Turkey
Aid groups urge halt of Turkey returns, Greek detentions under migration deal
ISTANBUL/BRUSSELS Deportations of refugees and migrants to Turkey and the detention of asylum-seekers on Greek islands must stop, three aid groups said on Friday, citing fears for human rights raised by an EU-Turkey deal to curb an influx of people into Europe.
Germany's Merkel criticized for allowing prosecution of comedian who mocked Erdogan
BERLIN Germany's Angela Merkel agreed on Friday to allow prosecutors to pursue a case against a German comedian who mocked Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, prompting accusations that she had failed to protect free speech and dividing her ruling coalition.
Islamic State advances near Turkish border and east of Aleppo
BEIRUT Islamic State seized a hilly area southeast of the Syrian city of Aleppo, the militant group and monitors said on Friday, and made further advances near the border with Turkey in fighting that the United Nations said forced inhabitants to flee.
Russian state news agency Sputnik says site blocked in Turkey
ISTANBUL/MOSCOW The website of Russian state news agency Sputnik has been blocked in Turkey, its Turkish editor-in-chief said on Friday, shortly after President Vladimir Putin made comments critical of Turkey's leaders.
Turkish opposition backs immunity bill that Kurdish MPs say targets them
ANKARA Turkey's main opposition party will support a government bid to lift the immunity from prosecution currently enjoyed by all members of parliament, a draft law that Kurdish lawmakers say is targeted against them.
Turkey expects more Syrians to return from Greece under EU deal
VIENNA Turkey has begun taking back Syrians from Greece under an agreement with the European Union aimed at stemming the flow of migrants into the continent, and it expects the number of Syrians returning to rise soon, it said on Wednesday.
Germany needs more time on Turkish request to prosecute satirist
BERLIN Germany said on Wednesday it needs more time to decide on a request from Turkey to prosecute a comedian who has caused a diplomatic row by reciting a sexually crude poem about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on German television.
Germans rally behind satirist under fire over crude Erdogan poem
BERLIN Many Germans are rallying behind cult comedian Jan Boehmermann who has been forced to go underground because of the storm he unleashed with a sexually crude satirical poem about Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey shells targets in Syria after rockets hit border town: PM
ANKARA Turkey's military struck Islamic State targets in northern Syria in response to rockets that hit the southeastern Turkish border town of Kilis for the third straight day on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
Turkey arrests two Russian agents over killing of Chechen: newspaper
ISTANBUL Two Russian agents have been arrested in Turkey over the killing of a Chechen militant commander in Istanbul last year, the Haberturk newspaper said on Wednesday, one of several killings of Chechens in the country.
Second deadly quake hits southern Japan, rescuers race against time
TOKYO A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan early on Saturday, killing at least 20 people, injuring more than 1,000 and trapping people in collapsed buildings, barely a day after a quake killed nine people in the same region. | Video
