Turkmenistan

A passenger on a Turkish Airlines (THY) plane flying to the Turkmenistan capital Ashkhabad from Istanbul caused panic after shouting that he had a bomb attached to his body, showing a lump concealed under his clothes that later turned out to be a liquor bottle.

Turkmenistan has signed an outline deal with Turkey to supply gas to a new pipeline that could help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian gas imports.

The two countries struck a so-called framework agreement on Oct. 7 for Turkmenistan, which is keen to diversify exports of its gas to world markets, to supply gas to the proposed Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP).

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has refuted claims from Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) officials that the Kurdish peace process was launched by the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and would end with him.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned both Israel and the international community that an Israeli offensive on the al-Aqsa Mosque may pave the way for a “new intifada,” leading to troubles that might spread across the world and not be limited to the Middle East.

The five countries with a Caspian Sea coastline signed Monday their first document on cooperation in the region.

Presidents of Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan also agreed that no armed forces of third countries should sail into the sea, Russian agency ITAR-TASS reports.

PRISTINA - Jennifer Brush, former Director of the Office of South Central European Affairs at the US Department of State, has been appointed as Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kosovo.

The decision to appoint Brush was announced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday, UNMIK said in a statement.

The head of Renaissance (Rönesans) Holding, the biggest Turkish contracting firm in Russia, Dr. Erman Ilıcak, who I happened to meet during the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum last May, is very happy nowadays. He, indeed, has reason to be.

Team Mamaliga Warriors crossed the finish line of the Mongol Rally, the world's largest charity rally, at the weekend, and returned to Romania.

MamaligaWarriors is one of two Romanian teams that embarked on the rally. Team Dracula Khan, the second one crossed the finish line on August 15.

More than 90 international leaders and politicians are expected to attend Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s presidential handover ceremony.  

At least 15 countries will be represented at the highest level at the event, however, the United States will send its Ankara Embassy’s chargé d’affairs, a rather low level participant compared to other countries.

Turkmenistan, holder of the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves, signed a $1.7 billion deal with a Turkish-Japanese consortium on Aug. 26 to build a gas-to-liquids plant as part of its strategy to maximize revenues from its gas riches.