Latest News from Turkey
Turkey says Russia should not violate its airspace to avoid repeat plane shoot down
Sevil Erku?sevil.erkus@hurriyet.com.trTurkey has made clear that Russian military airplanes should stop violating Turkey's airspace if they wish to ensure Turkish forces will not shoot down any more Russian airplanes.
Turkey detains 27 Russian commercial ships in retaliation
As Russia has detained eight commercial ships flying Turkish flags in the Black Sea since the jet crisis erupted between the two countries, Turkey has detained a total of 27 Russian ships in a retaliatory move, as reported by daily Habertürk on Dec. 16.
US withdraws F-15 Eagles from Turkey's ?ncirlik base
The United States has withdrawn its F-15 warplanes deployed to the ?ncirlik air base in southern Turkey, the EUCOM has said in a written statement.
"The Air Force F-15 Eagles and Strike Eagles deployed to ?ncirlik ? are returning to RAF Lakenheath, U.K., beginning Dec. 16," read a written statement issued on Dec 16.
Turkish Airlines cancels flights to southeastern ??rnak amid clashes
Turkish Airlines has announced on its website that flights to Turkey's southeastern ??rnak province will be cancelled for a second day on Dec. 16 amid curfews and clashes.
"Flights listed below have been cancelled due to operational reasons," the airlines announced in a message to its customers with tickets to ??rnak.
Two children found dead off Turkey's Aegean coast
The bodies of two children who were thought to be refugees were found washed up on Turkey's west coast on Dec. 15, the Turkish coast guard has said.
Russia 'may expand sanctions against Turkey'
Russian sanctions on Turkey could be extended to the hotel business, timber processing, pilot training and government contracts in any industry, as claimed by Russian newspaper Kommersant on Dec. 16.
A relevant draft resolution was prepared by Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and forwarded to the cabinet, according to paper, as reported by Reuters.
Merkel to lead EU 'mini-summit' with Turkey on migration
German chancellor Angela Merkel will lead a meeting of eight European states and Turkey on the sidelines of an EU summit on Dec. 17 to discuss plans to resettle refugees from Turkey.
Three Separate Protests Held in Sofia
A rally over Parliament's decision to reject part of a proposed judicial reform and two other protests were held in Bulgaria's capital Sofia on Tuesday evening.
Supporters of nationalist Ataka party also marched against the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was in Sofia on Tuesday to meet his Bulgarian counterpart, Boyko Borisov.
Turkey's covert state expenses jump 90 percent in November
Turkey's covert state expenses increased by 90 percent to 221.5 million Turkish Liras ($74.8 million) in November, as the overall state budget posted a 798 million-lira ($270 million) surplus.
The budget had posted a 3.6 billion-lira ($1.2 billion) surplus last November.
Curfews in Turkey's southeast to be tightened further
The authorities plan to implement even stricter practices during curfews imposed in districts in Turkey's southeast for military operations targeting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), daily Hürriyet has reported.
Changing the rules of the game for Turkish contemporary art
Ali Güreli, the founder and chairman of the Contemporary Istanbul art fair, emphasizes the importance of contemporary art and speaks about new projects and how to better circulate Turkish contemporary art internationally Once again this year the Bosphorus Summit in Istanbul focused on the importance of soft power and how it evolves.
Gavrilo Princip's modern-day reincarnation
As one good friend from distant lands has reminded recently, Turkey these days looks like the man who shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Once again, it's the never-ending struggle, the (Islamic) "dawa" - the fight for the advancement of Sunni Islamism. "Dawa" commands fighting the infidel at home and abroad, including in (non-Sunni) Muslim lands.
'Al-ISIL' and 'al-Russia'
Finally, somebody has told the plain truth as it is. That person was Professor Beril Dedeo?lu, an international relations professor and the EU minister in Turkey's pre-election government.
"Russia will be the captain of restructuring Syria, with or without Bashar al-Assad," Dedeo?lu recently told Al Jazeera. This means the mighty NATO is leaving the organizing role to Russia.
How many Syrian refugees will EU accept from Turkey?
Recently intensified dialogue between Turkey and the EU has already produced the opening of chapter 17, which addresses economic and monetary policy, on Dec. 14, nearly two years after the last chapter was opened. This increased the number of opened chapters to 15 out of 35 with hopes that 2016 will witness the opening of five more chapters.
'Sunni front' against terror is a bad idea
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has praised a new "Saudi-led Islamic anti-terrorism alliance" as being "in line with U.S. calls for a greater Sunni role" in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). He was speaking during a visit to Turkey's ?ncirlik air base on Dec. 15, which came only a day after the Pentagon gave a conceptual briefing about the front to U.S.