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☆ Canada Drops Weapons Export Controls to Turkey, Including Drone Technology
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada on Monday said it had dropped weapons export controls to Turkey, including drone optical technology, according to a notice posted online, saying that from now on it would review all exports on a case-by-case basis. Canada had linked resolving the export freeze with Turkey's welcoming of Sweden into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which it did last week. Canada will examine each export on case-by-case basis and said it can cancel permits at any time if there is misuse, the statement said. The notification process, which is standard under the international arms trade, covers Wescam sensors used in Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 drones and other dual-use goods and arms-related exports. "The Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) condemns the recent decision by the Government of Canada to lift its longstanding arms embargo on Turkey," the group said in a statement online.

Persons: Steve Scherer, Ismail Shakil, Marguerita Choy Organizations: OTTAWA, NATO, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Armenian National Committee of Canada, Government of Locations: Canada, Turkey, Turkish, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, Baku, Sweden, NATO, Ukraine, Government of Canada

☆ Russia boasts it is beating sanctions, but its longer-term prospects are bleak
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Far from buckling under their weight, the Russian economy is in fact 1% larger than it was on the eve of the invasion. India and China now account for 90% of Russian oil exports, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Noemi Cassanelli/CNNThere’s little sign that ordinary Russians have been drastically impacted by Western sanctions. Sanctions will have a long-term impact on the Russian economy, according to the European Commission. Nabiullina said the Russian economy was like a car trying to go too fast.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Chemezov, ” Chemezov, Scott Peterson, Alexander Novak, Christine Abely, “, ”, SWIFT, Alexei Mordashov, Noemi Cassanelli, Geoffrey Pyatt, Rachel Lyngaas, —, Alexander Nemenov, Elvira Nabiullina, Nabiullina, Natalia Kolesnikova, ” Abely Organizations: CNN, Atlantic Council, Russia, West ., Shipping, Windward, Reuters, US Treasury Department, United Arab Emirates, Crime Agency, US Treasury, “, Bank of, European, US, Financial Times, Russian Central Bank, Getty, Producers, International Energy Agency Locations: United States, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Western, Sviatohirsk, Donetsk region, Asia, West, West . India, China, India, Volgograd, Turkey, UAE, Bank of Finland, Hong Kong, Europe, Egypt, Thailand, Moscow, Kazakhstan, Soviet Russia, AFP, Beijing

☆ Istanbul church shooting victim was a Muslim, says local official
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Scott Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The lone victim of Sunday’s ISIS-claimed shooting at the Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul was a Muslim, according to a local official. “During the attack, a citizen from Bayburt at the entrance, a Muslim citizen, lost his life,” said the mayor. A funeral ceremony for Tuncer Murat Cihan, the victim of the shooting, is held on Monday. Dilara Senkaya/Reuters“According to the priest, he was constantly going to church and the priest knew this person and referred to him as ‘a good person,’” added Genc. ISIS has claimed responsibility for a shooting, according to a statement from the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency, citing a security source from the terror group.

Persons: Sukru Genc, ”, Ali Yerlikaya, Tuncer Murat Cihan, Dilara Senkaya, ” Genc, BirGün, Genc, Witold Lesniak, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s, “, ” Erdogan, Davut Gul, Anadalou Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Santa Maria Catholic Church, Turkish, Reuters, Polish Locations: Istanbul, Sariyer, Bayburt, Turkish, Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey

☆ Analysis: How Orban’s ties to Putin are putting European aid to Ukraine at risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —From the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Hungary has been the weakest link in the West’s response. That’s why there’s so much attention on a meeting on Monday between the foreign ministers of Hungary and Ukraine. Hungary has frustrated European and US-led efforts to support Ukraine for the best part of two years. But time and again, they have blocked important action to support Ukraine and strengthen the Western alliance,” a German foreign affairs official told CNN. But that is what the vast majority of European officials think we are likely to see in the coming months.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Viktor Orban, Orban, Vladimir Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, Francois Mori, Orban tantrums, Sean Gallup, hasn’t, ”, Putin, John Thys, – Organizations: CNN, EU, Hungarian, Ukraine, NATO, Getty, Russia, Kremlin, Putin Locations: Ukraine, Hungary, Russia, Brussels, Europe, Hungarian, AFP, brinksmanship, Finland, Sweden, Turkish, Hungary’s, Budapest, Moscow, Scandinavia, Balkans

☆ 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

☆ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hits out at hostages' families for helping Hamas, say reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu criticized protests by the families of hostages in Gaza. Hamas took around 240 hostages during its October 7 attacks on Israel. AdvertisementIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said protests organized by families of hostages in Gaza were helping Hamas, say reports. The hostages' families hit back in a statement, per The Jerusalem Post. A destroyed Israeli tank in Gaza City, Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, —, Netanyahu, Jonathan Pollard, Israel, Hani Alshaer, Gazans Organizations: Jerusalem Post, Service, Anadolu Agency, US, Getty, United Nations, Human Rights Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, Tel Aviv, Turkish, Gaza City

☆ Biden administration tells Congress it intends to sell Turkey F-16s after Erdogan approved Sweden’s NATO membership
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The State Department also sent Congress a formal notification of its intent to sell $8.6 billion worth of F-35s to Greece. Blinken, in turn, told the Turkish president multiple times that members of Congress would not approve the sale of jets until Turkey allowed Sweden to join NATO. The Turkish Parliament finally voted in favor of Sweden’s NATO accession Tuesday, and Erdogan signed off on the instruments of ratification Thursday. The US official said this was to assure Congress there was no way for Turkey to back out of the deal. Hungary still must approve Sweden’s NATO bid for the nation to finally become a member.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Erdogan, Hakan Fidan, Fidan, Robert Menendez –, Turkey –, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Menendez, Sen, Ben Cardin Organizations: CNN, NATO, The State Department, Turkish, Foreign, The New, Greek, House Foreign Affairs Committee, State Department Locations: Turkey, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Vilnius, Lithuania, London, The New Jersey, Turkish, Hungary

☆ She was fleeing with her grandson, who was holding a white flag. Then she was shot
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Clarissa Ward | Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Istanbul CNN —Sara Khreis replays the last day she spent with her mother over and over in her mind. Suddenly, they heard their neighbors outside screaming that an evacuation route had been organized: “Come on, get out, come on, get out!”Sara with her mother, Hala. Then they were on the street outside, joining a wave of other people holding white flags aloft: a universal symbol of surrender. The clip of Hala’s killing is one of a growing number that show unarmed civilians holding white flags being shot dead in Gaza. His father, holding a white flag, could be seen crying over his body.

Persons: Istanbul CNN — Sara Khreis, “, ” Sara, Hala, Sara, –, Tayem, Hala Khreis, ” Sara Khreis, Ramzi Abu Sahloul, Ahmed Hijazi, Hijazi, Sahloul, Hala’s, Cross, Hala didn’t, Mohammad, Faisel, ” Nour, Nour, ” Mohammad, Mohammad wasn’t, ‘, Heba, ” Heba, Youssuf Abdel A’atti, ” Abdel A’atti, Sara Khreis, …, ” CNN’s Scott McWhinnie, Gianluca Mezzofiore Organizations: Istanbul CNN, CNN, Human Rights Monitor, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Turkish, International Committee, ICRC, Palestine Locations: Istanbul, Gaza, Hala, The Geneva, Gaza City, al, Palestinian, Turkey, Rafah

☆ 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

NEW YORK (AP) — Lorrie Moore, Naomi Klein and the Egyptian writer Ahmed Naji are among the finalists for National Book Critics Circle awards. Honorary prizes are going to Judy Blume and to a longtime ally of Blume's in the fight against book bans, the American Library Association. On Thursday, the critics circle announced nominees in seven competitive categories, ranging from fiction to debut book to best translation. The other fiction nominees are Justin Torres' “Blackouts,” winner of the National Book Award last fall; Teju Cole's “Tremor,” Daniel Mason's “North Woods”; and Marie NDiaye's “Vengeance Is Mine,” translated from the French by Jordan Stump. The book critics circle, founded in 1974, consists of hundreds of reviewers and editors from around the country.

Persons: — Lorrie Moore, Naomi Klein, Ahmed Naji, Judy Blume, Blume's, Moore, “, Justin Torres, ” Daniel Mason's “, Marie NDiaye's, Jordan Stump, Grace E, Tina Post's, ” Nicholas Dames, ”, Myriam Gurba's, Naji, Katharine Halls, Matthew Zapruder's “, ” Susan Kiyo Ito's, David Mas, Patricia Wakida, Jonathan Coe's Martin Luther King, Gregg Hecimovich, Hannah Crafts, Anna, Rachel Shteir's, Betty Friedan, Jonny Steinberg's, Winnie, Nelson, Saskia Hamilton's “, ” Kim Hyesoon's, ” Romeo Oriogun's, Robyn Schiff's, Kareem Abdulrahman, Natascha Bruce, Dorothy Tse's ”, Don Mee, Kim Hyesoon's, ” Todd, ” Maureen Freely’s, Tiffany, Indonesian Norman Erikson Pasaribu's, John Leonard, Ariana Benson's, ” Emilie Boone's, ” Victor Heringer's “, ” Tahir Hamut Izgil's, Donovan X, Martin J, Siegel's, Blume, Becca Rothfield, Marion Winik Organizations: American Library Association, Rotten, PEN America, U.S, Washington Locations: Egypt, Indonesian

☆ 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

☆ 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

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

☆ 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

☆ 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

Here is a look at Sweden's complicated path toward NATO membership. Sweden has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years and long ruled out seeking NATO membership. But the Russian aggression caused a dramatic shift in both countries, with polls showing a surge in support for NATO membership. That leaves Hungary as the last hurdle for Sweden's NATO bid. Not surprisingly, Moscow reacted negatively to Sweden and Finland's decision to abandon nonalignment and seek NATO membership, and warned of unspecified countermeasures.

Persons: —, hasn’t, Nonalignment, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Viktor Orbán, Ulf Kristersson, ” Organizations: STOCKHOLM, NATO —, Nordic, NATO, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Kremlin, Swedish, ALLIANCE, Finns, RUSSIA, nonalignment Locations: NATO, Hungary, Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Baltic, U.S, Turkey, Turkish, Swedish, Kurdistan, Stockholm, Budapest, SWEDEN, St, Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Northern Europe

CNN —The Turkish parliament voted Tuesday to approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid. Of the 346 members of parliament who voted, 287 were in favor of Sweden’s accession and 55 voted to reject it. However, on Tuesday, Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban said he had invited his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, to visit Hungary to negotiate the terms of Sweden’s accession. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier that year. Erdogan initially objected to Sweden’s membership bid, accusing Swedish officials of being too lenient on military groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Victor Orban, Ulf Kristersson, Erdogan, Ben Cardin Organizations: CNN, Turkish, NATO, Foreign Affairs Commission, Hungary’s, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Foreign Locations: Turkish, Hungary, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, United States

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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ Four Astronauts, Including Turkey's First, Arrive at Space Station
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Steve Gorman(Reuters) - A four-man crew including Turkey's first astronaut arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) early on Saturday for a two-week stay in the latest such mission arranged entirely at commercial expense by Texas-based startup company Axiom Space. The rendezvous came about 37 hours after the Axiom quartet's Thursday evening liftoff in a rocketship from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Once the astronauts reach the space station, they fall under the responsibility of NASA's mission control operation in Houston. The multinational team was led by Michael López-Alegría, 65, a Spanish-born retired NASA astronaut and Axiom executive making his sixth flight to the space station. Axiom also is one of a handful of companies building a commercial space station of its own intended to eventually replace the ISS, which NASA expects to retire around 2030.

Persons: Steve Gorman, Turkey's, NASA's, Michael López, Axiom's, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, Alper Gezeravcı, David Evans Organizations: Reuters, Space, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Elon, SpaceX, NASA, Italian Air Force, European Space Agency, Turkish Air Force, ISS Locations: Texas, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Houston, Spanish, Japan, Denmark, U.S, Canada, Los Angeles

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