News archive of September 2020

"After a time, I understood that I could not leave the besieged city [of Sarajevo] until I either died - or the war ended."

So recalls Serif Turgut, one of the few Turkish women war reporters, describing her feelings as a journalist in wartime Bosnia in the 1990s.

Turgut, now 54, went to report from Sarajevo for only two weeks at the beginning of the war.

The Turkish Parliament is set to start the fourth legislative session of its 27th term on Oct. 1 with virus measures amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Parliament's General Assembly will convene on Oct. 1, at 2.00 p.m. local time (1100GMT), under Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop.

But Şentop will not host an opening reception this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Turkey expects concrete steps to be taken at a European Union summit on Oct. 1-2 regarding issues including the updating of a 2016 migrant deal and customs union with the bloc, as well as visa liberalization, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

He was speaking in a televised interview with state-run Anadolu news agency.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on the EU to adopt an impartial line in dealing with the ongoing tension between Turkey and Greece over the eastern Mediterranean and to provide conditions for a constructive dialogue in a letter he sent to all the EU leaders except for Greece and Greek Cyprus ahead of the European Council summit slated for Oct. 1 and 2.  

The National Meteorological Administration (ANM) on Wednesday issued a Code Orange alert of heavy rainfalls, for 11 counties, until Friday morning, as well as a Code Yellow alert of heavy precipitations, to hit 20 counties.

Turkey's exports dropped 5.7% year-on-year in August to reach $12.5 billion, the country's statistical authority announced on Sept. 30.

The country's imports, on the other hand, rose 20.4% to stand at $18.7 billion in the month, versus the same month last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said.

The candidate endorsed by the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union (USR) and the Liberty, Unity Solidarity Party (PLUS) Alliance for the Capital's Sector 1 mayoralty, Clotilde Armand keeps the top place in the local elections with 40.95pct of the votes, at a 1.13pct difference ahead of Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate Daniel Tudorache, who garnered 39.82pct of the votes, acc

The Greek Orthodox Church of the United States said Tuesday it is petitioning United Nations experts to coerce Turkey into protecting Orthodox Christianity's cultural heritage following the Turkish government's conversion of Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque.

The 2020 Athens Democracy Forum launches Wednesday as a virtual event with an aim to explore real solutions to the most pressing issues facing democracy today.  

Themed "The New Abnormal: Reimagining Democracy," the event will bring together leaders from government, business, civic society and the nonprofit sector.

Galatasaray travels to Scotland to take on Glasgow Rangers on Oct. 1, hoping to succeed in its bid to advance to the Europa League group stage.

With the playoffs being played as one-leg ties behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, one side will emerge victorious at the Ibrox.