Turkey

ISTANBUL (AP) — A collision between a freight train and a minibus in northwest Turkey killed six people and injured six others Saturday, Turkish news agency Demiroren reported.

The crash at a railroad crossing in Ergene, Tekirdag province, involved a minibus carrying factory workers and a train headed to nearby Cerkezkoy at 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT), the news agency said.

The people who died all were in the minibus, which was dragged in front of the train after the impact. Images showed the crumpled vehicle lying on its roof alongside the train tracks.

03 Sep 2021; MEMO: Turkey's opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, announced that all Syrian and Afghan refugees will be sent back to their homeland in two years if he takes power following the 2023 elections, local media reports.

Kilicdaroglu claimed Turkey can hardly feed itself and can no longer handle the refugee numbers.

03 Sep 2021; MEMO: Turkey's exports hit an all-time high August figure at $18.9 billion, Hurriyet Daily News reported Minister of Trade Mehmet Mus saying yesterday.

Exports rose 52 per cent compared to the same period last year, the minister said.

"With this strong momentum achieved in our exports, we surpassed the pre-pandemic performance," he said.

01 Sep 2021; MEMO: The Turkish Coast Guard rescued 120 asylum seekers yesterday after Greek authorities forced them to return to Turkish territorial waters off the coast of Aydin state, Anadolu Agency reports.

Security sources told Anadolu Agency that the Turkish Coast Guard went to the coast of Kas Island after receiving a report of the presence of asylum seekers on two rubber boats.

Istanbul, Aug 31 (AP-PTI) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken with the United Arab Emirates' de-facto leader, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, by telephone, Erdogan's office said late Monday, in a sign of easing tensions between the countries.

The two discussed their countries' relations and regional issues, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency. The statement did not say when the conversation took place.

29 Aug 2021; MEMO: Turkey has risen to the world's top three in combat drone technology, the Turkish president said on Sunday, reports Anadolu Agency.

"With our unmanned combat aerial vehicle Akinci, Turkey has become one of the three most advanced countries in the world in this technology," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the delivery ceremony for the Bayraktar Akinci combat drone in the northwestern Tekirdag province.

30 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Turkish defense and foreign ministers held a video call with their Qatari counterparts, the Turkish authorities said on Sunday, reports Anadolu Agency.

Turkey's National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met Qatar's Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani virtually to discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan, according to the National Defense Ministry.

29 Aug 2021; AA: Turkish personnel and all Turkish citizens who wish to leave the country have been evacuated from Afghanistan’s capital Kabul in a span of less than 48 hours, Turkey’s national defense minister announced on Saturday.

At a welcoming ceremony in the capital Ankara for troops arriving from Afghanistan, Hulusi Akar said the evacuation was done through an air bridge between Kabul and Pakistan’s capital Islamabad with eight airplanes and two helicopters.

29 Aug 2021; MEMO: Turkey on Sunday warned Greece against "expansionist attitudes," saying it is just chasing a "vain hope", reports Anadolu Agency.

"Greece should see that it cannot get anywhere with expansionist attitudes, approaches, and provocative behaviors and these policies are far from mathematics, reason, and understanding, and mean nothing but chasing a vain hope," Hulusi Akar said in Edirne, a northwestern province bordering Greece.

28 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Turkish Ministry of Defence has announced the completion of evacuating its soldiers from Afghanistan, after 20 years of successfully performing duties there.

On Friday, the Ministry of Defence welcomed via Twitter the Turkish soldiers who returned to their homeland.