Water cannon also used at rally called by Özgür Özel days after court dismissed him as CHP leader
Riot police in Turkey have fired teargas and water cannon to break up a rally called by the ousted opposition leader Özgür Özel days after a court dismissed him from office.
On Sunday, riot police had battered their way into the main opposition CHP’s headquarters in the capital, Ankara, firing teargas and beating party members before throwing them out, Özel said.
Continue reading...High winds have hit the South Aegean and heavy rain has fallen in Turkey, but Central Europe has felt summer heat
Greece and Turkey have found themselves in the grip of a late-season cold spell this weekend. Conditions will persist over the next few days as an area of low pressure situated over Turkey is pulling in colder, moisture-laden air from the north-east via the Black Sea; this meteorological set up has suppressed temperatures well below where they should be for the time of year. Away from the Mediterranean coast, much of Turkey struggled to reach double figures, which is around 10C below the average, while Greece saw a similar chill. In Athens, temperatures only crept into the low teens Celsius, a far cry from the mid-20s typically expected in early May.
But they haven’t just faced colder temperatures. Greece had gale force winds whipping through the islands in the South Aegean – gusting at around 60mph on Sunday evening and the unsettled weather has brought a surge of heavy rain to Turkey. The Central Anatolia region of Turkey would normally see about 50mm of rainfall across the entire month of May, but on Sunday had already seen many areas pick up half that total in just 24 hours. With colder air in place, higher elevations have even seen a return to winter, with up to 30cm of fresh snow forecast across the Anti-Taurus Mountains on Monday and Tuesday. In Ankara, temperatures on Monday were expected to peak at just 7C – nearly 14C below average – before slowly edging back towards normal by the weekend.
Continue reading...Unlikely grouping of Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey steps up efforts to broker ceasefire and curb dominance of Iran and Israel
The meeting on Sunday of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in Islamabad not only represented the best hope for a ceasefire in Iran but was also the embryo for a new order designed to curb Israeli and Iranian dominance after the war.
Although the four nations have met as a quartet before, the one-day meeting of foreign ministers in Islamabad on Sunday was, in a way, the official opening ceremony of an initiative that is intriguing diplomats.
Continue reading...‘Eight-figure agreement’ made to supply new line between Ankara and İzmir – but questions over plant’s future remain
British Steel has secured an order worth tens of millions of pounds to supply rail for a high-speed electric railway in Turkey, amid continuing uncertainty over the long-term future of the government-controlled steelworks in Scunthorpe.
The site will supply 36,000 tonnes of rail to ERG International Group, the company announced, in what it called an “eight-figure agreement”.
Continue reading...Eyupspor chairman reportedly among those arrested
27 Super Lig players suspended over alleged betting
Turkish authorities formally arrested eight people, including a top-tier club chairman, on Monday as part of an investigation into alleged betting on football matches. The Turkish football federation (TFF) has also suspended 1,024 players pending disciplinary investigations.
The TFF suspended 149 referees and assistant referees earlier this month, after an investigation found officials working in the country’s professional leagues were betting on football matches.
Continue reading...Israeli PM, ministers and army chief accused of crimes against humanity ‘perpetrated systematically’ in Gaza
Turkey has issued arrest warrants for alleged genocide against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and senior officials within his government.
Among 37 suspects listed were the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said a statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office, which did not publish the complete list.
Continue reading...Resolution may be delayed without agreement over the force’s mandate and a timetable for Israeli withdrawal
A UN security council resolution mandating the introduction of an international stabilisation force into Gaza is likely to be ready within two weeks, but may be delayed if disputes cannot be resolved over the force’s mandate, including the question of US military leadership, its relationship with the Palestinian civil police force and a timetable for Israeli military withdrawal.
At a meeting in Istanbul of Muslim countries considering offering troops on Monday, the Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said: “The countries will shape their decisions based on the mission and authority of the International Stabilization Force. I believe that if the mission conflicts with the principles and policies of the countries that will send troops, it will be difficult for these countries to send troops.”
Continue reading...Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi has been imprisoned in the UAE for almost a year for criticising Emirati, Egyptian and Saudi governments
The UN special rapporteur on torture is being urged to investigate Lebanon’s role in the treatment of the Egyptian-Turkish poet and activist Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi, a dissident who has been imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates for more than 10 months over a post he made on social media.
Legal counsel representing Qaradawi filed a complaint to the UN rapporteur on Thursday, asking it to examine the situation.
Continue reading...Doubts over whether Ankara will be part of 5,000-strong force to be deployed to prevent postwar power vacuum
Turkey will probably be excluded from the 5,000-strong stabilisation force that is to be set up inside Gaza after Israel made clear it did not want Turkish troops taking part.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said it was a requirement that Israel is comfortable with the nationality of the multinational force, set up to prevent a security vacuum when the massive task of reconstruction in Gaza starts. Turkey has said it is willing to offer troops, but Israel has let it be known that it disapproves of Turkish troops taking part in the force.
Continue reading...Trump’s 20-point plan is forcing regional rivals to set aside differences and collaborate after years of competition
If the war in Gaza had dramatic consequences across the Middle East, overturning long-held assumptions, resetting the geopolitical map and provoking massive shifts in public opinion, any durable peace is likely to have equally momentous effects.
Some counsel caution.
Continue reading...Pontiff expected to appeal for peace across the Middle East and speak about the persecution of Christians in region
Pope Leo’s debut overseas trip will be to Turkey and Lebanon, where he is expected to make appeals for peace across the Middle East, the Vatican has announced.
Leo, who was elected pontiff in May after the death of Pope Francis, will visit Turkey between 27 and 30 November and Lebanon from 30 November until 2 December.
Continue reading...Silencing of Jimmy Kimmel sets US on course similar to that charted by authoritarian regimes from Egypt to India
The exiled Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef has experienced firsthand how intolerant governments can silence political satire. And he had a short message this week for those living in an age of Donald Trump’s free speech clampdown: “My Fellow American Citizens,” he wrote on X. “Welcome to my world.”
In his attacks on the most prominent of American satirists, the US president has joined a cadre of illiberal and sensitive leaders around the world who will not tolerate a joke.
Continue reading...Arab states say US should use its leverage and influence as they promise to ‘activate joint defence mechanisms’
Gulf leaders meeting at an emergency summit in Qatar have called on the Trump administration to use its leverage to rein in Israel following the unprecedented Israeli attempt last Tuesday to assassinate Hamas negotiators in Doha.
Speaking after the meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the group’s secretary general, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, said: “We … expect our strategic partners in the United States to use their influence on Israel in order for it to stop this behaviour … they have leverage and influence on Israel, and it’s about time that this leverage and influence be used.”
Continue reading...Chinese president hosts bilateral meetings on sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have met on the sidelines of a showpiece summit in China that seeks to challenge US-led, western-dominated blocs and is being attended by the leaders of more than two dozen nations.
The Chinese and Russian leaders, who are closely allied under what they have termed a “limitless” partnership, discussed Putin’s recent meeting with Donald Trump, according to a Kremlin official, who gave no further details.
Continue reading...State media report that Ali K, 23, was wounded by shots allegedly fired by a female relative of his wife
A groom has died of injuries he sustained from celebratory gunfire after his wedding in northern Turkey.
As the newlyweds were being escorted home after the ceremony, the groom, identified as Ali K aged 23, was wounded by gunfire, allegedly at the hands of a female relative of his wife, the state news agency Anadolu reported.
Continue reading...Footage shared by Abdulkadir Uraloğlu under hashtag #TurkeyAccelerates inadvertently shows him speeding
Turkey’s transport minister has been given a speeding fine after posting a video of himself racing down a highway with the hashtag #TurkeyAccelerates.
On Sunday evening, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu shared a video of himself on X driving along a highway near the capital, Ankara, listening to folk songs and clips of speeches by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Continue reading...Temperatures of 44C predicted as blazes rage across Europe
Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern, central and southern Spain as wildfires continue to burn amid a heatwave that could bring temperatures of 44C to some parts of the country.
The deadly heat across large parts of Europe has created what scientists have called a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires.
Continue reading...Former teacher Martyn Latchman, 38, became unwell during the preparatory phase of £1,500 procedure
A British man has died after starting a hair transplant procedure in Istanbul.
Martyn Latchman, 38, from Milton Keynes, who left a 16-year career in teaching last year to become a defence contractor, died last week after becoming unwell during the preparatory phase of the £1,500 procedure.
Continue reading...Refreshing northerly airmass to bring abrupt end to extreme heat, offering respite for residents and firefighters
After enduring a relentless stretch of searing temperatures, relief is finally in sight for south-east Europe. The Balkans, which have been scorched by a brutal heatwave over recent weeks, have seen daily maximum temperatures soar, culminating in a peak on Saturday with widespread temperatures of 40C (104F) and above across Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria and neighbouring regions.
Turkey also suffered, with a scorching 50.5C (122.9F) recorded in Silopi on Friday, the country’s all-time highest maximum temperature. Now these places are set to experience a dramatic cooldown as a refreshing northerly airmass is moving in, bringing an abrupt end to the extreme heat and offering much-needed respite.
Continue reading...Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft join rescue effort in Greece, and firefighter among those killed in Turkey
Thousands of people in Greece and Turkey have been forced to evacuate homes as firefighters in the countries battled to contain wildfires fanned by strong winds and searing heat.
As temperatures in south-eastern Europe exceeded 40C for a seventh straight day, the Greek prime minister praised rescue workers for waging “a titanic battle” to bring blazes under control.
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