Turkey

ANKARA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The plunge of Turkish lira is "a plot against Turkey" and the country will seek new partners and markets if the United States does not back down on its hostile policy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

Talking in a meeting in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, Erdogan said the current fluctuations in the exchange rate could not be explained by logic.

"I here declare that we have seen your plot and we are challenging it," said Erdogan, apparently referring to the United States.

By Faruk Zorlu

5 Aug 2018; AA; ANKARA; Turkey on Sunday criticized the Greek justice minister halting the extradition of an accused far-left terrorist to Turkey.

"The extradition of Turgut Kaya was refused by the decision of the Greek minister of justice despite the Greek judiciary’s ruling in favor of extradition to Turkey," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy in a statement.

"This reveals once again that the traditional sentiments of the Greek political power against Turkey have not changed," he added.

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA; 4 Aug 2018; AA; The Turkish president said Saturday they will freeze assets of the U.S. "justice and interior" secretaries in Turkey.

"I am instructing my friends today. We will freeze assets, if there are any, of the U.S. justice and interior secretaries in Turkey," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, speaking at ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's Women Branch congress in Ankara.

Speaking about the U.S. move to freeze assets of Turkish justice and interior ministers, he said: "This is not logic."

By Kubra Chohan

ANKARA; 4 Aug 2018; AA; Turkey’s presidential aide Ibrahim Kalin on Saturday called an article by U.S.-based Newsweek magazine “one of the worst pieces on Turkey”.

“PKK and Gulenist/FETO propaganda presented as facts and ideological paranoia as analysis,” Kalin said in a tweet.

He added: “Now the June 24 elections are over, is Newsweek calling for another coup attempt in Turkey?”

4 Aug 2018; AFP; President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey would impose sanctions on two US officials as retaliation for a similar move by Washington, hitting back in an unprecedented row between the NATO allies.

Turkey's holding of pastor Andrew Brunson on terror-related charges for almost two years has sparked one of the most intense crises between Washington and Ankara since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

By Yilmaz Kazandioglu

HAKKARI, Turkey; 4 Aug 2018; AA; A Turkish police officer was killed in an attack by the PKK terror group in the southeastern Hakkari province on Saturday.

He succumbed to his wounds in the Yuksekova State Hospital.

Earlier on Saturday, PKK terrorists detonated an improvised explosive device while the officers were passing through an area in their armored vehicle and injured nine policemen.

An operation in the area is ongoing.

Turkey was on Thursday drawing up retaliatory measures after Washington slapped sanctions on two Turkish ministers in the one of the biggest crises between the two NATO allies in recent years.

Tensions have soared over Turkey's detention on terror charges of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was first held in October 2016 and was moved to house arrest last week.

1 Aug 2018; AA; ANKARA; A new rail gun made by a leading Turkish contractor has shot through previous speed records, the firm announced on Wednesday.

Previous tests carried out on Aselsan's TUFAN electromagnetic rail gun system showed it hitting a speed of 2,000-2,500 meters per second -- more than six times the speed of sound.

But new tests with the TUFAN prototype in Karapinar in Turkey’s central Konya province did 50 percent better, racking up an ultrasonic speed topping nine times the speed of sound.

By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA; 2 Aug 2018; AA; The head of Turkish parliament's constitutional committee has described the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on two Turkish ministers as an "abdication of reason".

"The U.S. administration's decision is far from good sense, an abdication of reason, a lack of foresight," Bekir Bozdag said on his official Twitter account on Thursday.

"The U.S. cannot take what it wants from Turkey with a method that is against international law, unlawful and presuming," Bozdag, a lawmaker from Yozgat province, added.

ISTANBUL; 31 July 2018; AA; The new building at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport’s domestic terminal -- representing a €26 million ($30.5 million) investment -- will boost the airport's annual passenger capacity to over 40 million, Istanbul’s governor said on Tuesday.

"It started with a capacity of 25 million people, reached 31 million, and now is being raised to 41 million," Vasip Sahin said at the building’s opening ceremony.

Looking ahead, he added: "With the second runway, this capacity will reach 63 million."