G20 Health Ministers to Meet Sunday over COVID-19

A police van is parked in the closed Jardin du Champs de Mars garden in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AFP)
A police van is parked in the closed Jardin du Champs de Mars garden in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AFP)
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G20 Health Ministers to Meet Sunday over COVID-19

A police van is parked in the closed Jardin du Champs de Mars garden in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AFP)
A police van is parked in the closed Jardin du Champs de Mars garden in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AFP)

Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies will speak by video conference on April 19 to address the impact of the new coronavirus on the global health sector and society, the Saudi G20 secretariat said on Monday.

The meeting follows last month’s virtual meeting of G20 leaders, who tasked the health ministers with sharing national best practices and developing a set of urgent actions for the G20 to jointly combat the pandemic.

More than 1.8 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 115,242 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.



Türkiye Arrests Alleged Mossad Financial Operative

Ferries sail on the Bosphorus backdropped by the Blue Mosque during the sunset in Istanbul, Türkiye, 01 September 2024.  EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
Ferries sail on the Bosphorus backdropped by the Blue Mosque during the sunset in Istanbul, Türkiye, 01 September 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
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Türkiye Arrests Alleged Mossad Financial Operative

Ferries sail on the Bosphorus backdropped by the Blue Mosque during the sunset in Istanbul, Türkiye, 01 September 2024.  EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
Ferries sail on the Bosphorus backdropped by the Blue Mosque during the sunset in Istanbul, Türkiye, 01 September 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN

Türkiye arrested a Kosovan national accused of managing the financial network of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency in the country, the Turkish intelligence organization said on Tuesday.

Liridon Rexhepi was detained in Istanbul on Aug. 30, suspected of transferring funds to Mossad personnel operating in Türkiye, Reuters quoted the Turkish intelligence agency MIT as saying.

Türkiye, which has denounced Israel for its war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, has this year detained more than 20 people suspected of having ties to Mossad.

Rexhepi had been under surveillance since his entry into Türkiye on Aug. 25, the MIT statement said. He is alleged to have facilitated financial transfers from eastern European countries, primarily Kosovo, to Mossad agents in Türkiye.

The statement said the funds transferred by Rexhepi were reportedly used for intelligence gathering in Syria, conducting psychological operations against Palestinians, and coordinating drone-related operations.

Rexhepi used money transfer services to move funds into Türkiye. Once in the country, the funds were distributed to field operatives who, in turn, channeled some of the money to assets in Syria, often utilizing cryptocurrency for these transactions, the sources said.