Turkey

11 July 2020; MEMO: Hours after a landmark court ruling Friday, the Turkish government confirmed that Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia will be reopened for worship after an 85-year hiatus.

The nearly 1,500-year-old architectural gem will be transferred to the state Religious Affairs Directorate under a presidential decree, according to a Friday announcement in the Official Gazette.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey’s parliament passed a law on Saturday on changing the structure of bar associations, a move that lawyers argue will further undermine judicial independence in a country where they say the judiciary is already in disarray.

Thousands of lawyers have protested in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities against the plan, saying it aims to silence some of the few institutions still speaking out against the government’s record on rule of law and human rights.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The president of Turkey on Friday formally converted Istanbul’s sixth-century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and declared it open for Muslim worship, hours after a high court annulled a 1934 decision that had made the religious landmark a museum.

The decision sparked deep dismay among Orthodox Christians. Originally a cathedral, Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque after Istanbul’s conquest by the Ottoman Empire but had been a museum for the last 86 years, drawing millions of tourists annually.

BALIKESIR, 10 July 2020; MEMO: Turkey on Thursday rescued 57 asylum seekers, including women and children, who were pushed back by Greek forces into Turkish territorial waters, according to security sources.

In a rescue operation, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued the asylum seekers, who set off for the Greek island of Lesbos, in the Aegean off the coast of Ayvalik in the Balikesir province.

09 July 2020; MEMO: The Turkish Ministry of National Defence has announced that large-scale naval exercises off the Libyan coast will take place soon.

According to the official statement, the expected manoeuvres will be called “Naftex”, adding that the maritime exercises will take place off the Libyan coast in three different regions: Barbaros, Turgutreis and Chaka Bey.

ANKARA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish lawmakers on Tuesday re-elected Mustafa Sentop as the country's parliament speaker.

Out of the 600 parliament members, 328 voted for Sentop in the third round of voting, according to semi-official Anadolu Agency.

Haluk Koc, candidate from the main opposition Republican People's Party, got 134 votes, while Erol Katircioglu, from opposition Peoples' Democratic Party, gained 51 votes.

Sentop, 51 years old, has served as the parliament speaker since 2019. 

07 July 2020; MEMO: Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and his French counterpart Emanuel Macron suffer from “strategic blindness”.

In a televised speech posted on Twitter, Davutoglu said that Turkey has the right to help its neighbours, in reference to Libya.

ANKARA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkey on Monday vowed to retaliate the European Union if the bloc decides to impose new sanctions on Turkey due to disagreement over the Eastern Mediterranean.

"Taking decisions against Turkey will not resolve the existing problems, on the contrary, it will deepen them. If the EU takes additional measures against Turkey, we'll have to respond," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters at a joint press conference with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

ISTANBUL 06 July 2020; MEMO: Turkey’s healthcare system, growing stronger with each passing day, will make Turkey an international hub for quality medical care, said Turkey's health minister on Saturday.

Speaking at the inauguration of Istanbul’s Kartal State Hospital, Fahrettin Koca said that they expect the public to follow COVID-19 preventative measures more carefully during the normalization period.

ANKARA, 06 July 2020; MEMO: Turkey's first indigenously produced maritime missile passed its latest long-distance test launch with flying colors, the nation’s top defense industry official said Saturday.

The Atmaca missile “performed its functions perfectly, it successfully hit a target over 200 kilometers [124 miles] away and is ready to enter the [Turkish Armed Forces'] weapons inventory,” Ismail Demir, the head of Turkey’s Defense Industries Presidency, said on Twitter.