Türkiye's Erdogan Calls Israel 'Terror State'

FILED - 28 September 2018, Berlin: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference in Berlin. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
FILED - 28 September 2018, Berlin: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference in Berlin. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
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Türkiye's Erdogan Calls Israel 'Terror State'

FILED - 28 September 2018, Berlin: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference in Berlin. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
FILED - 28 September 2018, Berlin: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference in Berlin. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Israel was a "terror state" committing war crimes and violating international law in Gaza, while repeating his view that Palestinian militant group Hamas was not a terrorist organization.

Speaking to lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan also called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce whether Israel had nuclear bombs or not, and added that the Israeli premier was a "goner" from his post.

He said Hamas was a political party that had been elected by Palestinians.



Pope Had a Peaceful Night After Pneumonia Diagnosis, Vatican Says

People walk outside the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is admitted to continue treatment for a respiratory tract infection, in Rome, Italy, February 18, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk outside the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is admitted to continue treatment for a respiratory tract infection, in Rome, Italy, February 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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Pope Had a Peaceful Night After Pneumonia Diagnosis, Vatican Says

People walk outside the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is admitted to continue treatment for a respiratory tract infection, in Rome, Italy, February 18, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk outside the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is admitted to continue treatment for a respiratory tract infection, in Rome, Italy, February 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Pope Francis spent a peaceful fifth night in hospital and ate breakfast on Wednesday, the Vatican said in its latest update on the pontiff's fragile health.

Francis has the onset of double pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday, complicating treatment for the 88-year-old pope who was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14.

Double pneumonia is a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs and makes breathing more difficult.

The Vatican had said previously that the pope had a polymicrobial infection, which occurs when two or more micro-organisms are involved, adding that he would stay in hospital as long as necessary to tackle a "complex clinical situation".

The pope has been plagued by ill health in recent years, including regular bouts of flu, sciatica nerve pain and an abdominal hernia that required surgery in 2023. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed.

All the pope's public engagements have been cancelled through Sunday and he has no further official events on the Vatican's published calendar.