Turkey

02 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye and Egypt have agreed to boost bilateral trade from $10 billion to $15 billion over the next five years, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said yesterday.

This came after a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Samir Saleh, and the accompanying delegation in Ankara.

Speaking to reporters after the closed meeting, Bolat said there is great potential for cooperation between the two countries, noting that Egypt is Turkiye's leading trading partner in Africa.

ISTANBUL, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish anti-narcotics police have seized 8.5 tons of drugs and more than 2.5 million pills since January in Istanbul, the governor's office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The police have carried out 24,539 anti-narcotics operations and detained 3,251 suspects since January, said the statement.

It vowed to make unremitting efforts to counter drug-related crimes in Istanbul, the statement added.

31 July 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's tourism revenues rose by 27 per cent to $21.7 billion during the January-June period this year, official figures from TurkStat showed on Monday.

The country hosted 22.2 million visitors – foreigners as well as Turkish citizens living abroad – in the first half of 2023, up 20.6 per cent on a yearly basis, the statistical institute said. The average expenditure per night for overnight visitors was $99, up from $89 during the same period last year.

ANKARA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people died, and 23 others were injured after a passenger bus veered off the road and overturned on a highway in the eastern Kars province of Türkiye on Sunday, state-run TRT broadcaster reported.

The passenger bus overturned into a stockade after passing the viaduct at the entrance of Karakurt village of Sarikamis district of Erzurum-Kars highway, the TRT quoted Governor of Kars province Turker Oksuz as reporting.

The passenger bus flipped over from approximately 50 meters in height and overturned, the TRT added.

ANKARA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces killed 12 members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northwestern Syria, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The YPG members were "neutralized" after they opened "harassing fire" on the Operation Euphrates Shield zone of the Turkish military, the ministry said in a statement.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" in their statements to imply the "terrorists" in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

ANKARA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Emojis have become an integral part of Turks' daily social media chats and have made their way into digital texting of all kinds. The Turkish people, especially the younger generation, love using them.

Sending emojis is a way to liven up digital messages and conversations for Ayten Sermen and Tunc Bozok, two students majoring in history at Hacettepe University in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

ANKARA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday in the Turkish capital Ankara, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

The closed-door meeting came after Erdogan held talks with Abbas in Türkiye a day earlier.

Türkiye will continue to back the Palestinian cause and support the prosperity of Palestinians, Erdogan said at the press conference, urging the Palestinian factions to unite for their cause.

25 July 2023; MEMO: Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Tuesday, welcomed his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, with an official ceremony at the presidential complex in the capital, Ankara, Anadolu Agency reports.

The leaders will hold one-on-one talks, to be followed by a joint news conference. The Turkish leader will also host a dinner in honour of the guest.

ISTANBUL, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish police have seized about 850 kg of methamphetamine and detained 14 suspects in a recent anti-narcotics operation in Istanbul, police sources said Monday.

The operation was carried out between June 11 and July 18 in nine districts of Istanbul.

The seized drugs were exhibited at the main police headquarters.

In June, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya vowed to eliminate any passage to drug dealers "who poison our youth and threaten our future."

23 July 2023; MEMO: A century ago, on July 24, countries around the world acknowledged Turkiye as an independent and sovereign nation with the historic signing of the Lausanne Peace Treaty at the Rumine Palace in the lakeside Swiss city, Anadolu Agency reports.

Months of intense negotiations had led up to the momentous event under the Lausanne Peace Conference, held at the Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel, situated on the picturesque shores of Lake Leman in Lausanne.