Turkey

By Islam Today | 24 Dec 2011

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) hosted a conference Friday on "Change in Muslim Societies and the Role of Women" at Istanbul's Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel.

The event was a platform for discussion on the following issues:

1. the commitment to improving women's status in Muslim societies
2. implementing gender-inclusive governance reforms for promoting gender equality in public policy
3. devising measurements to promote a more balanced representation of men and women in decision-making bodies

Source : The Guardian | 23 Dec 2011

Turkey has frozen relations with France, recalling its ambassador and suspending all economic, political and military meetings in response to French MPs' approval of a law that would make it a crime to deny that the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 by Ottoman Turks was genocide.

The furious Turkish reaction to Paris's parliamentary vote marked an unprecedented low between the Nato partners.

Source : Anadolu Agency | Istanbul | 16 Dec 2011

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said he believed that Turkey and Africa shared a common destiny.

Davutoglu delivered a speech at the opening of the Turkey-Africa Partnership Ministerial Review Conference in Istanbul on Friday.

Turkish-African ties had a great strategic importance, he said.

"We believe that we share a common destiny with Africa. When we look at the past, we can see that Turkey and Africa had sound bilateral relations," he said.

Source : IslamToday / Agencies / Istanbul / 25 Nov 2011

Muslim religious leaders from every single country in Africa have just concluded a 5-day summit in Istanbul.

The Summit of Religious Leaders of Muslim Countries and Communities in Africa (SRLMCC) was organized by the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs.

The Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke at the opening session of the conference, declaring that though his country is not part of Africa, his people are deeply pained by the happenings in the continent.

by Jonathon Burch : Reuters | Van/Turkey / 23 Oct 2011

As many as 1,000 people were feared killed Sunday when a powerful earthquake struck Turkey, collapsing dozens of buildings and pulling down phone and power lines in the southeast of the country, officials and witnesses said.

Emergency workers battled to rescue people trapped in buildings in the city of Van and surrounding districts on the banks of Lake Van, near Turkey's border with Iran.

By Selcan Hacaoglu | AP | Ankara / 19 Oct 2011

Turkish soldiers, air force bombers and helicopter gunships reportedly launched an incursion into Iraq on Wednesday, hours after Kurdish rebels killed 26 soldiers and wounded 22 others in multiple attacks along the border.

Turkish authorities did not immediately confirm the incursion but the chief of the military as well as interior and defense ministers rushed to the border area and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a visit to Kazakhstan.

By AP | Ankara | 13 Oct 2011

Turkey’s foreign minister said Thursday that Iraq should move to prevent Kurdish attacks on his country from Iraqi soil as the two countries renewed their commitment to fight the rebels.

Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey’s patience was running out and that it was determined to eradicate the rebel threat from neighboring northern Iraq.

“We no longer have patience for terrorist activity directed toward Turkey from Iraqi soil,” Davutoglu told a joint news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

By Mesut İdriz | Today'sZaman | Istanbul / 09 Oct 2011

Geo-ontologically the Balkans falls at the crossroads between the heartlands of Turkey’s Anatolia and Europe.

Normally Greece, Slovenia and to some extent Romania try to avoid being placed within the socio-conceptual and contextual expression referred to as the Balkans. Nevertheless, all the countries within the historic peninsula are undoubtedly considered the Balkans.

Source : Anadolu Agency | Istanbul / 06 Oct 2011

The D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Industry took place in Istanbul on October 4-6.

Industry ministers of Developing 8 countries released on Thursday an Istanbul Declaration at the end of their three-day meeting.

The declaration reaffirmed common wish and desire of member countries to encourage industrial and technical cooperation, and said D-8 member states should boost their industrial cooperation in a way that would cover production of D-8 model cars in the long term.

By Ece Toksabay | Reuters | Ankara / 28 Sept 2011