Turkey

22 August 2023; MEMO: Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has opposed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decision to intervene militarily against the coup leaders in Niger, warning that it would lead to instability in Africa. 

24 August 2023; MEMO: Nine villages and more than 1,200 people have been evacuated as wildfires, raging in Greece, spread to neighbouring Turkiye, local media reports.

According to the report, the wildfires raging in Greece are also affecting neighbouring border province of Canakkale in Turkiye.

More than 1,500 hectares have burned, and 48 people had to be treated for smoke intoxication.

24 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye has mobilised all resources to rebuild the earthquake-ravaged region, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Erdogan spoke at the ground-breaking ceremony in Turkiye’s Adiyaman province via live video link from the Presidential Complex in the capital, Ankara.

Adiyaman is one of 11 cities hit by severe twin earthquakes on 6 February. 

ANKARA, August 22. /TASS/: Substantial progress has been made at consultations on renewing the grain deal, Turkey’s Yeni Safak newspaper said citing a source in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office.

"Significant progress has been achieved on a grain corridor agreement. An alternative route of the grain corridor without Russia is irrational," the newspaper quoted the source as saying.

ISTANBUL, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish anti-narcotics police seized nearly 450 kg of methamphetamine and arrested five suspects, including a foreigner, in Istanbul, the governor's office said in a statement on Monday.

The operation comes as part of a probe into the illicit trafficking of drugs, said the statement.

Upon a tip-off, the police began tracking the suspects allegedly involved in drug trafficking and stopped a car and two trucks in the Tuzla district, where 447.5 kg of liquid narcotics were found concealed in 20 drums, it added.

18 August 2023; MEMO: An Israeli who received a ten-year prison sentence in Turkiye for possession and attempted smuggling of illegal qat leaves will be released over the weekend, reported the Times of Israel.

Danny Aweke, 35, was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of smuggling qat leaves through Turkiye, where the substance is considered an illegal, and was later convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison.

18 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye warned Russia after an incident involving a cargo ship in the Black Sea which took place within international waters, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the “Sukru Okan” vessel was flying the flag of Palau when it was fired on by the Russian Navy last Sunday.

17 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye is the fastest-growing holiday destination over the last five years, with flying programmes increasing by 200 per cent since 2018, the Independent reports.

According to the report, this growth has been driven by demand, resulting in an upsurge in flying frequency, longer seasons and the launch of holidays to a new Turkish destination, Izmir, in 2019 reported by the tour operator, Jet2holidays.

ISTANBUL, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Russia's raid on a ship just off Turkey's coast brings the fallout from the Ukraine war to another NATO frontier and raises the stakes as Ankara seeks to coax Moscow back to a grain-export deal that would restore some calm to the Black Sea.

Armed marines raided the Turkish-based vessel via helicopter on Sunday some 60 km (37 miles) off Turkey's northwest coast, in international waters but near Istanbul, in what Moscow called an inspection before it sailed on to Ukraine.