Latest News from Turkey
Secretary-General Rasmussen says doesn't see a role for NATO in Iraq
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on June 12 he didn't see a role for the organisation in Iraq after Islamist militants seized swathes of territory in the country and took 80 Turkish citizens hostage.
Rasmussen condemned the violence and called for immediate release of the hostages.
Erdoğan calls Merkel, urges accelerating work for Turkey’s presidential vote
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan has asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel to accelerate preparations for the upcoming presidential elections in Turkey, during which millions of Turkish voters living abroad â including 1.5 million in Germany alone - will be eligible to cast their votes.
ANALYSIS: A joint strategy needs to be developed against ISIL
While seeking an answer to the question of how the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) so suddenly captured Mosul, it has been argued that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki deliberately handed over the city to ISIL.
Turkey’s main opposition leader indirectly demands resignation of FM Davutoğlu
Main opposition Republican Peopleâs Party (CHP) leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄlu asked Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄlu on June 12 to âresignâ from his post due to his foreign policy, which he says has isolated Turkey in the international arena.
Serbia, Turkey sign plan of bilateral military cooperation
BELGRADE - The plan of bilateral military cooperation for the year of 2014 was signed by the Defence Ministries of Serbia and Turkey in Belgrade.
The plan was signed on Wednesday and the main fields of military cooperation covered in the document comprise training and participation in joint exercises of special forces and cooperation in regional security initiatives.
Turkish markets tumble over Iraqi turmoil fears
The Turkish Lira has weakened against the U.S. dollar and stocks opened the day with losses due to heightened concerns over the turmoil in neighboring Iraq.
The lira/dollar ratio climbed over 2.12 in the morning as investors fear the geopolitical risks in Iraq may have knock-on effects in Turkey.
Top US diplomat calls for ‘immediate release’ of Turkish hostages on official visit to Ankara
A top U.S. diplomat, who is currently on an official visit to the Turkish capital Ankara, has joined calls demanding the âimmediate releaseâ of 49 Turkish citizens kidnapped from a consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
NATO Holds Emergency Meeting over Iraq ISIL Activity
Alliance ambassadors convened late Wednesday upon request by Turkey after a terrorist group took tens of Turkish citizens hostage in Iraq.
At the meeting in Brussels NATO ambassadors discussed the situation in Iraq, where militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) kidnapped 80 people at the Turkish Consulate in Mosul.
US may send in drones to Iraq to battle jihadists
Washington vowed June 12 to boost aid to Iraq and is mulling drone strikes amid fears Iraqi forces are crumbling in face of militants increasingly emboldened since the U.S. withdrawal. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhilei called for the "safe and immediate" return of 49 Turkish citizens kidnapped from the consulate in Mosul.
Turkey plunges down in ultra-rich ranks amid growing global wealth
The number of the ultra-rich in Turkey dropped significantly in 2013, while the millionaire number stagnated, according to BCGâs latest research The wealth level and the total number of ultra-rich dropped in Turkey last year, when global wealth witnessed a remarkable rise, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Sectarian radicalism threatens the Middle East
Ankaraâs fears have become true, and the Turkish Consulate General in Mosul was raided by invading militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) on June 11. The fate of 48 consulate personnel, including Consul General Ãztürk Yılmaz, was not exactly known as the Hürriyet Daily News was going to press.
Turkey faces new threats which must be confronted
Prime Minister ErdoÄan is so embroiled in domestic squabbling that he appears not to be aware of what is going on around Turkey, let alone the rest of the world. All of his expectations in Syria are in tatters. He also failed to comprehend the situation in Egypt in the lead-up to last yearâs military coup.
PKK set to fight against Islamists in Iraq
The fall of Mosul into the hands of Islamist militants, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), has the potential to ignite a region-wide war, with the Kurdistan Workersâ Party (PKK) announcing that its militants are ready to fight the Islamists together with the peshmerga.
Brinkmanship from Erdoğan ahead of elections?
There is no doubt Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan excels on brinkmanship, both internationally and domestically.
On the international front, he lashes out against the European Union. As he goes to Brussels, everyone expects ErdoÄan to do or say something that will break apart relations. But all of a sudden, he is no longer the angry man.
Neo-Ottomanist dreams bump into ISIL
The al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) organization, after it captured Mosul, took Turkeyâs consulate. Right after this story erupted, the Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement: âWe are investigating the claims.â