Organization of the Islamic Conference

One of the most important messages delivered by EU Minister Ömer Çelik at a recent meeting with the Ankara bureau chiefs of media outlets was that the Turkish government is not willing to turn current spats with the Netherlands and Germany into a fresh source of tension with the European Union. 

Turkey's parliament has elected ?smet Y?lmaz, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate and incumbent defence minister, as its speaker with "covert support" from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
The first two rounds of voting were held on June 30, but none of the four candidates gathered the required support of 367 members of parliament in the 550-seat assembly.

Turkey's parliament has failed to elect a new speaker in a vote that could provide clues as to a future coalition government. 

The first two rounds of voting were scheduled for June 30, with candidates requiring the support of at least 367 members of parliament in the 550-seat assembly in the first two votes. The first round started at 3 p.m. and 545 deputies voted. 

It has emerged that Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu sent a letter of appreciation to presidential candidate Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, when İhsanoğlu was set to retire as the chief of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip could amount to war crimes, UN rights chief Navi Pillay said Wednesday while also condemning indiscriminate rocket attacks by Palestinian militants Hamas.
      

Israeli diplomatic missions targeted by demonstrators

ANKARA -- The Turkish police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators who threw stones at the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.

They were protesting against Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

President Abdullah Gül has urged Israel to end its military operations on Gaza Strip, warning against “massive consequences,” and called on the U.N. Security Council to make a “cogent decision to end the Israeli offensive.”

Ankara will call for an emergency meeting in the U.N. Security Council, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and U.N. Commission on Human Rights over Israel’s ground offensive into Gaza, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said.

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, a senior academic and diplomat nominated June 16 by Turkey’s two major opposition parties as their joint candidate to run against an expected bid by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the August presidential election, has actually become a more visible figure for the Turkish public after his election as the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in