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☆ Two Killed in Police Helicopter Crash in Southern Turkey -Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - A police helicopter crashed in southern Turkey late on Saturday, killing 2 police officers and injuring one, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on social media platform X. The helicopter took off from Hatay airport and was heading to Gaziantep airport, Yerlikaya said, adding that it lost contact at 10:29 p.m. (1949 GMT). The helicopter crashed near Kartal village in Gaziantep's Nurdagi district, Yerlikaya said, without commenting on the cause of the crash. The injured personnel, a technician, is under treatment in hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a statement. War in Israel and Gaza View All 194 Images(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by William Mallard)

Persons: Ali Yerlikaya, Yerlikaya, Fahrettin Koca, Huseyin Hayatsever, William Mallard Organizations: Health Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kartal, Gaziantep's Nurdagi, Israel, Gaza

☆ Turkey to Discuss 'New Mechanism' for Ukraine Black Sea Grain Exports With Russia - Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss a new mechanism to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit to Turkey, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday. There are efforts to find "new methods" to transport Ukrainian grain to the world markets, Fidan said in an interview with private A Haber television. Ankara has sought to persuade Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Moscow pulled out of in July 2023, a year after it was implemented. The accord was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to provide safe passage to exports from Ukrainian ports. Fidan said some ships had managed to transport Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea, even without the accord in place.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Hakan Fidan, Putin, Erdogan, Fidan, Haber, Huseyin Hayatsever, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Turkish, Initiative, Moscow, United, Kyiv Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Russian, NATO, Ukraine, Ankara, Russia, United Nations, Ukrainian, Israel, Gaza, Moscow

☆ Turkey central bank chief quits, citing need to protect her family
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Turkish Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan answers questions during a news conference for the Inflation Report 2023-III in Ankara, Turkey on July 27, 2023. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesTurkey's central bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan resigned on Friday, citing a need to protect her family amid a "reputation assassination", and she was swiftly replaced by a deputy who is expected to carry on her tight policy stance. The first woman to lead the central bank, Erkan was its fifth governor in as many years. Since then the central bank had hiked its key rate to 45% from 8.5%. Last month, opposition newspaper Sozcu published an article about a central bank employee who said she was wrongfully dismissed from the bank by Erkan's father.

Persons: Turkish Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Tayyip Erdogan, Erkan, Fatih Karahan, Erdogan, Sozcu, Erkan's Organizations: Turkish Central Bank Governor, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Official Gazette, Turks, Federal Reserve Bank of New Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, U.S

☆ Turkey Completes New Homes in Area Hit by Devastating Earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey on Saturday handed over keys to newly-completed homes to some of those left homeless after last year's devastating earthquake, one year after the country's deadliest disaster in its modern history. Powerful quakes on Feb. 6, 2023 in southern Turkey killed more than 50,000 people in 11 provinces and left millions homeless. Some 75,000 houses will be delivered over the next two months, Erdogan said, adding that the government planned to deliver a total of 200,000 houses this year. Around 680,000 homes were destroyed in the earthquake region, Urbanisation Minister Mehmet Ozhaseki told reporters on Friday, adding that 390,000 families are registered to receive houses to be built there. After the earthquakes, Erdogan promised 319,000 new homes by February 2024 and a total 680,000 a year later.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Mehmet Ozhaseki, Huseyin Hayatsever, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Saturday Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Hatay, Israel, Gaza

ISTANBUL (AP) — Two gunmen took seven hostages at a factory owned by U.S. company Procter & Gamble in northwest Turkey on Thursday, according to media reports, apparently in protest of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Turkish media published an image of one of the purported suspects inside the factory, a man wearing what appeared to be a rudimentary explosives belt and holding a handgun. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been particularly outspoken, referring to Israeli “war crimes” and comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The photograph of the suspect carried in the Turkish media shows him with a black-and-white Arabic headscarf covering his face. He is standing next to a graffitied wall showing the Turkish and Palestinian flags with the slogan “The gates will open.

Persons: Ismet Zihni, Suheyla, “, ‘ We’ve, ”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Adolf Hitler, Bruce Shipkowski Organizations: U.S, Procter, Gamble, Health Ministry, Police, G Turkey, Embassy, Associated Press Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Gebze, Kocaeli, Cincinnati, Istanbul, U.S, Turkish, Ankara, Trenton , N.J

☆ Biden faces demands from Republicans in Congress to strike Iran after U.S. troop deaths
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Kevin Dietsch | Getty ImagesCongressional lawmakers are demanding President Joe Biden strike Iran after three U.S. troops were killed Sunday night in Jordan in a drone strike claimed by the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, an Iranian-backed militia group. Iran has not commented on the attack, while Jordan's government denied it took place on its soil. "I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces, but as deterrence against future aggression," Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said in a statement. Elmurod Usubaliev | Anadolu | Getty ImagesThe attack marks another regional escalation in a war that the Biden administration has tried to contain. Meanwhile, Lebanese Shia militia group Hezbollah and Israel are exchanging fire along the Israeli-Lebanese border, while Iran earlier this month struck targets in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.

Persons: Lindsey Graham, Kevin Dietsch, Joe Biden, Republican Sen, Roger Wicker, Biden, Elmurod, Helima Croft Organizations: Sen, U.S, Capitol, Getty, Islamic, Hamas, Biden Administration, Republican, Senate Armed Services Committee, Anadolu, Lebanese Hezbollah, RBC Capital Markets Locations: Washington , DC, Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Iranian, U.S, Israel, Ankara, Turkiye, Yemeni, Gaza, Israel's, Yemen, Lebanese, Syria, Pakistan, Iraqi, United States

☆ Masked Gunmen Kill One Person in Istanbul Church -Turkish Interior Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Two masked gunmen shot one person dead during Sunday service at a church in Istanbul, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, adding that authorities were working to capture the assailants. Yerlikaya, who condemned the attack, said it took place around 0840 GMT at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in the Sariyer district. "C.T., who was among those participating in the service, was the target of a gun attack by two masked individuals and sadly lost his life," the minister said on social media platform X, referring to the initials of the victim. Turkish officials tend to not use the full names of victims or perpetrators of attacks. Footage from the church showed several police cars and an ambulance outside the building.

Persons: Ali Yerlikaya, Yerlikaya, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church Locations: ANKARA, Istanbul, Italian, Sariyer

☆ Exclusive-Canada to Re-Start Turkey Arms Exports After Sweden NATO Backing -Sources
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Jonathan SpicerISTANBUL (Reuters) - Canada and Turkey have reached a deal to restart Canadian exports of drone parts in exchange for more transparency on where they are used, and it would take effect after Ankara completes its ratification of Sweden's NATO bid, two sources told Reuters. A second person familiar with the plan said the sides agreed it would take effect after Sweden's ratification was complete. U.S. leaders have said Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership clears the way for Ankara's long-sought purchase of U.S. F-16 fighter jets. Ottawa halted talks on lifting them in 2022 when Ankara raised objections to both Finland and Sweden's NATO bids. But it re-started talks after a NATO leaders summit in July last year, Reuters reported at the time.

Persons: Jonathan Spicer ISTANBUL, Charlotte MacLeod, Jonathan Spicer, Steve Scherer, Toby Chopra Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Canadian Foreign Ministry, U.S, Ottawa Locations: Canada, Turkey, Ankara, Hungary, Washington, Ottawa, NATO, Stockholm, Turkish, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, Baku, Finland, Istanbul

☆ Turkey Moving Swiftly Toward Final Step on Sweden's NATO Bid
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey is expected to send the final instrument of ratification for Sweden's NATO membership to Washington within days, now that President Tayyip Erdogan signed it off, in a move Ankara hopes will clear the way to its purchase of U.S. F-16 fighter jets. A source familiar with the issue said the document could be deposited as early as Friday, marking the last step in a process that began in 2022. After 20 months of delay, Turkey moved rapidly this week to ratify the Swedish bid, with parliamentary ratification coming on Tuesday and President Tayyip Erdogan signing off on the approval on Thursday. As per formal NATO rules, the final document in the process - the instrument of ratification - needs to be deposited in the U.S. State Department archives in Washington. Both Erdogan and members of the U.S. Congress had previously linked Ankara's final approval of Sweden to the $20 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16s and modernization kits to Turkey.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Lockheed Martin, Joe Biden, Jonathan Spicer, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: NATO, U.S, U.S . State Department, U.S . Congress, Lockheed, Turkish, Reuters, Congress, State Department Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Washington, Ankara, Hungary, Sweden, NATO, Ambassador

☆ iPhone grabs top share in China and analyst negativity abates. What's going right at Apple
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

After a rough early start to 2024 and lots of analyst negativity, Apple has turned the corner. The iPhone captured a firm-record 17.3% market share in China last year, according to the International Data Corporation's quarterly phone tracker report . 1 spot in China, Apple made the rare move of offering limited-time iPhone 15 discounts there during this month. Last week, IDC crowned Apple as the biggest smartphone maker in the world , dethroning Samsung for the first time ever. And, just about two weeks ago, we reported that the Street hadn't been this cautious on Apple stock in years.

Persons: Apple, Arthur Guo, Piper Sandler, Apple's, Goldman Sachs, we're, Jim Cramer, Tim Cook, Apple —, Jim, that's, Preorders, Jim Cramer's, Berke Bayur Organizations: Huawei, Vivo, Apple, IDC, Samsung, Barclays, Redburn, Club, Microsoft, Bank of America, Big Tech, CNBC, U.S, Getty Images, Anadolu, Getty Locations: China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, ANKARA, TURKIYE, Ankara, Turkiye, Anadolu

☆ US Envoy Sees Rapid F-16s Sale to Turkey After Sweden NATO Bid Sign-Off
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Ambassador Jeff Flake said that once the formal ratification document is received in Washington, the U.S. State Department will immediately send Congress notification of the F-16s sale. Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing a major hurdle to expanding the Western military alliance after 20 months of delay. "So I would expect as soon as that is conveyed to Washington, then congressional notification (of the F-16 sales) will happen." "The president here needs to sign it and then the instrument needs to be conveyed to Washington," he told Reuters by phone. Both Erdogan and members of the U.S. Congress had tied Turkey's backing of Sweden's NATO bid with congressional approval of the $20 billion sale of Lockheed Martin aircraft and modernization kits to Turkey.

Persons: Jonathan Spicer ISTANBUL, Tayyip Erdogan, Jeff Flake, Erdogan, Lockheed Martin, Joe Biden, Jonathan Spicer, Mark Potter Organizations: NATO, U.S, Congress, U.S . State Department, Gazette, Republican, Reuters, U.S . Congress, Lockheed Locations: U.S, Turkey, Ankara, Washington, Sweden, NATO

☆ Turkey hikes interest rate again to 45% after inflation nears 65%
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Residents waiting at a bus stop under a large Turkish flag in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday, April 30, 2023. Turkey's central bank on Thursday hiked its key interest rate by another 250 basis points to 45%. The hike to the benchmark one-week repo rate was in line with economists' expectations. It comes amid an ongoing battle against double-digit inflation for Turkey's monetary policymakers, with the rate hike the latest step in that effort. The last several years of high inflation are in large part the result of stubbornly loose monetary policy by the Ankara government.

Organizations: Turkish, U.S, greenback Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Turkey's, Ankara

☆ Erdogan, Eyeing More Trade With Iran, Says Turkey Weighing Opening New Border Crossings
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is considering opening new border crossings with eastern neighbour Iran, President Tayyip Erdogan said late on Wednesday after talks with his Iranian counterpart, as they seek to revive sagging economic relations. Trade between Turkey and Iran peaked in 2012 at nearly $22 billion but has since fallen. Efforts to establish trade centres in border (areas) to increasing the economic development of our border provinces continue," he said. Turkey, a NATO ally, and Iran currently have four border crossings between them. Turkey, which has also been hit with U.S. sanctions for acquiring Russian defence systems, opposes what it calls unilateral economic sanctions as a policy.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Ebrahim Raisi, Omer Bolat, Daren Butler, Gareth Jones Organizations: Turkish Trade Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Iran, Tehran, NATO, Ankara

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank raised its key interest rate by another 2.5 percentage points on Thursday, pressing ahead with a series of hikes aimed at combating inflation that reached nearly 65% in December. Erdogan is a longtime proponent of an unorthodox policy of cutting interest rates to fight inflation, which runs contrary to mainstream economic thinking. The European Central Bank is expected to keep its record-high benchmark rate steady at its meeting Thursday, following a rapid series of hikes over more than a year. Hafize Gaye Erkan, a former U.S.-based bank executive, took over as central bank governor in June, becoming the first woman to hold that position in Turkey. Previously, Erdogan had fired central governments who reportedly resisted his push to cut interest rates.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Merrill Lynch, Mehmet Simsek, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan, ” Organizations: European Central Bank, Turkish Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Ukraine, U.S

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has agreed to meet with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, who invited Kristersson to Budapest to discuss Sweden’s accession into NATO, Swedish media reported Thursday. Orbán's invitation comes as Hungary and Turkey remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden’s bid to join the defense alliance. Turkish legislators have endorsed Sweden’s NATO membership, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country’s entry into the military alliance. Lawmakers ratified Sweden’s accession protocol 287 to 55, with ruling party members saying the country’s tougher stance on Kurdish militants was key to winning approval. Finland joined the alliance in April, becoming NATO’s 31st member, after Turkey’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid.

Persons: Ulf Kristersson, Viktor Orbán, Kristersson, ” Kristersson, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin Organizations: STOCKHOLM, NATO, Lawmakers, Sweden’s, Nordic Locations: Swedish, Budapest, Hungary, Turkey, Brussels, Ankara, Ukraine, U.S . Turkey, Stockholm, Sweden, Finland

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Turkey approves Sweden's NATO bid, putting pressure on Hungary; death toll rises in Russian strikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Turkish lawmakers finally approved Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing a major obstacle for the country to enter the military alliance after 20 months of delays. After decades of military nonalignment, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, several months after Russia invaded Ukraine. After Ankara's decision to approve Sweden's entry to the defense bloc, Hungary is now the only NATO member yet to ratify Sweden's accession. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Turkish parliament's decision yesterday, and called on Hungary to follow suit. In other news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian missile strikes on major Ukrainian cities on Tuesday killed 18 people and injured more than 130.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: NATO, Sweden's, Turkish Locations: Sweden, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Hungary, Russian

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — With Turkey completing its ratification of Sweden's bid to join NATO, Hungary is the last member of the military alliance not to have given its approval. Orbán has long promised that Hungary wouldn't be the last NATO member to ratify Sweden's request to join the alliance. Yet Orbán's critics say that there is no such schism within his party, and that when it comes to Hungary's approval of Sweden's NATO membership, Orbán alone is in control. Hungary's opposition parties, which favor Sweden's membership in NATO, have made several attempts over the past year to schedule a vote on the matter. “Anybody who believed that it’s in the hands of the governing party lawmakers was seriously mistaken,” she said.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Orbán, Hungary wouldn't, —, Agnes Vadai, parliament's, It’s, ”, he'd, Ulf Kristersson, Kristersson hasn't, Tobias Billström, Budapest hasn't, he’d, Jens Stoltenberg, Dorka, Kristersson, “, ” Vadai, Vladimir Putin, Vadai, Orbán's Organizations: —, Turkey, NATO, Central European, Fidesz, European Union, Democratic Coalition, Ministry of Defense, Hungary, Centre, Integration Locations: BUDAPEST, Hungary, Budapest, Sweden, Turkey, Stockholm, Swedish, Ukraine, NATO

☆ US Says It Is Looking Forward to Turkey Finalizing Sweden's NATO Process
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Humeyra PamukWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday welcomed the Turkish parliament's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership bid this week and urged Ankara to formally finalize the process. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a briefing that Washington was looking forward to Hungary, which has yet to approve Sweden's NATO bid, moving along in the process. Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO bid and the U.S. sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey have become linked over the past years. The Biden administration has said it supports the sale but kept urging Ankara to approve Sweden's NATO bid saying Congress might be connecting the two issues. When asked on Wednesday if the State Department would send the formal notification for the jets once Sweden's NATO process is fully formalized, Patel did not commit to a timeline.

Persons: Humeyra Pamuk, Vedant Patel, Washington, Tayyip, Erdogan, Patel, Biden, Blinken, I'm, Jasper Ward, Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, Alistair Bell Organizations: Wednesday, NATO, State Department, Finland's Locations: Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON, United States, Ankara, Hungary, Washington, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, U.S, NATO, Turkey's, Jasper

☆ Turkey’s parliament approves Sweden’s NATO membership, lifting key a hurdle
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Turkish legislators on Tuesday endorsed Sweden's membership in NATO, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country's entry into the military alliance. The legislators ratified Sweden's accession protocol by 287 votes to 55, with four abstentions. Hungary then becomes the only NATO ally not to have ratified Sweden's accession. Turkey's main opposition party also supported Sweden's membership in the alliance but a center-right party and the country's pro-Kurdish party declared they would oppose it. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration never formally tied the sale of the F-16s to Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Sweden's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Burak Akcapar, Erdogan, Koray Aydin, Joe Biden's, John Kirby, Viktor Orbán Organizations: Swedish, NATO, Official Gazette, Ankara, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, Good Party, U.S . Congress, Administration, Turkey, National Security, Nordic Locations: Vilnius, Hungary, Turkey, Ankara, Stockholm, Kurdistan, Sweden, Turkey's, Canada, Washington, NATO, Finland, Ukraine, Budapest

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent a letter to his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, inviting him to Budapest to discuss Sweden's accession into the NATO military alliance, Orbán wrote Tuesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The invitation comes as Hungary and Turkey remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden's bid to join the alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lifted his opposition to Sweden's membership last year in response to efforts by Stockholm to tackle supporters of Kurdish militants and other groups in Sweden that Ankara views as security threats. Erdogan has also openly linked Sweden’s NATO membership to Ankara’s efforts to purchase U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, and has called on Canada and other NATO allies to lift arms embargoes on Turkey. Sweden and Finland abandoned their decades-long neutrality and sought membership in NATO amid heightened security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Ulf Kristersson, Orbán, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan Organizations: NATO, Twitter, Sweden's, Nordic, Fidesz Locations: BUDAPEST, Hungary, Hungarian, Budapest, Turkey, Ankara, Ukraine, Orbán, Turkish, Stockholm, Sweden, Canada, Finland

☆ Explainer-What Turkey Gained in Delaying Sweden's NATO Bid
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Turkey ratified Finland's bid in April 2023 but, along with NATO member Hungary, has kept Sweden waiting. While Erdogan sent Sweden's NATO bid to Turkey's parliament for consideration last October, he openly linked the F-16s with its ultimate ratification. WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF SWEDEN'S BID? Though Turkey was seen as the main hurdle, Hungary has also not ratified Sweden's bid. Hungary pledged not to be the last to ratify the bid, but its parliament is in recess until around mid-February.

Persons: Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer ANKARA, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Gunnar Strommer, Jens Stoltenberg, Thomas Goffus, Viktor Orban, Timothy Heritage Organizations: NATO, Ankara, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, European Union, Canada, U.S . Congress, Eurofighter Locations: Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, Hungary, Stockholm, Helsinki, Washington, SWEDEN, FINLAND, Madrid, Kurdistan, Ankara, United States, Netherlands, SWEDEN'S

☆ Turkish Parliament to Debate Sweden's NATO Bid on Tuesday -Sources
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Huseyin HayatseverANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish parliament's general assembly is set to debate Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, three sources from parliament said. But NATO member Turkey raised objections over what it said was the two countries' protection of groups that Ankara deems terrorists. Erdogan sent Sweden's bid to parliament in October, but has also linked its ratification with U.S. approval of sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. After talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he expected Turkey to ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid "in coming weeks." The parliament's foreign affairs commission approved the bid last month in the first step of the ratification process.

Persons: Huseyin Hayatsever, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Sweden's, Hakan Fidan, Antony Blinken, Christina Fincher Organizations: Turkish, NATO, Finland's, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, European Union, White House, U.S, Congress, Erdogan's AK Party, CHP Locations: Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, Ankara, Hungary, United States, Stockholm, Canada, Netherlands

☆ Eight Bodies Wash Ashore in Southern Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Eight bodies washed ashore in southern Turkey in the past six days and most of them may be from a lost migrant ship sailing toward Cyprus from the Lebanese-Syrian coast, according to broadcaster Haberturk and the local governor's office. Two other bodies were found at a hotel beach in the Serik region on Monday, it said, bringing the total to eight. In a statement on Sunday, prior to the discovery of the last two bodies, the Antalya governor's office said one of the bodies belonged to a Turkish national who had previously gone missing, pending forensics. The other five bodies could be from the ship heading towards Cyprus, it said, adding that meteorological records over the past week indicated the ship may have sunk with the bodies washing north toward Turkey due to prevailing winds and waves. "It has been identified that the production location of the shoes and clothes of the other five bodies are Syria."

Persons: Haberturk, Jonathan Spicer, Alex Richardson Organizations: Turkish, Lebanese Embassy, Lebanese Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanese, Syrian, Antalya, Alanya, Serik, Ankara, Lebanon, Syria

☆ Somali president’s son convicted for fatal collision in Turkey, but spared jail time
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Scott Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The son of Somalia’s president was convicted in an Istanbul courtroom but spared jail time over a collision that killed a motorcycle courier in the city, in a case that has drawn anger and demands for justice across Turkey. Iyaz Cimen, the lawyer representing Gocer’s family, told CNN that his clients had agreed to drop their formal complaint against Mohamud. Cimen, the lawyer representing Gocer’s family, told CNN in December that Mohamud had left the country on December 2, before the warrant was issued. President Mohamud told the AP he was sorry for Gocer’s family for his loss, and said that he has advised his son to go back to Turkey for court proceedings. Last month, he told CNN Turk that his client was not speeding or under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the collision.

Persons: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, ”, Yunus Emre Gocer, Mohamud, Iyaz Cimen, Gocer, Cimen, Ekrem Imamoglu, Yilmaz Tunc, “, Musaeed Ahmed Musaeed Hussein, Yemen’s, Ahmed Musaeed Hussein, Hussein, Pakize Ozer, CNN Turk, Ozer, Kerim Bahadır Organizations: CNN, TRT Haber, TRT, Mohamud, BMW, Traffic, Department, Forensic Medicine Institute, ” CNN, Associated Press, AP, Anadolu Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Turkish, Istanbul’s, Somali, Ankara, Anadolu, “

☆ Turkey Launches Airstrikes Against Militants in Iraq, Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's military carried out airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and Syria on Monday night, destroying 23 targets, the defence ministry said, sustaining an escalation of conflict south of the country's border. The upswing in violence began on Friday when nine Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq, prompting Ankara to conduct airstrikes and operations both there and in northern Syria. The latest airstrikes were carried out late on Monday in the Metina, Gara, Hakurk and Qandil regions of northern Iraq as well as in northern Syria to ensure border security and prevent attacks, the ministry said. Turkish forces regularly strike PKK militants based in the mountains of northern Iraq. Turkey has carried out a series of military incursions and bombing campaigns in Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia, which it regards as a wing of the PKK.

Persons: Daren Butler, Michael Perry Organizations: Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Kurdish YPG Locations: ISTANBUL, Iraq, Syria, Ankara, Gara, Hakurk, Turkey, United States, Turkish, Kurdish

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