ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey will rid northern Syria’s Tal Rifaat and Manbij areas of terrorists, confirming the targets of the new incursion for the first time and saying it will continue into other regions.

His comments, in a speech to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party, came a week after he pledged a new military incursion on Turkey’s southern border against the US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, which Ankara views as a terrorist group.

LONDON: Attacks on students, teachers and academics have increased significantly over the past two years in Palestine, Syria and Yemen, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
“Researchers for ‘Education under Attack 2022’ found that the number of attacks on education and the military use of schools increased from 2019 to 2020 by one-third, and continued at this heightened rate in 2021, even as schools and universities around the world closed for prolonged periods during the pandemic,” the report said.

TUNIS: Tunisia’s powerful UGTT union on Tuesday called a national strike in June in public services and state firms after the government refused to increase wages, an escalation that may hinder the government’s efforts to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund.
Tunisia faces its worst financial crisis and is seeking a $4 billion loan from the IMF seen as necessary to ward off national bankruptcy, in exchange for unpopular reforms, including food and energy subsidies cuts and wage freezes.

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration remains committed to re-opening a US consulate in Jerusalem and is further discussing the issue with Israelis and Palestinians, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday.
Former US President Donald Trump moved Washington’s embassy to Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in 2018 and shut down a separate facility in the city that served as a consulate for Palestinians.

TRIPOLI: Libyan Mohamed Abderraouf put a foot on his board and launched himself across Tripoli’s first skatepark, a welcome break in the conflict-battered capital with few facilities for bored young people.
“I can’t describe the joy,” said the 18-year-old, who bought his first skateboard in 2020 and had only been able to practice on street corners — until now. “I’m going to come a couple of times a week.”