Fear of the 'Big One': Turkey Rattled by Quakes, Experts Warn It May Be a Foreshock
A series of powerful earthquakes shook western Turkey on April 23, causing panic among residents but resulting in no fatalities or serious damage
Turkey could block access to social media such as YouTube and Facebook, its Prime Minister announced on Thursday.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan added the measure could be approved and enacted after local elections, which will be held on March 30, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported, citing a live interview aired on TV channel ATV.
He was quoted as saying that he would take the step "if necessary", as he "would not sacrifice the Turkish people" to the two websites. He also claimed that through these social media, "immorality and espionage" is being incited.
The Turkish cabinet has already introduced a number of bills curbing Internet and press freedom, as well as subordinating judiciary to the executive, and some of them have been approved by the President.
Erdogan's latest plans come after a series of wiretapped recordings, allegedly with his voice, leaked on YouTube and claimed his involvement in cases of administrative power abuse, cronyism and meddling in the judiciary's affairs .
The most recent recording, uploaded on YouTube after having been leaked by Twitter on Thursday evening, purportedly contains a conversation between the Prime Minister and Bekir Bozda?, who is presently Justice Minister.
The two discuss the selection of prosecutors for a graft probe made public on December 25 last year but successfully thwarted by the government.
Erdogan admitted the authenticity of some of the recordings. Others have been repeatedly described as "montage" by him and his ruling Party of Justice and Development, including the conversation leaked on February 24 featuring Erdogan talking to his son about hiding significant sums of cash.
Allegations of graft and administrative abuses, as well as corruption investigations into his Party of Justice and Development (AKP), have led to a political crisis which forced Erdogan to declare on Wednesday he would step down if his party did not come as a winner out of the March 30 local elections.
Turkey's Prime Minister, however, has also hinted that he could run for Prime Minister for the fourth consecutive time, although that would contradict his own party's internal regulation and short time ago was deemed unlikely.
U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to the latest Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital
Bulgaria has officially started its preparations to assume the presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR)
Ahead of the upcoming Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev held a telephone conversation with Polish President Andrzej Duda
Kyiv was the target of a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack during the night of April 23–24, resulting in at least nine deaths and more than 70 injuries
The European Commission has highlighted the significant economic benefits of Bulgaria and Romania’s full integration into the Schengen Area
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the failure of the planned foreign minister-level peace talks on Ukraine, originally scheduled to be held in London
Google Street View Cars Return to Bulgaria for Major Mapping Update
Housing Prices Soar in Bulgaria’s Major Cities as Demand and Supply Strain Increase