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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting. Members of Turkey's armed forces said they took control of that country, but it's not the case.
The Turkish military said on Friday it had assumed power over Turkey in what the country's prime minister called an illegal act. The army put out an email statement, read on Turkish television, saying it had "fully seized control" of the government to protect democracy and maintain human rights. But the country's prime minister, Binali Yildirim, said that it would be wrong to call it a coup. He called it an illegal attempt by part of the military which is outside the chain of command to seize power. Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in an interview with a local TV station late Friday urged the Turkish people to go to the streets to the airports to fight the group whom he alleged to be associated with a U.S.-based Islamic cleric. Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Istanbul. War planes and helicopters have been heard over the capital, Ankara. The Turkish news agency is reporting that there was an explosion near the country's parliament building. But the situation remains quite fluid. The White House says that President Obama spoke with Secretary of State John Kerry about the situation in Turkey, a key NATO ally. In a statement, the White House said the president and the secretary agreed that all parties in Turkey should support the democratically elected government, show restraint and avoid violence. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Twitter that the democratic order in Turkey must be respected and all must be done to protect lives. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called for restraint and respect for democratic institutions in Turkey. This is VOA news. France began three days of mourning Friday after 84 people were killed and 52 critically injured when a man drove a large truck through Bastille Day celebrations in Nice Thursday. The attacker has been identified as 31-year-old Mohamed Bouhlel, a French-Tunisian who lived in Nice. He was shot dead by police. In an address to the nation, French President François Hollande said the attack was done to satisfy the cruelty of an individual and maybe a group. Hollande said that France's state of emergency will be extended another three months. He also enacted Operation Sentinel, which allows 10,000 extra military personnel to boost the ranks of security forces across the country. President Obama joined other world leaders in condemning Thursday's deadly truck attack that killed 84 people. Speaking at the White House, Mr. Obama said that attacks like Thursday's only strengthen the resolve to fight international terrorism, especially the self-proclaimed Islamic State. "We are gonna keep working together to prevent attacks and defend our homeland. We are gonna keep taking out ISIL leaders and pushing ISIL back in Syria and Iraq. We are gonna keep standing with our partners from Africa to Afghanistan. And we are gonna destroy this vile terrorist organization." Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, Britain's prime minister, Theresa May, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attack. The Rio Olympics start in three weeks and about 200 public health experts have called for the games to be canceled due to the threat of infection with the Zika virus. But as Jessica Berman reports, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says it's O.K. to go but people should be careful. An estimated 1.5 million people in Brazil have been infected with Zika, with hundreds of cases spilling into other countries. Charles Ericsson is a physician specializing in travel medicine with University of Texas Health and Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center. Ericsson agrees with the CDC, saying that chances of spreading Zika to other countries are small. One factor is likely to help protect visitors: the season. The games will be held during Brazil's winter. And cooler, drier weather isn't favorable to mosquitoes. Jessica Berman, VOA news, Washington. And, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has announced the Indiana governor, Mike Pence, is his pick for vice president. Trump announced the choice in a Twitter message early Friday. Pence is widely seen as a strategically sound pick for Trump. This is VOA news. For more, visit our website. I'm David Byrd in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |