Latest Turkey News
Explosion at Turkish oil refinery injures 12
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — An explosion at an oil refinery in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday left at least 12 employees slightly injured, the company said. A fire at the facility was quickly brought under control. The Turkish Petroleum Refineries company, TUPRAS, said a fire broke out...
Turkey ousts 3 elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office and replaces them with state officials
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Monday removed three elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office over terrorism-related charges and replaced them with state-appointed officials, the Interior Ministry said. The move, which comes days after the arrest and ouster from...
Deaths of 10 newborns shake millions' trust in Turkey's health care system
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The mother thought her baby looked healthy when he was born 1.5 months early, but staff swiftly whisked him to the neonatal intensive care unit. It was the last time Burcu Gokdeniz would see her baby alive. The doctor in charge told her that Umut Ali's heart...
Hundreds in Turkey protest the arrest and ouster of opposition mayor
ISTANBUL (AP) — Hundreds gathered Thursday in Istanbul to protest against the arrest and removal from office of a mayor from Turkey's main opposition party for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish militant group. Ahmet Ozer, mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district and a member of...
Mayor from Turkey's main opposition party is detained over alleged ties to Kurdish militants
ISTANBUL (AP) — A mayor from Turkey’s main opposition party was detained Wednesday on suspicion of being a member of a banned Kurdish militant group, state-run media reported. Ahmet Ozer, mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district and a member of the Republican People’s Party, or...
Kurdish leader in Syria calls for diplomatic solutions to conflict with Turkey
QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — The leader of the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria in an interview with The Associated Press called for international mediators to continue pushing for diplomatic solutions to the complex web of conflicts in the Middle Eastern country, including the escalating...
Erdogan tacitly supports ally's proposal for leniency toward imprisoned Kurdish militant leader
ANKARA (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed to give his implicit support on Tuesday for an unprecedented proposal by his nationalist ally that could lead to leniency for Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. ...
Tens of thousands rally in Georgia to denounce the parliamentary election they say was rigged
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Tens of thousands of Georgians massed outside parliament Monday night, demanding the annulment of the weekend parliamentary election that the president has alleged was rigged with the help of Russia. The rally underlined tensions in the country which lies...
Kurdish militants claim responsibility for deadly attack on Turkish defense firm
BAGHDAD (AP) — A banned Kurdish militant group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on the headquarters of a key defense company in Ankara that killed at least five people. A statement from the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, said Wednesday’s...
Georgia prepares for a divisive election which could determine its future in Europe
JAVAKHETI, Georgia (AP) — When Vahan Agayan goes to the polling station in Georgia’s parliamentary election Saturday, he says he and his wife will vote as directed to by officials of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Agayan has a sheep farm near the border with Armenia and Turkey,...
