Ankara

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Ukrainian, Russian Delegates Scuffle at Turkey Summit

'Paws off Ukraine!' one delegate said after attacking Russian delegate who snatched his flag

(Newser) - A summit of Black Sea nations took place this week in the Turkish capital of Ankara, a few hundred miles away from Ukraine, but the distance didn't stop tensions from the Russian invasion there from bubbling over into the hallways of Turkey's parliament building. The AP reports that...

Turkey Just Got Special Delivery That Won't Make US Happy

First shipment of Russian S-400 missile defense system has arrived in Ankara

(Newser) - A special delivery arrived in Turkey's capital Friday: the first batch of equipment for a $2.5 billion Russian S-400 missile defense system. A source tells the TASS news agency that two more shipments are expected by the end of the summer and that Turkish missile operators are being...

Shots Fired at US Embassy in Turkey
Shots Fired
at US Embassy 
in Turkey

Shots Fired at US Embassy in Turkey

Officials say nobody was hurt in Ankara attack

(Newser) - Unknown attackers fired shots at a security booth outside the US Embassy in Turkey's capital early Monday, but US officials said no one was hurt. The Ankara governor's office said six shots were fired from a moving white car toward the embassy compound at 5:30am, the AP...

Car Bomb Kills At Least 28 in Turkey's Capital

Officials are calling it a terrorist attack

(Newser) - At least 28 people are dead after an explosion struck three military vehicles and a civilian vehicle Wednesday in Turkey's capital of Ankara, CNN reports. Another 61 people were reported injured. According to the BBC , most of the victims are believed to be Turkish soldiers. The vehicles were stopped...

Toll Hits 97 in Turkish Peace Rally Blasts

At least 400 hurt in Ankara double bombing

(Newser) - Two bomb explosions targeting a peace rally by leftist and Kurdish activists in Turkey's capital on Saturday killed at least 97 people and wounded more than 400 others, according to the Turkish Medical Association as cited by CNN . The explosions occurred minutes apart near Ankara's main train station...

Protesters Tear-Gassed After Turkey Mine Blast

Death toll rises to 238; 120 still trapped, says PM

(Newser) - With the death toll from Turkey's mine explosion at 238, some are attacking a mine management system that "thinks only about money," as one worker puts it. Anger has sparked protests, including one that saw 800 student demonstrators hit with tear gas and water cannons in Ankara,...

Turkish Protesters: We're Not Going Anywhere

They reject government's park offer

(Newser) - Yesterday, Turkey's government offered to stop pushing the redevelopment of Istanbul's Gezi Park until after a court ruling; today, protesters say that's not enough. They plan to hold their ground, they say, per the BBC : "We will continue our resistance in the face of any injustice...

Turkey Says Marxists Behind Embassy Attack

White House calls it 'clearly an act of terror'

(Newser) - Turkish authorities say they know who's behind the bombing of the US embassy in Ankara —and it's not the usual suspects. They identified the suicide bomber as Ecevit Shanli, a member of a Marxist militant group called the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, the Hill reports. The...

Docs Perform First Quadruple Limb Transplant

Turkish surgeons restore arms and legs to 27-year-old

(Newser) - Doctors in Turkey say they have performed the world's first quadruple limb transplant on a man who lost both arms and legs at age 13, Sky News reports. The 20-hour operation at a hospital in Ankara required more than 50 doctors working on the patient, 27-year-old Sevket Cavdar. "...

Deadly 6.0 Quake Rattles Turkey
 Deadly 6.0 Quake 
 Rattles Turkey 
UPDATE

Deadly 6.0 Quake Rattles Turkey

51 killed in earthquake east of Ankara

(Newser) - At least 51 people were killed early today when a 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked eastern Turkey. Minarets toppled, buildings crumbled, and panicked residents fled their homes in 6 villages near the epicenter some 350 miles east of the nation's capital of Ankara. Rescuers were rushing to free people trapped...

Turkey Eases Controversial 'Insult' Statute

But advocates say changes to free speech law mainly cosmetic

(Newser) - The Turkish parliament has approved changes to a notorious law that makes it a crime to "insult Turkishness," reports the Financial Times. Ankara legislators today amended the notorious Article 301, reducing the maximum sentence and requiring the justice minister to approve all prosecutions. But while nationalists are outraged,...

Pelosi Vows to Push Turkish Genocide Vote

She ignores knocks from Turks, GOP, as Turkey fires shells into Kurdish villages

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi vows to take the Turkey-genocide vote to the floor despite renewed Turkish threats and Republican jabs, the New York Times reports. Turkey’s army chief warned today that “military relations with the United States can never be the same" if the vote passes. GOP lawmaker John Boehner...

Bomb Threat Leaves US Air Base on Alert

German police, American security swing into action

(Newser) - The US air base in Spangdahlem, Germany, received a phoned-in bomb threat last night, and German police and the American military personnel have secured the facility. Although officials say they doubt the threat is credible, they're taking no chances. "It is being taken very seriously given the current situation...

Turks, Kurds in Tense Standoff at Iraqi Border

Both sides want US support in dispute over separatist insurgents

(Newser) - As the Turkish military continued its aggressive saber-rattling along the border with Iraq this week, the US finds itself in a tough spot. The Turks want a green light to go after Kurdish separatist guerrillas hiding in northern Iraq; the Kurds want protection. “Now the U.S. has to...

Turks Finger Kurds Over Bombing
Turks Finger Kurds Over Bombing

Turks Finger Kurds Over Bombing

Iraq-based separatist group blamed, boosting tensions

(Newser) - Turkish authorities identified the suicide bomber in Tuesday's Ankara bombing yesterday, and pointed the finger at the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group headquartered in northern iraq. The Financial Times reports  the bombing  has renewed calls for Turkey to attack guerrilla bases in Kurdistan, a move which would have serious repercussions...

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital
Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital

Ankara attack may prompt move against Kurdish militants on Iraqi border

(Newser) - An explosion shocked the Turkish capital yesterday, killing six and injuring at least 100 in a busy marketplace. The bombing comes at a delicate time for the country, the New York Times observes, as Parliament clash with the governing party over the place of Islam in the secular democracy.

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