عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Israel Ex-Army chief Ashkenazi to Serve as FM

In this file photo taken on February 21, 2019, former Israeli military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi delivers a statement in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, ahead of the April 9 general election. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
In this file photo taken on February 21, 2019, former Israeli military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi delivers a statement in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, ahead of the April 9 general election. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
TT
TT

Israel Ex-Army chief Ashkenazi to Serve as FM

In this file photo taken on February 21, 2019, former Israeli military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi delivers a statement in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, ahead of the April 9 general election. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
In this file photo taken on February 21, 2019, former Israeli military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi delivers a statement in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, ahead of the April 9 general election. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Former Israeli army chief Gabi Ashkenazi will be nominated as Israel's next foreign minister, his Blue and White alliance has said.

Ashkenazi held talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem ahead of his "appointment as minister of foreign affairs this coming Thursday," said Blue and White, which is led by the incoming alternate prime minister, Benny Gantz.

A unity government agreed between Gantz and veteran right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to be sworn in on Thursday evening, ending more than a year of political deadlock.

Foreign affairs was a key profile secured by Blue and White in coalition talks with Netanyahu's Likud party, along with the defense ministry which will be led by Gantz.

Ashkenazi joined Israel's army in 1972 and fought in the Yom Kippur war a year later.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

At Least 10 Dead, 32 Injured in a Hotel Fire at a Ski Resort in Northwestern Türkiye

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, in northwest Türkiye, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (IHA via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS]
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, in northwest Türkiye, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (IHA via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS]
TT
TT

At Least 10 Dead, 32 Injured in a Hotel Fire at a Ski Resort in Northwestern Türkiye

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, in northwest Türkiye, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (IHA via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS]
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, in northwest Türkiye, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (IHA via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS]

A fire at a hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Türkiye on Tuesday killed at least 10 people and hospitalized 32 others, officials said.
The fire broke out at around 3:30 a.m. in the restaurant of the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, officials and reports said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Two of the victims died after jumping from the building in a panic, Gov. Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency. Private NTV television said some people tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets, The Associated Press said.
There were 234 guests staying at the hotel, Aydin said.
Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor at the hotel, said he was asleep when the fire erupted and he rushed out of the building. He told NTV television that he then helped some 20 guests out of the hotel.
He said the hotel was engulfed in smoke, making it difficult for guests to locate the fire escape.
“I cannot reach some of my students. I hope they are OK,” the ski instructor told the station.
Television images showed the roof and top floors of the hotel on fire.
The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the fire. NTV television suggested that the wooden cladding on the exterior of the hotel, in a chalet-style design, may have accelerated the spread of the fire.
The 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames, the station also reported.
Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during the school semester break when hotels in the region are packed.
Aydin's office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.
Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.