newsmega_enjoyer [none/use name]
Turkey’s Erdogan in Egypt, holds first meeting with Sisi after Assad’s fall
ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met on Thursday to discuss Syria, Gaza and bilateral relations in their first meeting since the fall of the Syrian regime.
During their meeting on the sidelines of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation summit in Cairo, Erdogan pledged continued Turkish support for Syrian unity and the country’s reconstruction after 13 years of civil war. Unlike Turkey, the main backer of the Syrian rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad from power on Dec. 8, the Egyptian government has long-favored Assad over the Islamist-leaning opposition. Assad’s fall has raised concerns in Cairo about a potential resurgence of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was removed from power in 2013.
On Gaza, Erdogan urged enhanced coordination between the two nations to guarantee the seamless delivery of humanitarian aid, stressing the critical need for an immediate, permanent, and sustainable ceasefire.
After Sisi’s ousting of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-led government, Erdogan declared he would never shake hands with him, labeling him a “brutal killer.”
However, the last two years saw a thaw in relations between Cairo and Ankara. The two countries exchanged ambassadors in July 2023, and Sisi paid his first-ever visit to Turkey in September.
Russia is dragging down China’s economy:
Presently, a badly weakened Russia represents a significant military and economic drag on China. Both economies are reeling due to collapsing fundamentals and under the weight of massive military expenditures.
Evidence that China’s economy reeling:
Beijing is being forced to invest $1.4 trillion domestically “to revive the economy, authorizing local governments to refinance crushing debts that have left some cities unable to pay their bills.”
Russia is forcing China to invest domestically and allow local governments to refinance debts.
DPP says it does not support martial law after furor over post
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) today said it does not support martial law, after its caucus’ social media post last night comparing the situation in Taiwan’s legislature to South Korea stirred controversy.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol late last night announced martial law, but rescinded the order after the National Assembly voted unanimously to reject his declaration.
After the order was made, the DPP caucus posted on Threads saying that the party supported Yoon’s fight against the North Korean threat. Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei today.
“The South Korean parliament has been manipulated by North Korean forces,” said the post by “lydppcaucus,” an account run by the party’s caucus.
“South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced emergency martial law nationwide to protect the free constitutional system,” the post said. "Have no doubt, we who are Team Taiwan are every second and every minute opposing global dark and evil forces encroaching on [Taiwan].”
The post also suggested that opposition parties had repeatedly obstructed national security proposals, “unconstitutionally expanded” their powers and cut the defense budget, among other claims.
This post was deleted after 20 minutes, after which the DPP said in another post that it was an attempt to “share international information.”
Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on Syria
Ambassador Robert Wood
I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of the United States.
Let me first thank Special Envoy Pedersen and Mr. Salah for your briefings. I wish to especially thank Mr. Salah, for his and the White Helmets’ efforts to bring to the attention of the world, the repeated use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime against its own people. It is essential that you are here today.
At the same time, the recent rebel offensive – which the United States had nothing to do with – is led by a group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, otherwise known as HTS, that is a U.S. and UN designated terrorist organization. We obviously have concerns about this group.
We will continue to fully defend and protect U.S. personnel and U.S. military positions, which remain essential to ensuring that ISIS can never again resurge in Syria.