British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and his family came to Turkey on holiday last week. Johnson, his wife, and his four children secretly landed at the Dalaman airport and arrived at the Turkish resort in Muğla’s Göcek via a gulet sailboat.
Comment(s)8/16/2017
Many martens have been seen on the streets of Istanbul after a recent hedgehog boom, daily Habertürk reported on Aug. 16.
Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud continued to tour the Aegean province of Muğla’s Bodrum district flanked by a large group of bodyguards on the second day of his vacation in Turkey.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) “will not stay silent against plots,” its leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said, responding to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s claims that he has been involved in “espionage.”
Iran’s full support to the Turkish government on the night of the July 2016 coup attempt enabled the beginning of a détente in bilateral relations between Ankara and Tehran, which had been strained due to differences over the Syrian crisis, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qassemi has said.
FOLDED CORNER - ‘A History of the Ottoman Empire’ by Douglas A. Howard (Cambridge University Press, 393 pages, $35)
Russia understands Turkey’s stance on the People’s Protection Units (YPG) better than the United States, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Aug. 16.
Turkey sent a diplomatic note to Germany on Aug. 16 over Adil Öksüz, a runaway suspect thought to be the civilian leader of the Gülen movement in the Air Force, following reports that he was seen in Germany, according to diplomatic sources.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) planned referendum on independence in northern Iraq on Sept. 25 risks leading the country to “civil war,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.
Ankara and Berlin remain split on many subjects and an expansion of the customs union deal between the European Union and Turkey will not be on the agenda in the near future, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated.
The Antalya Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Antalya lawmaker Mustafa Akaydın over terrorist propaganda charges after he claimed the July 15 coup attempt “was a theatrical play.”
Turkey’s embattled tourism sector is pleased with the extension of a public holiday for the upcoming Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) to 10 days, during which around 1 million people travel and create 1 billion Turkish Liras in additional revenue for the sector.
CRIME
ISTANBUL
Eleven arrested journalists and one singer appeared before a judge in Istanbul on Aug. 16 in a case into the alleged media links of the Fethullah Gülen movement, widely believed to be behind Turkey’s July 2016 coup attempt
Comment(s) 8/16/2017
LOCAL
Turkey is not ready for next big earthquake as seven millions dwellings in the country, including two million in Istanbul, are “unsafe,” the Istanbul office of the Union of Architects and Engineers of Turkey (TMMOB) stated on Aug. 15.
ANKARA-Reuters
Turkey’s Unit International has signed a $7 billion agreement with Russia’s state-owned Zarubezhneft and Iran’s Ghadir Investment Holding to drill for oil and natural gas in Iran, the company said on Aug. 15.
BEIRUT
The Syrian military said on Aug. 15 that one of its jets crashed in southern Syria, state television reported, hours after rebels said they had shot it down and captured the pilot.
WASHINGTON
The United States military will take part in a biennial joint military exercise with Egypt called Bright Star 2017 -- marking the first time the U.S. has participated in the joint exercise since the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, CNN reported on Aug. 15.
DİYARBAKIR – Doğan News Agency
A judge in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Aug. 15 voiced her opposition to a local court ruling that acquitted two men charged with raping an 18-year-old woman
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN
Rolls-Royce and Sanmar Shipyards in Turkey have signed a contract for the delivery of eight MTU Series 4000 engines for four new terminal tugs, including an option for a further four engines, Rolls-Royce said in a statement on Aug. 15.
State-owned Ziraat Bank, one of Turkey’s largest lenders, announced late on Aug. 15 its second quarter net profits rose 21.7 percent on the year to 2.2 billion Turkish Liras ($622.37 million), mainly thanks to a strong growth in loans and net interest income.
A rehab center for stray animals in Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district has started playing classical music in a bid to reduce the stress of cats and dogs.
ŞIRNAK – Anadolu Agency
Turkish security forces seized two Swedish-made AT-4 missiles in the southeastern province of Şırnak’s Uludere district in a search conducted against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on Aug. 16.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Aug. 16 that her country “will not pursue” an upgrading of the European Union’s Customs Union with Turkey due to ongoing political tensions.
Comment(s)8/17/2017
Before the division of Cyprus in 1974, Varosha - a resort town in Famagusta - was booming. The coastline was reportedly a destination for film stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
The recording starting at 9:34 a.m. on July 16, 2016 is between the tanker aircraft pilot returning to the İncirlik Air Base and Staff Captain Mustafa Mete Kaygusuz who directed the flights in the air from the Akıncı Aır Base at the 141st Fleet until the morning. It is a farewell speech.
U.S. President Donald Trump is reaping what he sowed during the election campaign.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is setting the bar higher each day about the change in the party’s organizations.
For the last 36 hours I am living through a great dilemma. It is absolutely a first world problem but it is also an essential one, for the future of our culture.
“Esteemed President,” said Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım toward the end to his speech at the Aug. 14 ceremony celebrating the 16th anniversary of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) in Ankara, “in recent speeches you have mentioned ‘metal fatigue’ in our [party] organization.
Politics in Turkey is entering a highly stressful two years this fall. Since the referendum, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seems to be running a one-man show in decision-making and Ankara’s bureaucracy seems to be looking to his Beştepe residence for every small paper to be signed.
Excavations in the ancient city of Letoon in the western province of Muğla’s Seydikemer district have unearthed a nearly 2,600 year-old Egyptian seal used in the ancient Egyptian dynasty. The seal is said to have importance as it shows commercial relations between the ancient Egyptian and the ancient Lycian civilizations.
Diyarbakır’s Körtik Hill was home to a settlement that ‘can be found in archaeology once in a thousand years,’ according to academic circles that admire the field, according to officials
Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage on Aug. 15 urged fans of the series to stop buying huskies because of their similarity to fearsome “direwolves,” as many were being quickly abandoned.
The Performistanbul YouTube channel will be presenting new live camera performances, documentaries, and interviews as well as videos of past performances.
The Hollywood Turkish Film Festival will be held on Sept. 20, 21 and 22 at the world famous Paramount Studios for the first time in Turkish cinema history. The event is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Tourism General Directorate of Cinema in a bid to reunite Turkish cinema with the global market.
A fish caught by three fishermen a few days ago in the Kızılırmak River, running through the city center of the Central Anatolian province of Sivas, and said to be a piranha has been revealed to be a pacu, officials have said.
Archaeologists find human skeletons in a big pit in front of a 7,000-year-old settlement in Çanakkale’s Gökçeada, saying the find was ‘a surprise’
Galatasaray has signed West Ham United winger Sofiane Feghouli on a five-year contract for 4.25 million euros ($5 million), the Istanbul club announced on Aug. 14.
Comment(s)8/15/2017
Elvis Presley, American icon and King of rock ‘n’ roll, transformed popular culture, sold over a billion records and is idolized as ever on the 40th anniversary of his tragic death.