Tunisia olive oil output to hit record 500,000 tons in 2026, producers head says
Tunisia olive oil output to hit record 500,000 tons in 2026, producers head says/node/2620100/middle-east
Tunisia olive oil output to hit record 500,000 tons in 2026, producers head says
Tunisia’s olive oil production this season is likely to increase by about 50 percent from last year to a record 500,000 tons. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 19 sec ago
Reuters
Tunisia olive oil output to hit record 500,000 tons in 2026, producers head says
Harvest is expected to be around 500,000 tons due to good rainfall
Updated 19 sec ago
Reuters
TUNIS: Tunisia’s olive oil production this season is likely to increase by about 50 percent from last year to a record 500,000 tons, which will provide support to the country’s fragile economy and bolster its top export industry.
Najah Saidi Hamed, head of the Olive Producers Chamber, told Reuters that the harvest is expected to be around 500,000 tons due to good rainfall this season.
The record output would consolidate Tunisia’s place among the world’s top olive oil producers, a commodity that has seen growing interest from both consumers and investors.
Rubio says more countries ready to recognize Israel
Updated 4 sec ago
“We have a lot of countries that want to join” the accords, he said “I think there are some countries you could probably add right now if you wanted to”
KIRYAT GAT, Israel: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that more countries are ready to normalize relations with Israel, but the decision would await a broader regional agreement. Rubio, who was touring a US-led multinational center in Israel aimed at coordinating a ceasefire in Gaza, said that a sustained end to the war would encourage more countries to join the so-called Abraham Accords, under which a number of Arab countries normalized ties with Israel in 2020. “We have a lot of countries that want to join” the accords, he said. “I think there are some countries you could probably add right now if you wanted to, but we want to do a big thing about it, and so we’re working on it,” Rubio told reporters on a visit to Israel. “So, I think that would be great, and I think that could be a byproduct of achieving some of this,” he said, referring to the Gaza ceasefire. Rubio did not mention specific countries, saying that they needed to address their domestic audiences first, but said “there’s some bigger than others.” had been in talks with the United States on normalizing ties with Israel, in what would be a historic milestone as the kingdom is home to Islam’s two holiest sites. But the Gulf kingdom stepped back on normalization after war broke out in Gaza following Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023. Both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu see the Abraham Accords, which saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco forge ties with Israel, as a crowning achievement. But has insisted it cannot normalize ties without progress toward an independent Palestinian state, a prospect long opposed by Netanyahu.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that more countries are ready to normalize relations with Israel, but the decision would await a broader regional agreement. (Reuters/File)
Wife of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti asks Trump to seek his release/node/2620092/middle-east
Wife of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti asks Trump to seek his release
The wife of high profile Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti, Fadwa Barghouti, appealed to US President Donald Trump to help release the popular leader from his Israeli jail, her son Arab told AFP
Updated 35 min 8 sec ago
AFP
RAMALLAH: The wife of high profile Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti, Fadwa Barghouti, appealed to US President Donald Trump to help release the popular leader from his Israeli jail, her son Arab told AFP.
“Mr President, a genuine partner awaits you — one who can help fulfil the dream we share of just and lasting peace in the region. For the sake of freedom for the Palestinian people and peace for all future generations, help release Marwan Barghouti,” lawyer Fadwa Barghouti said in a statement.
Marwan Barghouti, from Hamas’s historic rivals Fatah, was among the Palestinian prisoners Hamas had wanted to see released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, according to Egyptian state-linked media.
Turkiye in talks with Qatar and Oman to buy used Eurofighter jets, Erdogan says
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the talks in comments released Friday as part of a plan to strengthen Turkiye’s fleet until its domestically developed KAAN fighter jet becomes operational
Updated 24 October 2025
AP
ANKARA: Turkiye is negotiating with Qatar and Oman to acquire used Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets as part of its effort to bolster its air force capabilities, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments released Friday.
Turkiye aims to purchase dozens of Eurofighters and other advanced jets as a stopgap measure to strengthen its fleet until its domestically developed fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet becomes operational.
In July, Turkiye and United Kingdom signed a preliminary agreement for the sale of Eurofighter Typhoons, which are produced by a consortium made up of the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. However, reports indicate that the Turkish government is also seeking to source secondhand jets from Gulf nations to meet its immediate needs.
“We discussed the ongoing negotiations with the Qatari and Omani sides regarding the purchase of Eurofighter warplanes,” Erdogan told journalists Thursday during a flight returning from a Gulf tour that included Qatar and Oman.
“The talks on this technically detailed matter are progressing positively,” he said, according to a transcript released Friday.
During his three-day tour of Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman, Erdogan oversaw the signing of several agreements, including in the defense sector, his office said, without providing details.
Turkiye, a member of NATO, is also pursuing the country’s return into the US-led F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was removed in 2019 following its acquisition of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems. The US had cited security risks to the F-35 program.
Erdogan raised the issue of Turkiye’s reentry into the program during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House last month.
Turkish officials have stated that the country plans to acquire a total of 120 fighter jets — 40 Eurofighters, 40 US-made F-16s and 40 F-35s — as a transitional fleet until the KAAN is expected to enter service in 2028 at the earliest.
Erdogan says US, others must press Israel to abide by Gaza ceasefire
NATO member Turkiye, one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, has joined the ceasefire negotiations as a mediator after largely indirect involvement
Ankara has said that it would join a “task force” to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire, that its armed forces could serve in a military or civilian capacity as needed, and that it will play an active role in the reconstruction of the enclave
Updated 24 October 2025
Reuters
ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the United States and others must do more to push Israel to stop violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including the possible use of sanctions or halting arms sales.
NATO member Turkiye, one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, has joined the ceasefire negotiations as a mediator after largely indirect involvement. Its increased role followed a meeting last month between Erdogan and US President Donald Trump at the White House.
“As Turkiye, we are doing our utmost for the ceasefire to be secured. The Hamas side is abiding by the ceasefire. In fact, it is openly stating its commitment to this. Israel, meanwhile, is continuing to violate the ceasefire,” Erdogan told reporters on his return flight from a regional Gulf tour.
“The international community, namely the United States, must do more to ensure Israel’s full compliance to the ceasefire and agreement,” he said, according to a transcript of his comments shared by his office on Friday.
“Israel must be forced to keep its promises via sanctions, halting of arms sales.”
Ankara has said that it would join a “task force” to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire, that its armed forces could serve in a military or civilian capacity as needed, and that it will play an active role in the reconstruction of the enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Wednesday at his opposition to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip.
Asked about Netanyahu’s comments, Erdogan refrained from his usual criticism of the Israeli leader and appeared to soften his earlier commitment to taking a role on the field in Gaza, saying talks on the issue were still underway.
“Talks are continuing on the task force that will work in Gaza. The modalities of this are not yet clear. As this is a multi-faceted issue, there are comprehensive negotiations. We are ready to provide Gaza any form of support on this issue,” he said.
He also reiterated a previous call for Gulf countries to now take action on financing efforts to rebuild Gaza, saying nobody could single-handedly complete this task.
Relations between former allies Israel and Turkiye have hit new lows during the Gaza war, with Ankara accusing Netanyahu’s government of committing genocide, an allegation Israel has repeatedly denied.
LONDON: The UAE is to host a major donor event later this year to raise money for the eradication of polio.
The global conference run by the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity in Abu Dhabi will seek to build pledges of investment in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
The announcement on Friday coincides with World Polio Day to raise awareness about the disease, which 30 years ago paralyzed 1,000 children a day across 125 countries.
Since then, the GPEI led a vast international vaccination effort that almost wiped out the disease in 2023.
But the final steps to eradicate the virus have proved the most challenging, with wild polio remaining endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The GPEI is also facing substantial budget cuts after a drop in funding from international donors.
A child receives the polio vaccine in Gaza as part of the 2024 immunization campaign. (WHO)
The pledging event will take place on Dec. 8, bringing together countries, donors, philanthropists, and global health experts.
The UAE has hosted two previous events in 2013 and 2019 that raised $6.6 billion in support of the GPEI, a coalition of counties and organizations including the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation.
The UAE’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mohamed Abushahab is to announce next month’s drive at an event co-hosted by UNICEF and the GPEI in New York on Friday.
“The forthcoming pledging moment reflects our belief in the power of collective action to eradicate polio once and for all and to contribute to a healthier, more resilient world,” he said.
Dr. Shamma Khalifa Al-Mazrouei, acting director-general of the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, said: “Decades of global partnership has brought us closer than ever before to ending polio.
“With sustained funding, collaboration, and political leadership, we can achieve a polio-free future and protect children everywhere from this preventable disease.”
This week, WHO officials thanked Gulf countries for their political and financial support in tackling polio.
A child receives the polio vaccine in Gaza as part of the 2024 immunization campaign. (WHO)
reaffirmed a $500 million pledge to the GPEI through KSrelief earlier this year.
The UAE is also a major supporter of the initiative, committing more than $380 million to eradicating the disease since 2011.
After an outbreak of the vaccine-derived form of the virus in Gaza last year, the UAE funded a major immunization drive in the territory.
The event in Abu Dhabi in December will be co-hosted by the Gates Foundation and will be attended by other key GPEI partners including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Rotary International.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The commitments made in Abu Dhabi will be critical to securing the resources and resolve needed to overcome the final hurdles.”
The success of polio eradication efforts meant that India was declared free of the wild form of the virus in 2014, followed by Africa in 2020.
But the vaccine-derived form of the virus continues to affect parts of Africa and is providing a further challenge to eradication efforts.
