeted by Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, images on state television showed.
Neither government has given a scheduleor other information on the visit, but Qatar has long served as an intermediary between the United States and Venezuela and aided negotiations between the Venezuelan government and the opposition.
(Reporting by Reuters)
By Mohammad Yunus Yawar
KABUL, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban government said on Tuesday it had released three Pakistani soldiers captured during border clashes in October, in a move mediated by Saudi Arabia amid strained ties and a prolonged frontier closure between the two neighbours.
The release comes months after the worst cross-border fighting since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Dozens were killed in October clashes, after which both sides agreed to a fragile ceasefire but failed to secure a longer-term political understanding.
By Angelo Amante
ROME, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Italy's opposition groups criticised a government plan to attend the inaugural meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace this week, saying on Tuesday that the body undermined the United Nations and ran counter to international law.
The group is scheduled to meet in Washington on Thursday for the first time since it was established in January, to discuss reconstruction plans for Gaza. Delegations from more than 20 countries are due to attend.
Iranians shouted slogans against the leader of the Islamic republic on Tuesday as they gathered to commemorate protesters killed in a crackdown on nationwide demonstrations that rights groups said left thousands dead, according to videos verified by AFP.
The country's clerical authorities also staged a commemoration in the capital Tehran to mark the 40th day since the deaths at the peak of the protests on January 8 and 9, in line with Shiite mourning tradition.
An Israeli bobsleigher said on Tuesday he gave no "credence whatsoever" to the "diatribe" from a Swiss television commentator who had questioned the legitimacy of him competing at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The commentator on Swiss channel RTS said Adam Edelman's supportive comments of Israel's more-than-two-year bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 70,000 people and the destruction of most of the territory's infrastructure, should have resulted in him being barred from the Olympics.
Feb 17 (Reuters) - A UK maritime agency said on Tuesday that it received a report of an exchange of fire involving a vessel and a small boat around 70 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's port of Aden.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said that a vesselwas approached and hailed by a white skiff with five people on board, and this was followed by an exchange of small arms fire.
Two additional skiffs were also reported in the vicinity, and authorities were investigating, according to UKMTO.
DUBAI, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Parts of the Strait of Hormuz will close for a few hours on Tuesday due to 'security precautions' for shipping safety, semi-official Fars news agency reported, as the Revolutionary Guards conduct military drills in the waterway.
The strait is the world's most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom, Editing by Nayera Abdallah)
