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ANKARA, Turkey — (Daily Post) - A blaze annihilated a Turkish hotel and killed at least 76 and injured 53 others. At 03:27 a.m local time, during the School holiday season, the 12-story, wooden-clad Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu City caught fire as 234 visitors slept. However the cause of the fire is unknown, Bolu Governor Aydin said initial investigations identified the fire began in the hotel's restaurant area on the fourth floor and spread to almost every part of the hotel.  The office of the governor further reported that 30 firefighting vehicles and 28 ambulances were dispatched to the scene. According to Aydin, it took more than an hour for fire brigades to arrive at the scene due to the distance between the hotel in Kartalkaya and the center of Bolu and the cold weather. Emergency services deployed 267 workers to the location.  Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari all conveyed their deep sorrow at the loss of their...

TURKEY  —  A bus slammed into an overhead bridge's pillar, killing at least 9 and leaving 26 others injured.  The incident occurred on Friday, killing nine passengers on board and wounding at least 26, according to the province governor. The tragedy occurred when the bus departed from Izmir in western Turkey for Agri in the country's east, authorities said. The injured passengers were transported to hospitals in Ankara and Polatli, but there was no information available regarding their current condition. According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, a deputy chief attorney was tasked with conducting an inquiry into the crash's cause, which resulted in the closure of one side of the road.

Iraq has offered to serve as a mediator in a historic restart of ties between the Bashar al-Assad government and Turkey A potential meeting between Asad and Erdogan is expected to take place in a third country, the Turkish FM reported in a statement on Thursday. The Turkish foreign minister, Fidan underlined that al-Assad is willing to meet with Erdogan without any constraints, telling the Sabah newspaper, "If the meeting takes place, it will be held in a third country, but there are no details so far." The goal of the meeting would be to restore ruptured relationships and reestablish them as they were before 2011.  Even though Turkey is getting substantial financial assistance from the US and the EU, the country's tremendous refugee population has become a difficult issue, increasing political pressure and general anger. Emphasizing Turkiye's desire that Syria initiate talks with the opposition, the minister added, "We want the Asad to have a dialogue with the o...

The Israeli Foreign Minister has called for Turkey's eviction from NATO amid Erdoğan's warning of an incursion Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened to enter Israel, as it has done in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.  Israel Katz, Israel's foreign minister, has requested NATO to expel Turkey.  Foreign Minister Israel Katz directed ambassadors to swiftly interact with all NATO countries, condemning Turkey and seeking its expulsion from the alliance," the ministry said. "Erdogan has stepped in Saddam Hussein's footsteps, threatening to destroy Israel. "He should remember what happened and how it ended," Israeli FM said. Erdoğan said that it is absurd to compare me with former dictator Saddam Hussein. He further added that Israeli government is targeting him because of my support for Palestinians.  NATO does not have an official procedure to suspend or expel a member, though members may freely depart. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenb...

According to the Russian media, the meeting between Asad and Putin happened on Wednesday.  Restoring relations between Damascus and Ankara might be one of the topics of conversation.  A few weeks ago Erdogan said: "Now we have reached such a point that as soon as Bashar al-Assad takes a step towards mending relations with Turkey, we will replicate the same approach.  Erdogan's initial support for rebel groups against Assad in 2011 led to dire relations between the two presidents, who both have said that they are prepared to fix them. Following President Bashar al-Assad's battle with rebels in March 2011, Syria's membership in the Arab League was revoked and then reinstated on July 6, 2023.  Recep Tayyip Erdo ğ an has extended a hand of friendship to President Bashar al-Assad, realizing that Asad is no longer alone.

After a serious argument in a café in Istanbul, Turkey, 3 persons were shot and killed A clash broke out between two rival groups on Ayazma Street in the Ünalan District, which snowballed into a deadly shooting. Three victims, Tamer Kazan, Okan Güner, and Veli Hakan Karakaş, were discovered dead at the scene of the incident, which erupted at about 8.15 p.m. At least five more were injured, two of whom were in life-threatening situations and were sent to surrounding healthcare facilities. Three deaths from the gunfight have been confirmed by Istanbul's government.