Turkey

1 Aug 2018; AA; ANKARA; A new rail gun made by a leading Turkish contractor has shot through previous speed records, the firm announced on Wednesday.

Previous tests carried out on Aselsan's TUFAN electromagnetic rail gun system showed it hitting a speed of 2,000-2,500 meters per second -- more than six times the speed of sound.

But new tests with the TUFAN prototype in Karapinar in Turkey’s central Konya province did 50 percent better, racking up an ultrasonic speed topping nine times the speed of sound.

By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA; 2 Aug 2018; AA; The head of Turkish parliament's constitutional committee has described the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on two Turkish ministers as an "abdication of reason".

"The U.S. administration's decision is far from good sense, an abdication of reason, a lack of foresight," Bekir Bozdag said on his official Twitter account on Thursday.

"The U.S. cannot take what it wants from Turkey with a method that is against international law, unlawful and presuming," Bozdag, a lawmaker from Yozgat province, added.

ISTANBUL; 31 July 2018; AA; The new building at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport’s domestic terminal -- representing a €26 million ($30.5 million) investment -- will boost the airport's annual passenger capacity to over 40 million, Istanbul’s governor said on Tuesday.

"It started with a capacity of 25 million people, reached 31 million, and now is being raised to 41 million," Vasip Sahin said at the building’s opening ceremony.

Looking ahead, he added: "With the second runway, this capacity will reach 63 million."

By Murat Paksoy and Hanife Sevinc

ISTANBUL

31 July 2018; AA; Representatives of minority communities on Tuesday said they were free to follow their faith in Turkey, denying allegations that they were being victimized.

In a joint declaration, Turkey's minority community representatives -- including followers of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches -- said that people of different faiths live "freely".

By Yilmaz Kazandioglu

31 July 2018; AA; HAKKARI, Turkey

A roadside bombing by the PKK terrorist organization killed the wife and baby of a Turkish soldier in the southeastern province of Hakkari, the local governor’s office said Tuesday. 

The bomb exploded when a car carrying the civilians passed through the Yuksekova district.

The mother died on the spot, while the 11-month-old child succumbed to his wounds at the Yuksekova Public Hospital. 

An operation to nab the terrorists is under way in the region.

31 July 2018; AFP; A Turkish court on Tuesday rejected an appeal to release from house arrest a US pastor whose detention on terror-related charges has strained relations between NATO allies Ankara and Washington, state media reported.

The court in the Aegean region of Izmir rejected an appeal by the lawyer for Andrew Brunson, who ran a Protestant church, to have him released from house arrest and have his travel ban removed, state-run Anadolu news agency said.

29 July 2018; AFP; President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the US in comments published Sunday that sanctions would not force Ankara to "step back" after Donald Trump threatened to punish Turkey if a US pastor was not freed.

"You cannot make Turkey take a step back with sanctions," Erdogan said in his first comments since relations soured after Trump threatened the measures on Thursday if Pastor Andrew Brunson was not released.

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said here on Thursday that the United States will slap "significant economic sanctions" on Turkey unless it immediately releases a detained U.S. pastor.

Pence said Turkey should take immediate action to free Andrew Brunson or "be prepared to face the consequences."

U.S. President Donald Trump also tweeted earlier that Ankara should release Brunson, calling the cleric's detention "a total disgrace."

ANKARA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will never tolerate threats from anybody, Turkish Foreign Minister said on Thursday in response to warnings of sanctions from the United States leadership.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday that the United States will slap "significant economic sanctions" on Turkey unless it immediately releases detained U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson.

"No one dictates Turkey. We will never tolerate threats from anybody. Rule of law is for everyone, no exception," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a Twitter message.

ANKARA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The state of emergency in Turkey has ended Wednesday midnight after it went into effect two years ago in the wake of the botched military coup in July 2016.

It will be replaced by a new set of security laws aiming to crack down on terrorist activities.

The termination of the emergency rule was promised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his presidential campaign before his victory in the general elections in June.