Author: Taner Selim

Turkey’s new rules to regulate the crypto market are likely to focus on licensing and taxation, sector officials say, as the world’s fourth-biggest crypto-trading country seeks to get off an international financial crime watchdog’s “grey list”. Ankara promised the regulations last month amidst a years-long boom in crypto trading, as soaring inflation and a plunging lira currency drives a demand for alternative assets. Turkey is also seeking to address concerns raised by Paris-based financial watchdog The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which placed the country on its so-called grey list of countries at risk of money laundering and other financial…

Greece can be the voice of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the European Union, Greek Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis told the national UAE news agency, WAM in an interview on Wednesday. “Greece maintains a strategic partnership with selected countries of the world, with the UAE being one of them. Therefore, we want to make the most out of it and we can be your voice in the EU,” Gerapetritis said. The minister added that “Greece may become the UAE’s entry point to Europe. From that perspective, we strongly believe that the signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement…

Greece is in the midst of a tourism boom. Even with this summer’s devastating wildfires, the country is on track to pull in a record-breaking €21 billion in revenue from the tourism sector this year, according to recent estimates from the National Bank of Greece. With popularity at an all-time high, the autumn shoulder season—between the summer peak season and winter off-peak season—makes for a perfect time to visit, especially for travelers seeking sunny temperatures, fewer crowds and lower prices. These are the destinations to visit and the hot new hotels putting them on the map. The Islands: Even in…

Türkiye does not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and continues to see it as illegitimacy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed on Wednesday. “Ensuring the security and well-being of our Crimean Tatar kin, who are one of Crimea’s native peoples, is among our priorities,” Erdogan said in a video message to the Third Crimea Platform Summit, which is being held in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. The Crimea Platform is an international coordination mechanism of Ukraine to draw more global attention to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Erdogan said the end of the Russia-Ukraine war and the restoration of peace…

The Turkish coast guard came to the rescue of dozens of irregular migrants in western Türkiye after they suffered another instance of Greece’s notorious “pushback” practice. A total of 130 irregular migrants pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek forces were rescued Saturday by the Turkish coast guard off the coasts of western Izmir province’s Menderes, Karaburun, Foça and Çeşme districts. Meanwhile, 265 irregular migrants and a migrant smuggler were caught off the coasts of Karaburun and Dikili. The irregular migrants were handed to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management after procedures. The coast guard also intercepted 170 irregular…

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday didn’t rule out reviving deadlocked negotiations to resolve Cyprus’ nearly 50-year ethnic division, but again rejected any deal that wouldn’t offer Turkish Cypriots a state of their own. That position stands against a United Nations-sanctioned framework envisioning a federated island nation. Speaking at celebrations in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north on the 49th anniversary of a Turkish invasion that split the island along ethnic lines, Erdogan again poured cold water on Greek Cypriot hopes of forming a federation composed of Greek and Turkish speaking zones as has been the…

Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan here on Saturday to discuss defense cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting, Subianto and Fidan talked about the bilateral relations between Indonesia and Turkey, including cooperation in the field of defense. Minister Subianto said that Turkey is an important friendly country for Indonesia. The two have enjoyed long-standing cooperation in the field of defense. “I see there are still many rooms in the defense field that can be utilized by both countries in the future,” he added. According to the minister, bilateral cooperation must be enhanced to…

The government made the decision at a special meeting on Monday, a week after Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled that neither the European Convention of Human Rights or Sweden’s own extradition law provided any reason not to grant Turkey’s request.  “The government on June 12th, 2023, decided to grant the extradition request regarding a 35-year-old Turkish citizen who has been sentenced to four years and seven months in prison for drug crimes in Turkey,” Ashraf Ahmed, a senior official in Sweden’s justice department told state broadcaster SVT. The man has claimed that his prosecution in Turkey in reality relates to his activities…

Turkey has arrested 184 people suspected of responsibility for the collapse of buildings in this month’s earthquakes and investigations are widening, a minister said on Saturday, as anger simmers over what many see as corrupt building practices. Overnight, the death toll from the earthquakes, the most powerful of which struck at the dead of night on Feb. 6, rose to 44,128 in Turkey. That took the overall number of deaths in Turkey and neighbouring Syria to more than 50,000. More than 160,000 buildings containing 520,000 apartments collapsed or were severely damaged in Turkey by the disaster, the worst in the…

Countries that once welcomed Syrians fleeing the civil war are now forcing them to return as Assad is feted by the Arab world Ruth Michaelson and Asmaa al-Omer in Istanbul, Edmund Bower in BeirutTue 27 Jun 2023 12.16 BS It took a decade in Lebanon for Fady* and his brother Mohannad* to build up their lives, longing to return to their home in the Syrian countryside but accepting they would not be safe if they did. Both found jobs repairing air-conditioning systems, got married and started families. They had grown used to being questioned by police, but having never had any legal problems, they believed…