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Greece Calls Turkey's Seismic Survey in Mediterranean Illegal

The Oruc Reis seismic research vessel docked at Haydarpasa port in Istanbul. (AFP)
The Oruc Reis seismic research vessel docked at Haydarpasa port in Istanbul. (AFP)
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Greece Calls Turkey's Seismic Survey in Mediterranean Illegal

The Oruc Reis seismic research vessel docked at Haydarpasa port in Istanbul. (AFP)
The Oruc Reis seismic research vessel docked at Haydarpasa port in Istanbul. (AFP)

Turkey dispatched a vessel to conduct a seismic survey in a disputed area in the eastern Mediterranean, a move which Greece said was illegal and is likely to heighten tensions between the two NATO allies.

The advisory issued by the Turkish navy said the Oruc Reis vessel would operate in the area over the next two weeks.

The two countries are at odds over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources in the region. A similar advisory, or Navtex, last month prompted a dispute that was calmed after the intervention of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leading Turkey to agree a pause in operations.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkey had resumed energy exploration work in the region as Greece had not kept its promises on the issue.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting of the government council for defense issues on Monday which examined “ways of reaction to the Turkish provocation”, the conservative premier’s office said.

After the meeting, Greece’s foreign affairs ministry issued a statement urging Turkey to “immediately cease its illegal activities which undermine peace and security in the region”.

Turkey dismissed the Greek objections, saying they had no legal basis, and vowed to continue operations. The foreign ministry said Turkey’s military presence in the area, which it gave no details about, was purely defensive.

Earlier, Minister of State George Gerapetritis told Greek state TV Athens was in full “political and operational readiness”. He reiterated that Greece stood ready to engage in a constructive dialogue with Turkey on their differences.

The NAVTEX, issued by the Turkish navy’s office of navigation, covered an area of sea south of Turkey’s Antalya and west of Cyprus. It will be in effect between Aug. 10-23.

The Oruc Reis vessel has already reached the location where it will operate after leaving anchorage off Antalya, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Twitter.

Seismic surveys are part of preparatory work for potential hydrocarbon exploration. Turkey and Greece are also at odds over issues such as overflights in the Aegean Sea and ethnically divided Cyprus.

Erdogan’s announcement of the new exploration work came after Egypt and Greece signed an accord last Thursday designating an exclusive economic zone between the two nations in the east Mediterranean.

Diplomats in Greece said that agreement nullified an accord reached last year between Turkey and the Government of National Accord in Libya, but Erdogan said Turkey would maintain its agreement with Libya “decisively”.

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Canada Liberals Vote to Replace Trudeau as PM

(FILES) Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau speaks at a press conference in the Old Port of Montreal in Montreal, Canada, on February 19, 2025. (Photo by ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP)
(FILES) Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau speaks at a press conference in the Old Port of Montreal in Montreal, Canada, on February 19, 2025. (Photo by ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP)
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Canada Liberals Vote to Replace Trudeau as PM

(FILES) Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau speaks at a press conference in the Old Port of Montreal in Montreal, Canada, on February 19, 2025. (Photo by ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP)
(FILES) Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau speaks at a press conference in the Old Port of Montreal in Montreal, Canada, on February 19, 2025. (Photo by ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP)

Canada's Liberal Party elects a new leader this weekend to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister and take charge of confronting the threats posed by US President Donald Trump.

Trudeau, who became Liberal leader in 2013 before taking over as prime minister two years later, announced in early January that he planned to resign, overcome by dismal polling numbers and internal party dissent, AFP reported.

Before Christmas, the opposition Conservatives looked certain to win a general election that must be held by October but could be called within weeks.

Trade chaos with the United States and Trump's repeated musing about annexing Canada have upended the political climate and surveys show the Liberals gaining ground.

"The context is completely unprecedented. Right now the only thing that matters to Canadians is 'who is the right person to take on Donald Trump?'" Frederic Boily of the University of Alberta told AFP.

Four candidates qualified to run in the Liberal leadership race but only two are seen as viable contenders.

The front-runner is Mark Carney, who led the Bank of Canada before becoming the first non-Briton to serve as governor of the Bank of England.

His main challenger is Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau's former finance minister who dramatically broke with the prime minister in December, issuing a scathing resignation letter that partly pushed him to resign.

Both Carney and Freeland have anchored their campaigns on the Trump threat.

Carney, who has never held elected office, has sought to remind Liberal party voters that he led Canada's central bank through the 2008-2009 financial crisis and steered the Bank of England through the turbulence that followed the Brexit vote.

"Canada faces one of the most serious crises in our history. I know how to manage crises and I know how to build strong economies," he said during a leadership debate.

Freeland has warned that Trump "is posing the gravest challenge our country has faced since the Second World War," and highlighted her experience negotiating directly with Trump's first administration.

- Transfer of power -

The winner of the Liberal leadership race will be announced in Ottawa on Sunday.

The party says that 400,000 people have signed up to vote and boasted of unprecedented fundraising in recent weeks.

Trudeau declined this week to give a precise date for when he would hand over power, telling reporters he would work out transition timelines with the new Liberal leader.

When ready, Trudeau and his successor will visit Governor General Mary Simon -- King Charles III's official representative in Canada -- who will task the new Liberal chief with forming a government.

The date Canadians will head to the polls for a general election remains unclear.

'Unique crisis'?

Most polls, and betting markets, still put the Conservatives as the favorites to win the next election.

But the Liberals have tried to portray Tory leader Pierre Poilievre as a Trump-like figure, citing his right-wing populist style and record of bashing favorite Trump targets with inflammatory rhetoric, including government and the media.

Experts say the Liberals may be wise to call snap elections with the Trump threat front of mind, including a trade war that Trudeau says the president launched to collapse the Canadian economy to make annexation "easier."

Carney, 59, is attractive because of his "economic experience and his seriousness," said Stephanie Chouinard, a political scientist at Canada's Royal Military College.

"He knows the global financial system and he knows the strengths and weaknesses of the Canadian economy," she added.

Surveys indicate the election will be unlike any in recent Canadian history, with historically dominant domestic issues like health care and housing costs surpassed by Trump.

"This is a unique crisis, and we do not know its scope or its duration. Today, a third of Canadians see the United States as an enemy country. It is historic and creates considerable upheaval in the way Canadians think," said pollster Jean-Marc Leger.