Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — A major 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of western Turkey on Friday, the US Geological Survey said, with initial reports indicating damage to buildings but no immediate casualties. The quake, which was felt from Istanbul to Athens, hit close to the Turkish resort city of Izmir, which has around three million residents. “So far, we have received information about six collapsed buildings” in Izmir province, which incudes the […]
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey said on Monday that an energy exploration vessel that had pulled out of waters claimed by Greece was only undergoing routine maintenance and would return soon. The Oruc Reis seismic survey ship has been unsettling the strategic eastern Mediterranean region since Turkey sent it along with a small navy flotilla into disputed seas on August 10. Greece responded by staging navy drills with France and several EU allies near ones Turkey […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany on Wednesday criticised naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean as “not helpful” in easing tensions between Greece and Turkey, at odds over gas and maritime borders. “What we have to find is a starting point for us to enter once again into political discussions and negotiations,” German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said after talks with her EU counterparts in Berlin. “The manoeuvres that took place today are certainly not helpful,” […]
by Hélène COLLIOPOULOU with Raziye AKKOC in Ankara ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Greece and its EU allies held war games in the Mediterranean Wednesday while Turkey conducted drills with the US navy nearby, as the row between the two neighbours over gas and maritime borders ratcheted up another notch. The convergence of a growing number of warships on an energy-rich but disputed patch of sea between Cyprus and Crete came as NATO and a host […]
by Haydar Indhar Agence France-Presse DIWANIYAH, Iraq (AFP) — With its neighbours activating new dams, Iraq’s historic twin rivers could run dry — unless new infrastructure projects and tense talks with Turkey and Iran bear fruit. Nowhere is the effect on the country more palpable than in Basra, Iraq’s only coastal province. Here, the Tigris and Euphrates — on which millions of Iraqis rely to farm — meet at the Shatt al-Arab waterway before spilling […]
by Gokan Gunes with Raziye Akkoc in Ankara Agence France-Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey’s big push into the Mediterranean featuring controversial gas drilling, tough rhetoric and warships is rooted in a grand vision of a “Blue Homeland” that takes over waters claimed by EU neighbours. Fearful of being denied a fair share of the region’s bountiful natural gas wealth, Turkey sent a research vessel and a small navy armada into seas Greece views as […]
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Sunday, followed by aftershocks, killing one person and injuring several others. According to the US Geological Survey, the 5.9 magnitude quake struck 14 kilometers east of Yedisu, a town in Bingol province in eastern Turkey. This was followed by two strong aftershocks — both magnitude 4.5 tremors — about half an hour apart. The main quake and the aftershocks that followed had a depth of around […]
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Three Turkish prisoners have died from the coronavirus, Turkey’s justice minister said Monday as he announced the first cases of convicts diagnosed with the disease. A total of 17 convicts in five open prisons have contracted the virus, Abdulhamit Gul told reporters in Ankara. “Three of them, unfortunately, died during their treatment in hospital,” he said. Some convicts are sent to open prisons towards the end of their sentences to serve […]
by Gokan GUNES Agence France Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stepped up measures to stem surging coronavirus cases in Turkey but his refusal to impose a full lockdown in order to keep the economy afloat is drawing criticism. With gatherings banned, restrictions on intercity trips, and the obligation to wear masks almost everywhere, Erdogan has imposed a series of tough measures but so far resisted calls for a complete lockdown. […]
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AFP) — Five civilians were killed on Wednesday when their car was hit in a bomb attack in Turkey’s southeast, local officials said. The governor of Kurdish-majority Diyarbakir province said the attack was carried out in the early hours by “members of the PKK terror organization”, referring to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party. The PKK has fought an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is listed as a terror group by […]
by Fulya OZERKAN ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Istanbul’s opposition mayor on Thursday called for a lockdown in Turkey’s largest city after it reported the country’s highest number of coronavirus cases and criticized the lack of coordination with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey’s government has announced measures to contain the spread of the virus from shutting schools, banning mass prayers, suspending international flights to restricting intercity trips. But Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s demand is likely to put […]
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — A Turkish doctor died and more than 600 healthcare workers have been infected with the novel coronavirus, the health minister announced on Wednesday, without disguising his grief over the worsening situation. “The number of our doctor friends, nurses or other healthcare personnel affected by the novel coronavirus is high. This figure, which I reluctantly announce, is 601,” Minister Fahrettin Koca told a news conference, with a voice on the verge of […]
