Crowds of hundreds, mainly women, marched in central Istanbul on Thursday. Activists and members of various NGOs, as well as representatives of the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities were seen chanting, drumming, and carrying banners opposing Ankara’s withdrawal from the international treaty. Protesters carried banners reading: “We will not be silenced, …
Read More »Turkey’s Erdogan launches construction of Istanbul canal megaproject, says it will be completed in six years
The groundbreaking ceremony for the canal, set to link the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, was held on Saturday at a construction site of one of the six bridges across the future waterway. The ceremony was attended by Turkey’s president, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu, and …
Read More »‘Blood on your hands’: Turkey’s Erdogan attacks Biden over alleged Israeli arms deal amid ongoing Gaza strikes
Erdogan’s criticism of Biden came after unconfirmed reports by the Washington Post on Monday that the US president’s administration has approved a $735 million arms deal with Israel. “Today we saw Biden’s signature on weapons sales to Israel,” the Turkish leader said after chairing a cabinet meeting. “Mr. Biden, you …
Read More »Turkey’s Erdogan asks Pope to help end ‘massacre’ of Palestinians, calls for international sanctions against Israel
The two held phone talks on Monday, as the Gaza flare-up entered its second week. Erdogan, who has long positioned himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause, has squarely pinned the blame for the conflict on Tel Aviv. The president told the Pope that “all of humanity should be …
Read More »‘Terrorist state’ Israel must be stopped, Turkish President Erdogan says, adding it has ‘crossed all limits’
“This terrorist state that tries to plunder a city like Jerusalem, which houses places that are holy for Muslims, Christians and Jews, has crossed all limits,” Erdogan said on Friday, referring to Israel. “It is imperative that UN Security Council takes steps to ensure peace in Jerusalem in line with …
Read More »Erdogan lashes out at ‘cruel terrorist’ Israel after violent crackdown on Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem
On Friday, Israeli police used rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades on worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque after the crowd began throwing chairs, rocks and shoes at them. More than 200 Palestinians were reportedly injured across Jerusalem during skirmishes with security forces. Dozens of people were hospitalized and seventeen officers …
Read More »Decision to buy S-400s from Russia ‘wasn’t made overnight’ & Turkey will stick to it – Erdogan’s spokesman
“Turkey won’t give up on the Russian S-400 systems,” Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told the local TRT Haber broadcaster on Thursday. “The S-400 decision wasn’t made overnight,” he noted, adding that he already touched on the issue in a phone call with Biden’s national security …
Read More »Turkey aims to be among world’s 10 biggest economies as Erdogan lures major investments
“To make our country one of the 10 biggest economies in the world, we’ve turned towards bigger investments in bigger projects,” the president said in his video message during the opening ceremony for a bridge in the eastern Malatya province. He also said that Turkey is realizing more than half …
Read More »Erdogan’s press office ditches WhatsApp as Ankara urges Turks to use domestic apps in fight against ‘digital fascism’
Starting on Monday, the office is switching over to encrypted messaging app BiP, which is developed by Turkish firm Turkcell, Bloomberg reported, citing internal messages posted to the WhatsApp groups. The decision comes amid growing consternation over WhatsApp’s plan to begin sharing personal data with its parent company, Facebook. The …
Read More »‘Support, not sanctions’: Turkey’s Erdogan dismayed at US punishing its NATO ally for purchasing S-400 system from Russia
In a speech on Monday, Erdogan said that Turkey would not be deterred in defending itself by either US sanctions, or those agreed by the EU in response to the country’s gas drilling in Mediterranean waters claimed by Cyprus. “We expect support from our NATO ally, America, in our fight …
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