More travel headaches coming. The United States has suspended all non-immigrant visa services in Turkey due to security concerns after Ankara arrested a Turkish national employed by the US consulate. Turkey quickly retaliated with a similar move, by suspending in-passport visas as well as e-visas and visas issued at the borders for American passport holders.
Meanwhile in Syria,Turkish forces on Sunday shelled areas along its border with the northwestern province of Idlib, an area dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants. The de-escalation zones operation would be applied in Idlib with “Russia outside, Turkey inside” with Syrian opposition fighters supporting them. Fears are arising however that civilians could be struck by the airstrikes.
Lastly, Egypt’s capital crackled with fireworks and blared with horns as the soccer-crazy country reached the World Cup for the first time in 28 years as people took to the streets to celebrate a 2-1 victory over Congo thanks to Mohamed Salah’s late goal. The win clinched Egypt a long-awaited spot in Russia for the 2018 World Cup finals, where the Arab world’s most populous country will compete on football’s ultimate stage for the first time since Italy in 1990.
