Turkish military ‘fully seizes’ control of country
Turkish military ‘fully seizes’ control of country
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s armed forces “fully seized control” of the country Friday, according to a statement from the military published by a Turkish news agency, as gunfire was heard outside military headquarters, fighter jets buzzed over the capital and vehicles blocked two major bridges in Istanbul. The prime minister, however, said there was an “attempt” at a coup.
Soldiers blocked entry to Ataturk Airport where four tanks were stationed, according to the private Dogan news agency. Two other tanks and a military vehicle were stationed in front of the VIP terminal. The report said the soldiers had entered the tower and stopped all flights.
News reports said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was safe and would make a televised statement soon.
The military said it seized control “to reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms, to ensure that the rule of law once again reigns in the country, for the law and order to be reinstated.”
The military statement went on to say that “all international agreements and commitments will remain. We pledge that good relations with all world countries will continue.”
Woman found to spread Zika through sex for 1st time
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City woman infected her male partner with Zika virus through sex, the first time female-to-male transmission of the germ has been documented.
Zika is usually spread by mosquitoes, and health officials have known for some time that men can spread it through sex. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the case Friday and updated its advice for pregnant women.
The CDC now advises them to use protection if their sex partner has traveled to a Zika-infected region, whether the partner is a man or a woman.
The Zika virus causes only a mild illness, at worst, in most people. But infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects for the fetus. The New York woman was not pregnant.
While this is the first documented case of a woman spreading Zika through sex, health experts say it is not surprising because most diseases that can be spread through sex can be spread by both men and women. It has likely been happening throughout the recent Zika outbreaks in Brazil, Latin America and elsewhere, though experts say it is probably not very common.
84 dead, 202 hurt in Nice massacre
NICE, France (AP) — As new details emerged Friday about the Tunisian man who drove a truck through crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, killing 84 people and wounding 202 others, French leaders extended a state of emergency imposed after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks and vowed to deploy thousands of police reservists on the streets.
French officials called it an undeniable act of terror, but no group claimed responsibility and it wasn’t clear if the 31-year-old delivery driver blamed for the carnage had extremist ties.
The country is still reeling from the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks, which killed 130 people at the Bataclan concert hall, Paris restaurants and cafes and the national stadium, and a separate January 2015 attack in Paris that targeted journalists at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and Jews at a kosher supermarket.
Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State, and French President Francois Hollande was booed Friday in Nice by people who blamed government authorities for failing to enforce sufficient security measures.
Thursday night’s massacre of pedestrians leaving a fireworks display along the southern city’s famed boulevard ended only after police killed the armed attacker in a hail of bullets.
Secret chapter of 9/11 inquiry released after 13-year wait
WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly declassified pages from a congressional report into 9/11 released Friday have reignited speculation that some of the hijackers had links to Saudis, including government officials — allegations that were never substantiated by later U.S. investigations into the terrorist attacks.
Congress released the last chapter of the congressional inquiry that has been kept under wraps for more than 13 years, stored in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol. Lawmakers and relatives of victims of the attacks, who believe that Saudi links to the attackers were not thoroughly investigated, campaigned for years to get the pages released.
The lightly redacted document names individuals who helped the hijackers get apartments, open bank accounts and connect with local mosques. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals and several were not fluent in English and had little experience living in the West.
Former Florida Sen. Bob Graham, the co-chairman of the congressional inquiry, who pushed hard for the last chapter of the inquiry’s report to be released, believes the hijackers had an extensive Saudi support system while they were in the United States.
Saudi Arabia itself has urged the release of the chapter since 2002 so the kingdom could respond to any allegations.