Western Asia

The first British civilians evacuated from Sudan arrived on the island of Cyprus on Tuesday, airlifted out by Britain after warring factions agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire.

A passenger plane with about 40 civilians on board landed at Cyprus's Larnaca airport, a spokesperson for Cyprus's foreign ministry said. [Reuters]

The return to provocative statements by Turkish officials after the lull in tensions since the February earthquakes is being attributed in Athens to the election campaign in the neighboring country.

At a special ceremony in the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Erdogan awarded representatives of the foreign teams that joined the rescue operations after the severe earthquakes in February.

Defense ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Iran and Syria, along with the intelligence chiefs of the three countries have met in Moscow on April 25, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

They discussed concrete steps that can be taken in the field of strengthening the security situation in Syria and normalizing Türkiye-Syria relations, said the statement.

Supporters of Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at a rally as part of Nowruz (Newroz), or Kurdish New Year, celebrations in Diyarbakir, Turkey, 21 March 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

A meeting between the defense ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Iran and Syria will take place in Moscow on April 25, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has announced.

The preparations for the meeting of the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Türkiye, Russia, Syria and Iran to be held in Moscow continue, Akar said in a statement on April 24.

The international community must aim at safeguarding Syria's sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity, Greek Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias has said, during the welcoming remarks of the Athens Retreat on Syria.

These factors comprise the basic principles of Greece's foreign policy, he added at the meeting in Kavouri, on the coast south of Athens.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Friday met with Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias at the Foreign Ministry in Athens to discuss the latest developments in Syria. 

The meeting was held in conjunction with an informal "retreat" for Syria, taking place from April 21-23 in the Greek capital, organized by the European Union with the support of the Greek foreign ministry. 

Twenty artifacts repaired by Czech art restorers after being damaged during the civil war in Syria are on display at Prague's National Museum before their return back home next month.

The objects include three limestone funerary portraits from the UNESCO-listed ancient site of Palmyra, which were damaged by Islamic State group militants who took the city by force in 2015.

Wizz Air, the fastest growing airline in Europe and the most environmentally sustainable in the world*, marks the expansion of its network in Sofia with another exciting route - to Riyadh. The first flight to the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took off yesterday afternoon, ushering in a new era of more convenient and affordable travel options between Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia.