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Iraq Trial of Briton and German for Antiquity Theft Adjourned

James Fitton (L), a retired British geologist, and Volker Waldmann (C), a Berlin psychologist, leave Baghdad/Karkh Federal Appeal Court after attending an appeal hearing. Photo: Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa
James Fitton (L), a retired British geologist, and Volker Waldmann (C), a Berlin psychologist, leave Baghdad/Karkh Federal Appeal Court after attending an appeal hearing. Photo: Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa
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Iraq Trial of Briton and German for Antiquity Theft Adjourned

James Fitton (L), a retired British geologist, and Volker Waldmann (C), a Berlin psychologist, leave Baghdad/Karkh Federal Appeal Court after attending an appeal hearing. Photo: Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa
James Fitton (L), a retired British geologist, and Volker Waldmann (C), a Berlin psychologist, leave Baghdad/Karkh Federal Appeal Court after attending an appeal hearing. Photo: Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa

An Iraqi court on Sunday adjourned for two weeks the trial of a Briton and a German man accused of trying to smuggle antiquities after a defense lawyer called for more investigations.

James Fitton, 66, a retired British geologist, and Volker Waldmann, 60, a Berlin psychologist, have been in custody since they were arrested on March 20 at Baghdad airport as they wound up their holiday.

They collected 12 stones and shards of broken pottery during their recent tour.

"We don't have any more details: what site do these pieces come from? What era, what civilization do they date back to?" Waldmann's defense lawyer, Furat Kuba asked, adding there were also outstanding questions relating to the site where the fragments were collected.

"Is it fenced and protected?" Kuba asked. "Are there signs indicating that these are ancient pieces that it is forbidden to collect?"

Kuba said he wanted the tour guide or an Iraqi official who had been present at the site to give evidence in court as to whether the tourists had received instructions prohibiting them from picking up fragments.

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Arab World

Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

The technical analysis of the recovered black boxes from a jet crash that killed eight people, including western Libya’s military chief, began as the investigation proceeded in cooperation with Libyan authorities, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said Thursday.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officials and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

The wreckage was scattered across an area covering 3 square kilometers (more than a square mile), complicating recovery efforts, according to the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

A 22-person delegation, including five family members, arrived from Libya early on Wednesday to assist in the investigation.

Arab World

Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
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Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Thursday that the country’s parliamentary elections are a constitutional obligation that must be carried out on time.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency quoted Aoun as saying that he, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, is determined to hold the elections on schedule.

Aoun also emphasized that diplomatic efforts have continued unabated to keep the specter of war at bay, noting that "things are heading in a positive direction".

The agency also cited Berri reaffirming that the elections will take place as planned, with "no delays, no extensions".

The Lebanese parliamentary elections are scheduled for May next year.

Arab World

Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements ‘Morally Wrong’

Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements ‘Morally Wrong’

Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)

Israel reacted furiously on Thursday to a condemnation by 14 countries including France and Britain of its approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the criticism discriminatory against Jews.

"Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

"The cabinet decision to establish 11 new settlements and to formalize eight additional settlements is intended, among other things, to help address the security threats Israel is facing."

On Sunday, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that authorities had greenlit the settlements, saying the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Fourteen countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Canada, then issued a statement urging Israel to reverse its decision, "as well as the expansion of settlements".

Such unilateral actions, they said, "violate international law", and risk undermining a fragile ceasefire in Gaza in force since October 10.

They also reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution... where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace and security".

Israel has occupied the West Bank following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.

Earlier this month, the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, all of which are illegal under international law, had reached its highest level since at least 2017.