Latest News from Turkey

1st Pipes for South Stream Gas Pipeline Section Delivered to Varna

The first batch of pipes for the Bulgarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline has been delivered by German company Eurotype to the Port of Varna.

A total of four parallel lines are to be put on the Black Sea seabed, each of which requires over 75 000 pipes. The sea section of the pipeline spans 931 km.

Mayor ‘threatened’ with beheaded cat

A beheaded cat has been sent to the mayorâs office in a southeastern town in Turkey to âthreatenâ the recently-elected politician.

The beheaded cat, which was sent to Åemdinli Mayor Sefer YÄ±lmaz on July 19, was noticed by cleaners who arrived in the office in the morning, DoÄan News Agency reported Aug. 15.

Turkish unemployment falls below 9 percent after 10 months

Turkish unemployment declined to the lowest level of 10 months in the period of May, sustaining a downward trend that has been continuing since the beginning of the year, as shown by official data.

Centenary of Battle of Cer

BELGRADE - The decisive stage of the Battle of Cer, which ended as the first major Allied victory in World War I - and one that was won by the Serbian forces - took place in the night between August 15 and 16, 1914.

Street art comes to museum

Istanbulâs Pera Museum is hosting, for the first time in Turkey, an exhibition on one of the art worldâs hottest topics, Graffiti and Street Art. Artists from all over the world are being exhibited, providing interesting examples examining the concept of âgraffitiâ and âbringing the street to the museum,â as well as creating a platform for discussion and debate.

One other loser in elections: survey companies

It is an unchanging topic in Turkey after every election, comparing the actual results with the predictions of pre-election public opinion polls. However, the role of the survey agencies has never triggered such a major debate in any recent election before as they did in the presidential elections held last Sunday, Aug. 10.

That stubborn 1.7 percent

It is summer and that means endless dieting for women all over the world. In Turkey, it is even worse. All of the mainstream papers publish pages and pages of beaches of Bodrum and ÃeÅme. And that means you really have to lose weight.

Bonzai spreads across Istanbul since 2011

Synthetic drug âbonzaiâ has been rapidly increasing in Turkey since 2011, and Istanbul tops the list with the highest number of users, according to new police data.

The majority of police narcotics operations have taken place in Istanbul, with 3,692 operations being taken against âbonzaiâ in the first six months of 2014, according to data released by the police department.

‘The cause’

It is not a secret that President-elect Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan has in recent years preferred to more powerfully rule an increasingly polarized and divided country than to more mildly rule a more peaceful country. Despite an unusually soft-toned victory speech on Sunday, Aug. 10, (more commonly known as his usual âbalcony speechâ) Mr.

Balcony lies, vacationers and other election myths

Ever since I watched Madonna sing from Casa Rosada in Evita, I have had a soft spot for balcony speeches. Not anymore. Supreme Leader Recep Tayyip ErdoÄanâs remarks on the Turkish economy during his balcony speech following his election victory were full of factual errors, if not outright lies.

Deputy PM complains about Israeli formalities for bringing wounded Gazans to Turkey

The Turkish government faces difficulties in getting permission to bring injured Palestinians to Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister BeÅir Atalay has said, as a Turkish plane evacuated 18 more wounded Palestinians on Aug. 13, raising the number of Gazans being treated in Turkish hospitals to 25.