Turkey throws weight behind Qatar in Gulf showdown

Turkey threw its weight behind its ally Qatar on Wednesday, fast-tracking plans to deploy extra Turkish troops to the emirate as Arab rivals cut transport links and supply lines.

The move potentially puts Ankara on a collision course with Riyadh as tensions flare over Saudi-led attempts to isolate Qatar in protest at its alleged support for extremist groups in the Middle East and its softer approach towards Iran.

READ ALSO:  Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and UAE cut diplomatic ties with Qatar

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish president, said it was wrong to impose sanctions on Doha. “It will not contribute to solving any problem to try and isolate in this way Qatar, which we know for sure has fought very effectively against terrorist groups,” he said.

Turkey’s parliament adopted a law on Wednesday night to allow Turkish troops to be stationed on Qatari soil. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE ....

11 killed, 36 wounded in Istanbul car bombing attack

As many as 11 people, including seven policemen, were killed and 36 others wounded in the bomb attack that targeted a police bus in the central Beyazıt district of Istanbul, near the city's historic quarter, Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin said.

 

He said three of the wounded people were in a critical condition.

Tuesday's explosion occurred as a police vehicle was passing in the area. Gunshots were heard following the explosion.

The wounded were taken to Çapa and Cerrahpaşa Hospitals close to the scene.

There is no immediate claim of responsibility. Details Here ...

With US no longer trusted, Turkey and Saudi forge new alliance

The visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman to Turkey – in all he will spend five days there including two at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Istanbul - is being seen by the Turkish media as a landmark event. It is certainly a visit on an exceptionally grand scale – the king’s delegation took over an entire high-rise hotel and will have a fleet of 500 Mercedes at its disposal.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Salman’s host, signalled the special importance of his visitor by meeting him in person at Ankara Airport and driving back into town together with him. Normal protocol rules would have suggested that the king would be met by a minister and only meet the president in his palace later.

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President Erdogan was probably responding to a similar honour paid to him when he visited Saudi Arabia last December and was met at the airport by the king. Shortly afterwards photographs were issued of the two heads of state sitting together below a large portrait of Kemal Ataturk, the secularist founder of the Turkish Republic. On Tuesday, King Salman received Turkey’s top decoration.  Read More ...