Page 8 - Turkey

In a first, US turkey shipment leaves for Indian market after tariff cut

The first shipment of American Turkey products for India left on Tuesday, marking a new phase in the bilateral trade relations between the two countries. The shipment comes over a year after India agreed to the American request to reduce high tariffs on US turkey products. US Senator from Virginia Mark Warner, who is also co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, said this marks a historic milestone in international trade, expanding the reach of American turkey products in global markets, and opening new doors for US turkey producers. "This shipment is a tremendous opportunity for Virginia's poultry producers and a huge step forward for US-India trade," he said. "As co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, I look forward to the ongoing cooperation between our two nations and to seeing a wealth of new opportunities open up for Virginia's poultry producers, Warner said. This shipment comes as a result of a trade agreement and tariff reduction, facilitated by a collaborative effort between th

Turkey removes 3 pro-Kurdish mayors, replaces them with state officials

Turkiye on Monday removed three elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office over terrorism-related charges and replaced them with state-appointed officials, the Interior Ministry said. The move, which comes days after the arrest and ouster from office of a mayor from the country's main opposition party for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish militant group, is seen as a hardening of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government's policies toward the opposition. It also raises questions about the prospects of a tentative new peace effort to end a 40-year conflict between the militant group and the state that has led to tens of thousands of deaths. The mayors of the mainly Kurdish-populated provincial capitals of Mardin and Batman, as well as the district mayor for Halfeti, in Sanliurfa province, were ousted from office over their past convictions or ongoing trials and investigations for links to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, according to an Interior Ministry statement. The

Erdogan hints at leniency for imprisoned PK leader Ocalan amid peace talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed to give his implicit support for an unprecedented proposal by his nationalist ally that could lead to leniency for Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. In remarks made during a ceremony marking the 101st anniversary of the Turkish Republic in Ankara, Erdogan called for an open-minded approach to recent comments by Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli, who suggested last week that Ocalan could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands the PKK. It was Erdogan's first response to Bahceli's surprise statement. Ocalan was convicted on charges of treason and has been serving a life term on a prison island off Istanbul since 1999. The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous state in Turkey's southeast since 1984, and the violence has claimed tens of thousands of lives. The group is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies. We believe that it

Turkiye's measures on polyester impact exports; India seeks compensation

India has sought compensation from Turkiye as Ankara's decision to extend safeguard measures on polyester staple fibres has impacted the product's exports, an official said. India flagged concerns and impact from these measures during a recent bilateral consultations with Turkiye under the WTO's safeguard agreement. On October 14, India sought consultations with Turkiye under the agreement following Ankara's decision to extend safeguard measures on polyester staple fibres. "We have sought compensation as we have a loss of trade. India has the option to propose retaliatory customs duties equivalent to the value of export loss if the issue will not be resolved through consultations," the official said. India has exported these fibres worth USD 22.18 million during 2023-24. It was USD 23.55 million in 2022-23. In September, Turkiye decided to extend safeguard measures against imports of polyester staple fibres. "As a member having a substantial trade interest in the export of produc

Turkey strikes Kurdish militants in Iraq after attack on TUSAS kills 5

Turkey's defense ministry says Turkish jets have struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria following an attack on a key defense company. More than 30 targets were destroyed in the aerial offensive, the defense ministry said in a brief statement carried by the state-run Anadolu Agency. The strike comes after suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire Wednesday at Turkey's state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, the interior minister said. Suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire Wednesday at Turkey's state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, the interior minister said. The two attackers a man and a woman also were killed, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Yerlikaya said the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, is suspected of being behind the attack but cautioned that the process of identifying the assailan

Turkey blames Kurdish rebels PKK for Ankara terror attack: Who are they?

Turkey targeted over 30 sites of the PKK militant group in Iraq and Syria after suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire at state-run defence company TUSAS in Ankara

4 killed, 14 injured in terror attack at Turkish aerospace headquarters

"A terrorist attack was carried out against the TUSAS facilities in Kahramankazan, Ankara. Unfortunately, we have martyrs and injured people," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said

US can prosecute Turkish bank in Iran sanctions case, rules appeals court

US prosecutors charged Halkbank in 2019 over its alleged use of money servicers and front companies in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to evade sanctions

Turkey to allow skilled workers 3-year permit exemption; Indians to gain

Indians should carefully consider the benefits against the higher living costs before planning to work in Turkey

India seeks consultations with Turkiye on safeguard measures on polyester

India has sought consultations with Turkiye under the WTO's safeguard agreement following Ankara's decision to extend safeguard measures on polyester staple fibres. In September, Turkiye decided to extend safeguard measures against imports of polyester staple fibres. "As a member having a substantial trade interest in the export of products concerned, India hereby requests consultations with Turkiye with a view to reviewing the information provided and exchanging views on the extension of the measures," according to a communication of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It said that India would like to propose that consultations take place virtually on October 10 or 18 or on a mutually convenient date and time. As per a provision of the Agreement on Safeguards, a WTO member country proposing to apply safeguard measures shall provide adequate opportunity for prior consultations with those members having a substantial interest as exporters of the product concerned, with a view to .

Turkey imposes anti-dumping duties on steel imports from China, India

Duties imposed on imports from China range from around 15% to 43%, and tariffs imposed on imports from Russia, India and Japan go from 6% to 9%, according to the decision

Turkey navy evacuates its citizens from Beirut amid Israel-Hezbollah clash

Over 2,000 Turkish citizens and some foreign started boarding a Turkish military ship late Wednesday that brought in aid and will take them out of a country being hit by Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah. Zehra Cibbin, an ethnic Arab from the southeastern Turkish city of Mardin who lives in Beirut with her Lebanese husband, got off a bus packed with the other evacuees, her two children in tow and luggage in hand. It's indescribable. They bombed the street below our house. From that moment on, it was over for me, I said I didn't want to stay in Beirut anymore, said Cibbin, 46. Cibbin said they decided to leave Beirut out of fear for their lives, putting no thought into what will happen when they arrive in Turkiye. She spoke to The Associated Press before getting in line to board the TCG Bayraktar amphibious landing vessel, which along with the TCG Sancaktar will take on evacuees. They are part of a six-ship convoy including escorts that set sail from the southern Turkish port

Airlines scramble to divert flights after Iran's missile attack on Israel

FlightRadar24 said Istanbul and Antalya in southern Turkey were becoming congested, forcing some airlines to divert south

Erdogan skips Kashmir mention at UNGA as Turkey eyes Brics membership

The next Brics summit is scheduled to take place in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to attend

Turkiye introduces new tech visa for entrepreneurs: What you must know

The programme offers a three-year work permit for those seeking to establish start-ups in Turkiye

Turkish prez vows to 'purge' military graduates who took pro-secular oath

The Turkish president has hit out at military graduates who took a pro-secular oath during their graduation ceremony, promising that those behind it would be purged from the military. Speaking at a conference for Islamic schools in the northwestern city of Kocaeli on Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described those involved as opportunists. He added that an investigation was underway and vowed that the few impertinent individuals responsible will be purged. Whoever they are, it is not possible for them to be part of our military, Erdogan said. Erdogan was present at the graduation ceremony at the Turkish Military Academy in Ankara on August 30. Valedictorian Ebru Eroglu led the 960-strong graduating class in reciting the official military oath about defending Turkiye. But video footage from about an hour later shows about 400 of the graduates gathered in a field, raising their swords and chanting We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal a reference to the secular founder of ..

Bomb threat: Vistara sends new aircraft to fly passengers from Turkey

Vistara on Saturday said it is dispatching an alternative aircraft along with a fresh set of crew to fly the passengers of its Mumbai-Frankfurt flight to their destination after it was diverted to Erzurum Airport in Turkey due to an alleged bomb threat on Friday. The substitute aircraft is expected to arrive at the Turkish airport by 12.25 (local time) and depart for Frankfurt with all passengers by 14.30 hours (Local time), Vistara said in an updated statement of X (formerly Twitter). The flight UK 27, operating on Mumbai-Frankfurt route, departed from Mumbai at 1.01 pm on Friday after a delay of an hour and was scheduled to arrive in Frankfurt (Germany) at 5.30 pm (local time). The Dreamliner 787-9 aircraft was, however, diverted to Turkey after the airline's crew on-board found a paper note stating that there was a bomb on the aircraft, Vistara sources had said. According to an AP report, the aircraft had 247 passengers and crew on board. The flight landed safely at Erzurum Air

Mumbai-Frankfurt Vistara flight diverted to Turkey over security concerns

Vistara flight UK 27, operating from Mumbai to Frankfurt, on Friday has been diverted to Turkey due to security concerns, the airline has said. The security alert (bomb threat) was noted by the Vistara crew onboard, the airline said in a statement. The aircraft has safely landed at the Erzurum Airport, and as per the protocol, the relevant authorities were immediately alerted, and Vistara is fully cooperating with the security agencies to complete the mandatory security checks, it added. However, other details like the number of passengers and crew on board were not immediately known.

Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, worries next earthquake will be a big one

Earthquakes are unpredictable but also inevitable, and experts say Istanbul might be due one

After blocking access for over a week, Turkey lifts curbs on Instagram

Turkey reinstated access to Instagram on Saturday night, after more than a week of being blocked nationwide. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority barred access to Instagram on August 2 without providing a specific reason. Government officials later said the ban was imposed because the social media platform failed to abide by Turkish laws. In our talks with Instagram officials, we were assured our requests would be met, especially those regarding criminal activity, and given a promise that we would work together on a means of censoring users, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Turkey's transportation and infrastructure minister wrote on the social media platform X Saturday. Uraloglu elaborated in a video also posted on X, saying that the platform was to establish compliance with Turkish law and that in instances where the law was violated, there would be quick and effective intervention. He added that all accounts owned by terrorist organizations would be banned and all conten