Turkey orders arrest of 249 foreign ministry staff

Agencies

May 20, 2019

Istanbul, May 20: Turkish authorities on Monday ordered the arrest of 249 past and present foreign ministry personnel suspected of ties to the group blamed for a failed 2016 coup, the prosecutor's office said.

At least 78 have already been detained, the office in the capital Ankara said.

The latest crackdown is part of a probe in 42 cities into alleged irregularities in the foreign ministry entrance exam in favor of members of a movement led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen.

The suspects joined the foreign ministry between 2010 and 2013, according to the prosecutor's office.

Fourteen are currently serving in the ministry, while the rest had already been removed from their posts, a judicial source told AFP.

Ankara blames Gulen and his followers for orchestrating a failed coup in 2016 aimed at unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The movement denies the allegations and insists it is a peaceful group promoting education and moderate Islam.

Tens of thousands of public sector workers, including teachers, judges, and soldiers, have been sacked or suspended since the attempted coup.

Turkish authorities say it has been necessary to remove Gulen's "virus" from state institutions, but activists and Western allies have strongly criticized the magnitude of the crackdown.

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In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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