Latest News from Turkey

Govt’s incompetence over the refugee issue continues

The government proves day by day that it is incompetent to handle the approximately 54,000 refugees and migrants stranded in Greece after the EU-Turkey agreement.

Migrant Flow from Turkey to Greece Drops Sharply, IOM Says

The migrant flow from Turkey to Greece's Aegean islands has fallen sharply since March, when Ankara's deal with the EU to curb migration to Europe went into effect, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said.

Brexit Backers Scare Britons With Balkan Intrusion

BELGRADE - The long-awaited referendum on whether Britain should leave or remain in the EU is set for June 23. The public polls show that many are still undecided and supporters of the Brexit have resorted to different means to draw a gloomy picture of future membership in the Union.

Amnesty International: EU must stop returning asylum-seekers to Turkey

The European Union (EU) must immediately put an end to its plans to return asylum-seekers to Turkey on the false pretence that it is a “safe country” for refugees, said Amnesty International in a report published on Friday reiterating that the

Turkish ambassador to Berlin returns on first plane

Turkish Ambassador to Berlin Hüseyin Avni Karslıoğlu returned to Turkey late on June 2, after the German Parliament approved a bill describing the 1915 massacres of Ottoman Armenians as genocide.

Number of opera, ballet halls falls

In the 2014-2015 season, as compared to the 2013-2014 season, the number of the opera and ballet halls in Turkey decreased by 26.7 percent, dropping to 11 total, while the number of seats in opera and ballet halls decreased by 37.8 percent to 6,398, according to the Operas, Ballets, Orchestras, Choirs and Groups 2015 statistics revealed by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜIK).

A dangerous escalation of Turkey's tension with Russia

Actually, the tension is not only between Turkey and Russia but between the NATO alliance and Russia. NATO's Parliamentary Assembly urged its 28 members on May 30, after sessions in Tirana, to stand up to Russia's military "assertiveness" and "to provide reassurance" to those allies who feel their security is under threat, "focusing on the eastern and southern flanks of the alliance."

War as a PR campaign

The last year of Turkey's full-fledged fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has shown us one certain thing: The Turkish military has never been so eager to manage the message and public opinion in its lifetime.

Turkey and the second front

From a pure humanitarian standpoint, it is impossible to challenge the demands of Turkey's Kurdish people to be visible in the Turkish state with their own identity. It is not possible either to tell people subscribing to the Alevi religious school that they should accept to be treated as if they were Sunni and give up demands for the recognition of their cemevi houses as places of worship.

Between the sea and the wind: Sailing weighs anchor in İzmir

Even a total newcomer driving through the coastal road that runs through the heart of the İzmir to the resort town of Çeşme would be able to guess that sails were one of the symbols of the city. Right before the city's main square stands a modern, linear statue that symbolizes a sailboat.