Turkey

08 October 2023; MEMO: Turkiye will host the third international gathering aimed at building support for the Global Peace Summit that Ukraine plans to hold later this year, Bloomberg reports.

According to the report, the meeting is tentatively scheduled for later in October in Istanbul and will follow similar gatherings in Denmark in June and in Saudi Arabia in August, the news outlet said.

06 October 2023; MEMO: A Turkish-flagged general cargo ship that was sailing on Thursday in the Black Sea en route to Ukraine’s Izmail port did not sustain damage from an explosion, Turkiye’s maritime authority and the ship’s captain told Reuters on Friday.

“An explosion occurred 15-20 meters behind the Kafkametler ship en route to Izmail port from Batumi port while it was cruising off the coast of Romania/Sulina (port),” the authority said.

ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye said one of its armed drones was downed during its cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said the comprehensive security operations were launched by the Turkish Armed Forces and Intelligence Organization against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and YPG group in Iraq and Syria.

ISTANBUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 people were arrested in a major operation against drug traffickers in Istanbul, Türkiye's largest city, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.

Police carried out overnight raids in 25 out of 39 districts of the city, arresting 104 suspects, Yerlikaya said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Police also seized 3.5 kilograms of bonsai and various amounts of methamphetamine, cannabis, skunk, drug pills, weapons, and money, he said.

ANKARA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's military carried out its third cross-border air operation into Iraq on Wednesday, after a suicide bomb attack in the capital Ankara on Sunday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned at a security meeting on Wednesday that all the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) infrastructure and energy facilities in Syria and Iraq are now "legitimate targets for the Turkish military."

04 October 2023; MEMO: A Turkish company has signed an agreement to supply a Pakistani company with training and general-purpose aircraft, the Troy T400.

Turkish aircraft manufacturer, UÇAKSAN, explained in a statement yesterday that it has agreed with the Pakistani company Defence & Strategic Ventures to supply it with five Troy T400 aircraft.

ANKARA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan revealed on Wednesday that the two assailants responsible for a recent suicide bomb attack in the capital city of Ankara hailed from Syria.

Telling a press conference in Ankara, the minister said that "it has become clear that the two terrorists came from Syria and received training here," vowing "extremely clear" responses to the attack.

ISTANBUL, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- An ancient trident harpoon, estimated to be 1,700-1,800 years old, has been discovered during an ongoing archaeological excavation in northwestern Türkiye, local media reported Wednesday.

This iron harpoon, designed for fishing in ancient times, was found at an archaeological site in the village of Assos in Canakkale province, according to the state-run Anadolu agency.

ANKARA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization has killed a senior member of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) during an operation in northern Syrian Qamishli city, the Turkish media reported Monday.

The killed senior YPG member was identified as Muzdelif Taskin, who was accused of being the mastermind behind the 2007 terror attack in the Daglica village of the southeastern Hakkari province, killing 12 soldiers and injuring 16 others, according to the Turkish media.

29 September 2023; MEMO: SpaceX’s satellite internet venture, Starlink, needs to fully comply with Turkish regulations to operate in Turkiye, a senior official told Anadolu days after Elon Musk’s company applied for a license in the country.