Turkey

16 Dec 2021; MEMO: Turkey rescued 115 asylum seekers, Wednesday, from the Aegean Sea off the coast of the Izmir, Aydin and Mugla provinces, according to the Turkish Coast Guard Command, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The asylum seekers included 77 irregular migrants who were illegally pushed back by Greece into Turkish waters, and 38 others in two separate boats which were detected by mobile radar, said statements.

All of the asylum seekers were taken to provincial migration offices.

11 Dec 2021; MEMO: Marking Human Rights Day, Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) sent 200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Syria on Friday, Anadolu Agency reported.

The aid is part of a campaign launched by IHH in November, named "Winter at the door! Don't leave them alone."

The mayor of Istanbul's Umraniye district, Ismet Yildirim, stated: "Turkey is at the top of the countries that provide humanitarian aid."

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described social media Saturday as one of the main threats to democracy.

Erdogan’s government plans to pursue legislation to criminalize spreading fake news and disinformation online, but critics say the proposed changes would tighten restrictions on free speech.

“Social media, which was described as a symbol of freedom when it first appeared, has turned into one of the main sources of threat to today’s democracy,” Erdogan said in a video message to a government-organized communications conference in Istanbul.

10 Dec 2021; MEMO: Turkey, on Thursday, observed the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime on the sixth anniversary of the UN General Assembly resolution that marked the day, which was co-sponsored by Turkey.

11 Dec 2021; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed on Friday that the only way to achieve stability and peace in Palestine is to create an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, Anadolu Agency reported.

10 Dec 2021; MEMO: Some 3,000 Turkish police officers will help secure the 2022 FIFA World Cup scheduled to take place next year in Qatar, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said yesterday.

Soylu made the remarks on the sidelines of the closing meeting of the Project to Strengthen Civilian Oversight on the Internal Security Sector held in the capital, Ankara.

ISTANBUL, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he hoped that volatile foreign-exchange and inflation rates would stabilise shortly and he again promised low interest rates, after a historic plunge in the lira currency to record lows.

The lira shed some 30% over the last month in a selloff driven by aggressive interest rate cuts that Erdogan sought, but that economists and opposition politicians say are reckless in part due to soaring inflation. 

03 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Secretary General of the Organisation of Turkic States said the inter-governmental association is ready to establish partnership relations with all countries and described its summit held last month in Istanbul as a "historical event", Anadolu News Agency reports.

03 Dec 2021; MEMO: Turkey tested the infrastructure of its health system during the coronavirus pandemic and has demonstrated the quality of the system to the whole world, the Turkish Deputy Health Minister said Thursday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Suayip Birinci made the comments at the Turkey-UK Healthcare Business Forum in Istanbul, where hundreds participated physically and virtually.

04 Dec 2021; MEMO: Istanbul's Public Prosecutor on Friday indicted 16 people suspected of spying for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, Turkish Daily Sabah reported.

According to Arab48, the Turkish news website reported that 15 suspects are Palestinian, all currently in prison. The 16th suspect is Israeli Arab citizen, Ahmad Ziyad, who runs the network while living in Germany.