Turkey

ISTANBUL, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained on Monday at least 17 suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Istanbul, local media reported, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The Istanbul Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Unit teams raided 17 addresses across the city simultaneously to capture the suspects, Anadolu said.

The suspects have been allegedly carrying out activities on behalf of the IS and having links with its members in Syria, it added.

Ankara, Nov 9 (AP/PTI) Turkey's finance minister and son-in-law to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his resignation on social media Sunday.

Berat Albayrak said on Instagram that he was stepping down from his post for health reasons and would spend more time with his family.

Albayrak, 42, was appointed minister of finance and treasury in July 2018, having previously been energy minister for nearly three years.

ANKARA, Nov 8 (NNN-ANADOLU) — With Joe Biden the projected winner of the 2020 White House race, his running mate, Kamala Harris, is set to mark several firsts in Americas’ political history despite being the first woman vice president-elect.

Harris, 56, also makes history as the first Black person and the first person of Asian descent who will serve as number two in the US.

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan fired central bank governor Murat Uysal on Saturday and replaced him with ex-finance minister Naci Agbal, acting after a 30% plunge in the lira currency’s value to record lows this year.

The decision to replace Murat Uysal gives Turkey its fourth central bank governor in five years and could stoke longstanding criticism about political interference in monetary policy.

06 Nov 2020; MEMO: Turkey is ready to work with whoever wins the US election, two top Turkish officials said on Friday, despite a friendship with President Donald Trump that has helped the two countries through turbulent times, Reuters reports.

“Regardless of which candidate takes office in the US, we will pursue a sincere approach to improve our relations,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

Ankara, Nov 7 (AP/PTI) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday dismissed the head of the country's central bank following a period of high inflation and record lows for the lira.

Former Finance Minister Naci Agbal was brought in to replace Murat Uysal, according to a presidential decree announced in the Official Gazette.

ISTANBUL, Nov 5 (NNN-ANADOLU) – A total of 116 people were killed and 1,035 others wounded, in a strong earthquake that hit Turkey’s western province of Izmir, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), said yesterday.

AFAD said, 137 citizens are still under treatment in hospitals.

Mehmet Gulluoglu, head of AFAD, announced that, the rescue operations were completed in all the 17 collapsed buildings.

Previously, authorities said, a total of 107 people were pulled out alive from the rubbles.

04 Nov 2020; MEMO: An automatic food machine called the MamaMatik, developed by a Turkish company will help feed stray animals in the country while also collecting recyclable material, according to the company’s chairman.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The death toll in last week’s Aegean Sea earthquake has risen to 116 on Wednesday as rescuers in the Turkish city of Izmir focused on the final two collapsed buildings.

All but two of the victims were killed in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city. Two teenagers died on the Greek island of Samos, which lies to the south of the epicenter of last Friday’s earthquake.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said search and rescue operations had been completed at 15 of 17 buildings that fell as the violent quake shook Izmir.

03 Nov 2020; MEMO: Turkish forces have evacuated their largest military base in Syria’s north-eastern province of Idlib, Germany’s DPA reported on Monday.

“Convoys carrying military personnel and equipment were seen leaving the Morek base in the northern Hama countryside,” explained the agency.