Turkey

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Dozens Defect Syrian Army as Rebels Cry Genocide

Europe calls for measured response to downed Turkish plane

(Newser) - The Syrian military has been hit with a raft of new defections: Six officers and 33 soldiers today quit the country for Turkey. Reports suggest they brought their families along, bringing the total number to 224 people. Accounts differ as to whether the defectors included an army general. They add...

Turkey Demands NATO Meeting Over Downed Jet

Says plane was shot over international waters

(Newser) - Turkey acknowledges its F-4 Phantom may have crossed into Syrian airspace briefly, but it left immediately and had been back in international airspace for 15 minutes when Syria shot it down Friday, reports the BBC . "According to our conclusions, our plane was shot down in international airspace, 13 nautical...

Downed Turkish Warplane 'May Have Crossed Border'

But Syria shouldn't have been surprised: President Gul

(Newser) - A Turkish fighter jet shot down by Syria may well have violated its airspace, Turkey's president admitted today. But he said that such high-altitude border crossings happen all the time. "It is routine for jet fighters to sometimes fly in and out over borders... when you consider their...

Syria Shoots Down Turkish Fighter Jet

Downed plane further frays poor Syria-Turkey relations

(Newser) - Syria confirmed this morning that it did shoot down a Turkish F-4 fighter jet yesterday, saying it was flying low and well inside Syrian airspace, reports the BBC . Turkey has not said yet whether it considers the incident provocative, and much could depend on whether the plane's crew survived....

CIA Guiding Weapons to Syrian Rebels

Help for rebels balanced by fear of al-Qaeda getting weapons

(Newser) - Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are buying and funneling automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition, and even antitank weapons to Syrian rebels—and in the middle of that shadowy network, a small number of CIA officers are helping to coordinate who gets those weapons, reports the New York Times . The CIA...

13 Turkish Prisoners Die After Setting Prison on Fire

Officials refuse to call fire a protest, but vow to investigate

(Newser) - Inmates in a prison in southeast Turkey set beds and blankets alight, starting a fire that killed 13 prisoners, authorities said today. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the fire affected a ward housing 18 inmates in the prison in the mostly-Kurdish city of Sanliurfa. He said some inmates set...

'Long' Countries Protect Languages Better: Study

Jared Diamond's 'Guns, Germs and Steel' inspires quirky study

(Newser) - Speaking an indigenous language in Chile or Italy? You're in luck. In Turkey or Russia? Not so much. So say researchers at Stanford University, who studied 147 countries and concluded that those with a wide west-east axis (as opposed to a long north-south one) tend to eliminate smaller languages...

Turks Suspect Bird Is Israeli Spy

Villagers were certain bee-eater was hiding a microchip

(Newser) - A tiny bird triggered a peck of trouble in a Turkish village when residents became convinced the creature was an Israeli spy. The dead European bee-eater was discovered wearing a metal band stamped with the word "Israel." Investigating villagers determined that the cheeper's nostrils were larger than...

Turkey: Syria Firing Across Our Border

Signs mount that cease-fire likely won't happen

(Newser) - Syrian government forces killed two and wounded three in a cross-border shooting into Turkey yesterday, according to Turkish officials. The shots, which rang out near one of the biggest Syrian refugee camps, came days before a UN-brokered cease-fire was set to begin, further indicating that the deal is on thin...

Turkey to US Museums: We Want Our Stuff Back

Nation seeks return of looted antiquities

(Newser) - Turkey has taken note of how neighbors Italy and Greece have cajoled US museums into returning their long-lost antiquities, and it wants in. The government has asked four American facilities—the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Met, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Harvard's Dumbarton Oaks collection—to return...

Turkey Closes Syria Embassy
 Turkey Closes Syria Embassy 

Turkey Closes Syria Embassy

And agrees with the US to provide 'nonlethal' aid

(Newser) - Turkey shut down its embassy in Syria today, and plans to join with the US to provide “nonlethal” aid to Syria's rebels. White House officials tell the New York Times that the two nations will provide things like communication equipment and medical supplies directly to opposition groups, and...

Turkish Helicopter Crashes Into House in Afghanistan

12 soldiers on board died, and 2 girls on ground

(Newser) - A Turkish military helicopter crashed into a house near the Afghan capital today, killing 12 Turkish soldiers on board and two girls on the ground, Turkish and Afghan officials say. It was by far the deadliest incident involving Turkish soldiers in Afghanistan, where they have a noncombat role. The helicopter,...

Syria Studding Refugee Routes With Mines

Human Rights Watch cites eyewitness near Turkey, Lebanon

(Newser) - Earlier reports accused Syria of planting landmines along its Lebanese border, and according to witnesses, the practice shows no sign of waning. Mines are being placed along the routes refugees typically use to flee into neighboring Lebanon and Turkey, Human Rights Watch said today, citing eyewitness reports. One former...

More Syrian Generals Defect to Opposition

Rebels slam Kofi Annan's calls for dialogue: He's 'on Mars'

(Newser) - More military leaders are defecting in Syria: Reuters reports that four high-ranking officers jumped ship and reached a deserters' camp in Turkey. One rebel leader says a total of seven brigadier generals have now joined the opposition. The AP also notes four military defections, though the ranks are different. Regardless,...

Global Happiness Tops Pre-Recession Levels
 Global Happiness Tops 
 Pre-Recession Levels 
Ipsos Poll

Global Happiness Tops Pre-Recession Levels

Happiness up most in developing world; rich Europe gloomier

(Newser) - People are happier today than they were before the worldwide recession hit, according to an Ipsos survey of 19,000 adults in 24 countries, reports the Economist . Those calling themselves "happy" numbered 77% in the poll, up from 74% in 2007, and those who labeled themselves "very happy"...

Docs Perform First Quadruple Limb Transplant

Turkish surgeons restore arms and legs to 27-year-old

(Newser) - Doctors in Turkey say they have performed the world's first quadruple limb transplant on a man who lost both arms and legs at age 13, Sky News reports. The 20-hour operation at a hospital in Ankara required more than 50 doctors working on the patient, 27-year-old Sevket Cavdar. "...

Bomb-Carrying Woman Killed in Istanbul Blast

Police probe possible suicide bombing

(Newser) - A woman in Istanbul was killed yesterday when the bomb she was carrying exploded, Turkish state news reports. Police investigating reports of a blast discovered her body; now, they're trying to figure out if she was a suicide bomber or meant to plant the bomb somewhere, only to have...

France Making It a Crime to Deny Armenian Genocide

Turkey expected to withdraw ambassador

(Newser) - If you are in France and deny that Turkey committed "genocide" against 1.5 million Armenians in 1915-1916, be prepared to be fined $57,000 and spend a year in jail. Actually, the new legislation applies to genocide denial in general, but it is the law's application to...

Turkey's Ex-Military Chief Arrested Over Alleged Plot

Gen. Ilker Basbug allegedly led conspiracy to discredit government

(Newser) - A former Turkish military chief was jailed today, accused of leading a terror organization and conspiring to bring down the government, his lawyer says, becoming the most senior officer to face trial in a series of investigations into alleged anti-government plots. Gen. Ilker Basbug was arrested and placed in a...

Turkey Kills 35 Civilians in Attempted Hit on Rebels

Kurdish officials claim the dead were actually teen cigarette smugglers

(Newser) - Turkey's air force attacked suspected Kurdish rebel targets across the border in Iraq, but the roughly 35 people killed were teenage smugglers mistaken for guerrillas. A ruling party spokesman said today the victims "were not terrorists," but people smuggling cigarettes into Turkey from Iraq. He added that...

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