Coup

LONDON: When Chilean air force jet engines arrived for repair at a Rolls-Royce factory in Scotland in 1974, inspector Bob Fulton swiftly decided he would not touch them. The World War Two veteran had been shaken by images thousands of miles away in Santiago of Hawker Hunter jets bombing La Moneda presidential palace in the Sept. 11, 1973, military coup that toppled democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende. Despite risking his job, Fulton refused to let the engines through maintenance and, with fellow…

ROME: US President Donald Trump is facing a “coup”, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon told Reuters, pointing to an anonymous column in the New York Times detailing resistance within the Trump administration. “What you saw the other day was as serious as it can get. This is a direct attack on the institutions,” Bannon said during a flying visit to Italy. “This is a coup, okay”. The column was published on Wednesday and was written by an unnamed senior administration official, the New York Times said.…

ISTANBUL: Fifteen Turkish soldiers were jailed for life on Wednesday for their role in last year's failed coup, the latest among the thousands caught in Turkey's crackdown after the overthrow bid. The men, most of whom were officers, were convicted of trying to take over the Istanbul headquarters of Turkey's ruling party during the thwarted coup, state news agency Anadolu reported. This case is one of several others prosecuting people allegedly tied to the July 15, 2016 failed overthrow of Turkish President Recep…

ANKARA: Turkey on Saturday marked one year since the defeat of the failed coup bid with mass nationwide rallies seeking to showcase national unity and a stern warning by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "chop off the heads" of traitors. The authorities declared July 15 an annual national holiday of "democracy and unity", billing the foiling of the putsch as a historic victory of Turkish democracy. In an intense programme aiming to hammer home the anniversary's importance, Erdogan attended a special session of…

ISTANBUL:The Turkish culture ministry has readied designs for a major new museum outside Ankara to remember the defeat of the failed July 15 coup that tried to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media said on Sunday. Work will start on the museum -- to be called the "Museum of the July 15 Martyrs and Democracy" -- from June and it will open its doors to visitors at the end of 2018, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. It will be built on a 10,000 square metre area in Kahramankazan outside Ankara with a…

ATHENS: A Greek court ruled Tuesday that three Turkish officers accused of playing a part in a failed July coup could be extradited to Turkey, in a case that has strained relations between the two neighbours. The Athens appeals court said that the three -- out of eight officers seeking asylum in Greece -- should be sent back for "attempting to topple the regime" of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a judicial source said. Earlier in the day, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said the Greek authorities would…

ISTANBUL: Turkey has ordered the closure of 20 television and radio stations, including one that airs children's programs, on charges they spread "terrorist propaganda", adding to fears that emergency rule is being used to stifle the media. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he wants a three-month state of emergency, imposed after a failed coup attempt in July, to be prolonged past October so authorities can eradicate the threat posed by a religious movement blamed for the attempt, as well as Kurdish militants who…