Tag: turkey

Hundreds Of Anti-Erdogan Protesters Arrested Overnight As Crisis Slides: ‘Fight About Democracy’

Turkish police have detained 343 people during overnight protests in several cities against the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

Demonstrations took place across the country, including in Istanbul and the capital Ankara, the ministry said in a statement. It said the detentions were made to prevent “disrupting of public order” and warned that authorities would not tolerate “chaos and provocation.”

The Republican People’s Party (CHP), of which Imamoglu is a member, said the detentions were politically motivated and urged supporters to demonstrate lawfully. The protests are the biggest in Turkey since the massive demonstrations of 2013 to protest the demolition of Istanbul’s Gezi Park, Kurdistan 24 reported.

“There is a great anger. People are spontaneously taking to the streets. Some young people are being politicized for the first time in their lives,” said Yuksel Taskin, a lawmaker from the CHP.

“The feeling of being trapped — economically, socially, politically, and even culturally — was already widespread,” journalist and author Kemal Can told AFP.

The protests began on March 19 after Mayor Imamoglu was detained at his home that morning on terrorism and corruption charges. “I see today during my interrogation that I and my colleagues are faced with unimaginable accusations and slanders,” Imamoglu said in his defense during a counter-terrorism police interrogation, a court document viewed by Reuters showed.

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Zelenskiy Cozies Up To Turkey As Erdogan Sees Chance To Finally Join EU, Zelenskiy WILL NOT Hold Elections

The former Ottoman Empire – Turkey – firmly ensconced in a Islamist frame of mind, as it supports the former Al Qaeda members running Syria and slaughtering Christians, sees its chance to finally be part of the EU tyrannical club with the issue of Ukraine.

As America pulls back from the brink, Turkey is a possible benefactor for Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, now that further massive American ‘aid’ is not likely.

But it will come with a cost for Ukraine. After all, Ukraine does need men.

Zelenskiy said yesterday that Ukraine saw Turkey as a partner in security guarantees for his country, and added that Kyiv was ready to ratify a free trade agreement between the states.

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Turkey Warns That Netanyahu Will Resume Gaza War Once All Captives Released

The first phase of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire is coming to a close, with Hamas Thursday night expected to handover the bodies of four more deceased Israelis. This time there won’t be a handover ceremony, after outraged Israeli officials threatened it could collapse the deal and all progress made.

Negotiations for the second phase don’t really appear to have gotten of the ground as yet. The first phase took effect Jan.19 – and has resulted in the release of 25 living hostages by Hamas, as well as the bodies of four more.

The deal called for the exchange of some 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners held by Israel. Over 60 Israeli hostages still believed to be held in Israel, but some half are suspected to be dead at this point.

Conditions in the Gaza Strip continue to deteriorate amid winter conditions. “Sila Abdul Qader is the seventh child confirmed to have died from the cold in Gaza in just 24 hours,” Al Jazeera reports Thursday.

Meanwhile, Turkey is warning that once Israel gets all its citizens back, Prime Minister Netanyahu will simply resume the war, also as the White House has been vocalizing plans for a total displacement of the Palestinian civilian population there:

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says he fears Israel will resume the war on Gaza after all the captives are released.

“As it is known, an ethnic cleansing war was witnessed by the whole world; almost 60,000 civilian Palestinians were killed, most of them were women and children. This must never reoccur,” Fidan said.

“However, it is feared that once all Israeli captives are released, Netanyahu will resume the war. There are deep concerns in this respect and they give rise to constant threats within the region,” he said.

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UFO alert in Türkiye’s Gaziantep: Flights halted

Flights were suspended at Gaziantep Airport on Monday night after pilots reported a luminous, unidentified flying object (UFO).

At around 10:00 p.m. local time (GMT+3), pilots of an aircraft reported spotting a bright, unidentified object at an altitude of approximately 8,000 to 10,000 feet.

UFO alert in Türkiye’s 6th biggest city led to a brief chaos at the airport. Gaziantep is located in southeastern Türkiye, near the Syrian border.

The object, which did not appear on radar, was reported to air traffic control, prompting authorities to halt flights as a precaution.

One Turkish expert claimed that the light might be coming from a Starlink satellite.

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US-Backed Kurdish SDF Agrees To Integrate Into Jolani’s Syrian Army

A major agreement has reportedly been reached between the Kurdish SDF and the post-Assad Syrian government, which will reportedly include the full integration of SDF fighters into the national army. The deal also is said to have included the civil leadership in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).

Details are still emerging about a lot of exact specifics beyond the SDF integration into the military, which has been sought since the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over Syria and ousted the former Assad government. The deal is expected to increase the integration of AANES territory into national government institutions at least to some extent.

It is an open question, however, how much autonomy the Kurds in that territory might retain. Some of the HTS leaders have ruled out the idea of giving any autonomy to the Kurds, and suggested that any role in the national government requires them to first totally disarm and submit.

Integration into the Syrian Army seems well short of that position, and raises the question of how Turkey will respond to the announcement. Turkey has insisted they would invade if the SDF weren’t eliminated, and integration might be short enough of that goal that Turkey close partnership with the HTS could be impacted.

SDF leader Mazloum Abdi has made comments about the potential for a deal just a day prior to these announcements. Abdi said that he was hopeful for the new HTS-led government in Syria, and promised SDF support for national stability and unity.

Turkey isn’t the only potential objector here. The Kurdistan Syria Front (KSF) issued a statement very critical of SDF and the AANES deal, even though its exact terms still aren’t public.

They warned that the deal undermines the legitimate rights of Kurds in Syria, and complained of a “path of compromise” the SDF and their associates have been on since October.

The KSF was particularly critical of the lack of consensus with other Kurdish groups before making the deal, saying that they were undermining the appearance of a unified Kurdish stance in regional and international negotiations.

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Investigation underway after UFO vanishes from radar in Kastamonu, Türkiye

Turkish authorities are searching for an unidentified flying object (UFO) that entered radar detection Tuesday evening in Kastamonu before disappearing over a forested area in the Kirisoglu village vicinity.

The incident, which prompted an extensive response from local and national authorities, involved the Turkish Air Force, Kastamonu Provincial Gendarmerie Command, the Provincial Disaster and Emergency Directorate (AFAD), Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK) and commando units.

The object was first detected by radar at around 12:27 a.m. local time (9:27 p.m. GMT). Shortly after, it vanished from radar in the forested Kirisoglu region of the Kastamonu’s central district.

Authorities quickly mobilized to investigate, with thermal drones deployed to aid the search.

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Israel must prepare for potential war with Turkey, Nagel Committee warns

Israel must prepare for a direct confrontation with Turkey, according to the Nagel Committee’s latest report on the defense budget and security strategy.

The committee, established by the government, warns that Turkey’s ambitions to restore its Ottoman-era influence could lead to heightened tensions with Israel, possibly escalating into conflict.

The report highlights the risk of Syrian factions aligning with Turkey, creating a new and potent threat to Israel’s security.

“The threat from Syria could evolve into something even more dangerous than the Iranian threat,” the report states, warning that Turkish-backed forces might act as proxies, fueling regional instability.

The committee’s assessment comes amid Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly assertive policies in the region, which some analysts view as antagonistic to Israel’s interests.

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Turkey To Close Deal To Rebuild Syria – Are We Seeing ‘Greater Turkey’ Being Formed?

The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye Abdulkadir URALOĞLU declared this morning that Turkey will rebuild Syrian infrastructure and sign a maritime jurisdiction agreement with new nation. An urgent action plan for air, rail, road and communications services will be implemented, and airports reactivated, he declared.

We plan to take important steps towards the infrastructure work of the region in order to do our part as a result of the developments in Syria, he posted on X.

Based on our findings at Damascus and Aleppo Airports, we will first revive Damascus Airport through DHMİ.

We will do our part to ensure railway integrity up to #Şam . Our goal is to revitalize the historical trade and transportation potential of #Suriye , and we see this process as a great opportunity not only for regional but also for global cooperation.

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Humans originated in Europe, not Africa, according to fossil discovery

A recent discovery in Türkiye is shaking up our understanding of human evolution. Scientists have identified a new fossil ape, Anadoluvius turkae, from an 8.7-million-year-old site near Çankırı.

This find challenges the long-held belief that human ancestors evolved solely in Africa, suggesting instead that Europe played a significant role in our evolutionary history.

The fossil, uncovered at the Çorakyerler site with support from Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, reveals that Mediterranean fossil apes were more diverse than previously thought.

These apes are part of the earliest known group of hominins, which includes not only African apes like chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas but also humans and their fossil ancestors.

Out of Africa? Maybe not

This discovery adds weight to the theory that the ancestors of African apes and humans may have evolved in Europe before migrating to Africa between nine and seven million years ago.

Professor David Begun from the University of Toronto and Professor Ayla Sevim Erol from Ankara University led the international team of researchers who conducted the study.

“Our findings further suggest that hominines not only evolved in western and central Europe but spent over five million years evolving there and spreading to the eastern Mediterranean before eventually dispersing into Africa, probably as a consequence of changing environments and diminishing forests,” explained Professor Begun.

“The members of this radiation to which Anadoluvius turkae belongs are currently only identified in Europe and Anatolia.”

Partial skull of Anadoluvius turkae

The conclusion drawn from the study is based on the analysis of a well-preserved partial cranium discovered in 2015.

This fossil includes most of the facial structure and the front part of the braincase, providing valuable insights into the ape’s anatomy.

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Feds demanded Adams admin’s communications with 5 more countries as Turkey probe expands: sources

Federal prosecutors demanded City Hall cough up all communications between the Adams administration and five more foreign countries — a drastic expansion of the probe into Turkish campaign donations. 

The sprawling record requests came in the July slate of subpoenas, providing the first pinhole look into one of the US Attorney’s Office for Southern District of New York’s investigations targeting Adams and his allies since the raids of his top campaign fundraiser last November. 

The subpoenas sought details on all interactions between administration officials and Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan, sources told The Post. 

It was previously unknown what the subpoenas sought. 

Adams’ 2021 campaign was also served with subpoenas for additional information on its campaign donations, specifically those that had ties to Turkey, sources said. 

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