Libyan Coast Guard Intercepts 200 Europe-Bound Migrants

Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by "Save the Children" NGO crew from the ship Vos Hestia in the Mediterranean sea off Libya coast, June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by "Save the Children" NGO crew from the ship Vos Hestia in the Mediterranean sea off Libya coast, June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
TT

Libyan Coast Guard Intercepts 200 Europe-Bound Migrants

Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by "Save the Children" NGO crew from the ship Vos Hestia in the Mediterranean sea off Libya coast, June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by "Save the Children" NGO crew from the ship Vos Hestia in the Mediterranean sea off Libya coast, June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Libya's coast guard said it intercepted 200 Europe-bound migrants, including seven women and three children, off the country's Mediterranean coast.

The Libyan navy has issued a statement on Thursday saying that it rescued two wooden boats carrying mainly African and Arab migrants the previous day.

The statement added that they received humanitarian aid before being sent to a detention center in the capital, Tripoli.

Libya has emerged as a major transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty to Europe.

In recent years, the European Union has partnered with the coast guard and other Libyan forces to try to stop the dangerous sea crossings, the Associated Press.

Rights groups, however, have criticized those efforts, saying they've left migrants at the mercy of armed groups or confined in squalid detention centers rife with abuses.



Kremlin Says US Has Not Responded to Its Nuclear Arms Control Offer

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his traditional televised New Year's Address to the people of Russia, in Moscow, Russia, 31 December 2025.  EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his traditional televised New Year's Address to the people of Russia, in Moscow, Russia, 31 December 2025. EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL
TT

Kremlin Says US Has Not Responded to Its Nuclear Arms Control Offer

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his traditional televised New Year's Address to the people of Russia, in Moscow, Russia, 31 December 2025.  EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his traditional televised New Year's Address to the people of Russia, in Moscow, Russia, 31 December 2025. EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL

The Kremlin said on Thursday that the United States had not responded to President Vladimir Putin's proposal to informally extend for ‌a year ‌the ‌provisions of ⁠the last ‌remaining nuclear arms pact between Moscow and Washington, the New START treaty, which is ⁠due to expire ‌in three weeks.

Kremlin spokesman ‍Dmitry ‍Peskov was responding ‍to a question about comments made by US President Donald Trump, who has said that he ⁠instead wants a more ambitious nuclear arms control treaty which includes China - something Beijing has so far shown no interest in.


German Air Traffic Control Advises Avoiding Iranian Airspace until Feb 10

Reuters file photo of an IranAir plane
Reuters file photo of an IranAir plane
TT

German Air Traffic Control Advises Avoiding Iranian Airspace until Feb 10

Reuters file photo of an IranAir plane
Reuters file photo of an IranAir plane

Germany's air traffic control authority said Thursday it was recommending planes avoid Iranian airspace after the United States has in recent days warned of a possible military intervention in Iran.

A spokesman for Germany's Flight Safety Office told AFP in a statement it had issued a recommendation "that Iranian airspace not be overflown... until February 10," adding that the advice had been issued "on the instruction of the transport ministry".


Türkiye Calls for Dialogue to Resolve Iran Unrest

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during an interview with Reuters at the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, December 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during an interview with Reuters at the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, December 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
TT

Türkiye Calls for Dialogue to Resolve Iran Unrest

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during an interview with Reuters at the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, December 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during an interview with Reuters at the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, December 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Türkiye's top diplomat on Thursday called for dialogue to the crisis in Iran, rocked by mass protests which rights group say have left thousands dead and which prompted US warnings to Tehran.

"We absolutely want problems to be resolved through dialogue," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul.

"Hopefully, the United States and Iran will resolve this issue among themselves -- whether through mediators, other actors, or direct dialogue. We are closely following these developments."