Turkey

07 August 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with key Turkish defence firm Baykar Tech to help the kingdom localise the manufacturing of drones, in the latest deal signifying the improved relations between Riyadh and Ankara.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Dust and rubble fill the street as an excavator tears off chunks of concrete from an old apartment building. Bystanders and former residents watch from afar as construction equipment tears down the structure. Among the bystanders is Ibrahim Ozaydin, 30, a former resident. He watches the demolition not with worry, but with relief, as his building was marked by officials as unsafe months ago.

ANKARA, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The recent murders that took place in an alcohol store in Istanbul, Türkiye's most populous province, have highlighted the prevalence of unregistered guns and gun-related violence in the country despite police measures.

A group of armed men raided an alcohol store late on July 28 in the Esenyurt district of the Istanbul Province, which is known for its high crime rate, and killed two men and injured another.

03 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's long-standing anti-imperialist stance and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's famous motto "The world is bigger than five," has been a factor in the rising anti-colonialist sentiment in West Africa, an expert said, Anadolu Agency reports.

03 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye has appointed a woman as an Admiral for the first time in Turkish Naval Forces history, following a Supreme Military Council meeting Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Staff Colonel, Gokcen Firat Yas, will become Rear Admiral in the Turkish Naval Forces.

The decision came after the closed-door meeting that was chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

ANKARA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to continue the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Türkiye's presidency said in a statement.

During a phone call with Putin, Erdogan underlined the importance of the initiative, which he identified as a "bridge of peace," saying its long-term shutdown "will not benefit anyone" and the low-income countries in need of grain will suffer the most.

01 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's monthly inflation is seen at 9.1 per cent in July due to various tax hikes and the lira's sharp depreciation, a Reuters poll showed.

According to the poll, the annual reading is expected to rebound sharply to 47.3 per cent after declining for eight months.

Economists' year-end forecasts were also revised sharply higher to 59.9 per cent, as inflation is expected to continue climbing for the rest of the year, the poll added.

02 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye and Egypt have agreed to boost bilateral trade from $10 billion to $15 billion over the next five years, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said yesterday.

This came after a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Samir Saleh, and the accompanying delegation in Ankara.

Speaking to reporters after the closed meeting, Bolat said there is great potential for cooperation between the two countries, noting that Egypt is Turkiye's leading trading partner in Africa.

ISTANBUL, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish anti-narcotics police have seized 8.5 tons of drugs and more than 2.5 million pills since January in Istanbul, the governor's office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The police have carried out 24,539 anti-narcotics operations and detained 3,251 suspects since January, said the statement.

It vowed to make unremitting efforts to counter drug-related crimes in Istanbul, the statement added.

31 July 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's tourism revenues rose by 27 per cent to $21.7 billion during the January-June period this year, official figures from TurkStat showed on Monday.

The country hosted 22.2 million visitors – foreigners as well as Turkish citizens living abroad – in the first half of 2023, up 20.6 per cent on a yearly basis, the statistical institute said. The average expenditure per night for overnight visitors was $99, up from $89 during the same period last year.