Latest News from Turkey
Turkish Coastguard halts Greek fishermen in Turkish territorial waters
The Turkish Coastguard prevented Greek fishermen from casting their nets inside Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean on Nov. 7.
After Greek fishermen wanted to cast their nets off of the Kardak islets, facing mainland Turkey, a Turkish coastguard boat intervened by approaching and forcing them away from the territories.
EU to press Turkey for help in anti-ISIL fight
New European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was to meet Turkish leaders Dec. 8 for talks expected to focus partly on the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in neighboring Syria.
"The Syrian crisis is going to be one of the key issues on her agenda," an EU official told AFP on Dec. 8. Turkey's EU membership ambitions were also up for discussion.
Turkish Lira hits two-month low over record decline in industrial output
Turkish industrial output has posted its steepest decline in a year in October, official data has shown, sending the Turkish Lira to a two-month low against the U.S. dollar.
Russian and Serbian presidents discuss S. Stream
Russian and Serbian presidents discuss S. Stream
BELGRADE -- Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation late on Sunday with his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic, it has been announced.
‘Ecumenical Patriarchate title would elevate Turkey’s reputation’
The Turkish government can âonly benefit from recognizing the ecumenical status of the Patriarchateâ a senior official from the Fener Orthodox Patriarchate says in an exclusive interview Stopping resistance to the title âEcumenical Patriarchateâ and reopening the Halki Seminary can only elevate the reputation of Turkey as a democratic nation, according to a senior official from the Fen
PYD ‘promised’ US to not give arms to PKK
The Democratic Union Party (PYD) has promised that arms sent by the United States to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) will definitely not be transferred to the outlawed Kurdish Workersâ Party (PKK), PYD co-leader Salih Muslim has told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Who wins and who loses as crude oil prices plunge?
Although energy-addicted countries, including Japan and China, seem to be the winners of the plunging oil prices, the benefits seen by Turkey may be exaggerated The average world price of crude oil per barrel, which was around $112, has fallen to around $70 within a couple of months, and questions such as "Why did this happen, who will win, who will lose?" have started to be asked more frequen
I’m going slightly mad
Being one of the few Turkish economy pessimists sometimes makes me question my knowledge of economics. Luckily, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)âs annual report on Turkey arrived just in time to confirm my economic sanity- as I found many of the recurrent themes from my columns in the report.
Turkey’s education council ends, but debate lingers on
The education councilâs controversial decisions âenligthen educationâs future,â according to the education minister, despite harsh opposition criticism Turkeyâs National Education Council committees have completed their annual meetings, after taking a number of headline-grabbing decisions that could shape the future of the countryâs education system.
When Dracula and Batman visited Turkish cinema
The upcoming ‘Fantasturka?
Glittery glory
Last Saturday was the day of our good old man from Demre, south of Turkey, who turned about to be the most beloved man of the children, St Nicholas aka Santa Claus. Dec. 6 is believed to be the day the saint had passed away, and the day is dedicated to commemorate his benevolent being.
‘Transit migrants turning into labor migrants in Turkey’
Transit migrants are increasingly choosing to stay longer in Turkey and are therefore turning into labor migrants, according to Professor Ahmet İçduygu from Koç University, the head of a think tank on migration issues.
Davutoğlu’s Athens expedition: Will wishes come true?
The visit by Turkish Prime Minister DavutoÄlu to Athens last weekend was very important in terms of number of ministers accompanying him, along with the number of members of Turkeyâs business elite. The delegation had gone there for âbusiness,â as DavutoÄlu stated in his speech at the end of the Turkish-Greek High Level Strategic Council.
Dot, dot, dot…
At one of Ankaraâs large hotels, on the sidelines of an intellectual exercise of state, individual, democracy, power and rotten politics, I was talking with Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat on the transformation within the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Turkey warns three banks in fight against crime, terrorism
Turkey has asked three unnamed banks to cooperate in the struggle against financing of terrorism and crime, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek says Turkey has warned three banks and urged them to cooperate more effectively with the government to share transaction data "in the fight against terrorism," Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said on Dec. 7.