Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — President Joe Biden and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have known each other for years, but their meeting Monday will be their first as heads of state. And it comes at a particularly tense moment for relations between their two countries.

The list of disagreements is unusually long for the two NATO allies: There’s U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, as well as Turkey’s purchase of a Russian weapons system. And in April, Biden infuriated Ankara by declaring that the Ottoman-era mass killing and deportations of Armenians was “genocide.”

12 June 2021; MEMO: Turkish scientists are seeking to use bacteria to strengthen the flooring and extend the life span of historical buildings.

Scientists discovered that the bacteria, Viridibacillus Arenosi, produces enzymes that fill up soil -- making it stick together.

A team of scientists from various universities found out that the bacteria increased the strength of the ground making it suitable for construction. It also strengthens concrete.

12 June 2021; AA: Prior to the NATO summit, a high-level delegation from Turkey will visit Libya upon the instruction of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to an official statement on Friday.

12 June 2021; AA: A 1,800-year-old statue of a woman was unearthed in Turkey’s western Izmir province, Turkish officials announced on Saturday.

In a Twitter post, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Department of Excavations said the statue was found in the ancient city of Metropolis located in Izmir’s Torbali district, and noted: “Our excavations will continue in 2021.”

It also shared a 39-second video showing the process of unearthing the ancient statue.

ANKARA, June 11. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he expects a Russian delegation to arrive in Antalya to discuss tourism-related issues.

"A delegation from Russia is arriving in Antalya. Issues related to tourism will be discussed. I believe that after that we will be able to quickly go on the attack in the direction of tourism," he said in Istanbul referring to the revival of international tourism in Turkey. The president did not give the expected date for the Russian delegation’s visit.

11 June 2021; MEMO: Turkey discovered around 20 tonnes of gold with a market value of $1.2 billion (10.2 billion lira) and 3.5 tonnes of silver reserves with a market value of $2.8 million in the eastern Agri province, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank announced yesterday.

According to reports, Varank referred to the discovery of the reserves as an important development for both Turkey and the region.

05 June 2021; MEMO: Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported that Ankara has taken the first step to re-implement the Libyan model with the Palestinians regarding a security cooperation agreement signed by Turkey and the Palestinian Authority (PA) that recently entered into force.

9 June 2021; MEMO: Turkey proposed that it guard and run Kabul's airport after the United States and other NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan, Reuters reports.

US officials say Ankara is imposing conditions which need to be resolved as their leaders prepare to meet next week.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Monday that Ankara's offer was contingent on backup from its allies, political and financial.

09 June 2021; AA: Turkey sent 50,000 more doses of a coronavirus vaccine to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Tuesday. 

A Turkish Health Ministry plane carrying the vaccine doses landed at Ercan International Airport in Lefkosa, where officials of the TRNC’s Health Ministry received the shipment.

With the latest delivery, Turkey has provided the TRNC with 190,000 vaccine doses to date.

ISTANBUL, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police seized 415 smuggled historical artifacts in Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul, and detained six suspects, Ihlas news agency reported Monday.

Istanbul's anti-smuggling units recently received a tip-off that many historical artifacts were illegally collected and would be sold to various museums, according to Ihlas.

Following the technical and physical follow-up and intelligence studies, the units have launched operations in four addresses across the city and detained the suspected smugglers, it said.