The Latest: US requests report from Saudi ambassador

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2015, file photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in Manama, Bahrain. The disappearance of Khashoggi, during a visit to his country's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. ... The United States has asked Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. to return from a trip home with information on missing writer Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump defends Saudi arms sales amid fury over missing writer

WASHINGTON>> President Donald Trump defended continuing huge sales of U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia today despite rising pressure from lawmakers to punish the kingdom over the disappearance of a Saudi journalist who lived in the United States and is now feared dead. President Donald Trump said today he saw no reason to block Saudi Arabian investments in the United States despite concern over a missing Saudi journalist, saying the Gulf nation would then just move its money into Russia and China.

Ire Aimed at Trump and Kushner for Not Pressing Saudi Prince Over Missing Post Journalist Believed Murdered

Top advisor Jared Kushner, his wife Ivanka Trump, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sulman in this White House photo. The Saudi-born Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi has been missing for over a week -with reports strongly indicating he was murdered last week by a 'hit team' sent by the government of Saudi Arabia while inside the country's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey-but critics from across the political spectrum say the Trump administration still has not used its close ties to the ruling Royal Family, and especially with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Sulman , to get anywhere nearer the truth of what happened to Khashoggi or hold the Saudis feet to the fire over the possible assassination of a U.S. resident and journalist.

Prominent Saudi Journalist Reportedly Killed In ‘Pre-Planned Murder’ At Consulate In Turkey

Turkish authorities say a missing Saudi journalist was murdered in a Saudi consulate in Turkey by a 15 member "team." Jamal Khashoggi, who was a contributor to The Washington Post's Global Opinions section, reportedly went missing Tuesday after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, to obtain papers declaring an official divorce from his ex-wife so he could marry his new fiancee, BBC News reported Saudi Arabia has denied that Khashoggi was detained or held up in the consulate, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Khashoggi left the consulate shortly after he arrived on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post .

Turkish delight for Venezuela’s Maduro draws opponents’ fury

Videos going viral of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro feasting on a steak prepared by a celebrity chef at a time many in his crisis-wracked nation are going hungry is drawing fury from opponents of the embattled socialist leader. Maduro visited the famed Nusr-Et steakhouse in Istanbul when he stopped over briefly in Turkey on the way home from a trip to China to raise badly needed investment.

Trump imposes sanctions over Turkey’s detaining of minister

The White House is announcing that the Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on two Turkish officials over a detained American pastor who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the Trump administration will sanction Turkey's minister of justice and minister of interior over the holding of 50-year-old Andrew Craig Brunson.

US-Backed Leftist Kurds Holds talks with Damascus on Future of Northeast

Between them the Damascus government and the Syrian Democratic Forces control some 90 percent of the country, after a series of Russian-backed victories over rebel groups in recent months saw the government reassert its authority over much of the south. The delegation from the SDF's political wing is discussing the future of the autonomous administrations it has set up in areas of northern and northeastern Syria under its control, the alliance official said.

Erdogan’s Turkey

Optimistic expectations that the Turkish system established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, republican, nationalist, secular, and modernized, would continue have been frustrated. Hopes for a successful multiparty democracy ended because of chaotic politics and military coups.

US delegation en route to Ankara to discuss Iran sanctions

A U.S. delegation of Treasury and State Department officials will meet Turkish authorities on July 20 to discuss sanctions targeting Iran , an official from Turkey 's foreign ministry has said. "A U.S. delegation currently holding talks in India will be visiting Ankara on July 20 regarding sanctions against Iran ," a foreign ministry official told Reuters.

Pilot warns of ‘sustained FETO threat’ in Turkish military

A Turkish military pilot, who is cooperating with prosecutors after being dismissed from the service over his links to suspected plotters of the July 2016 coup attempt, has warned about the "sustained threat" posed by "disguised members of [the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] FETA- ." The Turkish authorities refer to the movement of U.S.-based leader Fetullah GA1 4len as FETA- , which is widely believed to have orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 250 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey’s Erdogan Claims Presidential Election Victory

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared victory after unofficial election returns Sunday showed him with enough votes to serve another term that carries new executive powers. "The nation has entrusted to me the responsibility of the presidency and the executive duty," Erdogan said in televised remarks from Istanbul after a near-complete count carried by the state-run news agency gave him the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

The Fate of Turkey’s Democracy Lies With the Kurds

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey-This past Sunday, four Kurdish candidates running for office in Turkey's June 24 elections rolled into the rural town of Hani to rally their supporters. The candidates, along with their campaign team, had been speaking from atop their bus to a crowd of some 150 people for about 10 minutes before a plain-clothes policeman ordered them to leave.

Turkish jets strike PKK targets in northern Iraq stronghold

Hardy, a Republican, and Steven Horsford, a Democrat, were favored to win their pr... ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's military says its warplanes have struck 12 Kurdish rebel targets in cross-border raids in northern Iraq, where it is broadening its operations and vowing to destroy a stronghold of the fighters. The military says Tuesday that jets overnight hit shelters, weapon positions and ammunition depots used by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq's Hakurk, Avasin-Basyan and Qandil regions.

Iran Foreign Minister in Moscow as Russia moves to save nuclear deal

Iran's foreign minister was in Moscow on Monday as Russia tries to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive in the wake of Washington's pull-out, pushing it into rare cooperation with Europe. Iranian state television Irib broadcasted images of Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow, saying he had arrived in Russia at 4am on Monday and was due to meet Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

Senator To Turkey: Follow North Korea’s Lead And Release American Hostages [VIDEO]

A Republican senator is calling on the Turkish government to follow the lead of North Korea's regime and release an American pastor being held hostage in the NATO nation. Speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday, Oklahoma's James Lankford also discouraged Americans from traveling to or doing business in Turkey because the government there can "sweep up anyone for any accusation."