Latest News from Turkey

Troops Of 12 Countries To Hold An Exercise in Bulgaria

Land troops of 12 countries will take part in the international military exercise at the Novo Selo range in Bulgaria.

Saber Guardian, the largest exercise for this year, starts on Friday and will include 700 troops from Bulgaria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, USA, Belgium, Turkey and Ukraine, according to Bulgaria's Defence Ministry.

Turkey Train Crash Kills 9

At least 9 people have been killed and several more injured when a passenger train collided with a minibus at a crossing near the Mediterranean port city of Mersin.

The accident happened on Thursday morning, when a shuttle bus was passing through a railway crossing near an industrial zone between the cities of Mersin and Tarsus, the Hurriyet Daily reports.

Southeast Europe, Turkey criticise Russian moves in Ukraine

The annexation of Crimea has many worried about Russian ambition in Eastern Europe.

A woman walks past Russian soldiers patrolling outside the navy headquarters in Simferopol on Tuesday (March 18th). [AFP]

Lagumdzija expects BiH, Serbia to step up cooperation

SARAJEVO – Bosnia-Herzegovina's (BiH) Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija has said that the big victory of Aleksandar Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the March 16 early parliamentary elections in Serbia is a great encouragement for the region.

Seven Dead After Gunman Storms Turkey's Statistics Office

A gunman killed 6 people and committed suicide after storming a statistics office in Turkey's city of Kars.

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reports that several others were injured.

Two children among seven dead in Lesvos sea tragedy

Two children, a girl and a boy, and three women were among seven migrants who drowned off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos in the early hours of Tuesday when the plastic boat that was carrying them from Turkey to Greece took on water, the state-run Athens-Macedonia News Agency has confirmed.

Turkey Threatens to Close Bosphorus for Russian Ships

Turkey will close the Bosphorus for Russian ships, if there is violence against the Crimean Tatars, said Turkish prime minister Recep Erdogan.

Bulgaria-Turkey Border Fence 'Worth Less' Than Estimated

Miscalculations involving the fence which is to be constructed along the Bulgarian-Turkish border are worth around BGN 4 M.

Bulgaria's Defense Ministry has written up the total sum, thus increasing it from BGN 5.1 M to BGN 9.664 M.

Seven migrants killed in boat sinking

Authorities in Greece said Tuesday they had recovered the bodies of seven immigrants who drowned overnight when a boat sank in the eastern Aegean Sea after traveling illegally from nearby Turkey.

Dimitar Bechev: In Crimea, Turkey's Hands are Tied

Dimitar Bechev is a senior policy fellow and head of the office of the European Council on Foreign Relations in Sofia. From 2006-2010, he was a research fellow at Oxford's European Studies Centre and held a lectureship in International Relations at Worcester College, Oxford, and a visiting professorship at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.

Greens triumph at Efes while Reds lose at Barca

By George Georgakopoulos

Panathinaikos revived its hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the Euroleague with a victory at Anadolu Efes in overtime on Friday, while depleted Olympiakos succumbed to unbeaten group leader Barcelona in Spain.

Belgrade declaration on social entrepreneurship signed

BELGRADE - The representatives of non-governmental organizations from the region of the Western Balkans and Turkey signed on Friday the Belgrade Declaration on Development of Social Entrepreneurship, with an aim to draw attention of the decision-makers in the EU and other countries to the steps that need to be taken for further development of social economy.