Latest Turkey government News
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...
Sudanese military leader's son dies of injuries following a motorcycle crash in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The son of Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah Burhan, has died in hospital on Friday two months after he was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkey's state-run news agency reported. Mohammed Fattah Burhan Rahman was...
Turkey halts all trade with Israel over military actions in Gaza
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Thursday suspended all imports and exports to Israel citing the country's ongoing military action in Gaza and vowed to continue to impose the measures until the Israeli government allows the flow of humanitarian aid to the region. A Turkish Trade...
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...
A Turkish court sentences a Syrian woman to life in prison for a bombing in Istanbul in 2022
ISTANBUL (AP) — A court on Friday sentenced a Syrian woman to life in prison for a deadly explosion on a busy shopping district in Istanbul in 2022, Turkey's state-run news agency reported. Alham Albashir was given seven consecutive life sentences after being convicted on terrorism...
Auditors say it's hard to tell how Turkey is using EU refugee funds. Some officials aren't helpful
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union auditors said on Wednesday that they are unable to establish whether some of the billions of euros the bloc has given to Turkey to help it cope with Syrian refugees is actually having any impact. Under a deal concluded between EU leaders and Turkey in...
The European rights court rules Turkey's jailing of a UN judge after a coup attempt was unlawful
ISTANBUL (AP) — A United Nations judge was unlawfully jailed when he was arrested in Turkey in the wake of a 2016 coup attempt despite holding diplomatic immunity, the European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday. The court ruled that Aydin Sefa Akay’s “arrest, pre-trial...
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...
