Friday, 17 March, 2023 , 15:21 AFP — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended months of delays on Friday and asked parliament to vote on Finland's bid to join the NATO defence bloc.

Friday, 17 March, 2023 , 13:30 AFP — Iran on Friday hanged a Kurdish man viewed as a political prisoner by activists, rights groups said, amplifying alarm over the soaring number of executions in the country this year.

Friday, 17 March, 2023 , 11:25 AFP — Finland's leader arrived in Ankara on Friday to receive Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's verdict on his Nordic country's stalled drive to join the NATO defence bloc.

Friday, 17 March, 2023 , 10:53 AFP — Iran on Friday executed a Kurdish man viewed as a political prisoner by activists for membership of an outlawed group, rights groups said.

Friday, 17 March, 2023 , 03:23 AFP — Twenty years after US-led forces ousted Iraq's Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, the long-oppressed Shiite majority dominates the country's politics, with all the powers and pitfalls that come with government.

Thursday, 16 March, 2023 , 16:56 AFP — Five people including members of a rebel Kurdish group often targeted by Turkey have been killed in a helicopter crash in northern Iraq, authorities said Thursday, noting the cause was unknown.

Thursday, 16 March, 2023 , 10:31 AFP — Iranian security forces re-arrested prominent activist and journalist Sepideh Gholian hours after she walked free from jail chanting slogans against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, activists said on Thursday.

Thursday, 16 March, 2023 , 06:53 AFP — As they left Antakya, Turkey's earthquake-shattered home of ancient civilisations, its anguished residents scribbled farewell messages on the ruins: "We'll come back" and "Don't lose hope."

Wednesday, 15 March, 2023 , 17:39 AFP — Iranian activist and journalist Sepideh Gholian walked free Wednesday after over four years behind bars, defiantly shouting slogans against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and calling for the release of fellow political prisoners.

Wednesday, 15 March, 2023 , 16:04 AFP — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday was hosting Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad for talks as the Kremlin seeks to mend ties between Damascus and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.