Turkey’s leader changes mind again on new name for airline

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s president is on a big push to rebrand the nation and its assets but he has changed his mind about what the national airlines should be called. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkish Airlines will now be known internationally by its Turkish name of “Türk Hava Yolları” (tuerk hah-VAH yole-lah-RUH). That is a change from a day earlier, when he said the airline would include the name “Turkiye” (pronounced tuer-key-YAY) as part of a push for his country to be called “Türkiye” too.  But that decision sparked opposition from nationalists who suggested that dropping the word “Türk” would amount to a concession to Kurds. The country formally registered its name as “Türkiye” with the United Nations earlier this month.