Berlin does not want different groups from Turkey to spy on each other in the country, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had told Deutsche Welle in an interview on the eve of the general election in the European powerhouse.
Comment(s)9/21/2017
The Turkish and Russian presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin, are expected to meet in person in Ankara next week, following the recent agreement for the establishment of de-escalation zones in Syria, including rebel-held Idlib.
Turkey on Sept. 20 was preparing to wind up naval exercises with fellow NATO members being held at a time of a crisis in relations with several alliance states and controversy over Ankara’s plan to purchase weapons from Russia.
Turkey’s top security board and the cabinet will convene on Sept. 22 in a bid to announce measures to be taken in the event the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) goes forward with holding the independence referendum on Sept. 25
Turkey, Iran and Iraq have agreed to consider taking “coordinated counter-measures” against the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) bid to hold independence referendum at a trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in New York, days before the Sept. 25 vote in northern Iraq.
At least one person was injured on Sept. 21 when a shootout broke out between rival gangs at Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 20 warned the United States over the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), widely believed to have orchestrated the July 15, 2016 deadly coup attempt, saying they would eventually see the real face of the organization.
The U.S. dollar rose sharply against the Turkish Lira late on Sept. 20 after the Federal Reserve unveiled plans to wind down its crisis-era stimulus and hinted at another interest rate hike before the end of the year.
The United States “strongly opposes” the planned independence referendum by the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) held a march on Sept. 20 in the eastern province of Tunceli, formerly known as Dersim, to protest planned hydroelectric plants (HES) and dam projects in the region’s picturesque Munzur Valley.
FOLDED CORNER - ‘The New Sultan: Erdoğan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey’ by Soner Çağaptay (IB Tauris, 240 pages, $25)
Fourteen lawyers of imprisoned hunger-striking educators Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça were arrested by a court order on Sept. 20, broadcaster CNN Türk reported on Sept. 21.
CRIME
İsmail Saymaz – ISTANBUL
An Istanbul court on Sept. 20 ordered the Interior Ministry pay compensation amounting to 734,162 Turkish Liras ($209,000) over the killing of Uğur Kurt, who was shot by police during a funeral ceremony in an Alevi worship house, or cemevi in 2014.
Comment(s) 9/21/2017
ASIA
SEOUL – Reuters
Seoul approves an aid package for North, saying that the issue is separate from politics, as North Korea foreign minister compares US leader Trump to a ‘dog barking,
ANKARA
Turkey’s monthly consumer confidence index was lower in September, according to official data released on Sept. 21.
ANKARA - Anadolu Agency
Turkey’s gross debt stock stood at 820.5 billion Turkish Liras (approximately $238.5 billion) at the end of August, the Undersecretariat of the Treasury announced on Sept. 20.
BARCELONA
Spain’s central government braced for a second day of protests in Barcelona yesterday as separatists called for “permanent mobilization” after Madrid dealt yet another blow to preparations for an outlawed referendum on independence.
BEIJING - Agence France-Presse
Standard & Poor’s slashed China’s credit rating on Sept. 21, warning that a prolonged period of debt growth had raised “economic and financial risks.”
GENEVA - Agence France-Presse
The World Trade Organization on Sept. 21 boosted its forecast for global trade growth in 2017 as commerce rebounded strongly, but cautioned that major threats could still derail the positive trajectory.
TAIPEI - Agence France-Presse
Taiwan’s struggling smartphone maker HTC said on Sept. 21 it would sell part of its smartphone business to Google for $1.1 billion as the U.S. giant looks to take greater control of its hardware business.
WASHINGTON – The Associated Press
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team of investigators has been seeking information from the White House related to Michael Flynn’s stint as national security adviser and about the response to a meeting with a Russian lawyer that was attended by President Donald Trump’s oldest son, The Associated Press has learned.
MEXICO CITY – Agence France-Presse
Rescuers dug on Sept. 20 for survivors of a 7.1- magnitude earthquake that killed at least 230 people in Mexico, as the nation watched anxiously for signs of life at a collapsed school in the capital.
OPINION - all the columnists »
The 26th Istanbul Criminal Court on Sept. 19 rejected demands to release a group of journalists and writers who have been in jail for more than a year, in a case into the “media leg” of the Gülen network.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is the government that has come closest to solving Turkey’s Kurdish problem. It is also the government that has helped bring the prospect of an “independent Kurdish state” closest to reality, though obviously this is an unintended consequence of its mistaken policies.
The head of Turkey’s top official religious body, the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), has recently been changed by the government, but it seems that the change has not had any effect on the institution’s anti-secularism stance.
Students who began eighth grade on Sept. 18 will be very well prepared for life.
Reading the accusations in the indictment, listening to the defense of the suspect and evaluating all the evidence is fundamental when trying to express an objective opinion about a legal case that is continuing.
The pressure on Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is building as the date for the Sept. 25 referendum on independence nears; unsurprisingly, Turkey’s attitude is also hardening considerably.
Technological advancement is good for any country. But there are some technologies that set the countries that have them apart from those that don’t.
Following a series of largely unproductive and uninspiring phone calls, statements and meetings between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump over the past nine months, Thursday’s meeting between the two heads of state on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly comes at what is perhaps the most critical test of the limits of the Trump-Erdoğan relationship.
It wasn’t exactly instant karma when Beatle John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, heard about a Polish beverage company’s new drink called “John Lemon.” She threatened legal action alleging that it infringed on the trademark of her late husband.
A fire on marine explorer Jacques Cousteau's iconic ship Calypso has delayed the vessel's restoration by between six to eight months, a representative of the Cousteau Society said on Sept. 20.
Tombs found in a necropolis in Van’s Çavuştepe Castle reveal information about the burial customs of the Urartians. Excavations found the skeletons of a man, woman and a horse
Tools used by people in daily life have been unearthed in a structure in the ancient city of Patara. A fork and a mirror frame are among the most interesting pieces of tools
The Istanbul Modern Cinema will present a film program to run parallel to the 15th Istanbul Biennial, which takes “a good neighbor” as its theme.
Pop singers Avril Lavigne and Bruno Mars topped a list of celebrities on Sept. 19 ranked the most dangerous to search for online because of results that could expose fans to malicious websites.
The 4th Istanbul Coffee Festival will be organized between Sept. 21 and 24 at Küçükçiftlikpark. The event will feature workshops and seminars related to coffee, live performances and talks with coffee experts and the world’s leading baristas.
Göller Yöresi is one of the most important habitats for storks during their migration period in Turkey, which is home to two species of storks, white and black storks
Comment(s)9/20/2017
The findings in Antalya’s ancient city of Arykanda, include the ruins of a villa, which show the importance of the city in the ancient era, say archaeologists