Turkey

06 Jan 2021; MEMO: Some 150 Somali army soldiers are receiving special commando training in Turkey under a military cooperation pact between the two countries, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The training of the Somali Armed Forces soldiers is taking place at the Counter-Terrorism Training and Exercise Center in Turkey's southwestern province of Isparta, said a ministry statement.

06 Jan 2021; MEMO: Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) sent 100 container houses Tuesday to earthquake victims in Croatia, reports Anadolu Agency.

The container houses were loaded onto a ship at the Pendik Port in Istanbul and will be delivered to Zagreb in cooperation with the International Transporters Association (UND) and DFDS Ro-Ro Logistics.

02 Jan 2021; AA: A team of Turkish scientists and archaeologists discovered the remains of a 2,500-year-old Aphrodite Temple in the Urla-Cesme peninsula in Turkey's west.

As a result of screening an area of 1,600 square meters that covers parts of Urla, Cesme and Seferihisar districts of Izmir, 35 pre-historic era human settlements, including 16 from the late Neolithic period, were uncovered.

31 Dec 2021; AA: Turkey on Thursday reported 14,380 more infections and 239 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours.

According to Health Ministry data, the new cases include 2,219 symptomatic patients. The tally of infections exceeded 2.21 million, while the death toll climbed to 20,881.

As many as 22,021 more people recovered over the past day, taking the total to over 2.1 million.

ANKARA, December 31. /TASS/: Minister of National Defense of Turkey Hulusi Akar had a meeting with Turkish officers in Baku, who will serve in the ceasefire control center in Nagorno-Karabakh operating jointly with Russia, Anadolu Agency reported Thursday.

"Our military are ready to carry out their duties. After the joint center starts its work, out activities will be reinforced, and we will fulfil our mission to protect rights of our Azerbaijani brothers," Akar said at the meeting in the Azerbaijani capital.

31 Dec 2020; MEMO: The free trade agreement signed by Turkey and the UK on Tuesday will ease the two countries' bilateral trade target of $20 billion, said a top official, Anadolu reports.

After reaching the Brexit deal, the UK signed the free trade agreement with Turkey, just after one with the EU, a gesture which shows the strength of their commercial relations, Osman Okyay, head of the Turkey-UK Business Council of the Foreign Economic Relations Board, told Anadolu Agency.

31 Dec 2020; MEMO: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced on Wednesday that his country would start negotiations with the US over the Russian S-400 missile defence system, news agencies reported.

Ankara, Dec 30 (AP-PTI) A first batch of vaccines developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac has arrived in Turkey, after a two-week delay.

A plane carrying 3 million doses of the CoronaVac vaccine landed in the capital Ankara early on Wednesday. The first shipment was initially scheduled to arrive on December 11 but Turkish officials said problems concerning permits, followed by a COVID-19 case in Beijing customs and high alert against infections there, caused the delay.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States have started talks to form a joint working group regarding U.S. sanctions imposed over Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

Washington slapped the sanctions on NATO ally Turkey’s Defence Industry Directorate (SSB), its chief Ismail Demir and three other employees this month following its acquisition of the S-400s.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court sentenced 92 defendants including former high-ranking army officials to life in jail on Wednesday for their roles in the 2016 attempted coup, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

More than 250 people were killed in the attempt to overthrow the government on July 15, 2016 when rogue soldiers commandeered warplanes, helicopters and tanks and sought to take control of key state institutions.

Life sentences without parole were given to 12 defendants including some department heads of the land forces, Anadolu said.