Briefly

TURKEY

Saudi transfer sought for Khashoggi trial

A Turkish prosecutor called on Thursday for the trial in Istanbul of Saudi suspects over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to be halted and transferred to Saudi authorities, a move which comes as Turkey seeks to mend ties with Riyadh. The Istanbul court where the 26 Saudi suspects have been on trial in absentia for nearly two years said on Thursday it would ask for the Justice Ministry's opinion on the request to transfer proceedings, and set the next hearing for April 7. Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul four years ago. The killing and subsequent accusations strained ties between the two countries. In 2020, Saudi Arabia jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years for Khashoggi's murder.

SOUTH KOREA

Midair collision of trainer planes kills 4

Two South Korean air force planes collided in midair and crashed on Friday, killing four pilots, authorities said. The crash happened about 6 kilometers south of the KT-1 airplane base in the southeastern city of Sacheon, at 1:37 pm local time, the air force said. "Despite their attempts at an emergency escape... all of the two student pilots and two flight instructors aboard the two planes died," it said in a statement. President Moon Jae-in offered condolences to the victims' families. The air force said there were no civilian casualties but had formed a team to determine the cause of the accident. A total of 130 troops, 95 police officers and 60 firefighters as well as three helicopters have begun a search at the crash site, the Yonhap News Agency said.

PAKISTAN

US fails to give credit on anti-terror efforts

Prime Minister Imran Khan lashed out at the United States for not giving Pakistan its due credit as its ally in the war against terror. The people of Pakistan suffered the most from the country's experience as an ally in the US-led war against terror after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Khan said in a televised address to the nation on Thursday night. "No ally of the US suffered in the war against terror as Pakistan did. No NATO country suffered the loss of 80,000 people in the US war." Khan also claimed that "a foreign country" is trying to intervene in Pakistan's internal political matters by sending threatening words to the Pakistani government.

Agencies - Xinhua