The cause of the explosion and the subsequent gunfire remained unclear, with some media reports claiming a suicide attack had occurred. Emergency services were dispatched to the site, Anadolu reported.
Members of Erdogan's ruling AKP Party rushed to attack opposition lawmaker Ahmed Sik after he called for his colleague Can Atalay's reinstatement in the Parliament and called the ruling party a "terrorist organisation". Atalay was imprisoned in 2018 for organising anti-government protests in 2013.
Turkey Opposition lawmakers, animal welfare groups and others have dubbed the bill the “massacre law.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the new law is necessary to deal with the country’s “stray dog problem.”
Few expected the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to win the elections after a bitter loss in last year's presidential and parliamentary elections. However, voters were left discontent with Erdogan's handling of the economy, with rising inflation and cost-of-living crisis.
Turkey, a NATO member, has been dragging its feet on ratifying Sweden’s accession for more than a year, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups it regards as security threats.
Earlier, Erdogan criticised Netanyahu over Israeli attacks in Gaza and said that he was no different from Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler. He likened Israel's operations in Gaza to the treatment of Jewish people by the Nazis in a dramatic escalation of tensions after the Hamas attack on Oct 7.
Erdogan welcomed academics and scientists facing persecution for their views on Gaza and slammed Western countries as being "complicit" in 'war crimes' in Gaza. His views have dramatically escalated tensions with Israel, with whom his government restored full diplomatic relations this year.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his objection to Sweden’s membership during a NATO summit in July, but it took him several months to send the bill to parliament for ratification and weeks for the parliamentary committee to give its consent.
Turkey was in the midst of efforts to warm ties with Israel before the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. After an initially cautious stance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backtracked and strongly condemned Israel, threatening to declare it a "war criminal".
Erdogan said that his country is making preparations to declare Israel as 'war criminal' and further lambasted Western countries for the deaths in Gaza. Earlier, he had referred to Hamas as a patriotic organisation defending its homeland.
While addressing the Parliament, Turkish President Erdogan called Hamas a "patriotic organisation" and unequivocally cancelled his scheduled state visit to Israel after saying "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has abused Turkey's goodwill".
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had claimed responsibility for Sunday's suicide bomb attack near the Turkish Parliament. It has been designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU.
Erdogan asserted that the issue of Kashmir should be resolved through dialogue and cooperation between India and Pakistan.
Erdogan said that he managed to elicit a pledge from Russia for a supply of one million tonnes to Africa despite failing to convince him to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal.
President Erdogan hinted that Turkey may part ways with the EU and claimed that the bloc is making efforts to "sever ties" with the country.
"India is our greatest trade partner in South Asia and we have great potential to enjoy primarily in the field of economy and many others," said Erdogan.
Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, claiming that many promises pertaining to the removal of obstacles for Russian exports have not been honoured.
Earlier in January this year, the leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, Rasmus Paludan, burned a copy of the Quran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Erdogan, 69, won a new five-year term in a runoff presidential race last week that could stretch his 20-year rule in the key NATO country that straddles Europe and Asia into a quarter-century.
Turkey President's oath ceremony: Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a new five-year term in a runoff presidential race that could stretch his 20-year rule in the country.
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