- Oil giant BP reports drop in third-quarter net profit
- World's first green energy island sails into cost storm
- Georgia to partially recount disputed votes
- Pope's commission against abuse to publish first report
- Grieving parents fight to make Bulgaria's killer roads safer
- Taiwan worries about 'transactionalist' Trump as US votes
- Cuba's Buena Vista trumpeter Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal dies
- Spain seeks ground-breaking law for great apes
- Japan nuclear reactor near Fukushima to restart
- Suns scorch Lakers, Celtics stay perfect
- HSBC reports $8.5 billion pre-tax profit in third quarter
- A rare rehab centre fixes victims of Ethiopia's war
- The growing scourge of plastic pollution: in numbers
- Plastics: lifesaver turned environmental threat
- Outrage as Iran executes German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd
- China's only woman spaceflight engineer in crew for 'dream' mission
- Ohtani, Buehler overcome injuries to lift Dodgers a win from glory
- India temple firework explosion injures over 150
- S. Korean golfer Tom Kim sorry for damaging locker after playoff loss
- Dodgers beat Yankees to reach brink of World Series crown
- Asian shares rise as markets await tech results
- Iraq opens arms to Lebanese fleeing Israeli attacks
- Bruised Japan PM scrambles for support
- Saudi 'Davos in the desert' opens with region on war footing
- Myanmar's lost generation battles trauma, addiction at jungle rehab
- 'No one heard our cries': Tigray war rape survivors recount their ordeals
- Countdown to Busan: is a plastic pollution treaty in reach?
- Japan voters say 'punished' ruling party over scandal
- UNRWA, a lifeline for Palestinians amid decades of conflict
- Cuban blackout highlights urgency of boosting renewables: experts
- 'Amazing' AI de-ages Tom Hanks in new film 'Here'
- Big guns descend on Cali for final push in UN biodiversity talks
- 'I'm not a Nazi,' Trump insists as Harris blasts vile rhetoric
- Rodri wins men's Ballon d'Or as Real Madrid boycott
- Curry to miss at least two NBA games with left ankle injury
- Hefty electric vehicle costs dent Ford profits
- COP16 chair hails biodiversity attaining 'equal footing' with climate crisis
- Aitana Bonmati wins second successive women's Ballon d'Or
- Ohtani named in Dodgers starting line-up for World Series game three
- Real Madrid boycott Ballon d'Or ceremony
- US finalizes curbs on investing in Chinese tech
- Harris blasts Trump after racist rally rhetoric
- Tens of thousands protest in Georgia over 'stolen' election
- Man Utd sack Ten Hag, reportedly set to appoint Amorim
- Bolivia says Morales falsely claimed assassination bid
- Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim set for Manchester United job: reports
- Retiring Popp signs off as Germany's first female football superstar
- Chopin waltz unearthed after 200 years
- England's Freeman keen to make 'life a misery' for All Blacks' Reece
- Serie A strugglers Genoa sign Mario Balotelli
Turkey court extends detention of top activist
A Turkish court ordered leading activist Osman Kavala to remain in prison Monday, amid fresh calls for his release in the high-profile case that has drawn widespread rebuke.
The 64-year-old philanthropist has been held without conviction since October 2017, accused of financing 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in a coup plot against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has called for Kavala's release, which Turkey has refused to comply with.
This month, the Council of Europe (COE) launched disciplinary action over Turkey's failure to free him.
A three-judge panel on Monday refused to release Kavala and set the next hearing for March 21.
Kavala did not appear in court, and his lawyers questioned the tribunal's impartiality.
"Kavala is not being tried in this tribunal, but in political party meetings," defence lawyer Tolga Aytore told the court.
Western diplomats, including from France and Germany, attended the hearing on Monday, according to an AFP reporter.
The COE ruled this month that Turkey had failed to comply with a 2019 ruling by the ECHR to release Kavala.
Under the rules of the Strasbourg-based COE, the case has been referred back to the ECHR, which will examine if Turkey has complied with its 2019 ruling.
Turkey has been a member of the COE since 1950 and is party to the European Convention on Human Rights.
It denounced the COE's decision as "interference" in domestic court proceedings.
The COE's verdict could prompt action against Ankara from the committee of ministers, including suspension of Turkey's voting rights or even expulsion from the body.
Ahead of the hearing on Monday, the European Parliament's Turkey rapporteur slammed Ankara for its apparent refusal to comply with the ruling.
"It's not easy to understand what the rationale is of the Turkish authorities, simply not complying with the court ruling," Nacho Sanchez Amor told AFP.
"This is not about any kind of interfering from abroad, this is about the Turkish constitution, the European Court of Human Rights is part of the judiciary system of Turkey."
He added that Turkey's refusal to comply with the court ruling would "damage the image of the country".
Erdogan has repeatedly accused Kavala of being an agent of George Soros, a billionaire financier and pro-democracy campaigner.
Kavala's supporters view his plight as a symbol of the purges Erdogan unleashed after the coup attempt, and his case has become a growing irritant on Turkey's complex ties with the West.
Government critics say Turkey's standoff with the COE underscores the profound erosion of human rights under Erdogan's two-decade rule.
T.Batista--PC