Middle East & North Africa

28 May 2023; MEMO: I would like to thank each and every member of our nation who once again conveyed to us responsibility for governing Turkiye for next 5 years

Turkiye's 85 million-strong citizens are the winners in the national elections that concluded today, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, confident in his clear lead towards reelection.

"All 85 million of our citizens are the winners of both the May 14 and May 28 elections," Erdogan said in an address to the nation from Istanbul.

28 May 2023; MEMO: Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been reelected Türkiye's president in runoff elections, the chairman of the country's Supreme Election Council (YSK) said on Sunday, reports Anadulou.

Speaking to reporters in the capital Ankara, YSK head Ahmet Yener said that Erdogan won Türkiye's presidency over opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the second-round runoff vote.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned away a challenger who sought to reverse his authoritarian-leaning changes, securing five more years to oversee the country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia that plays a key role in NATO.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Preliminary, unofficial results from Turkey’s state Anadolu news agency showed incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead with 67% of ballot boxes counted, while a competing news agency gave a slight lead to the opposition candidate in a presidential runoff that will decide whether the country’s longtime leader stretches his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.

Anadolu showed Erdogan at 55%, and his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, at 45%.

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military ruler demanded in a letter to the U.N. secretary general that the U.N. envoy to his country be removed, officials said Saturday. The U.N. chief was “shocked” by the letter, a spokesman said.

The envoy, Volker Perthes, has been a key mediator in Sudan, first during the country’s fitful attempts to transition to democracy and then after worsening tensions between military rivals exploded into open fighting last month.

CAIRO (AP) — The United States and Saudi Arabia called on warring sides in Sudan to extend a fragile cease-fire due to expire Monday, as weeks of fighting reached a stalemate in the capital and elsewhere in the African country.

The Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force, battling for control of Sudan since mid-April, had agreed last week to the weeklong truce, brokered by the U.S. and the Saudis. However, the cease-fire, like others before it, did not stop the fighting in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

TEHRAN, May 27 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, made a phone call with his Iraqi counterpart, Fouad Hussein, calling for expanding Iran-Iraq banking relations.

According to a report on Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s website, yesterday, the two sides discussed the latest developments in bilateral ties and highlighted the necessity of improving the gas transfer pipelines from Iran to Iraq.

May 27 (Reuters) - Tehran on Saturday accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of anti-Iranian propaganda in his call for Iran to halt the supply of drones to Russia, saying his comments were designed to attract more arms and financial aid from the West.

Zelenskiy in a video address on Wednesday called on Iranians to stop their slide into "the dark side of history" by supplying Moscow with drones.

Tehran, IRNA – The 22nd edition of the Asian Men's Volleyball Championship will be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, from August 19 to 26, with the participation of 18 teams.

The draw for the competition took place on March 16, and the 18 participating teams were divided into six groups.

In the group stage, teams will compete against each other, and at the end of this stage, the top two teams from each group (a total of 12 teams) will advance to the playoffs. The group winners will face the second-placed teams from other groups, determined by a draw.

Tehran, IRNA – Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in reaction to Western governments' concerns, especially the United States and France, about Iran's progress and defense power, that the very same countries that encouraged and equipped Saddam Hussein to attack Iran are now the biggest exporters of weapons to the Middle East.