Turkey
Europe
Istanbul’s Mayor-to-Be Has Pontian Roots (video)
Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, has apparently elected an opposition candidate from Pontos as its new mayor in the local elections held on Sunday.
Ekrem Imamoglu won by a razor-thin majority and, if the objection raised by President Erdogan's ruling party...
Europe
Erdogan Faces Humiliating Defeats in Turkish Local Elections
Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan suffered stunning setbacks in local elections as his ruling AK Party lost control of the capital Ankara for the first time since the party’s founding in 2001. His party also lost control of the ancient city...
Culture
Turkey’s Erdogan Repeats Threats To Turn Hagia Sophia Into Mosque
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated on Friday his intentions to change Hagia Sophia's status from Museum to Mosque.
Erdogan has made Hagia Sophia one of the main topics of the political discourse in Turkey ahead of Sunday's local...
Culture
Turning Hagia Sophia into Mosque Requires UNESCO’s Approval, Officials Say
Greek media, citing sources from UNESCO on Wednesday morning, reported that the Paris-based organization has tried to halt Erdogan’s plans to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
Hagia Sophia, a Byzantine Christian Cathedral until Constantinople’s fall in 1453, is now...
Culture
Turkey’s Erdogan Threatens to Turn Hagia Sophia to a Mosque
On the eve of Greek national day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced the possibility of reverting the Hagia Sophia to a mosque.
"This is not unlikely. We might even change its name to Ayasofya Mosque," Erdogan said during a...
Culture
A Greek Newspaper Struggles to Survive in Istanbul
The story of the Apoyevmatini newspaper in Istanbul mirrors to a great extent the story of the Greek community in the city: Once abundant and prospering, but today, struggling to survive.
Founded on July 12, 1925, the Apoyevmatini ("Evening newspaper" in...
Australia
Australian PM Blasts Erdogan’s “Highly Offensive” Remarks
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison reacted furiously on Wednesday to comments by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan which invoked the battle of Gallipoli to denounce anti-Islamic sentiment.
Morrison warned that “all options are on the table” due to the offensive...
Europe
New Zealand Killer’s Reference to Hagia Sofia Angers President Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayipp Erdogan responded angrily on Friday to the so-called manifesto of the New Zealand killer, which contained hateful anti-Islamic language.
The pages-long rant by white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, 28, reveals an obsession with historical figures who fought...
Europe
European Parliament Votes to Suspend Accession Talks with Turkey
The European Parliament's plenary session approved on Wednesday a proposal by its Foreign Affairs Committee to suspend all accession negotiations with Turkey.
European lawmakers passed the proposal by 370 votes in favor, 109 against and 143 abstentions, after citing violations against...
Cyprus
Turkish President Erdogan Claims Aegean Military Exercises Don’t Target Greece
Speaking with Turkey’s Kanal 24 and TV-360 TV stations on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that his country's latest military exercises were not directed against Greece.
Erdogan said that ''the Greeks appeared to be frightened of'' the country’s...