Istanbul, April 5, 2018 (AFP) – A university employee killed four fellow staff members in a shooting Thursday at a university in the western Turkish city of Eskisehir, reports said.

 The attacker was later detained, the Dogan news agency said. Those killed were the deputy dean, faculty secretary and two lecturers at Osmangazi University, the state-run Anadolu news agency added.

 The university’s rector Hasan Gonen confirmed to CNN-Turk television that four people had been killed.

 Eskisehir, a city of nearly one million, is on the railway line between Ankara and Istanbul and has rarely been the scene of any kind of violent attack.

 Dogan said that the attack sparked panic at the university, with both students and teachers in a state of shock.

 It said there was no indication of the assailant’s motive, describing him as a research fellow at the university working in the education faculty.

 Police were questioning him.

 Television pictures showed shocked staff and students gathering outside the university’s main entrance. Many ambulances were sent to the area.

 Turkey has in recent years been hit by a string of deadly attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and jihadists. However there was no indication of any link between Thursday’s shooting and extremist activity.</s>Istanbul: A university employee killed four fellow staff members in a shooting Thursday at a university in the western Turkish city of Eskisehir, reports said.

The attacker was later detained, the Dogan news agency said. Those killed were the deputy dean, faculty secretary and two lecturers at Osmangazi University, the state-run Anadolu news agency added.

The university’s rector Hasan Gonen confirmed to CNN-Turk television that four people had been killed.

Eskisehir, a city of nearly one million, is on the railway line between Ankara and Istanbul and has rarely been the scene of any kind of violent attack.

Dogan said that the attack sparked panic at the university, with both students and teachers in a state of shock.

It said there was no indication of the assailant’s motive, describing him as a research fellow at the university working in the education faculty.

Television pictures showed shocked staff and students gathering outside the university’s main entrance. Many ambulances were sent to the area.

Turkey has in recent years been hit by a string of deadly attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and jihadists. However there was no indication of any link between Thursday’s shooting and extremist activity.</s>Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has urged an Istanbul university to expel students arrested after an anti-war demonstration.

Referring to 15 students arrested at a peaceful protest at Boğaziçi University last month, President Erdogan said that the students were “communists, traitors and terrorists” and should not be allowed to attend university, the Turkish Minute news website reported.

“Those are terrorist youths. We will conduct investigations into them. After identifying them, we will not let them get an education at the universities because a university is not a place for educating terrorist youths,” said President Erdoğan during a speech at the congress held by his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

However, more than 1,200 academics have signed a petition calling for the release of the students, stating that their arrests “continue a disturbing trend of criminalising political speech and dissent in Turkey”.

The letter, penned by the Academic Solidarity Network, asks the Turkish government for the immediate release of the 15 students in the days after a peaceful protest in Istanbul on 19 March against the ongoing Turkish military offensive in the Afrin region of Syria.

The letter, whose signatories include Nobel laureates Eric Wieschaus and Jack W. Szostak, adds that the arrests on campus and police raids of student homes and dormitories follows the trend seen after the crackdown on free speech since the failed anti-government coup of 2016.

The letter has been sent to Mr Erdoğan, who used his speech at the AKP congress to praise students who had set up a stand on campus to honour slain soldiers in the Afrin conflict, calling them “believers, local and national”.

The academics’ letter says that the signatories “strongly oppose the recent arrests and harassment of students at Boğaziçi University in İstanbul, Turkey”.

“President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has cynically referred to these students as ‘terrorists’, vowed to expel them from Boğaziçi University, and to deny them the right to study at any other university,” it continues, adding that “we have heard this kind of verbal attack from Erdoğan before and it was followed by the detention of thousands of academics, journalists, artists, and human rights advocates”.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com</s>Baku. 4 January. REPORT.AZ/ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that purpose of the terrorist attacks in Istanbul was separation of Turkish citizens.

Report informs citing Anadolu, he said that Turkey will never give in to terrorism and will continue to fight.

The President also said that those who accuse Turkey of interfering in internal affairs of other countries, not know beans.</s>Istanbul will host a festival spotlighting Ethiopian and Turkish culture, trade and art from April 21-22.

The Ethio-Turkish Cultural, Commercial and Art Festival at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University aims to build a cultural and commercial bridge between the two countries.

Artists from the Tesfaye Abebe art center in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa will take part along with representatives of various companies, trade associations, tour and travel agencies as well as international transport and foreign trade firms.

Ethiopian businesspeople are expected to introduce the unique products of their region, such as coffee, sesame seeds, leather, flowers and textiles. Turkish businesspeople will also introduce their products and services to their counterparts.

A talk between Turkish and Ethiopian businesspeople will be held on investment, imports and exports between the two countries.

Turkish musicians and dancers will also present traditional musical performances and dance shows.

The event is being co-organized by the Ethiopian embassy in Turkey, the Ethiopian Culture and Tourism Ministry, the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA) and Bahcesehir University.</s>Report informs citing Anadolu, he was seen off to Baku by Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Ismail Kahraman, Ankara governor Ercan Topaca, Ankara Police Chief Servet Yılmaz and other officials at the Esenboğa airport.

Erdoğan is accompanied by his spouse Emine Erdoğan, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak, Education Minister Ismet Yılmaz, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli and Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan.

Turkish president's visit to Azerbaijan will last two days.

Notably, Erdoğan will attend today's opening ceremony of the first movement of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Georgian Prime Minister Georgy Kvirikashvili.

A bilateral meeting between Azerbaijani and Turkish delegations will be held on October 31. The meetings will focus on the events taking place in the region and in the international arena, particularly on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Also, the two countries will sign documents on cooperation in various fields.

The sixth meeting of Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council will be held in Baku. The Azerbaijani and Turkish President will attend the meeting.

Erdoğan's visit to Baku coincides with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan.</s>Baku. 29 September. REPORT.AZ/ President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday underlined that Turkey will continue to fight PKK terrorists in a determined manner, while noting the Turkish military killed over 30 PKK terrorists overnight in a cross-border operation in northern Iraq. He stated that terrorists aim to divide the unity between the Kurds and Turks in Turkey, and criticized the PKK and its supporters for causing harm to the Kurdish people.

Report informs referring to Turkish media, Speaking to municipal headmen at the Presidential Palace, the Turkish president said that Turkey will not give up its fight against PKK terrorists, who indiscriminately attack security forces and civilians and pose a threat to national security in the country.

"Under the framework of the Constitution, I will continue to struggle against the terrorists for the unity and peace in my country" Erdoğan said.

President Erdoğan noted that the PKK disguises its unlawful acts, but the Turkish military continues to destroy the terrorist organization's ammunition depots.

He underscored that the terrorist organization intimidates local businessmen and forces them to pay money in Turkey's southeastern regions, but the state will continue to take concrete action against them.

Erdoğan said that Turkey has carefully preserved a balance between freedoms and security and harshly criticized municipalities administered by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) for allowing terrorists to dig ditches with the aim to attack Turkish security forces.

"The PKK is not local and can never be a part of this country, nor this nation" Erdoğan said, while he added that all citizens who are loyal to the Turkish state –regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds- are local and 'Turkish.'</s>Baku. 15 March. REPORT.AZ/ "We are working to complete the implementation of TANAP project ahead of time."

Report informs, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said at a press conference on results of the 5th meeting of the Turkey-Azerbaijan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Ankara.

Speaking about economic relations between the two countries, Erdoğan expressed his regret that in 2015 due to the fall in oil prices and other factors, the level of trade turnover fell: "However, we have set a goal to achieve the trade turnover of 15 bln USD by 2023. We will do our best to achieve the goal."

Turkish President also said that the level of mutual investments made 13 bln USD.

Erdoğan has expressed hope that in the next 5 years this figure will reach 20 bln USD.</s>Report informs citing the Yeniakit, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during10th traditional Iftar table by his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for ambassadors.

"There are 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council. In this regard, many countries are waiting for change.

Solution to all problems depends on wordsthat come out of mouth of 5 countries. Did they manage to solve Syria, Iraq problem? Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not been solved for 22 years. They can’t solve. Because of one says "no" of course, the issue will not be solved ", - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.</s>Baku. 20 November. REPORT.AZ/ Turkish police on Friday arrested 12 suspected members of the PKK terrorist organization and its youth wing YDG-H in Istanbul, Report informs referring to the Turkish media.

Counter-terrorist officers carried out simultaneous dawn raids in Esenyurt, Beylikdüzü, Başakşehir and Büyükçekmece districts.

The suspects, who are suspected of membership of the PKK or Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H), were taken to the city's police headquarters following health checks.

There have been many arrests across Turkey since the July 20 Suruç suicide bombing that killed dozens of people; most of the suspects detained have alleged links to terrorist groups PKK, KCK, YDG-H, Daesh as well as the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls 15 peaceful anti-war protestors arrested last month at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul terrorists and says they will not be allowed to complete their education.