Turkey

12 May 2023; MEMO: The national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, will order nearly 600 aircraft in the next decade, according to the Airline's Board and Executive Committee Chairman, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Speaking at an event to unveil Turkish Airlines' renewed in-flight dining menus on Thursday, Ahmet Bolat disclosed that approximately 400 new orders will be for narrow-body aircraft and 200 for wide-body planes.

ANKARA, May 12 (Reuters) - Kemal Kilicdaroglu, main challenger of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, said on Friday his party has concrete evidence of Russia's responsibility for the release of "deep fake" online content ahead of Sunday's presidential elections.

Kilicdaroglu, who has a slight poll lead over Erdogan two days ahead of the election, told Reuters in an interview it was unacceptable for Russia to interfere in Turkey's internal affairs, but added that should he become president he would maintain Ankara's good ties with Moscow.

ANKARA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Negotiations to extend a Black Sea Grain Initiative were nearing an agreement after two days of talks in Istanbul between Ukrainian, Russian, Turkish and UN officials, Türkiye's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday.

"As part of the first information received, the meeting in Istanbul was positive. We are heading toward an agreement on the extension of the grain deal," Akar said in a statement.

11 May 2023; MEMO: European welcomes to Turkiye's invitation to "security and cooperation" to monitor the elections in a statement by the European Commission spokesperson, Peter Stano, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the report, European Commission spokesman, Peter Stano, said during a press conference on Thursday, "Turkiye is a major partner of the European Union in many ways, and we are closely following the elections in the country."

ISTANBUL, May 11 (Reuters) - Turkish Airlines (THY) (THYAO.IS) will order a total of 600 new aircraft in June and they will be delivered within ten years, company chairman Ahmet Bolat said on Thursday.

Such an order, if confirmed, would be the largest in the industry's history by a single airline, eclipsing a record order by Air India for 470 Airbus and Boeing planes in December, but his comments took some industry sources and analysts by surprise.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — The Ukrainian government is seeking to extend a wartime deal that allowed the country’s grain to get to nations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat, a top Ukrainian official said Thursday after the latest talks on prolonging the agreement.

The two-talks in Istanbul involved Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and United Nations officials but yielded no decisions for an extension. The deal is due to expire next Wednesday.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A candidate in Turkey’s presidential election announced Thursday that he was withdrawing from the race, a move that’s likely to bolster President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main challenger.

Muharrem Ince, the leader of the center-left Homeland Party, was one of four contenders running for president in the May 14 election. Turkey will also be holding a parliamentary election at the same time.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A candidate in Turkey’s presidential election announced Thursday that he was withdrawing from the race, a move that’s likely to bolster President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main challenger.

Muharrem Ince, the leader of the center-left Homeland Party, was one of four contenders running for president in the May 14 election. Turkey will also be holding a parliamentary election at the same time.

ANKARA, May 10. /TASS/: Negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations on extending the Black Sea grain deal, and fulfilling the Russian part of the agreement pertaining to grain and fertilizer deliveries, will kick off in Istanbul on Wednesday and are expected to last two days, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

9 May 2023; MEMO: Turkiye raised the wages of some 700,000 civil servants by 45 per cent, President Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday, days before tight presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday, local Turkish media reports.

According to the report, Erdogan announced the pay rise on Tuesday at a meeting in Ankara that discussed the economic and social rights of public workers through a framework called the Public Collective Bargaining Agreement Framework Protocol.