Geography of Asia

"Unfortunately, due to this attitude, we have come to the stage of a strike in both companies," Durmus said.

However, the strike has raised concerns about access to reliable information ahead of critical general and presidential elections on May 14.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has condemned the opening of the "Nemesis Monument" in Armenia, stressing that it glorifies the "bloody terrorist attacks in which 31 Turkish diplomats were murdered."

The first British civilians evacuated from Sudan arrived on the island of Cyprus on Tuesday, airlifted out by Britain after warring factions agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire.

A passenger plane with about 40 civilians on board landed at Cyprus's Larnaca airport, a spokesperson for Cyprus's foreign ministry said. [Reuters]

"We will not let anyone smear Cyprus' reputation," said President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday, following a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on the issue of sanctions imposed by the US and the UK on individuals and legal entities in Cyprus in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The return to provocative statements by Turkish officials after the lull in tensions since the February earthquakes is being attributed in Athens to the election campaign in the neighboring country.

At a special ceremony in the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Erdogan awarded representatives of the foreign teams that joined the rescue operations after the severe earthquakes in February.

Defense ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Iran and Syria, along with the intelligence chiefs of the three countries have met in Moscow on April 25, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

They discussed concrete steps that can be taken in the field of strengthening the security situation in Syria and normalizing Türkiye-Syria relations, said the statement.

Supporters of Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at a rally as part of Nowruz (Newroz), or Kurdish New Year, celebrations in Diyarbakir, Turkey, 21 March 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

Cyprus said on Tuesday it had activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism for the evacuation of third-country civilians through the island from Sudan.

"The Republic of Cyprus intends to offer facilities to friendly countries for the repatriation of their nationals through Cyprus," the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

After a brief period of sunshine and warm weather, the temperature in the northern and central parts of the country is likely to decline again starting April 26, with particularly western provinces of Türkiye to witness a sharp temperature drop, the Turkish State Meteorology Service has announced.

Precipitation will continue to stay in effect throughout the week in the country.