Latest Recep Tayyip Erdogan News
The Latest | Israel launches strikes in Rafah, hours after Hamas agrees to a Gaza cease-fire
Israel's military says it is launching “targeted strikes” against Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah after the country's War Cabinet approved a military operation there, officials said late Monday. Hours earlier, the Hamas militant group announced it had accepted a...
Turkey formally opens another former Byzantine-era church as a mosque
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally opened a former Byzantine church in Istanbul as a mosque on Monday, four years after his government had designated it a Muslim house of prayer, despite criticism from neighboring Greece. Turkey formally converted...
Turkey says it has carried out new airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has carried out a new round of airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq, the Turkish defense ministry said Monday. Warplanes struck suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in the regions of Hakurk, Metina and...
Pro-Palestinian banners. Blazing Olympic rings. Workers' May Day rallies confront turbulent times
ISTANBUL (AP) — Workers and activists around the world marked May Day with largely peaceful protests Wednesday over rising prices, low wages and calls for greater labor rights. Pro- Palestinian sentiments were also on display. Police in Istanbul used tear gas and fired rubber...
Turkey says it backs outgoing Dutch prime minister Rutte's candidacy for NATO chief
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has told its NATO allies that Ankara will back the Netherlands’ outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s candidacy for the military alliance’s secretary general position, a senior Turkish official said Monday. The official said Turkey notified NATO...
Outgoing Dutch prime minister visits Turkey's Erdogan in his bid for the NATO chief position
ISTANBUL (AP) — The Netherlands’ outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte was in Turkey on Friday, seeking support from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the Dutch official's bid for the position of NATO secretary general. Incumbent NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, a former...
Kurdish separatists and water issues loom large in long-awaited visit of Turkey's Erdogan to Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdog an arrived in Iraq on Monday for his first official visit in more than a decade as Ankara seeks greater cooperation from Baghdad in its fight against a Kurdish militant group that has a foothold in Iraq. Other issues also loom...
Greek and Turkish delegations meet in Athens as part of efforts to improve often strained ties
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Delegations from Greece and Turkey were meeting in Athens on Monday as part of long-standing efforts to improve often tense relations between the two neighbors, days after Turkey voiced objections over Greece’s plans to create marine nature reserves in the Ionian and...
Greek minister says 2 major new marine parks will be created by the end of this year
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece will be able to create the two new major marine parks it has announced for the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea by the end of this year, the country’s environment and energy minister said Wednesday. Speaking during an international ocean conference in...
Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Fitr in the shadow of Gaza's misery
ISTANBUL (AP) — Muslims around the world celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday Wednesday, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. But events were overshadowed by the worsening crisis in Gaza and Israel’s expected military offensive in Rafah city after six months of war. “We...
