Turkey

26 July 2022; MEMO: Turkish scientists, on Tuesday, completed a 22-day expedition in the Arctic Ocean, breaking ground on new projects and collecting reams of data along the way, Anadolu News Agency reports.

On 4 July, a boatful of nine people set sail on the Arctic Ocean with a PolarXplorer research vessel, under the coordination of the MAM Polar Research Institute, part of the Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkiye (TUBITAK).

26 July 2022; MEMO: Turkiye aims to increase its purchases of Iranian oil and gas amid greater energy needs and developing ties between the two countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

The Turkish President made the announcement in an interview with the state-owned broadcaster, TRT Haber, yesterday, stating that "Turkiye will increase its purchases of oil and natural gas from Iran", noting that the trade volume between Ankara and Tehran could reach $30 billion.

27 July 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Russia and Iran should take a clear stand on Syria as the country has become a "hotbed of terrorist groups".

26 July 2022; MEMO: The rights of the Turkish minority have recently been deliberately eroded by Greece, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.

Speaking on the 99th anniversary of the Lausanne Peace Treaty,  Erdogan said: "The rights of the Turkish minority remaining in Greece were secured, and the non-military status of the Greek islands close to our coasts was confirmed via this treaty."

ANKARA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian officials had told Ankara that Russia had "nothing to do" with the attacks on Ukraine's key Black Sea port of Odessa, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday.

"In our contact with Russia, the Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with these attacks and that they were examining the issue very closely and in detail," Akar told Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency.

"The fact that such an incident happened right after the agreement we made yesterday regarding the grain shipment worried us," he said.

ANKARA, July 23 (Reuters) - Turkish foreign ministry summoned the Swedish charges d'affaires in Ankara to convey its "strong reaction" to what it called "terrorist propaganda" during a Kurdish group's protest in Stockholm, diplomatic sources said.

Finland and Sweden have applied for NATO membership in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but were faced with opposition from Turkey, which accused them of supporting groups it deems terrorists.

ANKARA, July 23 (Reuters) - Turkey's defence minister said on Saturday Russian officials had told Ankara that Moscow had "nothing to do" with strikes on Ukraine's Odesa port.

"In our contact with Russia, the Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack, and that they were examining the issue very closely and in detail," Defence Minister Hulusai Akar said in a statement.

"The fact that such an incident took place right after the agreement we made yesterday really worried us," he added.

ISTANBUL, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkish law enforcement agents in Istanbul have detained 10 individuals suspected of being active members of the Islamic State (IS), the local Demiroren News Agency (DHA) reported on Friday.

Special Operations forces raided 10 different locations in the city in the early morning, capturing the suspects, operational files and digital material that could give clues about other IS cells within the region.

Suspects were active operatives and could have been in preparation for an attack inside Türkiye, reported DHA.

22 July 2022; MEMO: Scientists in Turkiye have started to observe data on particulates in the atmosphere above Antarctica, collected via satellite and ground-based systems, one expert said on Friday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

23 July 2022; MEMO: The UK government on Friday hailed a landmark grain deal signed by Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations (UN) and Türkiye to resume grain exports through the Black Sea, Anadolu Agency reported.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine has meant some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world are at risk of having nothing to eat," UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.