Turkish coup d'état attempt

Greece is to send 308 migrants -- mainly Moroccans, Tunisians and Algerians -- back to Turkey under a 2002 deal signed with Ankara, a government source told AFP on March 1.

A court in the Aegean province of ?zmir has acquitted 357 suspects, including active duty soldiers, in the trial of a military espionage case where the defendants were accused of "keeping confidential military information and documents."

The acquittal of 357 defendants, including senior Turkish soldiers actively on duty, who faced the charge of "membership of an armed organization" in a case about military espionage has been demanded, the state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

The United States' top commander arrived in Ankara on Jan. 5 for a meeting with his Turkish counterpart amid an escalation in regional tensions.

Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was welcomed at Ankara's Esenbo?a Airport by Turkish and American officials. 

Around 1,800 people, including 750 police officers and 80 soldiers, have been detained as part of ongoing operations in Turkey against sympathizers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen since 2014.

Turkish authorities say they arrested 21 people who were seeking to cross illegally into Bulgaria on Saturday.

Another 26 were captured before entereing Greece from Turkey's northwest, Hürriyet Daily News reports.

Former Chief of General Staff Gen. Ya?ar Büyükan?t has said in his testimony that he did not intend to stage a military coup in Turkey, but merely sought to "protect the constitutional order and the wellbeing of the military," as part of the April 27, 2007 "e-memorandum" case.

The Supreme Military Council (YA?) will convene on Nov. 26, chaired by Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu. 

Members of the council including Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, the defense minister, force commanders, army commanders, the gendarmerie forces commander, navy commanders, and four star generals, will participate at the top defense meeting, which is held twice a year.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will pay a two-day visit to Turkey on Nov. 17-18, seeking to find a common approach to deal with the migrant crisis.

The Turkish government has hired an international law firm to investigate the worldwide activities of the government's friend-turned-foe U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen's Hizmet (Service) Movement.