Turkey

Turkey working to free sailors taken hostage by pirates off Nigeria

Turkey working to free sailors taken hostage by pirates off NigeriaAnkara - Turkish diplomats have undertaken initiatives to free two Turkish sailors who have been taken hostage by pirates just off the Nigerian coast, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday.

The captain and second engineer of the Marshall Islands-flagged ship Aleyna Mercan were taken hostage after the ship was attacked by pirates of the Nigerian port of Onne on April 20, the Anadolu news agency reported. The two men were later taken off the ship.

Arms cache found outside Istanbul in connection to coup plot

Arms cache found outside Istanbul in connection to coup plotAnkara - Ten people, including four military officers were taken into custody Wednesday after investigators found a buried cache of weapons thought to be connected to a plot to overthrow Turkey's moderate Islamist government, Turkish media reported.

Grenades, anti-tank rockets, hand guns and ammunition were amongst the armaments found during the search in a forested area of Poyrazkoy, NTV said. No official statement had been released as of Wednesday evening.

Amnesty calls on Turkey to overhaul asylum procedures

Media Type: Text  Amnesty calls on Turkey to overhaul asylum procedures  Ankara - Human rights group Amnesty International in a report published Wednesday called on Turkey to completely overhaul its asylum procedures to bring them in line with international norms,

Asylum seekers were often denied their rights and many were forcibly returned to their country where they were at risk of serious human rights abuses, the non-governmental organization said.

Turkey recalls recalls envoy from Canada over Armenian event

 Turkey recalls recalls envoy from Canada over Armenian event Ankara  - Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Canada in protest at a number of Canadian government ministers attending an event marking Canada's recognition of the massacres of Armenians during World War I as genocide, CNN Turk reported on Wednesday.

Turkey against politics affecting EU accession talks

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan Prague  - Turkish Foreign Minist

At least 12 arrested in al-Qaeda raids in Turkey

At least 12 arrested in al-Qaeda raids in TurkeyAnkara - Turkish police on Tuesday arrested at least 12 people suspected of links to al-Qaeda in operations in three Turkish provinces, the NTV private television station reported.

The suspects were arrested in dawn raids on homes in the central Anatolian city of Konya and in the south-eastern Turkey provinces of Sanliurfa and Gaziantep.

Gaziantep was the scene in January last year for a shootout between militant Islamists with links to al-Qaeda and police that resulted in the deaths of one police officer and four militants.

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