Rabia Ali
17 July 2023•Update: 17 July 2023
ISTANBUL
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to the Gulf and Northern Cyprus, a deal between Tunisia and the EU, and Sudan’s warring parties returning to Saudi Arabia for cease-fire talks.
TOP STORIES
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) between July 17 and 20.
Meetings in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE will focus on bilateral relations, global and regional issues, and possible areas of cooperation, especially in the fields of economy and investment, said a statement by the Turkish Communications Directorate.
On July 20, Erdogan will attend Peace and Freedom Day celebrations in TRNC, and meet with President Ersin Tatar to exchange views on the latest developments in the Cyprus issue.
Tunisia and the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding on a comprehensive partnership package on Sunday.
“The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in Team Europe spirit, alongside the President of Tunisia Kais Saied, have agreed to implement the comprehensive partnership package announced jointly on 11 June 2023,” the European Commission said in a statement.
“The Memorandum of Understanding covers five pillars: macro-economic stability, trade and investment, green energy transition, people-to-people contacts, and migration,” it added.
Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are set to resume talks in Saudi Arabia, raising hopes for an agreement to halt fighting that has already claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions.
Several previous agreements brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US have failed to end the violence, which UN chief Antonio Guterres recently warned could devolve into a full-scale civil war.
The army withdrew from the last round of talks in late May, accusing the RSF of violating a truce that was in effect at the time.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani held talks on Sunday with the head of the Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad in the capital Damascus, the first official visit to the Syrian capital by an Iraqi premier in 13 years.
- Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday emphasized developing "secure" border markets with Pakistan and bolstering energy cooperation with the neighboring country.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged from the hospital on Sunday after doctors implanted a heart monitoring device.
- More than 1,000 people have been hospitalized in southeastern Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province after strong sand and dust storms, local officials said Sunday.
- Canadian wildfires reached an unprecedented landmark Sunday with 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) burned to date, and the effects are felt in poor air quality in the US as well as Canada.
- Violent clashes which erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have forced over 19,000 refugees to relocate to neighboring South Sudan, the UN said in a report.
- A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Alaska Peninsula region on Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
SPORTS
Türkiye eliminated China 3-1 on Sunday to win the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship.
The Turkish national team won the final clash with sets of 25-22, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-16 in Arlington in the US state of Texas.
The Turkish national team became the champions for the first time in the history of the FIVB Women's World Championship.
The men's tennis world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz won his first-ever Wimbledon men's singles title by defeating world No.2 Novak Djokovic 3-2 in the final on Sunday.
Djokovic began the game fast as he bagged the first set 6-1 at the Center Court.
But the young Spaniard made a comeback and took the second set with a 7-6 (8-6) tiebreak, then won the third set with a 6-1.
Despite the Serbian legend making a stand in the fourth set with 6-3, Alcaraz claimed the final set 6-4 and reached his second major title in his second final, after bagging the 2022 US Open.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
The UK has now officially joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), according to an official statement on Sunday.
Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch officially signed the treaty in New Zealand, solidifying the UKs entry into CPTPP, a trade bloc in the Indo-Pacific region with a staggering gross domestic product (GDP) of £12 trillion (nearly $16 trillion).
