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Turkey
Turkey’s outgoing PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been officially sworn in as the country’s president after winning the first public vote for head of state.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who served three terms as prime minister, has vowed to give more power to the previously ceremonial post.
Critics of Recep Tayyip Erdogan say the move will make him more authoritarian. Opposition MPs walked out of the ceremony.
Outgoing Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is set to be Turkey’s prime minister after being elected head of the governing AK Party.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised in his presidential oath to protect Turkey’s independence and integrity, to honor the constitution and adhere to the principles of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
“In my capacity as president of the Republic, I swear upon my honor and repute before the great Turkish nation and before history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the brief ceremony in parliament.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan served three terms as Turkey’s prime minister (photo AFP/Getty Images)
The new president left parliament to lay a wreath at Ataturk’s mausoleum in the centre of Ankara – widely regarded as one of the most important symbols of the secular republic.
Another ceremony was held at the presidential palace.
Turkey’s main opposition party walked out of parliament just before Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived, in protest over what they say is his disrespect for the constitution.
One legislator was even reported to have hurled a copy of the constitution toward the Speaker, complaining that he was not allowed to express his views.
Main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu boycotted the inauguration ceremony.
Under the constitution, Recep Tayyip Erdogan must cut his ties with the AK Party upon becoming president.
At the party’s congress on August 27, he said Turkey needed a new constitution, which analysts say would introduce the style of executive presidency that Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly seeks.
Thursday’s inauguration ceremony was attended by several heads of state.
However, the US only sent a representative of its embassy and no Western European leader was there.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan clamped down violently on anti-government protests last year and recently compared Israel’s policy in Gaza to “genocide… reminiscent of the Holocaust”.
His supporters say he has transformed Turkey’s economy and given a political voice to the country’s conservatives.
However, his critics accuse him of having an abrasive style and Islamist leanings.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey’s first direct presidential election earlier this month after gaining nearly 52% of the votes in the first round.
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At least 67 police officers have been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of spying and illegal wire-tapping.
The allegations involve police who were part of a corruption investigation that targeted PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inner circle.
Among those arrested in raids that took place across Turkey are two former heads of Istanbul’s anti-terror police.
One of the two men, Yurt Atayun, told reporters: “They handcuffed me from behind. It’s all political.”
At least 67 Turkish senior police officers have been arrested over Recep Tayyip Erdogan spying allegations
The Istanbul prosecutor said that thousands of people had had their phones tapped, including PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, senior ministers and the head of Turkish intelligence. Arrest warrants had been issued for more than 100 suspects, he said.
Two police commissioners and one department chief were detained in the capital, Ankara, Anatolia news agency reported.
The corruption inquiry emerged last December and led to the sons of three ministers being detained and, ultimately, four ministers leaving their jobs.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleges the investigation was orchestrated by supporters of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, once his rival in Turkey.
The prime minister and his son, Bilal, were then caught up in February in a subsequent wire-tap which appeared to show them talking about hiding a large sum of money.
One of those arrested on Tuesday was the former deputy head of Istanbul’s financial crimes unit who was on duty at the time of the February operation, reports say.
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Riot police in Turkey have used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Istanbul and Ankara on the first anniversary of Gezi Park protests.
According to local reports, 25,000 police have been deployed at Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the epicenter of the 2013 rallies.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier urged youths to not join Saturday’s protests.
Protests against plans to redevelop Gezi Park in Istanbul turned into mass rallies against PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year after a heavy-handed police response.
Riot police in Turkey have used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Istanbul and Ankara on the first anniversary of Gezi Park protests (photo AP)
A number of people were killed in the unrest, with thousands more injured.
Clashes broke out in Istanbul on Saturday after protesters marched on Taksim Square despite a government ban on gatherings in force there.
Riot police, water cannon and armored vehicles were deployed to block access to the square and nearby Gezi Park. A number of demonstrators have also reportedly been arrested.
Security forces also fired tear gas at demonstrators in central Ankara.
Earlier on Saturday, Istanbul officers kicked and detained a CNN reporter during a live broadcast from Taksim Square.
Ivan Watson said in a Twitter post that he and his film crew were “released after half an hour”.
The main organizers behind last year’s Gezi Park protests – Taksim Solidarity – had called for a demonstration to mark the one-year anniversary.
Rallies were also expected to take place in several other Turkish cities, including Izmir and Antakya.
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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged young Turks to ignore calls to mark the first anniversary of Istanbul’s Taksim Square protests.
He was speaking ahead of nationwide demonstrations planned for Saturday.
Thousands of police officers and dozens of water cannon trucks are to be deployed to the square, reports say.
Protests against plans to redevelop Istanbul’s Gezi Park last year turned into mass anti-government rallies after a heavy-handed police crackdown.
A number of people were killed in the unrest, with thousands more injured.
Protests against plans to redevelop Istanbul’s Gezi Park last year turned into mass anti-government rallies after a heavy-handed police crackdown (photo Hurriyet)
A 64-year-old woman, who fell into a coma after inhaling tear gas during another crackdown on protesters in the capital in December, died on Friday.
The main organizers behind the Gezi Park protests – Taksim Solidarity – have called for a demonstration on Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary, Hurriyet reports.
Demonstrations are also expected to take place in several other Turkish cities, including Ankara, Izmir and Antakya.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned young people not to take part, saying: “One year later, people, including so-called artists, are calling for demonstrations, but you, Turkey’s youth, you will not respond to the call.”
Addressing a crowd of young people in the capital on Friday, the prime minister described the movement as “terrorist organizations” that “manipulated our morally and financially weak youth to attack our unity and put our economy under threat”.
Intensive security measures are expected to be in place around Ankara, with a government ban on gatherings in force in Taksim Square.
However, Taksim Square will not be surrounded and isolated by police as it was during May Day protests, Zaman reports.
Protesters have clashed with police in recent months, with two men killed during angry demonstrations over a mining disaster that killed 301 people last week.
Anger also flared in March with the news of the death of a 15-year-old boy who had been in a coma since last June after being hit by a tear-gas canister during a protest.
In May 2013, protesters took the government by surprise by occupying Taksim Square and nearby Gezi Park.
Riot police evicted them two weeks later using heavy-handed tactics and galvanizing anti-government demonstrators in several other cities.
Since then, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has faced accusations of authoritarianism and corruption after a string of scandals.
He has also moved to block social media sites YouTube and Twitter, after accusing his opponents of using them to deliberately undermine him.
In the first vote since last year’s mass protests, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party won local elections in March, which was widely seen as a barometer of his popularity.
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Turkey has been ordered to pay 90 million euros ($123 million) in damages over its 1974 invasion of Cyprus, according to a decision by the European Court of Human Rights.
The judgement is one of the largest ever ordered by the court.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded the north in response to a military coup on the island which was backed by the government of Greece
It said the damages were compensation for losses endured during the invasion and in the subsequent partition.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded the north in response to a military coup on the island which was backed by the government of Greece.
Since then, the northern third has been mainly inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots. Turkey still has around 30,000 troops stationed on the island, and it is the only country that recognizes northern Cyprus as a separate entity.
UN peacekeeping forces estimate that 165,000 Greek Cypriots fled or were expelled from the north, and 45,000 Turkish Cypriots from the south, although the parties to the conflict say the figures are higher.
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that Turkey will start extradition proceedings against US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Fethullah Gulen – a former ally of the Turkish prime minister – has been accused by Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using his supporters to try to topple him.
The cleric denies mounting a campaign against him.
Turkey’s government has faced a string of corruption scandals and rights groups accuse it of authoritarianism.
Speaking at parliament after meeting with deputies from his Justice and Development Party (AKP) party on Tuesday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the extradition process “will begin”, reports say.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that Turkey will start extradition proceedings against US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan was speaking hours after an interview with PBS, in which he said he hoped the US would deport Fethullah Gulen and send him back to Turkey.
It was his first interview with foreign media since his party claimed victory in local elections last month.
In the interview, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped Washington, as a “model partner”, would deliver on the issue.
“At least they should deport him,” he added.
Fethullah Gulen, 74, has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1997.
He has many supporters in the police and judiciary, and has denounced moves to shut down an investigation into corruption allegations leveled against several of the prime minister’s allies.
Fethullah Gulen’s teachings have inspired the Hizmet (“Service”) movement, which is believed to have millions of followers spread across over 150 countries.
Hizmet promotes a tolerant form of Islam, emphasizing education, altruism and hard work.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the movement of being behind a series of wiretaps and social media leaks allegedly exposing major corruption of figures with ties to the government.
Thousands of alleged Hizmet sympathizers in the police and judiciary have since been demoted or reassigned to other jobs.
Over the past year, Turkey has been convulsed by mass protests against Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ten-year rule and the corruption allegations.
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Turkey has offered condolences for the first time for the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule during WWI.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s condolences came on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the mass deportation of Armenians in 1915.
Turkey denies Armenian claims that up to 1.5 million people were killed and that it constituted an act of genocide.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the events of 1915 had “inhumane consequences”, and expressed hope that those who died were at peace.
Turkey maintains that many of the dead were killed in clashes during World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.
The exact nature of what happened remains highly contentious and has continued to sour relations between Turkey and Armenia.
In his message, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stopped short of using the term “genocide” to describe the mass killings.
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered condolences for the first time for the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule during WWI
The prime minister struck a conciliatory tone in his statement on Wednesday, in which he offered Turkey’s condolences to the grandchildren of Armenians who lost their lives in 1915.
In the statement, which was translated into nine languages including Armenian, Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the events of World War I as “our shared pain”.
“Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences – such as relocation – during the First World War, (it) should not prevent Turks and Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes among towards one another,” he said.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “millions of people of all religions and ethnicities lost their lives in the First World War”.
But he said it was “inadmissible” for Armenia to use the 1915 events “as an excuse for hostility against Turkey” and to turn the issue “into a matter of political conflict”.
It is the first time a Turkish leader has formally offered condolences for the mass killings.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan also repeated calls to set up a joint historical commission into the events surrounding the killings – a request that has so far been denied by the Armenian authorities.
There has been a slight thaw in relations between Turkey and Armenia in recent years.
The governments of Turkey and Armenia agreed to normalize relations in October 2009, but peace efforts have since stalled and the border remains shut.
Last year, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the 1915-16 events a “mistake” during Turkey’s first high-level visit to Armenia in almost five years.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-1916 as the Ottoman empire split. Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller.
The killings are regarded as the seminal event of modern Armenian history, uniting one of the world’s most dispersed peoples.
Among the other states which formally recognize them as genocide are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay. The UK, US, Israel and others use different terminology.
Armenians mark the date of April 24, 1915, as the start of what they regard as the genocide.
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Turkey shot down a Syrian military jet it says violated its airspace, but Damascus calls this “blatant aggression” and says the jet was over Syrian territory.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan says its armed forces have shot down a Syrian military jet which had violated its airspace.
He warned such action by Syria merited a “heavy response”.
But Syria accused Turkey of “blatant aggression”, saying the plane had been over Syrian territory at the time.
The incident reportedly occurred in an area where Syrian rebels and government forces have been fighting for control of a border crossing.
Turkey and Syria – once allies – have more than 500 miles of common border.
Turkey shot down a Syrian military jet it says violated its airspace
The two countries have been on opposing sides in Syria’s war since October 2011 and the two sides have been involved in occasional skirmishes and confrontations
However neither side is interested in a direct, sustained, open war or conflict between the two countries.
Speaking at a rally of supporters, Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated his air force on its actions on Sunday.
“A Syrian plane violated our airspace. Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard,” he said.
A Syrian military source, quoted by state television, said Turkish air defenses had shot down a Syrian jet as it attacked rebels on Syrian territory – an act of “blatant aggression”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said initial reports from the area suggested the plane came down on the Syrian side of the border.
“Turkish air defenses targeted a Syrian fighter bomber as it struck areas of the northern province of Latakia. The plane caught fire and crashed in Syrian territory,” the Observatory said.
According to one report, the plane’s pilot was able to eject.
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A passenger train crashed into a minibus killing at least nine people in Turkey, local media say.
The accident happened at a level crossing near the Mediterranean port city of Mersin.
It appeared all the dead – and a further five people who were injured – had been aboard the bus, and that train passengers were not hurt.
The train crash happened at a level crossing near the Mediterranean port city of Mersin (photo Euronews)
Local media suggested the level crossing barrier may have been open.
Basri Guzeloglu, the local governor, said the cause of the accident would be investigated.
The minibus was carrying people to work in an industrial zone on the edge of Mersin when it was hit.
Video footage showed the destroyed minibus lying by the side of the railway line and emergency services trying to reach the victims.
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General Ilker Basbug, the former Turkish army chief who was sentenced to life for his role in a plot to overthrow the government, has been freed from prison in Istanbul.
A local court ordered the release of Gen. Ilker Basbug, a day after Turkey’s constitutional court overturned his sentence citing a legal technicality.
Ilker Basbug, who was in charge of the Turkish military from 2008 to 2010, was sentenced to life in August 2013.
Dozens of people were charged over the alleged plot. Ilker Basbug was found guilty of leading a shadowy network of hard-line nationalists known as Ergenekon.
The group was said to have plotted to topple the current government of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Ilker Basbug was found guilty of leading a shadowy network of hard-line nationalists known as Ergenekon
Turkey’s constitutional court ruled on Thursday that Ilker Basbug’s imprisonment had violated his rights.
The court trying him had failed to publish a detailed verdict on the case, it said.
Speaking outside the prison in Istanbul, where he had been held for over two years, Gen. Ilker Basbug said: “Those who acted with hatred and revenge kept us here for 26 months. They stole 26 months from my life.”
His lawyer, Ilkay Sezer, welcomed the release but said there were “many more people in jails who are suffering severe health problems and who have been victims of these courts”.
Hundreds of people were jailed in 2012 and 2013 in two high-profile cases, called Sledgehammer and Ergenekon.
In January, the high command of the armed forces and opposition both demanded a retrial for the officers.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan later said he favored a retrial, in what many saw as a political turnaround.
In February, the Turkish parliament abolished the specially appointed courts that tried the officers, increasing the possibility of retrials for those convicted.
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that his government could ban Facebook and YouTube, arguing that opponents are using social media to attack him.
However, President Abdullah Gul later called such a ban “out of the question”.
Allegations of corruption against Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been repeated on the social media sites.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that his government could ban Facebook and YouTube, arguing that opponents are using social media to attack him
The leaks included a phone conversation in which, allegedly, he and his son discussed how to hide huge sums of money. Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it a montage.
The prime minister’s Islamist-rooted AK Party faces key local elections on March 30.
“We will not leave this nation at the mercy of YouTube and Facebook,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Turkish broadcaster ATV.
“We will take the necessary steps in the strongest way.”
Asked if that could include barring the social media sites, he said: “Included.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the two sites were being used for “all kinds of immorality, all kinds of espionage”.
A major corruption investigation has targeted government allies of the prime minister – and he has responded by moving hundreds of police officers and prosecutors to other duties.
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The Turkish parliament has passed a bill to shut down private preparatory schools, many of which are run by influential preacher Fethullah Gulen.
Fethullah Gulen is embroiled in a bitter feud with PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has accused the US-based cleric of plotting against his government.
The schools are a major source of income for Fethullah Gulen’s 50-year-old Hizmet (“Service”) movement.
The law says the schools must close by September 1, 2015, local media reported.
Millions of students attend Fethullah Gulen’s preparatory schools in Turkey
Millions of students attend the schools to prepare themselves for entrance examinations to win limited spots at state secondary schools and universities.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that abolishing the preparatory schools is part of a reform of an “unhealthy” educational system that ranks Turkey below most other developed countries in literacy, maths and science.
Until recently, Hizmet has generally avoided overt involvement in politics and Fethullah Gulen still denies he meddles.
Tensions between former allies Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen were exacerbated in 2013, when thousands of alleged Hizmet sympathizers in the police and judiciary were demoted while prosecutors with alleged links to the movement aggressively pursued investigations against allies of the prime minister.
The sons of two former ministers in Turkey’s government have been freed amid major corruption investigation.
Baris Guler and Kaan Caglayan, arrested in December, were among dozens of people held in an investigation into bribery relating to public tenders.
The inquiry enraged PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who saw it as a “plot” against him.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded with a purge of top police and judicial officials.
Azeri businessman of Iranian origin Reza Zarrab was also released on Friday.
Azeri businessman of Iranian origin Reza Zarrab was also released on Friday
The son of a third cabinet minister was also arrested in December, but was soon released.
The three ministers – Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler – resigned in December as the police investigation intensified.
All three denied any wrongdoing.
Police are investigating allegations of illicit money transfers to Iran and bribery for construction projects.
Earlier this month Suleyman Aslan, the former chief executive of Halkbank, was also released.
Suleyman Aslan is suspected of money-laundering in connection with the alleged bribery. When they searched his home police found $4.5 million (3.2 million euros) in cash hidden in shoeboxes.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his supporters in the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party see the investigation as a plot masterminded by Fethullah Gulen, an Islamist cleric based in the US.
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily condemned as fabricated an audio recording that appears to show him talking to his son about hiding large sums of money.
The Turkish prime minister said the recording, allegedly tapped and posted on social media, was a “treacherous attack”.
It appears to reveal Recep Tayyip Erdogan asking his son Bilal to dispose of millions of euros in cash from a house.
The opposition has called for the prime minister’s resignation.
The recordings, which could not be independently verified, were said to be of four conversations dating back to December 17, when the sons of three ministers and business allies of the prime minister were detained in a high-level corruption investigation.
Correspondents say that the inquiry has presented a major challenge to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 11 years in power ahead of key local elections in March.
However, neither the prime minister nor his party’s spokespeople have denied that the voices on the recording belong to Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his son.
Their statement so far is that their voices were “montaged” to implicate them.
During the conversation, a voice can be heard discussing how to reduce the funds to “zero” by distributing them among several businessmen.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily condemned as fabricated an audio recording that appears to show him talking to his son about hiding large sums of money
At one point, the second voice says some 30 million euros ($40 million) remains to be disposed of.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office issued a statement late on Monday night saying the release of the recordings was part of a sustained campaign to unseat him.
“Those who created this dirty conspiracy targeting the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey will be brought to account within the law,” it said.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a late-night meeting with the head of intelligence and then spoke out publicly on Tuesday, telling lawmakers from his AK Party the recording was a “shameless montage” and an attack on him personally.
“We will bring legal action against these [wire-tapping] activities. If we let it go on, there will be no privacy for families, nor for the state in this country,” he said.
By late Tuesday morning, the recording had received more than 1.5 million hits on YouTube in less than 24 hours.
The previous day, Turkish government officials said thousands of people, including senior politicians and other leading figures, had had their telephones illegally tapped over three years with the aim to blackmail and fabricate criminal cases.
Two pro-government newspapers, Yeni Safak and Star, alleged that the taps were ordered by prosecutors said to be loyal to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The prosecutors have denied the accusations.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Fethullah Gulen, his former ally, of orchestrating December’s corruption investigation against key AKP figures and of trying to form “a parallel state” in Turkey.
One of the prosecutors named in the stories, Adem Ozcan, denied the allegations.
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Turkish pro-government media have claimed a group of anti-government prosecutors have illegally wiretapped thousands of prominent figures.
Targets reportedly included government ministers and business leaders.
The prosecutors, who are said to be loyal to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, have denied the accusations.
Fethullah Gulen has been accused of running a “parallel state” in Turkey, controlling groups of police, lawyers and politicians. He denies the claims.
The latest allegations came in two pro-government newspapers, Yeni Safak and Star.
Fethullah Gulen has been accused of running a “parallel state” in Turkey, controlling groups of police, lawyers and politicians
The Star reported that “Gulenists” had wiretapped more than 7,000 people since 2011 on the pretext of trying to uncover terrorism plots.
One of the prosecutors named in the stories, Adem Ozcan, denied the allegations.
“There was definitely no monitoring or phone-tapping of thousands of politicians, writers, NGO representatives and businessmen in the framework of this dossier in the way that the newspaper stories say,” he said in a statement.
Fethullah Gulen has denied using his influence to start investigations into allegations of government corruption.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Fethullah Gulen, a one-time ally who lives in self-imposed exile in the US, of trying to attack the government.
Four ministers have resigned in the aftermath of the corruption inquiries.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to fight on, in what is seen as the biggest challenge to his government in his 11 years in office.
Turkish lawmakers have approved controversial plans to reform the country’s top judicial body, amid a brawl which left one opposition legislator with a broken nose.
Turkish government wants the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors – the HSYK – to come under justice ministry control.
The bill was debated overnight amid heated scenes, with reports of dozens of lawmakers involved in a fist fight.
Last month the judicial body said the plans were unconstitutional and would undermine its independence.
The plans were proposed by PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, which dominates parliament.
At one point during the 20-hour debate, scuffles broke out leading to punches being thrown.
Turkish lawmakers have approved controversial plans to reform the country’s top judicial body, amid a brawl which left one opposition legislator with a broken nose
The lawmaker whose nose was broken – Ali Ihsan Kokturk from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) – needed hospital treatment.
Another one from the governing AK Party suffered broken fingers.
Ozcan Yeniceri, a lawmaker from the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), was among those to criticize the bill, saying it was aimed at impeding corruption inquiries and “meeting the needs of the AK Party”, Reuters reports.
The reforms come after allies of Recep Tayyip Erdogan were arrested in a major corruption inquiry, after which the government dismissed hundreds of policemen.
There is intense rivalry between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a former ally, Fethullah Gulen, who has many supporters in the police and judiciary. Fethullah Gulen is an influential Islamic scholar living in self-imposed exile in the US.
Judicial reform is a highly sensitive issue because Turkey is under pressure from the EU to bring its justice system into line with EU standards.
Turkey hopes to join the EU, but progress in the negotiations has been very slow.
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Turkish ambassador to Cairo has been expelled, a day after PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi to be freed.
Relations with Ankara would be lowered to charge d’affaires, officials said.
On Friday, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his criticism of the July overthrow of Mohamed Morsi and urged the Egyptian authorities to free him.
Egypt’s foreign ministry accused Recep Tayyip Erdogan of provocation and interfering in his country’s internal affairs.
Responding to Cairo’s decision to expel Ambassador Huseyin Avni Botsali, Turkey also announced the downgrading of ties and barred the Egyptian ambassador, declaring him “persona non grata”.
Turkey has been a vocal critic of the military overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, who is in prison awaiting trial on charges of inciting murder and violence.
Responding to Cairo’s decision to expel Ambassador Huseyin Avni Botsali, Turkey also announced the downgrading of ties and barred the Egyptian ambassador
He is one of thousands belonging to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood who have been detained in a crackdown the interim authorities have portrayed as a struggle against “terrorism”.
Hundreds of people have also been killed in clashes with security forces.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his criticisms on Friday, condemning the violent dispersal of pro-Morsi protesters in August.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty accused Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “interfering in Egypt’s internal affairs”.
He said Turkey was “attempting to influence public opinion against Egyptian interests, supported meetings of organizations that seek to create instability in the country”.
A bitter row over the August crackdown led both countries to recall their ambassadors.
Turkey’s ambassador to Cairo returned in September, but the Egyptian ambassador to Turkey was never reinstalled.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, like Mohamed Morsi, has his roots in political Islam. Ankara and Istanbul have hosted a series of meetings of the international Muslim Brotherhood.
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Turkey is to open a railway tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait, creating a new link between the Asian and European shores of Istanbul.
Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has for years championed the undersea engineering project, conceived by an Ottoman sultan in 1860.
Work began in 2004 but archaeological excavations delayed the construction.
Japan invested $1 billion of the $4 billion total cost of the 0.8 mile tunnel, designed to withstand earthquakes.
The Bosphorus tunnel is scheduled to be inaugurated at 11:00 a.m., local time.
The railway tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait creates a new link between the Asian and European shores of Istanbul
The Turkish government hopes the new route under the Bosphorus will eventually develop into an important trading route, extending from China all the way to Western Europe.
Critics of Recep Tayyip Erdogan have seen the tunnel as one of his grandiose construction projects for the city where he used to be mayor.
Detractors of his proposals, including a third airport, a parallel canal and a third bridge over the Bosphorus, say they illustrate Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “pharaonic” ambitions.
Authorities came under fire earlier this year when protesters opposed plans to redevelop a park in Istanbul. Widespread violence between anti-government demonstrators and security forces ensued.
The rail tunnel will not be fully operational after its official opening on Tuesday, the news agency AFP reports.
“The part that is in service is very limited. All that has been delayed until much later,” said Tayfun Kahraman, president of the Istanbul Chamber of Urban Planners.
“We are wondering why this inauguration is happening so soon.”
Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe will be present at the official opening in recognition of the Bank of Japan’s status as the project’s principal financial backer.
City officials say the tunnel will relieve pressure on the two existing bridges, as well as ease traffic congestion and pollution.
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The EU has agreed to resume membership talks with Turkey.
The European affairs ministers meeting in Luxembourg said the talks would restart on November 5th, after being stalled for three years.
The EU had first agreed to re-launch negotiations in June, but postponed the talks after members criticized Turkey’s crackdown on anti-government protests.
Turkey first applied for full membership of what was then the European Economic Community in 1987.
The ministers of the 28 EU members based their latest decision on a recommendation by the European Commission.
In its 2013 progress report on Turkey published last week, the Commission had criticized as excessive the use of force by Turkish police in dealing with widespread demonstrations.
The EU has agreed to resume membership talks with Turkey
But it recognized that Turkey had introduced judicial reforms. It also praised the announcement last month by PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan of a series of political reforms, including increased rights for Kurds.
Linas Linkevicius, the foreign minister of Lithuania, which currently holds the EU presidency, congratulated Turkey on the resumption of the negotiating process, which he said was overdue.
“Time to catch up!” he tweeted on Lithuania’s official EU presidency site.
Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union (then the European Economic Community) since 1963.
Turkey met the last condition for accession talks in 2005, but negotiations have stalled over a range of issues, including concern over freedom of speech and democracy, treatment of religious minorities, judicial reform, and ongoing tensions with Cyprus, an EU member.
During that time Ankara has watched other countries overtake Turkey in the queue for membership.
Croatia became a full member of the EU in July, while Serbia achieved official candidate status earlier this year.
Sarai Sierra, the married New York mother who was murdered while on a solo trip to Turkey, had sex the day before she vanished with a man she met on the internet, he has claimed.
“Taylan K” has been interviewed at length by Istanbul police after they discovered his online communication with 33-year-old Sarai Sierra, but he had initially insisted they were just friends.
Now Turkey’s Vatan newspaper has claimed Taylan K told police they had consensual sex a day before Sarai Sierra went missing. The duo had met online months before she left for Turkey on January 7.
It adds yet more intrigue to the circumstances surrounding Sarai Sierra’s death after earlier reports she was hanging out with “a criminal element” before she was killed. The FBI is also reportedly investigating whether she was involved in drug trafficking during her visit to the country.
Taylan K, who first met Sarai Sierra online several months ago when he commented on one of her photographs on Instagram, denied having any part in her disappearance or murder.
He added that he sent her a message on the day she vanished and asked her to meet, but she never responded. Police have taken a blood and sperm sample from Taylan K and 21 others.
Sarai Sierra’s body was found stashed by Istanbul’s ancient city walls on Saturday, more than a week after she failed to catch her flight home. Police said she died from a blunt force trauma.
She was found with a head wound and a blanket near her body. She was wearing jeans, a jumper and a jacket, and still had her earrings and a bracelet on, but her iPhone and iPad were missing.
The claims come on the same day as a source familiar with her murder investigation has suggested she had been hanging out with “a criminal element” while on the trip.
FBI agents investigating the killing do not believe she had only travelled to the country to take pictures, as her family has claimed.
“The first people she met up with were a criminal element,” the source told the New York Post.
“There are some witness reports that she was seen with sketchy characters.”
Authorities are now trying to verify these claims amid reports that her casket will be sent back to the US on Thursday, the Post reported.
Among various lines of inquiry investigators are looking into a possible connection to drug trafficking.
Sarai Sierra, who had been unemployed and had declared bankruptcy in 2005, had also travelled to Amsterdam and Munich while on the trip, which was her first time leaving the United States.
She had initially planned to visit the country for three weeks, but after 12 days she posted online that she had to cut the trip short.
Her family, including her devastated husband Steven Sierra, have said Sarai went to the country because of the photo opportunities. They say she used her iPad and iPhone to shoot the images.
To pay for her funeral, her family began selling some of her images online on Tuesday and soon had enough to cover her expenses.
The photos remain on sale online and any other profits will go to her two young sons, who are nine and 11, her family wrote on the website.
Photographs on sale include images taken during her time in Istanbul and pictures of New York City. They are being sold as canvases, framed prints, greeting cards and iPhone cases for $39.95 each.
“Sarai’s passion for photography and love for capturing the beauty we see in culture, architecture and scenery was her reason for traveling to Istanbul,” her brother, David Jimenez, wrote on the site.
David Jimenez added this afternoon: “Thank you for all the support in purchasing Sarai’s pictures. Quick update, all expenses for Sarai’s funeral have been paid for!
“From here on out any picture of hers that you purchase will NOT be going towards her funeral. All funds will be going to her children. Thank you for your support. David.”
Sarai Sierra, the married New York mother who was murdered while on a solo trip to Turkey, had sex the day before she vanished with a man she met on the internet
The outpouring of support comes hours after Sarai Sierra’s devastated husband, Steven, revealed how he is consumed with sadness at his wife’s death.
Steven Sierra, 40, left their home in Staten Island for Istanbul last week to help search for his wife, after she failed to get on a flight back to the U.S. on January 21 – but the trip ended in heartbreak.
“I’m heartbroken,” Steven Sierra said. He was married to Sarai for 14 years. “This is something you never want to imagine, and it’s something I’d never want anyone to experience.
“You have so many plans, so many dreams with the person you deeply love. You look forward to many years together and there are so many things you haven’t fulfilled with that person, and now those won’t be fulfilled,” he told the New York Daily News.
His two sons, who are aged 9 and 11, still do not know their mother is dead. Steven Sierra told the Daily News he is waiting until he returns home to tell the boys face-to-face.
Turkish police hope DNA samples from 21 people being questioned in the case will be key to finding the perpetrators, according to state run media.
Sarai Sierra’s mother told the Today show: “It was such a shock when we heard. She was supposed to come back and she didn’t.
“Her little boys do not know, their father will talk to them once he gets back. We will all be present for this.
“It was the first time she was going overseas after getting into photography college. She wanted to go there and take pictures of bridges and the history of the city.”
Sarai Sierra had left for Istanbul on January 7 to explore her photography hobby, her family said.
She was in regular contact with friends and relatives, and had told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul’s Golden Horn waterway, to take photos.
CBS News reported that shortly after Sarai Sierra’s body was discovered, a woman came forward and told police she had seen a white car parked near the city walls as she was driving there the night of January 29, Anadolu reported.
The eyewitness said a man was trying to remove “something” from the car, at which point she caught a glimpse of a woman’s hand.
The news came after police in Istanbul detained and released a man who was one of the last in contact with the missing mother, who vanished the same day she planned to meet up with him.
The man only identified as “Taylan” on social media sites was taken into police custody after questioning on the disappearance of the woman.
Turkish news reports said Sarai Sierra had arranged to meet her contact, “Taylan”, on Galata Bridge she wanted to photograph the day she went missing.
It was about a mile from Sarai Sierra’s hostel, Dogan news agency reported but it’s not known if the meeting had actually taken place.
“We did not meet that day, but we had met before,” Taylan told police while adding that it was four months ago that they met for the first time online, Turkish paper the daily Hürriyet reports.
Authorities scoured security camera images near to the bridge to see if the meeting did in fact take place, the news agency said.
Last week, Turkish police released security camera footage showing missing Sarai Sierra at a mall near her hostel hours before she disappeared.
Sarai Sierra can be seen eating lunch and walking through the mall on January 20 – a day before she was supposed to catch a flight back home.
Her family last heard from Sarai Sierra on January 21, when she was supposed to start her journey home, but she never checked into her flight.
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The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopa) is native to North America and was a staple in the Native American diet.
It was imported to Europe in the early part of the 16th century by the Spaniards via Turkey (the country.) It was confused in those early times with the Guinea fowl which also arrived via Turkey, and both birds were called turkeys in those days. When it was assigned its Latin name in the 18th century, the name turkey still stuck. Native Americans called it peru with no reference to the country of the same name.
Turkey was introduced to the early Pilgrim settlers by the Native American Wampanoag tribe after the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. The first year for the settlers was bleak, with many dying from the journey. Their seeds, aside from barley, did not produce any usable crops. The Indians assisted the settlers, introducing them to native foods such as corn and squash and showed them how to hunt and fish. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 at the behest of Governor William Bradford, and the Native Americans were invited guests of honor.
Thanksgiving became an official holiday in the United States on October 3, 1863, via proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln. This was largely due to the lobbying efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey’s Lady’s Magazine who had lobbied for 17 years for the holiday. The proclamation declared the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
Turkey was introduced to the early Pilgrim settlers by the Native American Wampanoag tribe after the Pilgrims arrived in 1620
By 1916, Thanksgiving was referred to in writings as Turkey Day due to the popularity of the bird at the traditional feast.
Interestingly enough, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to move the official Thanksgiving date to earlier in November in order encourage a longer Christmas shopping season as a Depression recovery strategy. His idea was shut down by Congress, and the official date was declared permanently as the fourth Thursday in November via Public Law #379.
The popularity of wild turkeys nearly wiped them out. The federal government stepped in with protection in 1991, and they are now found in 49 states.
Turkey was most-associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas, making winter the prime season for turkey farmers. In 1935, the per capita consumption of turkey was only 1.7 pounds.
Today, turkey has been recognized as a lean substitute for red meat. Aggressive marketing by turkey farmers by advertising and availability of parts rather than the necessity of cooking a whole bird has increased consumption to 20 pounds per person per year, with 74% of the consumption being in sliced turkey sandwiches.
The UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has had talks in Turkey amid rising tensions between Ankara and Damascus.
Lakhdar Brahimi met Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to hear Turkey’s perspective on the crisis.
Several days of cross-border firing followed the killing of five Turkish civilians by Syrian shelling last week.
Earlier this week, Turkey intercepted a Syria-bound plane amid reports it had Russian-made defence equipment aboard.
Syria has dismissed the claim as a lie, challenging Turkey to show any evidence.
In Syria itself, there were reports on Saturday that rebel fighters had shot down a Syrian military jet outside Aleppo.
Footage posted online showed the burning wreckage of what appeared to be an aircraft, but the claim has not been independently verified.
Lakhdar Brahimi met Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul on Saturday, as did German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
“It is important that no-one pours oil on the fire. We are counting on moderation and de-escalation,” the German minister said, according to news agency AFP.
Meanwhile Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan told a conference in Istanbul that the UN’s failure to act in Syria gave President Bashar al-Assad the green light to kill tens or hundreds of people every day.
Turkey may not be at war with Syria, but it is now increasingly involved in its neighbor’s conflict.
President Bashar al-Assad’s government accuses Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, of arming the rebels.
However, Syria has said it is ready to set up a joint committee to oversee security on the border.
Its foreign ministry said it had been discussing with diplomats from Russia, a key ally, the idea of a Syrian-Turkish security committee to avoid misunderstandings at the border, which would establish a “mechanism for surveillance of the border while respecting national sovereignty”.
Lakhdar Brahimi’s visit comes a day after he met senior Saudi officials in the city of Jeddah.
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah was quoted as urging “an immediate halt to the bloodshed of the Syrian people”.
However, the envoy’s visit to the region carries no immediately obvious peace plan.
He adds that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has suggested Lakhdar Brahimi may head to Damascus next week if his meetings in the region go well.
Meanwhile state media in Iran, Bashar al-Assad’s key supporter in the region, say Lakhdar Brahimi is to travel to Tehran on Sunday for talks, ahead of a visit to Iraq on Monday.
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Turkey has contacted the UN and NATO after Syrian shells killed five people in Turkish town Akcakale near the border between the two countries.
The shells exploded after being fired into Akcakale from Tall al-Abyad in Syria, where forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are trying to put down an 18-month-old insurgency.
The dead are said to include a woman and her three children.
Later, reports said Turkey had struck back at Syrian targets.
A statement from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish forces had shelled targets along the border identified by radar, AFP news agency reported.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc was quoted as saying that Syria must be made to account for the incident and there must be a response under international law.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu contacted UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, the UN’s Syria peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen after the incident, his office said.
The minister cleared his schedule and chaired an emergency meeting at the foreign ministry, it added.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Turkey’s foreign minister that he strongly condemned the incident, a NATO spokeswoman said, and continued to follow developments in the region “closely and with great concern”.
He has repeatedly said that NATO has no intention of intervening in Syria but stands ready to defend Turkey if necessary.
Akcakale has been fired on several times over the past few weeks. Residents have been advised to stay away from the border, and more than 100 schools have been closed in the region because of the violence in neighboring Syria.
Turkey’s state-owned Anatolia news agency reported that angry townspeople had marched to the mayor’s office to protest about the deaths on Wednesday.
Town mayor Abdulhakim Ayhan said: “There is anger in our community against Syria,” adding that stray bullets and shells had panicked residents over the past 10 days.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “We are outraged that the Syrians have been shooting across their border… and regretful of the loss of life on the Turkish side.”
She added it was a “very dangerous” situation.
Although Turkish territory has been hit by fire from Syria on several occasions since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began, Wednesday’s attack is believed to be only the second time that people have died as a result.
Two Syrian nationals were killed on Turkish soil in April by stray bullets fired from Syria.
In Syria itself, at least 34 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of bomb explosions in the centre of Syria’s second city, Aleppo.
The attacks leveled buildings in the city’s main square. A military officers’ club and a hotel being used by the military bore the brunt of the blasts, some of which were carried out by suicide car bombers.
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A powerful explosion has rocked the eastern Turkish city of Tunceli and killed at least seven people, local media reports.
The blast targeted a military vehicle, security sources told Reuters news agency.
Turkish media are reporting that seven people have been killed.
A powerful explosion has rocked the eastern Turkish city of Tunceli and killed at least seven people
The city is near the country’s Kurdish area and suspicion will automatically fall upon Kurdish rebel group the PKK.
Fighting between Turkish troops and the PKK has escalated in recent months.
Turkish TV stations showed shaky footage of workers trying to put out fires in two burnt-out vehicles.
Reports said the vehicles were blown up by remote detonation.
Turkey begins rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns deployment along its border with Syria after last week’s downing of a fighter jet.
Columns of military vehicles have been seen moving from military bases to the border, close to where the jet crashed.
The F-4 Phantom went down in the sea after entering Syrian airspace and being hit by a missile. The pilots are missing.
Meanwhile, explosions have been reported outside a court complex in central Damascus.
Syrian state TV said there had been a “terrorist explosion” in the car park of the palace of justice and witnesses spoke of a thick plume of smoke in the area.
There was no word of casualties but opposition activists said ambulances were heard heading to the scene.
There are also reports of clashes in the Damascus suburb of Douma, where activists say four people have been killed.
Turkey begins rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns deployment along its border with Syria after last week’s downing of a fighter jet
Turkey’s decision to reinforce its border with Syria comes two days after PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a change in terms of its military engagement.
He told parliament that Syria was a “clear and present threat” and any game that is dangerous and “military element” that approached the Turkish border from Syria would be treated as a threat and a military target.
Extra troops have been sent to the area and Turkish TV has shown pictures of a small convoy of trucks carrying anti-aircraft guns into a military base near the border town of Yayladagi.
According to local reports, other military vehicles have travelled to the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province.
More than 33,000 refugees have fled Syria and have crossed the border into the province.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul is due to discuss the heightened tensions with Syria at a National Security Council meeting on Thursday.
Russia and other major powers are considering a proposal from UN envoy Kofi Annan for a national unity government to lead political change in Syria.
Moscow has agreed to back the plan which, according to Western diplomats, proposes a cabinet including members of the opposition and government, but no-one who would undermine its credibility.
The idea will be discussed on Saturday by the UN Action Group on Syria.
Although Western diplomats say President Bashar al-Assad would not be part of any unity government, his future role in Syria is not spelled out in Kofi Annan’s proposal.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that President Bashar al-Assad’s future had to be decided through a “Syrian dialogue by the Syrian people themselves”, adding that Saturday’s Geneva conference could not dictate the terms of a unity government.
President Bashar al-Assad has described Syria as being in a “real state of war” and the UN’s deputy envoy to Syria said on Wednesday that the violence “had reached or even surpassed” the levels seen in April when Kofi Annan’s ceasefire plan was agreed.
The UN says at least 10,000 people have been killed since pro-democracy protests began in March 2011. In June, the Syrian government reported that 6,947 Syrians had died, including at least 3,211 civilians and 2,566 security forces personnel.
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