Published February 08,2026

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A historic Ottoman-era theater in the old city of Tripoli, the capital of Libya, reopened on Sunday with a modern look as the Libya National Children’s Theater.

The theater, reconstructed by the Turkish aid agency TIKA, was closed for many years, Libyan Culture Minister Mebruke Tugi told Anadolu.

“I can say that (this theater) is one of the fruits of the memorandum of understanding we signed with the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry and TIKA’s efforts,” said Tugi.

The theater was first built in the early 1900s by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, said Ali Suha Bacanakgil, TIKA’s Tripoli coordinator.

“Unfortunately, it had become unusable and derelict over the years,” he said, adding that the theater was revamped in six months.

Published February 05,2026

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Somalia’s federal Cabinet approved several key agreements and contracts on maritime trade, including one with Türkiye on maritime cooperation, at its regular meeting on Thursday.

The government is reportedly taking urgent measures to mitigate the effects of the ongoing drought and its impact on the country’s water and food supplies.

During a meeting chaired by Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, the country approved a law establishing a national disaster and risk management fund to govern the preparation, prevention, and response processes to natural and man-made disasters under a single scheme.

The regulation aims to increase public and government solidarity on the issue.

The Somali Cabinet approved other deals and policies to strengthen the institutional capacity of relevant bodies and improve the quality of public services.

Specifically, the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships of 1969, the Nairobi International Convention on Wreck Removal of 2007, and the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006.

One of these agreements involved maritime cooperation between the Federal Republic of Somalia and Türkiye.The new deal covers maritime trade developments, ship traffic improvements, port service modernization, mutual recognition of seafaring certificates of competency, technical cooperation and know-how sharing, ensuring equality in port services, and the facilitation of commercial activities.

The Türkiye-Somalia cooperation developed in a multidimensional way since 2011, especially in the economy, education, health, infrastructure, and development.

“I commend the Cabinet for approving a set of strategic maritime agreements that mark a significant advancement in strengthening Somalia’s maritime governance and international standing,” said Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, Somali ports and maritime transport minister, on US social media company X on Thursday.

“Through enhanced cooperation with the Republic of Türkiye and accession to key international conventions, we are modernizing our ports, promoting safe and efficient maritime trade, protecting our marine environment, and upholding the rights and welfare of our seafarers,” he said, noting that the steps to integrate Somalia into the global maritime system will elevate the country’s maritime standards to build “a resilient, competitive, and sustainable maritime sector that supports national development.”

Published February 06,2026

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took part in voting for Anadolu’s annual “Images of the Year,” reviewing photos that captured defining moments of 2025 through Anadolu’s lens.

On his Thursday return flight from an official visit to Egypt, Erdogan reviewed 112 photos across six categories taken by Anadolu photojournalists and reporters, highlighting stories that resonated in Türkiye and around the world in 2025. The competition is sponsored by lifebox, Ajet, and ROKETSAN.

Anadolu’s President and CEO Serdar Karagoz also briefed Erdogan on the photos.

– President votes for photo he presented at UN General Assembly

In the competition’s News category, Erdogan selected Mustafa Hatipoglu’s photograph “Conqueror of the skies.”

In the Sports category, he voted for Esra Bilgin’s “Alperen,” featuring national basketball player Alperen Sengun during the FIBA Men’s European Championship semifinal between Greece and Türkiye last September.

For the Wildlife and Environment category, Erdogan chose Sebnem Coskun’s image “Dirty wings.”

In the special “Gaza: Starvation” category, Erdogan selected a photo by Ali Jadallah, recipient of the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Award in photography, showing food being distributed to Palestinians fighting starvation in Gaza.

At the 80th UN General Assembly last September, Erdogan presented photos taken by Anadolu photojournalists to illustrate Israel’s genocide in Gaza, including Jadallah’s image.

Türkiye’s Communications Director Burhanettin Duran was also present during the voting.

– Voting

The contest, held by Anadolu since 2012, features four main categories this year-News, Wildlife and Environment, Sports, and Daily Life-plus two special categories titled “Gaza: Starvation” and “Portrait.”

Participants in the “Images of the Year,” which will be voted on worldwide with Turkish and English captions, can vote for as many photos as they wish.

The voting will continue on yilinkareleri.aa.com.tr until Sunday, Feb. 15 at 5 pm local time (1400GMT).

Published February 06,2026

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The Turkish president on Friday commemorated those who lost their lives in the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes in southern Türkiye on the third anniversary of the disaster, saying the government had kept its promise to rebuild the devastated cities within short order.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan commemorated the victims of the twin earthquakes that struck 11 provinces three years ago, stressing the state’s continued commitment to preserve their memory and to restore the affected regions.

“We will not forget our brothers and sisters who met the mercy of the Most Merciful due to the two major earthquakes we experienced three years ago today,” Erdogan said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

“We promised our nation that we would always keep their memories alive in our hearts and minds, protect what they entrusted to us, and raise our cities that were destroyed by the earthquake back to their feet. Today, with Allah’s permission, we have overcome this challenge and rebuilt and revived our cities in as short a time as three years. We kept our word.”

Erdogan’s post also included a video showing the scale of destruction caused by the earthquakes and subsequent reconstruction efforts carried out across the region.

The Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes, centered in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, caused widespread devastation across multiple provinces in southern Türkiye, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure and housing.

The president is also due to attend memorial services for the quakes’ victims later Friday.