Izmir

The founder of an Izmir-based software company has said Turkish game developers are on the path to success after creating six of the 10 most downloaded games in the United States.

Mert Can Kurum, founder of Ruby Games, said their game, Hunter Assassin, released last year was the fifth most downloaded game in the world in all game categories.

A total of 9,856 new companies were established in Turkey in February, up 7.7% on an annual basis, the country's top trade body said on March 19. 

Some 769 companies went out of business last month, down 6.7% year-on-year, according to data released by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges.

Turkey's health minister announced early on March 16 infection rates of the novel coronavirus across Turkey's 81 provinces on March 6-12 as part of a new weekly initiative.

"Normalization can be possible by following the measures," Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, sharing the statistics.

A lion cub, found in a farm in Aegean province of İzmir's Torbalı district, has been put under protection at İzmir Nature Life Park. (AA Photo)

The Aegean province of İzmir, Turkey's third largest by population, is seeking World Heritage status for four zones to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List: The Historical Port City, Birgi village, Gediz Delta and the Foça, Çandarlı and Çeşme castles.

Turkey recorded 70,587 house sales in January, down 37.9 percent year-on-year, the country's statistical authority announced on Feb. 15.

"Istanbul had the highest share of house sales with 19.4 percent and 13,666 houses," TÜİK said in a statement.

The capital Ankara and the Aegean province of Izmir followed Istanbul with 6,635 and 4,063 house sales, respectively.

A small tornado struck a town on Turkey's Aegean coast, leaving a path of destruction and injuring 16 people, officials and reports said Friday.

The tornado touched down late on Thursday in the resort town of Cesme, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) west of the city of Izmir. It uprooted trees, blew off roof tiles, swept up cars and knocked down a crane. At least four boats capsized.

Turkey's third-largest city of İzmir has been battered by heavy rainfall once more since last week.

Torrential rains caused flash floods in the city with a population of around 4 million, blocking main roadways in downtown areas and surrounding districts.

The resignations of three lawmakers from the Republican People's Party (CHP) will not impact the opposition party, party spokesperson Faik Öztrak said Feb. 1.

"People come and go. The CHP continues to advance and to be a stakeholder," Öztrak said at a press conference.

Bad weather disrupted life in the western province of İzmir on Jan. 27, when sudden heavy rainfall and storm hit several districts, flooding houses and shops and knocking down trees.

The floods particularly battered the Karşıyaka district, where the waters of the Aegean Sea overflowed the shore and swept through the streets, submerging vehicles.