Author: Belgin Hazan

In the recent Narkogüç-37 Operation targeting drug and stimulant substance dealers in the provinces of Istanbul and Bursa, 156 suspects were apprehended, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Yerlikaya emphasized their determination to cleanse the country of drug traffickers and dealers in a statement on his social media account. The Istanbul Provincial Security Directorate’s Narcotics Division, with the participation of 624 personnel in several Istanbul districts, including Avcılar, Bahçelievler, Başakşehir, Bayrampaşa, Beyoğlu, Esenyurt, Eyüpsultan, Güngören, Kağıthane, Küçükçekmece, Üsküdar, Ümraniye and Şişli, conducted simultaneous operations at 96 addresses. Yerlikaya reported that 92 suspects were apprehended during these operations. Additionally, in Bursa,…

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak is expected to visit Türkiye accompanied by a large delegation Friday, according to a report Thursday. Novak, along with a 60-person delegation, is expected to engage in a series of meetings in Ankara, a report by a Turkish private broadcaster A Haber said. The agenda includes the talks on the proposed idea of setting up a natural gas hub in Türkiye and the grain agreement. The Kremlin last October floated the idea of creating a major gas-trading hub in Türkiye as Moscow worked to reroute its energy exports after European countries sharply cut their…

Tourists have stopped booking new trips to Turkey. The war in Gaza is deterring Turkey’s tourism bookings. “I had a lot of requests in September, and now they’re kind of quiet,” said Alper Ertubey, founder of Hike n’ Sail Turkey. He’s had some travelers postpone their trips. Turkey tourism bookings for next year have weakened. New bookings for 2024 for Road Scholar have fallen “pretty close to flat,” said a spokesperson. Middle East Travel Roundup Get the latest news from the Middle East in one easy-to-digest newsletter.Email* “Not necessarily cancellations are rising, just people aren’t booking,” said Yves Marceau, vice president of G Adventures.…

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake shook Türkiye’s Malatya province Thursday evening and was felt in the Adıyaman province, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). The first quake’s epicenter was the Battalgazi district and took place at a depth of 6.99 kilometers. It was followed by a magnitude-4.7 tremor which took place only three minutes after the first one. No casualties or damage were reported initially, Malatya Governor Ersin Yazıcı told state broadcaster TRT. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that no casualties had been reported after the earthquake and that all emergency and first response teams were on the…

France coach Didier Deschamps complained that a lack of goal-line technology had cost his side a victory in Greece in their final Euro 2024 qualifier on Tuesday after what looked like a certain late goal was not awarded by the officials. The match stood at 2-2 in the dying minutes when Kingsley Coman’s deflected cutback appeared to cross the goal-line before spinning back onto the post and out. But it was missed by the on-field officials, who had no goal-line technology to help them. “This is the international level. There was no qualification at stake obviously but there could have…

Huawei MateBook 14s 2023 is available for pre-sale in the Huawei online store. Designed for smart productivity, the new laptop included in the MateBook series continues to combine aesthetic design, innovative features and smart experience with high performance. Huawei MateBook 14s features a 3K touchscreen FullView display with a productivity-friendly 2:2.5 aspect ratio, with a very slim body design that creates an impressive visual experience. The laptop is powered by the new 13th Generation Intel Core H series processor at standard voltage for fast and smooth performance. Sound quality has been greatly improved over previous generations, thanks to a quad…

Truckers transporting goods purchased from various Turkish cities to European countries have amassed a 15-kilometer queue at the Hamzabeyli gate in northwestern Edirne province. The drivers, enduring varying wait times from hours to days, express concerns about the challenges they face while awaiting their turn. Mustafa Öztürk, a driver carrying fabric and auto spare parts from Istanbul to Hungary, shared his frustration at the sluggish progress. Despite waiting for hours, Öztürk reported only advancing 1.5 kilometers and highlighted the inconsistent functioning of the Bulgarian side, citing issues with their systems. One of the prominent issues raised by the drivers is…

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank hiked interest rates again on Thursday, pressing ahead with more conventional economic policies recently embraced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to fight inflation. The bank raised its policy rate by 5 percentage points to 35% after inflation hit 61.53% last month. It was the bank’s fifth rate hike in as many months. The bank said its monetary policy committee “decided to continue the monetary tightening process in order to establish the disinflation course as soon as possible.” It also announced more such moves “in a timely and gradual manner until a significant improvement in inflation…

Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni this week presented four actions to strengthen integrated and sustainable tourism development, with a total budget of 387.24 million euros, financed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. These four actions are the promotion of the sustainability of destinations, the differentiation and improvement of the competitiveness of the Greek tourism product, the upgrading of tourism education and training, and the strengthening of the promotion of the Greek tourism product with a new approach and the use of new tools. Four main projects are already under way. These concern the upgrading of tourism ports, the upgrading of…

A 4,300-year-old braided mat has been found in the Kültepe Kaniş Karum Ruins, which dates back 6,000 years in Central Anatolia and is home to the first written tablets of Anatolia. The head of the excavations, Ankara University Department of Archeology Professor Fikri Kulakoğlu said, “This year, a mat was found in situ, that is, in its original place. Of course, wicker is an element made of reeds and it is not possible for it to survive for such a long period of time. Anyway, we are now trying to remove traces of it, almost like dust. If we can…