ANKARA, Turkey Admiral Caner Bener, of the Turkish Navy, has assumed command of an international naval task force established to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. He succeeds US Rear Admiral Michelle Howard. Turkey is the second nation to command the UN-led Combined Task Force 151, …
Read More »Violence mars May Day rallies in Turkey, Greece
ANKARA, Turkey/ATHENS, Greece Dozens of people were injured, including at least 21 police officers, and more than 100 were detained in clashes between demonstrators and police during Labour Day rallies across Turkey on Friday (May 1st), authorities said.
Read More »Turkey recalls ambassador to Canada for consultations
ANKARA, Turkey The foreign ministry announced on Wednesday (April 22nd) it is temporarily recalling its ambassador to Canada, Rafet Akgunay, for consultations. An unnamed government official says the presence of Canadian government officials at a recent memorial service for Armenians that were murdered during the time of the Ottoman Empire …
Read More »Another wave of Ergenekon arrests in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey Police on Wednesday (April 22nd) detained ten more people, including four military officers, in another wave of arrests related to the so-called Ergenekon organisation that allegedly planned to topple the government. They found a new arms cache in Istanbul as part of Wednesday’s operation. Turkish media reported that …
Read More »EU says Turkish Cypriot election results should not affect reunification talks
BRUSSELS, Belgium The EU issued a statement Monday (April 20th) saying the hard-line National Unity Party’s (UBP) victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) should not impact ongoing reunification talks with Greek Cypriots. “We do not think that the outcome of the elections …
Read More »Turkish court merges Ergenekon, Council of State attack cases
ANKARA, Turkey A court decided on Monday (April 20th) to merge the case involving a deadly 2006 attack on judges from the country’s top administrative court with the ongoing Ergenekon investigation. On May 17th 2006, a gunman stormed into the Council of State in Ankara, killing a senior judge and …
Read More »Turk Cypriot Vote Looks To Complicate Peace Bid
Turkish Cypriots held general elections on Sunday in a vote likely to boost hardliners and complicate efforts to resolve the long-running division of Cyprus, a threat to Turkey’s European Union accession bid. Just under 162,000 people are voting in parliamentary elections in breakaway northern Cyprus, a sliver of territory only …
Read More »Erdogan says Turkey’s membership would strengthen EU’s internal market
BERLIN, Germany Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday (April 19th) that his country would strengthen the EU’s internal market if it joins the bloc. Erdogan was speaking in Hanover, a day after attending a birthday party for former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who turned 65 on April …
Read More »Arrests of intellectuals sparks protest in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the Ankara mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, founder of the secular Turkish state, on Sunday (April 19th) to protest arrests stemming from an alleged plot to topple the country’s Islamic-rooted government.
Read More »Turkey’s ruling AKP reiterates plans for constitutional amendments
ANKARA, Turkey The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) intends to hold talks with the opposition on possible constitutional amendments, Burhan Kuzu, the head of parliament’s Joint Constitution-Justice Commission, told Reuters on Wednesday (April 8th).
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