Government's opacity makes Turkey’s war on COVID-19 harder

Keen to minimize the political and economic repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has pursued a policy of opacity, keeping the public from fully grasping the graveness of the threat.

Turkey

Turkey mulls full lockdown to check coronavirus

Turkey's interior minister says “full isolation” is possible if current measures do not slow the outbreak and Istanbul’s mayor says the country’s biggest city needs a stay-at-home order now.

Turkey

Turkish government divided over lockdown proposals

Turkish policymakers are split on whether a lockdown approach is the best way to protect Turkey from coronavirus, with some more fearful of the economic fallout than the potential deaths.

Iraq

Archive Upfront

from Mar 26, 2020

Turkey appears to want more than Syria’s oil

Like Moscow and Washington, Ankara seems to be coveting the oilfields of Deir ez-Zor in Syrian Kurdistan, which Kurds fear would give Turkey an opening to take over the entire Rojava area.

Syria

Sex offenders may walk as lawmakers mull releasing one in three Turkish prisoners

Turkish women's rights groups have denounced a bill that would reduce sentences for sex offenders and other convicts to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus in prisons.

Turkey

Coronavirus restrictions leave over 1,000 Algerians stranded in Istanbul’s airport

Algeria has closed its borders, leaving over 1,000 Algerians stranded at an Istanbul airport.

Turkey

Turkey charges 20 Saudis in Khashoggi murder

Turkey will hold a trial in absentia for the 20 suspects it says participated in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia

Turkey and COVID-19: Is another Italy in the making?

Experts warn that Turkey may soon face a calamity similar to what befell Italy and Spain if the government fails to take stronger measures to fight the coronavirus.

Turkey

SDF calls for humanitarian truce in Syria amid coronavirus crisis

Following the lead of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces call for a cease-fire in order for all warring parties to combat COVID-19 instead.

Syria

Trans-Atlantic official slams US for forcing Turkish broadcaster to register as foreign agent

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's media freedom representative said TRT's registration under a Nazi-era anti-propaganda law had a “restrictive & negative impact on media freedom.”

Turkey

Turkey tightens restrictions to curb coronavirus outbreak

As the death toll from COVID-19 reached 37 and cases spread across the country, Turkey pledged to accelerate diagnostic and treatment methods, while introducing new measures to keep people at home, though it has stopped short of a full lockdown.

Turkey

Turkey says it’s using ‘special’ coronavirus drug sent from China

Turkey has so far recorded 37 fatalities connected to coronavirus, but the country's health minister says patients are being administered a "special drug" from China.

Turkey