Latest News from Turkey

Culture minister vows to address cracks and fragilities at Istanbul's Topkapı Palace

Turkish Culture Minister Nabi Avcı visited Istanbul's historical Topkapı Palace on Oct. 3 after news reports that the popular Ottoman-era tourist site is riddled with dangerous cracks in its treasury room.

Erdoğan calls on Muslim countries to unite against US 9/11 bill

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 2 urged Islamic nations to unite in solidarity against a newly passed bill in the U.S. that allows families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for their losses.
In an interview with the Saudi Arabia-based TV station Rotana, Erdoğan said "despicable developments" were being formed against the Islamic world.

PM Yıldırım slams Moody's decision, praises Turkey's 'growing economy'

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has slammed the Moody's decision to downgrade Turkey's credit rating at a moment when the Turkish economy is growing.

Foreign Ministry expresses regret over Russian ban of Crimean Parliament

The Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed "regret" over the Russian High Court's approval of a ban on the activities of the Crimean Tatar Parliament on Oct. 3.
"The ministry regrets the High Court of Russia's approval after appeal of the ban," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said on Oct. 3 in a written statement.

There is no Kurdish problem, just a PKK terror problem: Turkish PM

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has denied that Turkey has a "Kurdish problem," saying there is instead only an outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) "terror problem" that hinders development in the country's eastern and southeastern provinces.

President Erdoğan congratulates Turkey's Jews on Rosh Hashanah

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated the Jewish community's New Year, or Rosh Hashanah, on Oct. 3.

Erdoğan said Rosh Hashanah, which symbolizes new year in the Hebrew calendar, was the most important religious holiday in the Judaism and stressed "the guaranteed right of all Turkish citizens to live in accordance with their faith."

Turkey developing new system to neutralize Katyusha rockets fired by ISIL: Minister

Turkey has created a system that will neutralize Katyusha missiles fired over the border by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and field tests will start soon, Defense Minister Fikri Işık has said.

We are living in a semi-open prison: Turkey's main opposition CHP head

Turkey is like a "semi-open prison," main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said in a speech on the rising number of jailed journalists and writers in the country.

Gülenists developed ByLock before election of judges, prosecutors in 2014: Report

Followers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen reportedly developed the smartphone app ByLock, which came to prominence after the attempted July 15 coup due to the coup plotters' usage of the app, before the elections of Turkey's Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) in 2014.

Police search for suspected PKK bombers in İzmir

Police in the Aegean province of İzmir are searching for two suspected bombers of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who allegedly arrived in Turkey's third largest city to stage a bomb attack and fled during a police operation.

Antalya loses 4 million tourists over nine months of 2016

The number of tourists visiting the Mediterranean resort of Antalya by air saw a 47 percent decrease in the first nine months of 2016 compared to last year, plummeting to 4.7 million, as Turkey's tourist industry continues to struggle with a number of headwinds.

Freed sexual abuse convict re-arrested upon prosecutor's objection

A sexual abuse convict, who was freed despite being sentenced to over 16 years behind bars after an Istanbul court cited a Constitutional Court annulment narrowing the punishment scope of such abuse offenses, has been re-arrested by the same court after the prosecutor objected to the ruling.