News archive of December 2019

Turkey's foreign trade deficit reached to $2.23 billion in November, according to the country's statistical authority on Dec. 31.

The figure rocketed 232.2 percent on an annual basis last month, TÜİK said.

Turkish exports went up marginally 0.1 percent to $15.5 billion, while imports rose 9.7 percent to $17.7 billion in the same period.

Turkey's top-tier football division 'Süper Lig' underdogs Demir Grup Sivasspor are targeting their first-ever major title.

A modest club with limited monetary resources, Sivasspor maintained their heroic run to rule the Süper Lig's first half.

This summer, the club signed 13 players on free transfer to strengthen the squad.

Suitors for the 80 percent stake in Ethniki Insurance have until the end of January to submit their binding bids.

As part of an ongoing effort to relieve some of the pressure on the islands of the eastern Aegean, 668 asylum seekers deemed vulnerable were transferred from the overcrowded Moria reception center on Lesvos to the Ritsona camp in Attica on the Greek mainland over the last few days, according to authorities.

Eight people were abducted and one person injured during an armed raid overnight on a Greek-registered tanker anchored off Cameroon, Greek authorities said on Tuesday.

Greece's shipping ministry said the 'Happy Lady' tanker was two nautical miles off the port of Limboh in Cameroon when it was stormed by individuals who were armed.

"Mandela and De Klerk" is a 1997 drama on the negotiations between F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela to end the South African apartheid. Those curious about learning how the two leaders succeeded in ending apartheid can watch this movie in addition to reading a pile of books about it.

Istanbul hosted a dazzling array of world-famous musicians as well as prestigious cultural events and festivals in 2019.

Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), the 47th Istanbul Music Festival included 22 concerts with nearly 600 local and international musicians in the metropolis on June 11-30.

An Ankara public prosecutor indicted the former head of Turkey's central admission board for universities on Dec. 31 over his links to the FETÖ.

Ali Demir, who served as chairman of the country's Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) between 2010 and 2015, was charged with misconduct and helping members of the terror group cheat on their exams.

The music hits of the 80s - 90s will be live at the biggest party between years in Bucharest - "New Year's Eve 2020. Disco Night Fever" - organized by the Capital City Hall in the Constitution Square on December 31. Among the artists who will take to the stage, on Tuesday, on the last day of the year, starting 6:00 pm, there are O-Zone, Haddaway and Milli Vanilli.

Kosovo and Serbia stayed away from the dialogue table, while people in Kosovo said it was time for change and handed an election victory to opposition parties. A new wave of elections is before us in 2020, starting with Croatia, which elects a president on January 5.