The Turkish national anthem celebrates its centenary today, after the İstiklal Marşı – or Independence March – was formally adopted as the country’s song on 12 March 1921. The words were written by Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, who bequeathed his work free of charge to the Turkish nation, and the music was composed by Osman Zeki Üngör. […]
Eleven soldiers were killed when a helicopter carrying them in eastern Turkey crashed in adverse weather conditions. The tragic accident occurred on Thursday afternoon about 10 kilometres from the city of Tatvan in Bitlis province, where the helicopter was heading. Lieutenant General Osman Erbaş, the head of the Turkish army’s 8th Corps, was among the […]
An innovative new forum organised by Turkey’s Meteorology Department brought together representatives from eight Turkic states, so they can collaborate better to combat common problems, such as climate change. The inaugural Turkish World Meteorology Forum was hosted in Ankara on 19 Feb. 2021 by Bekir Pakdemirli, the Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister. The event was attended […]
Thirteen Turkish citizens held in captivity by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq were shot dead last week, the Turkish government announced on Sunday. The 13 included six soldiers, two police officers and intelligent officers who had been abducted from different parts of southeast Turkey by the PKK in separate incidents six years […]
On 21 September 2017, Halla Barakat, a 23-year-old American journalist, and her 62-year-old mother Orouba Barakat, a Syrian national, were murdered in their own home in Istanbul. Their throats had been cut and their bodies covered with blankets. Nine days later, Turkish police arrested a suspect – Ahmed Barakat – in Bursa and he was […]
When a grey triangular metal structure randomly appeared in the countryside in southeast Turkey, not far from the ancient site of Göbekli Tepe where the world’s oldest temple stands, locals were flummoxed. What was it? How had it got there and for what reason? The 3-dimensional, 3-metre tall by about 50 centimetres wide monument was […]
Complaints of torture and ill-treatment of those in custody have grown significantly in Turkey during the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) 18-year term in power, according to a new report. A total of 27,493 people alleged they were subjected to abuse by the police or gendarmerie in Turkey between 2002 and 2020, said opposition MP […]
People have taken to Twitter to mock one of Turkey’s popular news channels for its headlines about the recent protests at Boğaziçi University. Hundreds of students and academics at the university have demonstrated against the new university rector, Melih Bulu, who was appointed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the start of the year. […]
Turkey has confirmed its first cases of the UK variant of coronavirus. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on New Year’s Day that fifteen people traveling from Britain had tested positive for the new more contagious strain. The discovery has prompted the Turkish authorities to temporarily bar new arrivals from Britain again. “Through the investigations made […]
An appeals court in Turkey has ruled to lift the block on popular transportation application Uber. The news was confirmed on Uber’s Turkey Twitter account on Christmas Eve. In their first post since April 2020, Uber Türkiye wrote: “We are very pleased the block on Uber in Turkey has been cancelled following a decision by […]
