Decades

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss Syria and Libya, an official statement said on Jan. 6.

According to the statement issued by Turkey's Directorate of Communications, the two leaders also addressed the bilateral relations and regional developments.

Somalia-based al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants on Jan. 5 attacked a U.S.-Kenya military base located in the coastal town of Lamu, the Kenyan military confirmed.

Today, the Bulgarian capital of Sofia celebrates the 142st anniversary of its liberation from Ottoman rule.

Sofia was liberated on 4 January 1878 by Russian general Gurko, who headed Russian and Finnish military forces and Bulgarian voluntary units known as opalchentsi.

Turkey neutralized more than 200 terrorists during anti-terror operations at home and abroad in December, Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Çataklı said on Jan. 3.

Turkish security forces neutralized 144 YPG/PKK terrorists, including one on the orange list and three on the grey list, during Operation Kıran in the country's southeast, said Çataklı.

Turkish authorities have repatriated 150 foreign fighters detained over links to militant groups since Ankara launched a program to send back detainees on Nov. 11, Interior Ministry spokesman İsmail Çataklı said on Jan. 3.

Two Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Iraq in clashes with PKK terrorists as part of Operation Claw, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Jan. 2.

The EU is working on a slew of new legislative proposals to make Europe a better place to live. Read on to discover what you can expect in 2020. The proposals were originally published on the European Parliament website and can be found here.

Climate emergency

Turkish police detained eight suspects linked to the ISIL terror group, security sources said on Jan. 2.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that up to 250,000 migrants are fleeing the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib to Turkey, adding that Ankara is trying to prevent them from crossing the border, BTA quoted Reuters as saying.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that up to 250,000 migrants were fleeing from the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib towards Turkey, adding that Ankara was trying to prevent them from crossing its border.