Egypt, Tunisia Agree to Coordinate over Int'l Affairs

Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden, right, and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly shake hands during a joint press conference after their talks in Tunis, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)
Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden, right, and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly shake hands during a joint press conference after their talks in Tunis, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)
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Egypt, Tunisia Agree to Coordinate over Int'l Affairs

Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden, right, and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly shake hands during a joint press conference after their talks in Tunis, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)
Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden, right, and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly shake hands during a joint press conference after their talks in Tunis, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)

Egypt and Tunisia agreed to coordinate and hold consultations over regional and international developments.

Speaking at the conclusion of the meetings of the 17th session of the Egyptian-Tunisian Joint High Committee on Friday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Tunisian Prime Minister Najlaa Boudentwo stressed the need to boost coordination in all fields.

The meetings witnessed the signing of a number of agreements on bolstering bilateral ties.

During a press conference with Madbouly, Bouden underscored the role of the private sector in boosting bilateral coordination between Tunis and Cairo, creating partnerships between businessmen and moving towards promising markets, especially in Africa.

She expressed her satisfaction with the level of coordination and consultations between Egypt and Tunisia and the ongoing contacts between their leaderships.

She said she was looking forward to bolstering these ties and coordinating high-level visits by senior officials amid global changes and joint challenges faced by their countries.

She revealed that 11 legal documents were signed during Madbouly's visit, covering international coordination, investment and exports, participation in international exhibitions and markets, financial audit, higher education, agriculture, environment, construction, information technology, communications, and women's affairs.

Moreover, Bouden and Madbouly tackled the Russian war on Ukraine and its impact on grain imports, which demands joint work and exploring new markets.

For his part, the Egyptian PM stressed Egypt's "full support to the Tunisian leadership and its efforts in guiding the country towards stability and prosperity."

He said relations between Egypt and Tunisia are witnessing a "qualitative shift", with both sides agreeing that 2022 and 2023 would be the years of economic cooperation between them.

Talks covered the latest developments in the Palestinian Territories, with both PMs underscoring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

They tackled the developments in Libya, expressing their support for intra-Libyan dialogue without foreign meddling and saying it was the only way to reach a solution to the Libyan crisis and holding presidential and parliamentary elections.

Egypt strongly believes in the need for Libyan institutions to assume their responsibilities and for the unification of the military and dismantling of militias, said Madbouly.

Madbouly and Bouden also stressed the need for all foreign forces, mercenaries and fighters to withdraw from Libya within a specified timeframe, in line with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the Berlin and Paris conferences.



Somali President to Visit Türkiye After Israeli Recognition of Somaliland

 Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Somali President to Visit Türkiye After Israeli Recognition of Somaliland

 Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Somalia's president is to visit Türkiye on Tuesday following Israel's recognition of the breakaway territory of Somaliland, Türkiye’s presidency said.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will hold talks "on the current situation in Somalia in the fight against terrorism, measures taken by the federal Somali government towards national unity and regional developments", Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish presidency's communications directorate, said on X.

Türkiye on Friday denounced Israel's recognition of Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic, calling it "overt interference in Somalia's domestic affairs".

Somaliland declared independence in 1991.

The region has operated autonomously since then and possesses its own currency, army and police force.

It has generally experienced greater stability than Somalia, where Al-Shabaab militants periodically mount attacks in the capital Mogadishu.

Diplomatic isolation has been the norm -- until Israel's move to recognize it as a sovereign nation, which has been criticized by the African Union, Egypt, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The European Union has insisted Somalia's sovereignty should be respected.

The recognition is the latest move by Israel that has angered Türkiye, with relations souring between the two countries in recent years.

Ankara has strongly condemned Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, and Israel has opposed Türkiye’s participation in a future stabilization force in the Palestinian territory.


Iraq's Parliament Elects Al-Halbousi as Its New Speaker

 The new speaker of parliament Haibet Al-Halbousi, center, looks on before the start of their first legislative session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The new speaker of parliament Haibet Al-Halbousi, center, looks on before the start of their first legislative session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Iraq's Parliament Elects Al-Halbousi as Its New Speaker

 The new speaker of parliament Haibet Al-Halbousi, center, looks on before the start of their first legislative session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The new speaker of parliament Haibet Al-Halbousi, center, looks on before the start of their first legislative session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraq's parliament on Monday elected a new speaker following overnight talks to break a political deadlock.

Haibet Al-Halbousi received 208 votes from the 309 legislators who attended, according to The AP news. He is a member of the Takadum, or Progress, party led by ousted speaker and relative Mohammed al-Halbousi. Twenty legislators did not attend the session.

Iraq held parliamentary elections in November but didn’t produce a bloc with a decisive majority. By convention, Iraq’s president is always Kurdish, while the more powerful prime minister is Shiite and the parliamentary speaker is Sunni.

The new speaker must address a much-debated bill that would have the Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Units become a formal security institution under the state. Iran-backed armed groups have growing political influence.

Al-Halbousi also must tackle Iraq’s mounting public debt of tens of billions of dollars as well as widespread corruption.

Babel Governor Adnan Feyhan was elected first deputy speaker with 177 votes, a development that might concern Washington. Feyhan is a member of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, a US-sanctioned, Iran-backed group with an armed wing led by Qais al-Khazali, also sanctioned by Washington.


Hamas Armed Wing Refuses to Surrender Weapons, Confirms Spokesman Killed by Israel in August

FILE Photo of Hamas now late spokesperson Abu Ubaida. (Screengrab from al-Qassam brigades video)
FILE Photo of Hamas now late spokesperson Abu Ubaida. (Screengrab from al-Qassam brigades video)
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Hamas Armed Wing Refuses to Surrender Weapons, Confirms Spokesman Killed by Israel in August

FILE Photo of Hamas now late spokesperson Abu Ubaida. (Screengrab from al-Qassam brigades video)
FILE Photo of Hamas now late spokesperson Abu Ubaida. (Screengrab from al-Qassam brigades video)

Hamas's armed wing reiterated on Monday that it would not surrender its weapons, a key issue expected to feature in talks later in the day between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

In a video statement, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades also confirmed the death of their longtime spokesperson, months after Israel announced he had been killed in an air strike in Gaza on August 30. 

"Our people are defending themselves and will not give up their weapons as long as the occupation remains," said the group's new spokesman, who has adopted the nom de guerre of his predecessor, Abu Obeida. 

The statement came just hours before Trump and Netanyahu were scheduled to meet in Florida. 

Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu would discuss the second phase of the Gaza truce deal, which includes ensuring that "Hamas is disarmed, Gaza is demilitarized". 

Rejecting that demand, the new Abu Obeida instead called for Israel to be disarmed of its weapons. 

"We call on all concerned parties to work toward disarming the lethal weapons of the occupation, which have been and continue to be used in the extermination of our people," he said. 

In the same statement, he confirmed the death of his predecessor, and also announced the deaths of four other Hamas commanders in Israeli attacks during the war. 

"We pause in reverence before... the masked man loved by millions... the great martyred commander and spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida," he said. 

During the war, Abu Obeida, whose real name was Hudhayfa Samir al-Kahlout, emerged as a central figure eagerly awaited by Gazans, as well as by Arab and international media, for official statements from Hamas's military wing, particularly those related to hostage-prisoner swaps. 

Born on February 11, 1985, and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Obeida joined Hamas at an early age before becoming a member of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. 

He later became the group's spokesman, delivering video statements in military uniform with his face consistently concealed by a red keffiyeh. 

He survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts over the years. 

Hamas officials have described him as a symbol of "resistance", known for fiery speeches that often included threats against Israel or announcements of military operations. 

"For many years, only a very small circle of Hamas officials knew his true identity," a Hamas official told AFP. 

Israel has decimated Hamas's leadership, saying it seeks to eradicate the group following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war.