One part of Cyprus mourns, the other rejoices 50 years after split

Nicosia, Cyprus Reuters Greek Cypriots mourned and Turkish Cypriots rejoiced on Saturday, the 50th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of part of the island after a brief Greek inspired coup, with the chances of reconciliation as elusive as ever. The ethnically split island is a persistent source of tension between Greece and Turkey, which are both […]
Turkey closes Syria border after violence flares in both countries

Amman. Jordan/Istanbul, Turkey Reuters Turkey closed its main border crossings into north-west Syria on Tuesday after Turkish troops came under fire from Syrians angered by violence against their compatriots in Turkey, a Syrian opposition source and residents said. In Turkey, police detained 474 people involved in attacks targeting the Syrian community across the country overnight, […]
Imamoglu, the Turkish mayor following in Erdogan’s footsteps

Istanbul, Turkey Reuters Newly re-elected Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has emerged as the main challenger to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s reign. But in some ways, he is following in the footsteps of the Turkish leader who ran the city in the 1990s. Aside from having led the country’s biggest city, both have family roots in […]
Turkey’s resurgent opposition knocks Erdogan in pivotal local elections

Istanbul, Turkey Reuters Turks punished President Tayyip Erdogan and his party on Sunday in nationwide local elections that reasserted the opposition as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the president’s chief future rival. With more than half of votes counted, Imamoglu led by nearly 10 percentage points in the mayoral race […]
After the quake: Shock and confusion as Turkey seizes survivors’ homes

CEYDA CAGLAYAN and BURCU KARAKAS, of Reuters, report…
Pope says Ukraine should have “courage of the white flag” of negotiations

Rome, Italy Reuters Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands. Francis made his comments in an interview recorded […]
Anger at Turkish Government spills over at earthquake anniversary vigil

Hatay, Turkey Reuters More than 10,000 people gathered early on Tuesday to hold a vigil for the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquakes that hit south-eastern Turkey, as some protested what they called government negligence in the aftermath. The magnitude 7.8 tremor, the deadliest disaster in Turkey’s modern history, levelled towns and parts of cities […]
One year on: Turkey earthquake survivors struggle to rebuild their lives

BURCU KARAKAS and CEYDA CAGLAYAN, of Reuters, report from Hatay in Turkey…
Turkey completes new homes in area hit by devastating earthquake

Ankara, Turkey Reuters Turkey on Saturday handed over keys to newly-completed homes to some of those left homeless after last year’s devastating earthquake, one year after the country’s deadliest disaster in its modern history. Powerful quakes on 6th February, 2023 in southern Turkey killed more than 50,000 people in 11 provinces and left millions homeless. […]
Turkey faces runoff election with Erdogan leading

Updated: 12:20pm (AEST) Ankara, Turkey Reuters Turkey headed for a runoff vote after President Tayyip Erdogan led over his opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday’s election but fell short of an outright majority to extend his 20-year rule of the NATO-member country. Neither Erdogan nor Kilicdaroglu cleared the 50 per cent threshold needed to avoid […]