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Tunisia, Italy urge cease-fire in Libya amid clashes

                             By Yosra Ouanes</p>  <p>TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) - The leaders of Tunisia and Italy called for a cease-fire in Libya amid recent clashes south of Tripoli.</p>  <p>Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, in a joint news conference in Tunis, stressed his government’s “clear” stance on the necessity of a cease-fire, affirming Tunisia’s eagerness to push the diplomatic track, and urged Libyans to sit at the dialogue table.</p>  <p>&quot;Tunisia has been affected by the conflict in Libya since 2011, and there is fear of infiltration of terrorist elements across its border with Libya, which exceeds 500 kilometers (310 miles),&quot; said Chahed.</p>  <p>Italian leader Giuseppe Conte arrived in Tunisia earlier in the day and affirmed the need to give a political settlement a chance, stressing “there is no room for a military solution -- a political process is needed in Libya.&quot;</p>  <p>Khalifa Haftar, commander of forces based in eastern Libya, launched a military offensive in early April to capture Tripoli from the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). </p>  <p>GNA forces re-captured the El-Sbeaa region south of Tripoli from Haftar forces Tuesday, a military source told Anadolu Agency.</p>  <p>Libya has remained beset by turmoil since long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a bloody NATO-backed uprising in 2011. </p>  <p>Since then, the oil-rich country has seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya, to which Haftar is affiliated, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN recognition.

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EU unemployment rate at 6.5% in March

                By Muhammed Ali Gurtas</p>    <p>ANKARA (AA) - Unemployment in the EU stood at 6.4% in March, the bloc's statistical office announced Tuesday. </p>    <p>Eurostat said the figure fell from 6.5% in the previous month, and dropped from 7% in the same month last year.</p>    <p>&quot;The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.7% in March 2019, down from 7.8% in February 2019 and from 8.5% in March 2018,&quot; the statistical office said.</p>    <p>The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while the EU28 includes all member countries of the bloc.</p>    <p>&quot;Eurostat estimates that 15.9 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 12.6 million in the euro area, were unemployed in March 2019,&quot; it said.</p>    <p>The number of people unemployed across the 28-member bloc fell by 172,000 month-on-month, and decreased by 1.43 million on a yearly basis.</p>    <p>March's lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic with 1.9% and in Germany with 3.2%.</p>    <p>The highest figures were seen in Greece (18.5% in January 2019, the latest available figures), Spain (14%), and Italy with 10.2%.</p>    <p>Eurostat also said there were 3.28 million unemployed young people -- under 25 -- in the EU28 as of March, with a 14.5% youth unemployment rate. </p>    <p>The highest youth unemployment figures were observed in Greece, Spain, and Italy, and the lowest in Germany, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands.
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Italy to expel 54 Ajax fans ahead of Juventus match

            By Senhan Bolelli</p>  <p>MADRID (AA) - Italy will expel 54 Dutch Ajax fans after they were found to be in possession of weapons a day before the team’s Champions League clash against Juventus, the country’s Interior Ministry said Monday.</p>  <p>Police stopped two buses of Ajax supporters on the outskirts of Turin and confiscated knives, fireworks, pepper spray, flares, a hammer and a baton. They will be expelled after identity checks.</p>  <p>&quot;Thanks to the police. No one can be permitted to come to Italy to cause trouble. Our stadiums and our cities are closed to those who are violent,&quot; Interior Minister Matteo Salvini told reporters.</p>  <p>Dutch police similarly prevented some 120 Juventus fans from entering Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam earlier this month before the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals and some of them were detained after violence erupted between fans of the two teams.</p>  <p>*Writing by Sibel Morrow</p>  <p>
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Turkey: Italy abusing history and law on events of 1915

             <p>By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur</p>  <p>ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) - Italy’s parliament abused history and the law to paint the events of 1915 as a “genocide,” Turkey’s parliament speaker said on Friday.</p>  <p>&quot;The Italian House of Representatives has displaced international courts and tried to pass judgement on a specific crime clearly defined in international law such as genocide, and abused history and the law,&quot; Mustafa Sentop said in the opening speech of a NATO meeting in Antalya, on the Turkish Mediterranean.</p>  <p>Sentop also said France's decision to declare April 24 a day commemorating the events of 1915 was politically motivated, and added: &quot;This initiative, which is far from state seriousness, serves no purpose other than the politicization of history with an unsubstantiated legal basis.&quot;</p>  <p>“The French president's declaration also restricts the freedom of expression of its citizens by ignoring the European Court of Human Rights and the case law of the French Constitutional Court,” Sentop added. </p>  <p> “France should inform public about Algeria’s colonial era, the Rwanda massacre in which 800,000 people were killed in 100 days, and it should not manipulate the history of other countries for political reasons.”</p>  <p>During their struggle for independence from French colonial rule, some 1.5 million Algerians were martyred, while hundreds of thousands more were injured, went missing, or were forced from their homes.</p>  <p>Algeria has repeatedly asked France to acknowledge its colonial-era crimes.</p>  <p>France had supported Rwanda’s Hutu-led government, including arms and military training, which carried out a genocide against the country’s ethnic Tutsis. It also established a safe zone which allowed many possible war criminals to escape.</p>  <p> Turkey's position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.</p>  <p>Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as &quot;genocide&quot; but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.</p>  <p>Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.</p>
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UPDATE – Turkey condemns recognition of 1915 events in Italy

            CHANGES LEDE; ADDS FOREIGN MINISTRY’S STATEMENTS</p>  <p>By Beyza Binnur Donmez</p>  <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned the passing of a motion by Italy’s parliament to recognize the 1915 events in Armenia as 'genocide'.</p>  <p>“The motion of the Italian House of Representatives dated April 10, 2019 is a new example of the use of Armenian claims as a tool for domestic political interest,” the ministry said in a statement. </p>  <p>“We strongly condemn this move.”</p>  <p>The ministry noted that the proposal was prepared by Italy’s far-right Lega party.</p>  <p>“Essentially known, the Armenian allegations being brought up before the elections or in the context of opposition to Turkey clearly reveals the political nature of these allegations and that they are inconsistent with the historical facts.</p>  <p>“These efforts are not only beneficial to no side but also stonewall the way for good-faith initiatives,” the statement added.</p>  <p>Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter that the Italian parliament's motion is null and void.</p>  <p>Turkey’s presidential spokesman also slammed the passing of the motion.</p>  <p>&quot;The so-called genocide decision of the Italian parliament ignores historical facts and sows new seeds of hostility,&quot; Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.</p>  <p>He added that parliament’s decision &quot;fuels political populism&quot;.</p>  <p>&quot;We strongly condemn the Italian Parliament’s most recent attempt at distorting and politicizing our nation’s history,&quot; Turkey’s presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun tweeted earlier.</p>  <p>He said the Italian parliament’s move is “unproductive, hostile and deplorable”.</p>  <p>&quot;Instead of attacking each other’s memories, we must all work together to ensure that truth prevails over fiction,&quot; Altun added.</p>  <p>Omer Celik, the spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, also condemned the motion, saying Italy is being tricked by the Armenian diaspora, which in no way wants normal relations between Turkey and Armenia.</p>  <p>The proposal was voted on Wednesday and the motion was approved by 382 votes with none against and 43 abstentions.</p>  <p>Turkey's position is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.</p>  <p>Ankara does not accept the alleged genocide but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events of World War I.</p>  <p>Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as &quot;genocide&quot; but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.</p>  <p>Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.</p>  <p>
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Turkey condemns recognition of 1915 events in Italy

            By Beyza Binnur Donmez</p>  <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s presidential spokesman slammed the passing of a motion in Italy’s parliament Wednesday which declares the 1915 events as 'genocide'. </p>  <p>&quot;The so-called genocide decision of the Italian parliament ignores historical facts and sows new seeds of hostility,&quot; Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.</p>  <p>He added that parliament’s decision &quot;fuels political populism&quot;.</p>  <p>&quot;We strongly condemn the Italian Parliament’s most recent attempt at distorting and politicizing our nation’s history,&quot; Turkey’s presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun tweeted earlier. </p>  <p>He said the Italian parliament’s move is “unproductive, hostile and deplorable”. </p>  <p>&quot;Instead of attacking each other’s memories, we must all work together to ensure that truth prevails over fiction,&quot; Altun added. </p>  <p>Omer Celik, the spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, also condemned the proposal, saying Italy is being tricked by the Armenian diaspora, which in no way wants normal relations between Turkey and Armenia. </p>  <p>The proposal was voted on Wednesday and the motion was approved by 382 votes with none against and 43 abstentions. </p>  <p>Turkey's position is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties. </p>  <p>Ankara does not accept the alleged genocide but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events of World War I. </p>  <p>Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as &quot;genocide&quot; but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides. </p>  <p>Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue. </p>  <p>
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Turkey condemns proposal in Italy over 1915 events

                                  By Mehmet Tosun </p>    <p>ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Wednesday condemned a proposal in Italian parliament to declare the 1915 events as “genocide”.</p>    <p>Speaking to media, Omer Celik, spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, said Italy is being tricked by Armenian diaspora, which in no way wants normal relations between Turkey and Armenia.</p>    <p>The proposal is expected to be voted on today, according to the Italian press.</p>    <p>Turkey's position is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.</p>    <p>Ankara does not accept the alleged genocide, but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events of World War I.</p>    <p>Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as &quot;genocide&quot; but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.</p>    <p>Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.
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Croatian forward Mandzukic renews deal with Juventus

             By Can Erozden</p>    <p>ANKARA (AA) - Italian football powerhouse Juventus forward Mario Mandzukic extended his deal with the club on Thursday.</p>    <p>Croatian forward Mandzukic, 32, renewed deal with the Bianconeri (the Black and Whites) expiring in 2021, Juventus announced on its website.</p>    <p>Having played for German giants Bayern Munich and Spain's Atletico Madrid before Juventus, Mandzukic is currently spending his fourth season in Juve.</p>    <p>In his four-year spell in Juventus, Mandzukic scored 43 goals in 159 appearances.</p>    <p>He also helped the Bianconeri to win three Italian top-tier division Serie A titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
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US says more countries stopped buying Iran oil

             By Riyaz ul Khaliq </p>    <p>ANKARA (AA) - The U.S. said that more countries stopped buying oil from sanctions-hit Iran, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.</p>    <p>According to the Kyodo news agency, a U.S. Department of State official said in Washington on Tuesday evening that three of eight countries which were exempted by the U.S. to import oil from Iran have now “completely stopped imports from the country”. </p>    <p>China, India, South Korea, Italy, Greece, Taiwan, Turkey and Japan were the eight countries which U.S. allowed to buy oil from Iran after imposing severe sanctions on Tehran last November for pursuing nuclear program. The waivers will expire on May 2. </p>    <p>The U.S. official, however, did not identify the countries. </p>    <p>Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, said that besides the three countries, “the number of parties that once were purchasers of Iranian oil but have cut imports to zero has totaled 23.” </p>    <p>“Because of our efforts, the regime now has less money to spend on its support of terrorism, missile proliferation, and on its long list of proxies,” Hook said at a press briefing in Washington. </p>    <p>“With oil prices actually lower than they were when we announced our sanctions, and global oil and global production stable, we are on the fast track to zeroing out all purchases of Iranian crude,” he said. </p>    <p>Kyodo said that Hook declined to say whether the United States will extend the waivers on import of oil from Iran to these eight countries. “There will be an announcement on that in due course,” he said.
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Int’l Police Football Tournament kicks off in Istanbul

                By Hilmi Sever</p>    <p>ISTANBUL (AA) - Groups for the International Police Football Tournament, which will be held in Istanbul, are unveiled on Monday.</p>    <p>Turkey will face Azerbaijan, Italy and Qatar at the group stages.</p>    <p>Top two teams from each group will advance to the next round.</p>    <p>The final will be played on Saturday, April 6 at 4.30 p.m. local time [1330 GMT] at Galatasaray’s Turk Telekom Stadium.</p>    <p>During the tournament, which will be held as part of the 174th anniversary of the foundation of Turkish Police Department, foreign teams will have an opportunity to see the historical and touristic places of Istanbul.</p>    <p>&quot;Sports activities are the common point that brings people together -- regardless of religion, language, race and gender -- anywhere in the world,&quot; Atalay Bahar, deputy police chief of Istanbul, said at the opening ceremony.</p>    <p>Bahar said that the tournament will strengthen Turkey’s friendship with the other seven countries.</p>    <p>&quot;The world needs the unifying power of sports,&quot; he added. </p>    <p><br>

Here are the groups:

Group A: Azerbaijan, Italy, Turkey, Qatar

Group B: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Spain

*Writing by Beyza Binnur Donmez