Latest Turkey government News

A man sits outside an exchange office in Istanbul, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Turkey's currency tumbled further Friday, hitting another record low. The Turkish lira dropped to 7.3677 against the dollar before making a recovery. The lira is down about 19% versus the U.S. currency since the beginning of the year. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Turkish lira hits another historic low amid pandemic

Aug. 7, 2020 2:03 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Turkey's currency tumbled further Friday, hitting another record low. The Turkish lira dropped to 7.3677 against the dollar before making a recovery. The lira is down about 19% versus the U.S. currency since the beginning of the year. It was trading around 7.17 on Friday afternoon. The drop...

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, front center, takes part in Friday prayers in Hagia Sophia, at the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Erdogan joined worshipers on July 24 for the first Muslim prayers in 86 years inside the Istanbul landmark that served as one of Christendom's most significant cathedrals, a mosque and a museum before its conversion back into a Muslim place of worship.(Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool)

Turkish president slams Egypt-Greece deal, drilling resumes

Aug. 7, 2020 11:47 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s president called a maritime deal between Greece and Egypt “worthless” Friday and said his country would resume its disputed oil and gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean. Egypt and Greece signed a maritime deal Thursday that sets the sea boundary between...

This satellite image taken on Wednesday Aug. 5, 2020 shows the port of Beirut and the surrounding area in Lebanon following a massive explosion on Tuesday. Residents of Beirut confronted a scene of utter devastation a day after a massive explosion at the port rippled across the Lebanese capital, killing at least 100 people, wounding thousands and leaving entire city blocks blanketed with glass and rubble. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)

The Latest: Australia pledges $1.4M for Beirut relief effort

Aug. 5, 2020 11:13 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the explosion in Beirut (all times local): 6 a.m. Thursday The Australian government has pledged an initial 2 million Australian dollars ($1.4 million) to the relief effort in Lebanon following the deadly blast that ripped across the capital Beirut. Prime Minister Scott...

People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus hold portable fans to cool themselves in the heat in Tokyo, Wednesday, Aug, 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

The Latest: Japan region declares coronavirus emergency

Aug. 5, 2020 11:10 PM EDT

TOKYO — The governor of Japan’s Aichi Prefecture has announced a regional “state of emergency” seeking to curb the coronavirus. Gov. Hideaki Ohmura on Thursday asked businesses to close altogether or close early and urged people to stay home at night. The measures continue through Aug....

Adnan Polat wearing a face mask to protect against the spread of coronavirus, shines a client's shoes, in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Turkey's interior ministry announced new measures Wednesday to curb the spread of COVID-19 as daily confirmed cases peaked back above 1,000. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

Turkey announces inspections, measures to curb COVID-19 rise

Aug. 5, 2020 2:04 PM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s interior ministry announced new measures Wednesday to curb the spread of COVID-19 as daily confirmed cases peaked back above 1,000. In a circular, the interior ministry said its units would conduct “one-on-one monitoring” for people who have been required to...

Cyprus' foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides speaks with the Associated Press during an interview at his office in Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Christodoulides says the European Union must do more to fill a power vacuum in the eastern Mediterranean brought on by a perceived U.S. disengagement from the region. (AP Photo/Giorgos Christoforou)

Minister: Cyprus can help EU fill east Med 'power void'

Aug. 5, 2020 1:59 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The European Union must do more to fill a power vacuum in the eastern Mediterranean brought on by a perceived U.S. disengagement from the region, and Cyprus is ready to host an EU task force to achieve that goal, the island nation’s foreign minister said Wednesday. Nikos...

People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus pass on a crosswalk on a street in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug, 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

The Latest: Japan governor touts gargling product for virus

Aug. 4, 2020 11:22 PM EDT

TOKYO — A governor in Japan is drawing skeptical criticism after he touted a gargling product as effective against the coronavirus, an assertion that, despite its dubiousness, emptied some store shelves of the medicine. Shares of Shionogi & Co. and Meiji Holdings Co., which make Isojin, soared in Tokyo...

An offshore drilling rig is seen in the waters off Cyprus' coastal city of Limassol, Sunday, July 5, 2020 as a boat passes with a skier. Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to intercede with Turkey to try and ease rising tensions over its oil and gas exploration in eastern Mediterranean waters that Cyprus claims as its own, the Cypriot government said Thursday, July 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus: Putin 'to help ease' gas search tensions with Turkey

Jul. 30, 2020 3:44 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to intercede with Turkey's leader to try to ease rising tensions over oil and gas exploration in eastern Mediterranean waters that Cyprus claims as its own, the Cypriot government said Thursday. Government spokesman Kyriakos Koushos said...

FILE - In this Saturday, July 25, 2020 file photo, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya's internationally-recognized government, pose for photographs prior to their talks in Istanbul. Turkey is secretly expanding its footprint in conflict-ridden Libya, fueling the country’s civil war and deepening fault lines with Mediterranean neighbors and between international allies. Turkey seems to be after lucrative construction and port contracts, according to Libyan officials. (Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool, File)

Joining the conflict in Libya, Turkey sees economic gains

Jul. 30, 2020 8:37 AM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — When Turkey’s president signed a security deal last year to back one of the sides in Libya’s civil war, another agreement was waiting to be signed by his new proteges the same day: a memorandum redrawing the two countries' maritime borders. In Recep Tayyip Erdogan's memo, Turkey...

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan applauds during a conference in Istanbul, Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Turkish lawmakers were making their final speeches Tuesday before voting on a bill that would give the government greater powers to regulate social media, in what human rights groups and the opposition have decried as a violation of free expression online. Hundreds of social media users have already been investigated and some arrested for their posts on the COVID-19 pandemic, opposition to Turkish military offensives in Syria or insulting Erdogan and other officials. (Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool)

Turkey: Social media law's passage raises censorship worries

Jul. 29, 2020 10:31 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s parliament approved a law early Wednesday that gives authorities greater power to regulate social media despite concerns of growing censorship in a country where critical voices are already muted. The law requires social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to...

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