Turkish

A FLIGHT heading to a popular holiday spot made an emergency landing after a Brit tourist allegedly punched a fellow passenger.

It happened on a flight from Manchester heading towards the Turkish city of Antalya.

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But the plane had to make an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, Greece on Monday following the reported incident.

A 35-year-old Brit is alleged to have hit a 41-year-old Turkish passenger on board, according to the Manchester Evening News.

It is unknown how the incident started, but the captain made the emergency stop at 11pm local time.

The Brit was arrested after landing, according to the Greek outlet Ekathimerini.

Meanwhile, the alleged victim was examined by a doctor before continuing on to Antalya, the Mirror has reported.

According to reports, the Brit was due to face a prosecutor on Tuesday.

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Turkiye’s top diplomat said his country has ‘completely’ cut off trade with Israel over its ongoing genocide.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country has completely severed economic and trade ties with Israel and has closed its airspace to its aircraft, in protest over the war in Gaza.

Speaking at an extraordinary session of the Turkish parliament on Gaza on Friday, Fidan said Israel has been “committing genocide in Gaza for the past two years, ignoring basic humanitarian values right before the world’s eyes”.

Turkiye cut off direct trade ties with Israel in May last year, demanding a permanent ceasefire and the immediate entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza. In 2023, the two countries carried out $7bn in trade.

Ankara has not minced its words about Israel’s war on Gaza, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling it a genocide – like many other world leaders and leading human rights organistions – and likening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler.

“We have completely cut off our trade with Israel. We do not allow Turkish ships to go to Israeli ports. We do not allow their planes to enter our airspace,” Fidan said.

The Turkish foreign minister’s condemnation comes amid years of increasingly tense relations between the two countries, said Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar.

“It’s not only about the humanitarian crisis that’s unfolding in Gaza; Turkiye gradually is perceiving Israel as a national security threat,” Serdar explained, noting that Israel’s expansionism and attacks across the wider Middle East have been cause for concern.

In Syria particularly, Ankara has accused Israel of wilfully undermining the country’s recovery efforts after the devastation of a 14-year civil war and the removal of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad last December by a lightning rebel offensive.

“Diplomats in Ankara are seeing that if Israel is not stopped, eventually there might be a direct military confrontation between these two countries,” he said.

Serdar added that the Turkish foreign minister’s comments also show that Turkiye is looking to the Global South and other powers to take action, amid the United States’ and European Union’s largely unwavering support for Israel.

Turkish media reported last week that a ban on maritime traffic linked to Israel had been imposed, although there was no official statement. According to reports, Israeli vessels were banned from docking in Turkiye, and Turkish-flagged ships were not allowed to enter Israeli ports.

‘Like pariahs’

Meanwhile, Turkiye’s latest move is making “more and more Israelis feel the disadvantages of this kind of war that has no deadline”, said Akiva Eldar, an Israeli political analyst.

“Turkiye is not just another country that is deciding to cut its relationship with Israel. Turkiye has been an ally of Israel for many years, a very important market to Israeli goods,” Eldar told Al Jazeera, speaking from Kiryat Shmona, adding that it was also a favourite summer destination for many Israelis.

“We feel more and more … Israelis are feeling isolated and [like] pariahs. More and more countries and companies have decided to stop their business with Israel.”

Last November, Turkish authorities denied permission for Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s plane to enter Turkiye’s airspace for a trip to an international summit in Azerbaijan.

“As Turkiye, we have to take a stance on certain issues,” Erdogan later said when asked about the incident.

Israel and Turkiye’s relationship had soured as far back as 2010, following Israel’s deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which killed 10 Turkish citizens.

More recently, a Turkish-American activist, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was killed by Israeli forces during a protest in the occupied West Bank in September 2024.

Local media report that 24 firefighters and rescuers were trapped by the wildfire, and that victims were ‘burned alive’.

At least 10 firefighters and rescue workers were killed and 14 others injured while battling a wildfire in Turkiye’s northwestern Eskisehir province, authorities said, as several fires rage in central and western areas of the country where temperatures are soaring.

Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ibrahim Yumakli said on Wednesday that five forestry workers and five rescuers trying to tackle the blaze were killed when 24 firefighters became trapped in the wildfire earlier in the day.

Winds whipped up by the flames suddenly changed direction, and the fire engulfed the group of firefighters, who were swiftly transported to hospital, where 10 of them died.

Fourteen others are still receiving medical treatment, the minister said.

“Unfortunately, we have lost five forest workers and five [rescuers],” Yumakli told Turkish television broadcasters.

Turkish news website BirGun reported that the group were trapped by the fire and “burned alive”.

Local lawmaker Nebi Hatipoglu wrote on X that there are “no words to describe our grief”.

Turkiye has been sweltering since Sunday under high temperatures and strong winds that have fanned wildfires between Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, with the spreading blazes threatening homes and forcing the evacuation of several villages.

Minister Yumakli said extreme heat and volatile wind conditions were also expected on Thursday.

“Starting tomorrow, we are facing extraordinary temperatures and extreme wind shifts. Once again, I call on all 86 million citizens to be vigilant and exercise extra caution,” he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the victims who fought “to protect our forests at cost of their lives”.

“I pray for God’s mercy on our brothers and sisters who fought at the cost of their lives to protect our forests, and I offer my condolences to their families and our nation,” Erdogan said in a message posted on social media.

Two prosecutors have been assigned to investigate the incident, the country’s justice minister said.

The deaths on Wednesday bring the number of deaths in wildfires so far in the country to 13 this year.

An elderly man and two forestry workers were killed in a wildfire that raged near the town of Odemis, in the Izmir province, earlier this month.

Turkiye is waiting for a price proposal for the possible acquisition of Eurofighter jets after submitting a list outlining its technical needs to Britain’s Defence Ministry, a Turkish Defence Ministry source said today according to Reuters.

The Eurofighter Typhoon jets are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, represented by companies Airbus AIR.PA, BAE Systems BAES.L and Leonardo LDOF.MI.

Ankara has been in talks with Britain and Spain to purchase 40 Typhoons and Germany took a step toward clearing the deal after initially being opposed to it.

“The […] document, prepared within the scope of the procurement of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon Aircraft, was sent to the British Ministry of Defence and the relevant company,” the source told a briefing in Ankara.

“We expect the price offer to reach us in the coming days.”

READ: Germany reconsiders Turkiye’s request to purchase Eurofighter

Soldiers died from gas exposure during a mission to recover a Turkish soldier missing in the cave since 2022.

Twelve Turkish soldiers have died after inhaling methane gas during a mission in northern Iraq, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence says.

“Four other of our heroic comrades in arms, affected by methane gas, have died … bringing the total number of victims to 12,” the ministry said in a post on X on Monday.

According to it, the incident took place on Sunday as troops searched for the remains of a soldier killed by fighters belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in 2022.

PKK has been labelled a terrorist group by Turkiye, the European Union and the United States. It fought for Kurdish autonomy for years, a fight that has been declared over now.

Nineteen soldiers were exposed to the gas inside a site once used by armed fighters as a hospital.

The condition of the remaining seven soldiers was not clear immediately. “I wish a speedy recovery for our heroes affected by methane
gas,” Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X.

The soldiers were conducting a sweep operation inside a cave at an altitude of 852 metres (2,795 feet) in the Metina region, part of Turkiye’s ongoing Operation Claw-Lock targeting the PKK positions in northern Iraq.

Though the gas is not considered toxic, methane can become deadly in confined spaces due to suffocation risks. The ministry has not clarified how the gas accumulated inside the cave.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his “great sorrow” over the incident and extended condolences to the families of the fallen.

Defence Minister Yasar Guler travelled to the area to oversee inspections and attend ceremonies for the deceased.

News of the deaths emerged as a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party was visiting jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan as part of the ongoing negotiations with the Turkish government.

The decades-long conflict between Ankara and the PKK has killed more than 40,000 people since 1984.

July 5 (UPI) — Three Turkish mayors who are members of a political party that opposes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were arrested on corruption charges Saturday morning.

The three mayors are Nuhittin Bocek, Abdurrahman Tutdere and Zeydan Karlar and are members of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party, Politico reported.

Karalar is the mayor of Adana, while Tutdere is the mayor of Adiyaman and Bocek the mayor of Antalya.

Republican People’s Party Chairman Burhanettin Bulut said the arrests are politically motivated, Euronews reported.

“Those who use the judiciary as a stick for political revenge do not care about the law, but about protecting their own power,” Balu said in a social media post.

“We will never submit to this dirty system that strikes a blow to the will of the nation.”

Police detained Tutdere at his house in Ankara in the morning and then took him to Istanbul.

Reports do not say if Karalar or Bocek also were taken to Istanbul.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office made the arrests as part of its investigation into an alleged criminal organization operating in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Erdogan has supported the investigation and similar arrests, which he says are due to political corruption by the respective mayors and others.

Hundreds have been detained during recent raids in several of Turkey’s largest cities.

The first raids were carried out in Istanbul and spread to locations in Izmir Province and other cities.

The cost of a trip to the beach in parts of Turkey including Bodrum have shot up in recent years, despite free access to the coast being enshrined in the law of the land

The sky-high price of spending an afternoon basking in the sun on some of Turkey’s best-known beaches has been revealed.

Each year, around 1.5million visitors flock to Bodrum city, which sits on the far south-western edge of Turkey and enjoys sunny days and warm seas. In recent years its reputation as one of the best value resort cities on the Aegean has been dented, as sky-high inflation rates across the country hit the pockets of citizens and visitors alike.

Since 2018, the country’s economy has been plagued by currency depreciation and high inflation, which has eroded households’ budgets. While annual inflation eased to 48.6 percent in October, down from 75.5 percent last May, the country’s cost-of-living crisis continues to weigh heavily on many. A recent report found that a quarter of retirees in the country have been forced back in work.

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READ MORE: ‘Brit’ tourist ‘attacked’ on busy beach after refusing to use sunlounger

While the struggle is being felt most keenly by those living on low wages in the country, price rises are also very noticeable to tourists. This week Ersin Süzer, a famous columnist in Turkey, has shone the spotlight on the cost of a day at the beach in Bodrum.

While access to almost all beaches in Turkey is enshrined in law, in reality bars, restaurants and clubs are taking over more and more of the coastline in areas such as Antalya and Bodrum. Often, sun loungers crowd out sun worshippers who simply want to lounge on the sand.

In recent months, the ‘towel movement’ has sprung up, with angry locals heading to certain beaches en masse to protest against large developments. Among them is Omer Onal, a 71-year-old bookshop owner. He told Balkan Insight how frustrating the situation has become: “We can’t even demonstrate on the Ayayorgi coastline because there is no public path, only a beach club entrance.”

The issue of who controls the beach – and who is welcome to visit – came to a head in Damlatas Beach in the Alanya district of Antalya earlier this month. A tourist was beaten by resort staff after refusing to hire a sunbed because it was too expensive, it was reported.

To avoid a similar shock, it’s best to know how much you might be asked to pay when in Turkey.

Here is the minimum cost of spending a day at some of the better-known beaches of Bodrum, according to Mr Süzer.

• Lucca Beach: £84 (Minimum spend)
• Bobo by Stay: £114 (Minimum spend)
• Match Girl Hotel: £172 (Minimum spend)
• Mandarin Oriental: £134 (Entrance fee)
• Edition Hotel: £101 (Entrance fee)
• Buddha Bar and Beach: £189 (£63 entrance fee, £126 minimum spend)
• No 81 Hotel: £67 (Minimum spend)
• Flamm Hotel Beach: £67 (Minimum spend)
• Scorpios Beach: £143 (£58 entrace fee, £85 minimum spend)
• Highlight Hotel: £67 (Minimum spend)