TUNIS -- Tunisia held on Saturday the first parliamentary elections since President Kais Saied disbanded the legislative body in March.
At 8 a.m. local time (0700 GMT), Tunisians began casting ballots at 4,551 voting centers and 11,310 polling stations across the North African country.
Polls closed at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) and the preliminary results will be announced between Sunday and Tuesday.
A total of 1,058 candidates competed in the elections for the 161 seats in the parliament. (Tunisia-Parliamentary-Elections)
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ANKARA -- Türkiye said on Saturday that its warplanes gave a "necessary response" to an attempt by Greek aircraft to "block" a Turkish-NATO mission in the Aegean.
"Combat and support aircraft of our Air Force and the AWACS aircraft commissioned by NATO performed the NEXUS ACE training mission in the international airspace over the Aegean Sea," the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Greek aircraft tried to block the mission which was "successfully completed" after Turkish planes responded, the ministry added.
The relations between Türkiye and Greece, two NATO allies, have long been at odds over a series of issues, including those of minorities and illegal immigration, and maritime and energy disputes in the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. (Türkiye-Greece-Dispute)
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CAIRO -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday that its executive board had approved a loan to Egypt of about 3 billion U.S. dollars over 46 months.
The decision enables an immediate disbursement of about 347 million dollars to Egypt, "which will help meet the balance of payments need and provide support to the budget," the IMF said in a statement, adding the loan package is expected to encourage Egypt's international and regional partners to provide an extra 14 billion dollars to finance the most populous Arab country.
According to the IMF, the financial support was granted in exchange for an economic reform program from the Egyptian government, which it hopes can pave the way for "sustainable, inclusive and private-sector-led growth." (IMF-Egypt-Loan)
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AMMAN -- Jordan's Public Security Directorate (PSD) said on Saturday that it will beef up security presence across the country to ensure enforcement of the law after a police officer was killed on Thursday in "riots" in southern Jordan.
Increasing security presence aims to safeguard citizens' security and safety as well as their freedom and safety of movement on the nation's roads, said a PSD statement.
Anyone attempting to attack public and private property will be confronted by department personnel, it added.
Earlier in the day, the PSD announced the arrest of 44 people who reportedly took part in riots in various parts of the country which resulted in the death of the police officer and the injury of 49 others. (Jordan-Protest-Security) ■
