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Erdogan inaugurates mosque in Albania, pledges military drones as he begins Balkan tour

Erdogan inaugurates mosque in Albania, pledges military drones as he begins Balkan tour
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CaptionAlbanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (R) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchange signed documents at the Prime Minister's office in Tirana, on October 10, 2024. (AFP)
Erdogan inaugurates mosque in Albania, pledges military drones as he begins Balkan tour
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People wave Turkish flags during the inauguration of the Namazgah mosque in Tirana, Albania, on Oct. 10, 2024. (AP)
Erdogan inaugurates mosque in Albania, pledges military drones as he begins Balkan tour
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, left, prays during the inauguration of The Turkish-funded new Namazgah mosque on Oct. 10, 2024. (AP)
Erdogan inaugurates mosque in Albania, pledges military drones as he begins Balkan tour
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The flags of Turkiye and an Albania flag fly during the inauguration of The Turkish-funded new Namazgah mosque in Tirana on Oct. 10, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 11 October 2024

Erdogan inaugurates mosque in Albania, pledges military drones as he begins Balkan tour

Erdogan inaugurates mosque in Albania, pledges military drones as he begins Balkan tour
  • Two sides sign agreements to boost cooperation in agriculture and education
  • Erdogan will also visit Serbia as he tries to boost ties with a region once ruled by the Ottoman empire

TIRANA, Albania: Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled Thursday to Albania’s capital to inaugurate a Turkish-funded mosque with 50-meter-high minarets as part of a trip to boost ties and discuss regional issues.
Erdogan also said that his country would give an unspecified number of drones to boost military capabilities in Albania, whose population is slightly more than 50 percent Muslim.
The new Namazgah mosque in Tirana is one of the largest in the Balkans.
Erdogan met with Albanian President Bajram Begaj and later with Prime Minister Edi Rama, with whom he has close ties. Following a meeting of top officials from both countries, the two sides signed agreements to boost cooperation in agriculture and education.




A view of The Great Mosque of Tirana or Namazgah Mosque, the largest mosque in the Balkans, on the day of its inauguration on October 10, 2024. (REUTERS)

Turkiye is a strategic partner of Albania and one of its largest investors, contributing to infrastructure and other sectors. Erdogan said the two countries should aim to double their annual trade to 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion).

Some 600 Turkish companies employ more than 15,000 people in Albania, Erodgan said in February when he hosted Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
It is one of the five biggest foreign investors in the country, he said, with $3.5 billion (3.2 billion euros) committed there.
Construction of the new mosque was started in 2015 with some 30 million euros ($34 million) from the state-run Turkish Muslim organization Diyanet.
The construction already had been completed for more than a year, but the inauguration was delayed because of Erdogan’s concerns that a group that Turkiye calls the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO, would have influence over the mosque.
Under agreements reached with the local Albanian Muslim community, Turkiye’s Diyanet organization will have representation on the mosque’s governing board.

Turkiye says that FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated a failed coup in Turkiye on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and nearly 2,200 wounded. Gulen has denied any involvement.
In addition to the four minarets, the Namazgah mosque has a central dome of 30 meters and the capacity to hold 8,000 people. It sits on a 10,000-square-meter parcel of land near Albania’s parliament, and the first floor includes a cultural center.
The site is near landmark Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals.
Sunni Muslims make up nearly 46 percent of Albania’s population, and Bektashi Muslims another 5 percent. Catholics are 8 percent and Orthodox Christians 7 percent, according to a 2023 census. The various religious groups live together peacefully without tensions.




Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, his wife Emine Erdogan and Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama cut the ribbon, during the inauguration of the Namazgah Mosque in Tirana on October 10, 2024. (REUTERS)

Kamikaze drones

At a briefing after the meetings, Rama said Turkiye’s gift of military drones sends a “very clear message” that “Albania cannot be attacked.”
“It is a present that comes as a strong message from the Republic of Turkiye that Albania is unhittable,” Rama told a joint news conference during on one-day visit by Erdogan.

The so-called kamikaze drone is a loitering munition that cruises toward its target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact.
Rama also said that the acquisition of an unspecified number of Turkish kamikaze drones does not mean “Albania will attack anyone.”
Most countries in the Western Balkans, including Albania, have started to upgrade their aging militaries after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Albania and Turkiye are both members of NATO. The government in Tirana has already acquired a fleet of Turkish-made Bayraktar reconnaissance and attack drones.

Trip to Serbia

On Friday, Erdogan will move on to Serbia, where Turkiye made a major diplomatic comeback in 2017 with a landmark visit to Belgrade.
The trip helped Erdogan and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic mend ties between the countries.
The five centuries of the Ottoman presence in Serbia have traditionally weighed heavily on relations between Belgrade and Ankara.
Another source of tension has been Turkiye’s cultural and historic ties with Serbia’s former breakaway province of Kosovo. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move Belgrade still refuses to recognize.
But Erdogan’s 2017 visit repaired Turkiye’s relationship with Serbia, Belgrade-based analyst Vuk Vuksanovic told AFP.
Since then “the Balkans is quite a success story for Turkiye,” he added.

Even so, it has not been all plain sailing with Belgrade furious last year when Turkiye sold drones to Kosovo, something Serbia said was “unacceptable.”
But the row could be patched up, the analyst insisted.
“I would not be surprised if we see a military deal at the end of this visit,” Vuksanovic said.
He expected the talks in Belgrade to focus on “military cooperation, the position of Turkish companies, and attempts by Belgrade to persuade Ankara to tone down support for Kosovo.”
Even though the rapprochement is relatively recent, economic ties between the two countries are already significant.
Turkish investment in Serbia has rocketed from $1 million to $400 million over the past decade, the Turkiye-Serbia business council told Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency.
Turkish exports to Serbia hit $2.13 billion in 2022, up from $1.14 billion in 2020, according to official Serbian figures.
Turkish tourists are also hugely important for Serbia, second only in visitor numbers to those from Bosnia.


Fugitive Moldovan oligarch implicated in $1 billion bank fraud detained in Greece

Fugitive Moldovan oligarch implicated in $1 billion bank fraud detained in Greece
Updated 2 sec ago

Fugitive Moldovan oligarch implicated in $1 billion bank fraud detained in Greece

Fugitive Moldovan oligarch implicated in $1 billion bank fraud detained in Greece
Vladimir Plahotniuc fled Moldova in 2019 as he faced a series of corruption charges
The Greek police unit tackling organized crime said Interpol was seeking Plahotniuc on suspicion of participating in a criminal organization

CHISINAU: A fugitive Moldovan oligarch implicated in a $1 billion bank fraud and other illicit schemes was detained Tuesday in Greece, Moldova’s national police said.

Vladimir Plahotniuc fled Moldova in 2019 as he faced a series of corruption charges including allegations of complicity in a scheme that led to $1 billion disappearing from a Moldovan bank in 2014, which at the time was equivalent to about an eighth of Moldova’s annual GDP.

Plahotniuc has denied any wrongdoing.

Moldovan police said in a statement they were informed by Interpol’s office in Athens that two Moldovan citizens had been detained, including Plahotniuc, who was placed on Interpol’s international wanted list in February. Authorities did not name the other detainee.

The Greek police unit tackling organized crime said Interpol was seeking Plahotniuc on suspicion of participating in a criminal organization, fraud and money laundering.

Moldova’s Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor’s Office are in the process of exchanging information to begin seeking extradition of Plahotniuc and the other detainee, a government official told The Associated Press.

Plahotniuc, one of Moldova’s wealthiest men, fled to the US from Moldova in June 2019 after failing to form a government with his Democratic Party.

The US declared him persona non grata in 2020 and his whereabouts were unknown for years.

The powerful businessman and politician was added to a US State Department sanctions list in 2022 for alleged corruption. The charges included controlling the country’s law enforcement to target political and business rivals and meddling in Moldova’s elections.

He was added to a UK sanctions list in 2022 and barred from entering the country. His assets were frozen in the UK and its overseas territories.

Japan avoids criticizing Israel for bombing and invading Syria

Japan avoids criticizing Israel for bombing and invading Syria
Updated 4 min 50 sec ago

Japan avoids criticizing Israel for bombing and invading Syria

Japan avoids criticizing Israel for bombing and invading Syria
  • Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya reiterated Japan’s commitment to peaceful conflict resolution
  • He emphasized that Syria’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence should be respected

TOKYO: Despite the recent attacks on Gaza and Syria, Japan has notably refrained from condemning Israel’s actions.

This stance contrasts sharply with Tokyo’s more vocal criticisms of military actions taken by other nations, such as Russia.

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya reiterated Japan’s commitment to peaceful conflict resolution, emphasizing the need for restraint and dialogue. He also expressed appreciation for the efforts of countries working to resolve the situation in Syria.

“As I mentioned previously, we are deeply concerned about the situation in Syria,” Iwaya stated, adding that Israel’s attacks on Syria could be “severely worsening” the situation there.

“We are calling for the steadfast implementation of the ceasefire agreement agreed upon by the involved parties and strongly urging all parties, including Israel, to exercise maximum restraint.”

Furthermore, Iwaya emphasized that Syria’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence should be respected. He acknowledged that the Syrian government has engaged in dialogue aimed at achieving a political solution and national reconciliation.

“We are committed to demanding that all parties play a constructive role in achieving a peaceful and stable transition in Syria,” he added.

Israel’s aggressive invasion of Syrian territories and its ongoing bombings of critical Syrian establishments — most recently, airstrikes on the presidential palace and the defense ministry — have raised serious concerns.

When Iwaya was asked whether Japan would take a stronger stance, including condemnation and sanctions against Israel like its response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, he reiterated, “We are committed to demanding that all parties play a constructive role in achieving a peaceful and stable transition in Syria.”


New UK records reveal Bush viewed Iraq war as a ‘crusade’

New UK records reveal Bush viewed Iraq war as a ‘crusade’
Updated 51 min 35 sec ago

New UK records reveal Bush viewed Iraq war as a ‘crusade’

New UK records reveal Bush viewed Iraq war as a ‘crusade’
  • Diplomatic files released Tuesday reveal tension between White House and former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair over invasion
  • Other details include birthday messages with Vladimir Putin and proposal to send Afghan map to France’s Chirac as ‘a laugh’

LONDON: A series of released records in the UK have revealed that President George W. Bush viewed the Iraq war as a “crusade.”

Cabinet Office papers made public on Tuesday show Bush considered the US “God’s chosen nation” tasked with ridding the world of “evil-doers,” including Saddam Hussein.

Sir Christopher Meyer, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, wrote in December 2002 in a diplomatic cable to Whitehall: “More than anything else, he (Bush) fears another catastrophic terrorist attack on the homeland, especially one with an Iraqi connection.”

He added: “His view of the world is Manichean. He sees his mission as ridding it of evil-doers. He believes American values should be universal values. He finds the Europeans’ differentiation between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein self-serving.

“He is strongly allergic to Europeans collectively. Anyone who has sat round a dinner table with low-church Southerners will find these sentiments instantly recognisable.”

In January 2023, Sir Tony Blair met with Bush in the US to urge him to use diplomacy, but Sir Christopher wrote Jan. 29: “It is politically impossible for Bush to back down from going to war in Iraq this spring, absent Saddam’s surrender or disappearance from the scene.” 

On Jan. 30, Sir David Manning, a UK foreign policy adviser, told Sir Tony to warn Bush that a UN resolution was “politically essential for the UK, and almost certainly legally essential as well.”

Sir David told Condoleezza Rice, Bush’s secretary of state, that an invasion of Iraq without one could bring down the Labour government, and that “the US must not promote regime change in Baghdad at the price of regime change in London.”

He added in a message to Sir Tony: “I said that Bush could afford to gamble. He wanted a second resolution but it was not crucial to him. He already had congressional authority to act unilaterally. This was quite different from the situation you were facing.

“Condi acknowledged this but said that there came a point in any poker game when you had to show your cards. I said this was fine for Bush. He would still be at the table if he showed his cards and lost. You would not.”

The cables also reveal other aspects of Sir Tony’s time in office, including a birthday message from Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2001.

“Dear Tony,” the message read, “accept my sincere congratulations on your birthday and heartfelt wishes of good health, happiness, success and well being to you and your family.

“With great warmth I recollect our last meeting in Stockholm, I am convinced that regular contacts between us will further facilitate the development of Russian-British relations, strengthening international security and stability.”

Other revelations include a thorny diplomatic incident, when former French President Jacques Chirac had spoken in private to Sir Tony about Clare Short, the international development secretary, to complain she was “viscerally anti-French and insupportable.”

In an effort to improve relations with Chirac, UK officials also considered purchasing a map of Afghanistan for Chirac denoting British military failures in the country for “a laugh” for his birthday in November 2001.


Spain proposes declassifying secret Franco era files

Spain proposes declassifying secret Franco era files
Updated 22 July 2025

Spain proposes declassifying secret Franco era files

Spain proposes declassifying secret Franco era files
  • Justice Minister emphasizes citizens’ right to historical documentation
  • Advocacy group urges full access to Church, King Juan Carlos documents

MADRID: The Spanish government on Tuesday introduced a bill to automatically declassify all secret government files older than 45 years, including documents from Francisco Franco’s dictatorship and the transition to democracy.
If approved by parliament, the proposed law could shed light on some of Spain’s darkest chapters, including Franco’s ties to Adolf Hitler, the locations of mass graves where victims of his 1939-75 rule were buried, and details of the 1966 Palomares nuclear accident caused by the mid-air collision of two US Air Force planes over a fishing village in southern Spain.
“With this law we will overcome an obstacle in our legislation to put us in line with European standards,” Justice Minister Felix Bolanos told reporters.
“Citizens have the right to know. Administrations have the obligation to provide documentation that is important for history,” he added.
The bill seeks to replace the existing law governing official secrets, enacted during Franco’s rule, which lacks provisions for automatic declassification based on the amount of time that has passed.
The law would automatically declassify all documents older than 45 years unless they constituted a justified threat to national security, Bolanos said.
For documents created after that period, the draft law outlines a tiered system: “highly classified” documents would remain secret for up to 60 years; “classified” files for up to 45 years; “confidential” material for up to nine years; and “restricted” documents for up to five years.
The government should not restrict access to documents related to the Catholic Church or former King Juan Carlos, said the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory (ARHM), a volunteer group dedicated to identifying victims of political violence during Spain’s Civil War and Franco’s dictatorship.
It also warned that some documents may have already been removed or redacted, and it called for the immediate digitization of records to ensure public access.
Bolanos said that declassifying Franco-era files would be a gradual process given their volumes.
The draft law must now pass through parliament, where Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority government struggles to garner sufficient votes as it weighs concessions to disparate political factions.


Ivorian jailed for saying president should not have been born

Ivorian jailed for saying president should not have been born
Updated 22 July 2025

Ivorian jailed for saying president should not have been born

Ivorian jailed for saying president should not have been born
  • Tokpa Flan Japhet, a 43-year-old nurse, “was tried and sentenced on July 18 to 36 months in prison“
  • Japhet had in a Facebook post said if Ouattara’s mother had “had an abortion” she “would have saved Africa“

ABIDJIAN: Ivory Coast has sentenced a nurse to three years in jail for saying Africa would have been saved if President Alassane Ouattara had not been born.

The sentence comes months before the west African country’s presidential election at the end of October, with the opposition accusing Ouattara’s government of attempting to stifle dissent in the run-up.

Six youth leaders from the main opposition Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) have been arrested since June over a social media post calling for mobilization against the government.

PDCI party leader Tidjane Thiam is among several prominent opposition figures to have been excluded from the October 25 vote.

Tokpa Flan Japhet, a 43-year-old nurse, “was tried and sentenced on July 18 to 36 months in prison” and fined $8,500 “despite his request for a pardon,” Abidjan’s public prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone said in a statement on Monday.

Japhet had in a Facebook post said if Ouattara’s mother had “had an abortion” she “would have saved Africa.”

“Neither repentance... nor a request for forgiveness has any effect on the reality of the offenses,” Kone said.

Another man, Moussa Diakate, was arrested after posting a video in which he “made death threats against supporters of a political group,” the prosecutor said.

Ivory Coast, a former beacon of stability in troubled west Africa, has repeatedly experienced violence during elections after the country’s first coup in 1999.

In late 2010 and early 2011, poll-related violence claimed some 3,000 lives after then-president Laurent Gbagbo refused to recognize Ouattara’s election victory.

Ouattara, 83, has not confirmed whether he will run for a fourth term, although he has been
tapped by his party to do so.