Turkey - Page 56

Contents: Russia, Iran and Turkey announce farcical new Syria peace plan; Syria refuses to permit foreign monitors

BERLIN (AFP) – Germany has granted political asylum to numerous Turkish military personnel and their families holding diplomatic passports, German media reported Monday, amid strained relations between the two NATO allies. The German interior ministry was not immediately available for comment, but

Turkish officials told Hurriyet Daily News on Monday they are planning to construct a wall along the Iranian border to keep out Kurdish separatists from the PKK terrorist organization.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said on Monday that the United States will examine the proposed plan to create “de-escalation zones” to curb violence in the ongoing Syrian civil war between Bashar al-Assad’s regime, opposition rebels, and Islamic terrorist groups.

ISTANBUL (AP) – Turkey’s state-run news agency says detention warrants have been issued for 23 judges and prosecutors who have been dismissed from their posts. Anadolu news agency said Saturday the warrants were issued for 17 judges and six prosecutors

Russia, Iran, and Turkey are proposing a plan for refugee “safe zones” in Syria that would be no-fly zones for all military aircraft, including those of the United States.

BRUSSELS (AP) – Belgium’s prime minister said Friday the time has come for the European Union to make a final decision about Turkey’s “dead end” bid for membership, saying that after months of provocations from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “masochism

BERLIN (AP) — A leading German politician says the government shouldn’t allow voting in Germany in a possible referendum on whether to reintroduce the death penalty in Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken of reinstating the death penalty

ATHENS (Reuters) – A Greek court on Wednesday blocked a second request by Turkey for the extradition of asylum seekers who fled to Greece in July after a failed coup attempt, court officials said, potentially increasing tensions between the traditional

BERLIN (AP) — Dozens of people have rallied outside the Turkish embassy in Berlin, calling for the release of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel and scores of other reporters imprisoned in Turkey.

Contents: Kurdish forces in Syria take Tabqa city en route to Raqqa; US military moves to protect Syrian Kurds from Turkey’s military

Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), the federal media censorship body, recently passed regulations against “non-traditional” programming such as dating shows and the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show that at least one RTÜK member has condemned as a threat to free speech.

According to Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News, the United States may “press the Raqqa” button after President Donald Trump’s May 16 meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey under President Tayyip Erdogan has turned its back on joining the European Union, at least for now, the bloc’s top official dealing with Ankara said, offering economic cooperation instead if both sides can restore friendly ties.

Turkish police on Monday used tear gas to disperse a group of protesters as they sought to defy a ban and march to Istanbul’s Taksim square to celebrate May Day, an AFP journalist reported.

Communist China, in a rare move, released some details behind the arrest of a suspected Islamic terrorist who allegedly had more than 100 people under his command in Turkey, reports the South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing state media.

In a move that social media users called censorship, a Turkish court on Saturday blocked access to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, enforcing an earlier restriction by Turkey’s telecommunications watchdog.

Arab media and Syrian opposition forces reported Saturday night that the Israeli Air Force had carried out strikes near the border town of Quneitra.

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey on Saturday blocked all access inside the country to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia reportedly for articles claiming links between Ankara and terror groups, the latest restriction on a popular website to hit Turkish users.

Multiple reports have suggested an elevated American presence on the Syrian-Turkish border where clashes between the Turkish military and the Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG/YPJ) have escalated in the past week.

Large numbers of foreign fighters and sympathisers are abandoning Islamic State and trying to enter Turkey, with at least two British nationals and a US citizen joining an exodus that is depleting the ranks of the terror group.

Turkey has descended into an authoritarian government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and is currently “the world’s biggest prison for media professionals,” according to the 2017 World Press Freedom Index issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Islamic State militants are reportedly abandoning ISIS as it loses territory and fleeing to Turkey, with foreign recruits leading the retreat.

Turkey has expressed its condolences to the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) after airstrikes led to the deaths of several Peshmerga soldiers but vowed to continue operations in the region following attacks on Syrian Kurdish and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in both countries this week.

This story originally appeared at the Clarion Project: By Ryan Mauro The Syriac Military Council, a Christian militia in Syria opposed to the Assad regime, condemned Turkey for bombing its U.S.-backed Kurdish allies who are fighting ISIS. The Christians accused

(AP) — The European Union says it expects to finish allocating this year all of the 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) it has pledged to Turkey to help the country accommodate the nearly 3 million Syrian refugees living there.

EU-Turkey relations have been severely hit by actions taken by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.

“One thousand and nine secret imams have been detained so far in 72 provinces, and the operation is ongoing,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced in an Ankara press conference on Wednesday.

Contents: Turkey’s warplanes strike Kurdish militias fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq; PKK conducts new terror attack in southeastern Turkey; US State Dept. says that it’s ‘deeply concerned’ about the Turkish airstrikes

Early Tuesday morning, a wave of Turkish airstrikes reportedly struck a headquarters building used by the Kurdish YPG militia in northeastern Syria. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 18 YPG fighters and media officials were killed in the attack.

ISTANBUL (AFP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s lawyer has lodged a complaint against a former French diplomat, accusing him of inciting an assassination of Turkey’s leader, his spokesman confirmed on Monday.

In an interview with the Russian state outlet Sputnik, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad argues “there’s no difference” between American soldiers and “terrorists on the ground” in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit China, Russia, India, and the United States, as well as make stops in Europe during a world tour next month intended to rehabilitate his public image after a controversial referendum vote greatly expanded his executive power.

Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK), the election oversight agency, dismissed a call for annulling Sunday’s referendum to adopt a presidential system after opposition parties and international observers condemned the vote as neither free nor fair.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his first interview since Sunday’s referendum to implement a presidential system in Turkey, protested those who noted his party won the vote by a slim margin, comparing the vote to a soccer game.

Center for Security Policy President Frank Gaffney joined SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Wednesday’s Bretibart News Daily to talk about the crisis in North Korea, and whether the Trump administration will be able to break a cycle of provocations and negotiations that stretches back for decades.