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. […]
“United in sorrow”: Terror attack strikes Istanbul Catholic church known for its welcome
DAVID I KLEIN, of Religion News Service, reports from Turkey… Istanbul, Turkey RNS Gunshots rang out during Mass in Istanbul’s Santa Maria Italian Catholic Church on Sunday, as two gunmen assaulted the building, killing one in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, also known as IS. According to church leaders, the victim, 52-year-old […]
Turkish authorities capture gunmen who killed one person in Istanbul church
Ankara, Turkey Reuters Turkish authorities have captured two gunmen who shot one person dead on Sunday during a service at a church in Istanbul and who are believed to be tied to Islamic State, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Yerlikaya had earlier said that the attack, which Ankara condemned, took place around 0840 GMT at […]
Crew with first astronaut from Turkey launched on flight to space station
Cape Canaveral, Florida, US Reuters Turkey’s first astronaut and three other crew members representing Europe were launched from Florida on Thursday on a voyage to the International Space Station in the latest commercially arranged mission from Texas startup Axiom Space. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the Axiom quartet lifted off atop a Falcon 9 […]
Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria sign deal to clear floating Black Sea mines
Istanbul, TurkeyReuters Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria signed an agreement this week on a joint plan to clear mines floating in the Black Sea as a result of the war in Ukraine, following months of talks between the NATO allies. Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler, his Romanian counterpart Angel Tilvar and Bulgaria’s Deputy Defence Minister Atanas […]
Azerbaijan’s Aliyev calls snap election after Karabakh victory
Reuters Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, riding high on a wave of support for his recapture of the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, on Thursday called an early presidential election for 7th February. Aliyev, 61, was last re-elected in 2018 for a seven-year term, with a declared 86 per cent of the vote, in a poll boycotted […]
The Explainer: When is St Nicholas Day? And how did this Christian saint inspire the Santa Claus legend?
With St Nicholas’ Day commemorated around the world this week, LUIS ANDRES HENAO, of Associated Press, looks at who St Nicholas was and his connections with more modern Christmas celebrations …
Turkey allows decades-old mothers’ vigil after five-year ban
Ankara, TurkeyReuters Members of a group of relatives of victims of enforced disappearances in Turkey held a vigil on Saturday in central Istanbul without police intervention for the first time since 2018. A member of the Saturday Mothers looks out of the window of Human Rights Association after they were prevented by the security forces […]
Turkey: As Christians celebrate a new church, religious minorities still call for respect
Though he has allowed new houses of worship to be built and old ones to be reopened, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan needs to do more, observers say, to restore respect for a truly pluralistic society as much as for church property. DAVID I KLEIN, of Religion News Service, reports…