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Turkey starts mass Covid-19 vaccination with Chinese jab
Turkey started vaccinating health care employees against Covid-19 on Thursday using the Chinese-developed Sinovac jab, a day after the country's medical agency granted emergency approval for use of the vaccine. More than 250,000 people have already received the shot, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters as he left a public hospital in Ankara where he received his first dose of the vaccination. Turkey plans to receive "25-30 million" more doses of the Chinese vaccine, Erdogan said, promising a swift mass roll-out of the jab. He did not give an exact timeline. "God willing, we plan to i...
DPA
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Turkey starts mass Covid-19 vaccination with China's Sinovac
Turkey started vaccinating health care employees against Covid-19 on Thursday using the Chinese-developed Sinovac jab. More than 200,000 people have already received the shot, according to health ministry website. Turkey's medical agency granted emergency approval for use of Sinovac late on Wednesday. Shortly after, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca received the first dose at a hospital in Ankara, followed by members of Turkey's Science Council. Turkey plans inoculation of people over the age of 65 to follow. In the second phase, employees at the ministries of defence, interior and justice as wel...
DPA
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Turkey urges dialogue with US after missile sanctions
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey's defence minister has called on the United States to reopen talks about Ankara's controversial purchase of a Russian air defence system, urging Washington to move past sanctions and threats. But Hulusi Akar also told foreign reporters in Ankara on Wednesday that Turkey was in discussions to receive a second batch of the advanced S-400 missiles from Russia, which compete with US Patriots. The issue will pose an immediate challenge for US President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to take a tougher line with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After more than a year of...
AFP
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Erdogan foretells 'new era' with Greece, eyes wider EU rapprochement
The resumption of talks between Ankara and Athens to resolve some of their differences over maritime borders and energy exploration will "herald a new era," Turkey's president said on Tuesday. The 61st round of exploratory talks between the neighbouring NATO members - the first since 2016 - are due to be held in Istanbul on January 25. Turkey and Greece have been at loggerheads over natural gas reserves and maritime boundaries, with both claiming the right to prospect and drill for energy resources in the same part of the eastern Mediterranean. "We need to make the eastern Mediterranean a basi...
DPA
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Erdogan says 'terrorists' behind Istanbul university protests
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday lashed out at university student protests in Istanbul, describing them as the work of "terrorists" and defending his appointment of a new rector at a prestigious university as in line with the law. "Students are not part of this. There are terrorists who are in this [protest]," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul. Protests erupted at Bogazici University on Monday following Erdogan's appointment of Melih Bulu as the new rector. Bulu ran for parliament as a candidate from Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2015. Students and sc...
DPA
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Students in Turkey protest director appointed by Erdogan
At the renowned Bogazici University in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, students on Monday protested the appointment of a new director by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. There were also isolated clashes with the police, as could be seen on pictures and video recordings. The security forces used tear gas and plastic bullets, among other things. Erdogan on Saturday appointed the new director Melih Bulut, who ran for Erdogan's ruling conservative Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the 2015 parliamentary elections. As president, Erdogan has the right to appoint university rectors. T...
DPA
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Turkish court keeps rights defender Kavala in jail
Istanbul (AFP) - A Turkish court on Friday ordered civil society leader Osman Kavala to remain in jail pending trial on charges that rights groups say are part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bid to stifle dissent. The presiding judge rejected a defence request to release the 63-year-old -- in custody without a conviction for more than three years -- and set a trial date for February 5. US academic Henri Barkey is being tried in absentia alongside Kavala in a case linked to the 2016 failed coup attempt against Erdogan. "I have opposed military coups my entire life and have criticised the a...
AFP
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Turkey avoids the worst from long-mooted US sanctions
Istanbul (AFP) - US sanctions against Turkey over its Russian air defence system purchase were lighter than feared, sparing its economy and offering the NATO ally a chance to start afresh with President-elect Joe Biden, experts say. Officials in Ankara responded to Monday's announcement from Washington -- in the works for several years but triggered by Donald Trump's administration in one of its closing acts -- with carefully calibrated anger. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's press aide Fahrettin Altun called them "unreasonable, fruitless, and ultimately incompatible with the spirit of...
AFP
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US makes good on threats of Turkey sanctions over Russia arms
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Monday made good on months of threats to punish Turkey for buying a major Russian missile defense system, although it held off on the most drastic options. With little more a month left in office, President Donald Trump's administration approved rare sanctions against a NATO ally focused on Turkey's military procurement agency. The United States banned all US export licenses and loan credits for the agency, the Presidency of Defense Industries, and said it would not allow its president, Ismail Demir, to travel or hold assets in the United States. The US ...
AFP
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US slaps sanctions on Turkey over Russian arms purchase
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Turkey's military procurement agency after the NATO ally defiantly bought Russia's S-400 air defense system. "Today's action sends a clear signal that the United States will fully implement (US law) and will not tolerate significant transactions with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. President Donald Trump's administration said it was banning all US export licenses to the Presidency of Defense Industries and refusing any visas for the agency's president, Ismail Demi...
AFP
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