Turkey - Page 22

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Dutch police have dismantled what they describe as the biggest cocaine laboratory ever discovered in the Netherlands — hidden at a former horse riding school — and arrested a total of 17 people from Colombia, Turkey and the Netherlands.

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) – A car believed to be transporting migrants who recently entered the country crashed into roadworks on a highway in northern Greece overnight, killing seven people and injuring five, police said.

Greek police have arrested a Syrian migrant carrying nearly 1,500 illegal pills near the Turkish frontier as the government is set to begin strengthening the border fence at Evros.

Several Libyan officials told the Associated Press (AP) on Thursday that Turkey pressured Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) into accepting military assistance from Syrian extremist militias and repaying Turkey with lucrative offshore energy deals.

Lawmakers in Turkey passed a law Wednesday requiring social media companies to appoint a “representative” to respond to government demands for censorship, a push President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed would occur after social media users mocked his newborn grandchild.

Admiral Kosmas Christidis has claimed that the Greek armed forces are fully capable of taking on Turkey militarily, as tensions remain high between the two countries in the Mediterranean.

Friday, July 24th marked the first Islamic Friday prayers in the Hagia Sophia since Turkey recently converted the former museum into a mosque and has been described as like a “rock concert” by Swedish media. Sanna Drysén, who works for

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the European Union to pursue sanctions against Turkey over the country’s violations of the Greek exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean.

Thousands of Muslim faithful gathered outside the historic Hagia Sophia site in Istanbul on Friday ready for the first prayers since Turkish authorities ruled the building’s rich Christian heritage could be overturned and the building reconverted into a mosque.

The European Commission has slammed the Turkish government over its Navtex alert issued earlier this week for seismic research off of the coast of a Greek island.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party is promoting a legislative bill this week seeking to crack down on citizen’s right to post freely on social media, forcing companies to censor or face fines and restrictions.

Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reverted to a years-old explanation for his military’s invasion of Syria on Tuesday, insisting that Turkish forces will be in the country “until the people are free.”

Greece put its armed forces on alert on Tuesday after Turkey announced it would be engaging in a seismic survey in disputed waters and launched 15 Turkish naval vessels.

Netflix has canceled the Turkish Original show If Only after Turkish officials refused to give the studio a filming license unless they removed a gay character from the script.

The United States Catholic bishops have joined the Greek Orthodox Church in proclaiming June 24 a day of “mourning and manifest grief” over Turkey’s decision to recommission the basilica of Santa Sophia as a mosque.

The Egyptian parliament on Monday authorized President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to deploy troops in Libya to halt the advance of Turkish-backed militia allied with the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Hagia Sophia on Sunday shortly before the newly reconverted mosque opens to Muslim prayer on Friday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has invited Pope Francis to visit Hagia Sophia, which will revert to being a full-time mosque on July 24.

A majority of Greeks have expressed dissatisfaction with the international response to the Turkish regime announcing it would be converting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry says it is setting up “a new museum” to house the Hagia Sophia’s “portable icons and Holy relics” indicating that the former cathedral’s Christian relics and iconography will be removed from the site, the Greek City Times reported Friday.

Turkey has inserted itself into an escalating conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan by offering the latter its military technology, including missiles and drones, after Baku threatened to bomb an Armenian nuclear power plant.

An Istanbul court on Monday sentenced three Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists to over 1,000 years in prison each for allegedly perpetrating a 2016 terror attack that killed 12 people, including six police officers, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Tuesday.

Turkey’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan marked four years since he overcame a military coup attempt with a concert at his lavish presidential complex on Wednesday and thousands of planned events nationwide.

Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) announced in a Tuesday statement that it would cover up images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ in the Hagia Sophia, one of the holiest sites in Christianity, now that it has been converted into a mosque.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Friday that “resurrecting” a mosque inside the legendary Hagia Sophia cathedral is just the first step in a mission to “liberate the al-Aqsa mosque” – in other words, to eject the Jews from the holy site in Jerusalem they know as the Temple Mount.

Boston Celtics star Enes Kanter condemned the conversion of the Hagia Sophia, once one of the most important Christian cathedrals in the world, in an interview Sunday, accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of converting what was officially a museum in a desperate bid to win votes.

EU foreign ministers on Monday criticized Turkey for changing the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque.

Pope Francis on Sunday expressed his dismay at Turkey’s decision to make Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia museum a mosque, joining a growing list of religious and political leaders to condemn the move.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has revealed that an Egyptian spy worked in the offices of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert for years, possibly collecting information on Egyptian opposition groups.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The interim secretary-general of the World Council of Churches has written to Turkey’s president expressing his “grief and dismay” over Turkey’s decision to change the status of Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque.

Turkey will mark the fourth anniversary of a 2016 failed military coup on July 15 with 3,000 mass events in which people will gather in large numbers despite the ongoing Chinese coronavirus pandemic, Turkey’s Hürriyet Daily News reported on Friday.

The ancient cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul – the former seat of eastern Christianity – could now be dedicated to use as a mosque after Turkey’s high court on Friday ruled its conversion into a museum in 1934 was unlawful.

Libya’s al-Watiya airbase was hit by airstrikes on Saturday night, drawing condemnation and a promise of retaliation from the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) headquartered in Tripoli.

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas has come out against the proposal from Turkey to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia back into a mosque, saying such a move would strain relations between Christians and Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged tighter government control over social media on Wednesday after insults were allegedly directed at his daughter and son-in-law when they announced the birth of their child on Twitter this week, Turkey’s Hürriyet Daily News reported.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer and Integration Minister Susanne Raab have been placed under police protection following death threats from the far-right Turkish Grey Wolves after a series of riots last week in Vienna.