Turkey’s foreign minister has urged Chinese authorities to protect the cultural rights of minority Muslim Uyghurs in China’s western Xinjiang province and allow them to “live their values,” a Turkish official said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday concluded a three-day visit to China, where he met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, Vice President Han Zheng and other …
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Turkish official challenges British claim on Parthenon sculptures' ownership
One of the world’s most intractable cultural disputes is back in the spotlight after a Turkish official cast doubt on the existence of proof long cited by Britain that it had legally acquired the Parthenon Marbles, 2,500-year-old sculptures taken from the Acropolis in Athens. Greece’s culture minister said the comments made at a UNESCO meeting in Paris last week on …
Read More »2 pilots confirmed dead after military training plane crashes in central Turkey
A military plane crashed during training on Tuesday, killing its two pilots on board, Turkey’s defense ministry announced. The SF-260D training plane crashed into an agricultural field in central Turkey. The crash occurred after the plane took off from an Air Force base near the city of Kayseri. ‘NO BACKGROUND CHECK’: REPORTS SAY SMUGGLERS USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO LURE TURKISH …
Read More »'No background check': Reports say smugglers use social media to lure Turkish migrants to easy entry into US
Turkish migrants are entering the U.S. through the southern border at record numbers, with smugglers turning to social media to boast how easy it is to enter the country through California, according to reports. Data on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website shows that in 2021, the number of Turkish migrant encounters along the southern border was just over …
Read More »Thousands of Russians flee Turkey due to residency struggles and soaring costs
Tens of thousands of Russians who fled to Turkey after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have moved on to other countries in the last year, squeezed by residency issues and soaring costs, according to data and interviews, including with nine Russian citizens. When the war began in February 2022, Turkey, Russia’s Black Sea neighbour and a NATO member, emerged as a …
Read More »New York City mayor's aide now cooperating with federal corruption probe: report
One month after the FBI announced it was looking into international flights New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams took on Turkish Airlines, a top City Hall aide is reportedly now cooperating with the probe. Rana Abbasova, whom the New York Times described as the mayor’s former liaison to New York City’s Turkish community, is cooperating with federal agents, according to …
Read More »Turkey's leader claims Eurovision Song Contest encourages 'gender neutralization,' threatens family values
Turkey’s president took a swipe at the Eurovision Song Contest on Monday, accusing the annual event of allegedly encouraging “gender neutralization” and threatening the traditional family. In a speech following a Cabinet meeting, Recep Tayyip Erdogan described participants at the contest as the “Trojan horses of social corruption” and said his government was right to keep Turkey out of the …
Read More »Turkey sentences pro-Kurdish politicians to lengthy prison terms over deadly 2014 riots
A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced several pro-Kurdish politicians to between nine and 42 years in prison over deadly riots in 2014 by Kurds angered by what they perceived to be government inaction against Islamic State group militants who had besieged the Syrian border town of Kobani. The three days of clashes that broke out in October 2014 resulted in …
Read More »Turkey converts ancient church into mosque, sparking debate on heritage preservation
Turkey has opened the ancient Chora church, one of Istanbul’s most celebrated Byzantine buildings, to Muslim worshipers after it was used as a museum for more than 70 years, making it the second such major conversion under President Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, a champion of pious Muslims in Turkey and head of a party with Islamist roots, turned Istanbul’s world-renowned Hagia …
Read More »Turkey's Erdogan defends Hamas, claims over 1K members are at his country's hospitals
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly defended Hamas on Monday, claiming that more than 1,000 members of the terrorist group from Gaza are being treated at hospitals in his NATO nation. At a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, Erdogan took issue with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis having categorized Hamas as a “terrorist organization.” “If you call Hamas a …
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