Category Archives: Turkey

Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 23 of the invasion

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Food supply fears as Biden plans to warn Chinese president against providing military support for Russia

Russia’s bombardment in the east of Ukraine continued on Friday. In the streets of Mariupol, where 350,000 civilians have been stranded with little food or water, Russia’s armed forces were “tightening the noose” around the city, a spokesperson for the Russian defence ministry said. In the eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s state emergency service said a multistorey teaching building had been shelled on Friday morning, killing one person, wounding 11 and trapping one other in the rubble.

Russian missiles struck an aircraft repair plant in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, 50 miles from the border with Poland and a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Ukrainians. Blasts were heard at about 6am on Friday, preceded by the sound of air raid sirens, and a mushroom-shaped plume of smoke could be seen rising in the sky.

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Ukraine says talks in Turkey with Russia fail to make progress towards ceasefire

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As first high-level diplomatic meeting between combatants continues, EU leaders prepare to meet at Versailles

High-level talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without a ceasefire, as violence continued across the country, with conditions in the besieged city of Mariupol described as “dire and desperate” as residents run out of food.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said there had been no progress to achieving a ceasefire in talks in Turkey with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in the first high-level meeting between the two countries since the Moscow-ordered invasion of its neighbour two weeks ago.

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Turkey’s trade in counterfeit goods booms, fuelled by falling lira

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Value of country’s fakes tripled from 2019 to 2020 as it became main source of counterfeit designer clothes stopped at EU borders

Photos of fake Gucci bags, Louis Vuitton sweatpants and Nike sneakers are flaunted on the social media accounts of a Turkish store with more than 155,000 followers on TikTok. There are thousands of comments under the posts in English, Italian, Bulgarian, Polish, German, Spanish and French.

Turkey is the third biggest exporter of counterfeit products to the EU after China and Hong Kong, according to data on the value of goods seized. Falls in the value of the Turkish lira and the deterioration of the Turkish economy are further fuelling demand as such items become cheaper to traders buying in euros.

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The world leaders pushing for peace in Ukraine, and their motives

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They claim to be honest brokers, but is that just a fig leaf to cover their moral bankruptcy?

How blessed are the peacemakers? After the first wave of intermediaries led by Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, a new group have beaten their way to Vladimir Putin’s long table since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or at least sought to intervene by phone.

The current crop includes Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Turkey, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed of the UAE and now the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

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Greta stands with Sami and Navalny on trial again: human rights this fortnight – in pictures

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A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Myanmar to Mexico

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Iranian refugees face deportation from Turkey for attending demonstration

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Lawyer says refugees, who were protesting against Turkey leaving Istanbul convention on violence against women, are at risk in Iran

Three Iranian refugees are facing deportation from Turkey after taking part in a demonstration against Ankara’s withdrawal from the Istanbul convention on violence against women.

Lily Faraji, Zeinab Sahafi and Ismail Fattahi were arrested after attending a protest in the southern Turkish city of Denizli last March. A fourth Iranian national, Mohammad Pourakbari, was detained with the others, despite not attending the protests, according to Buse Bergamalı, their lawyer.

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Flying high: how a photo of a Syrian father and son led to a new life in Italy

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A tender moment captured by Mehmet Aslan of Munzir al-Nazzal and his son, both survivors of the Syrian war, prompted Italian organisations to act. A year on, they are settling into life in Tuscany

In January last year, while working on the Turkish-Syrian border, photojournalist Mehmet Aslan photographed a Syrian man, Munzir al-Nazzal, who had lost a leg in a bomb attack. Munzir was playing with Mustafa, his 5-year-old son, who was born without limbs, and the shot portrayed the father, propped up on a crutch, raising his smiling child into the air.

Aslan entitled his photograph Hardship of Life.

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Snowstorm blankets eastern Mediterranean closing airports, schools and vaccination centres

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Istanbul airport was forced to shut down while motorists were trapped in cars around Athens as rare heavy snow falls across southeast Europe

Europe’s busiest airport shut down in Istanbul on Monday while schools and vaccination centres closed in Athens as a rare snowstorm blanketed swathes of the eastern Mediterranean, causing blackouts and traffic havoc.

The closure of Istanbul Airport – where the roof of one of the cargo terminals collapsed under heavy snow, causing no injuries – grounded flights stretching from the Middle East and Africa to Europe and Asia.

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Increased repression and violence a sign of weakness, says Human Rights Watch

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Watchdog’s latest report argues autocrats around the world are getting desperate as opponents form coalitions to challenge them

Increasingly repressive and violent acts against civilian protests by autocratic leaders and military regimes around the world are signs of their desperation and weakening grip on power, Human Rights Watch says in its annual assessment of human rights across the globe.

In its world report 2022, the human rights organisation said autocratic leaders faced a significant backlash in 2021, with millions of people risking their lives to take to the streets to challenge regimes’ authority and demand democracy.

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Rising anger with Turkey drives calls for reunification in crisis-hit northern Cyprus

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With the economy in freefall and allegations of political interference, people have taken to the streets to advocate for federal future

In his sun-filled office in north Nicosia, Şener Elcil is plotting his next protest. Anger, he says, is in the air in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus.

The economy is in freefall, thanks to the self-declared republic’s financial and political dependence on Turkey. Thousands have taken to the streets, spurred by inflation rates that have left many struggling to make ends meet; ahead of parliamentary polls later this month, calls for a boycott are mounting, while a blacklist of Turkish Cypriot dissidents, reportedly drawn up at the behest of Ankara, has spawned consternation and fear.

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‘Waste colonialism’: world grapples with west’s unwanted plastic

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Germany and UK are big exporters of plastic, much of which lies rotting in ports in Turkey, Vietnam and other countries

One hundred and 41 containers filled with rotting plastic waste have been on a journey for more than a year. Scattered between Turkey, Greece and Vietnam, far from their origins in Germany, the containers’ voyage sheds light on the hidden global trade in plastic waste.

Arriving in Turkey in late 2020, shortly before a ban on mixed plastic waste imports came into force, the containers quickly became the centre of a battle between traders, a shipping line, multiple governments and environmental campaigners demanding their return.

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At least 16 dead after third migrant boat in three days sinks in Greek waters

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People still missing despite major rescue effort as smugglers switch to more perilous route from Turkey

At least 16 people have died after a migrant boat capsized in the Aegean Sea late Friday, bringing to at least 30 the combined death toll from three accidents in as many days involving migrant boats in Greek waters.

The sinkings came as smugglers increasingly favour a perilous route from Turkey to Italy, which avoids Greece’s heavily patrolled eastern Aegean islands that for years were at the forefront of the country’s migration crisis.

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‘There’s jobs but no money’: Turkey’s economic crisis begins to bite

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As the value of the lira plummets and inflation soars, Turkish citizens are struggling to adapt and survive

In a jewellery shop close to Istanbul’s Taksim Square, Seda unzips an elegant black leather pouch and piles her gold jewellery on the counter to discuss selling it all. The shop owner gently places gold chains, rings and a pendant on a small scale, before immediately calling a trader to discuss the latest rates.

“I used to look at the price of gold once a week. Now I look roughly 50 times a day,” says the owner, who asks that his name is withheld. He advises Seda to wait – perhaps the price will stabilise.

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Dining across the divide: ‘He’s such a nice guy but supports Brexit. He’s young; it’s not normal’

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Both have experienced being treated as outsiders in the UK, but can they broach one of Britain’s most divisive topics?

Batuhan, 22, Bournemouth

Occupation Support worker and neuropsychology master’s student
Voting record Batuhan is not eligible to vote in the UK. In the last Turkish local government elections, he voted for the centre-left Republican People’s party
Amuse bouche Huge fan of basketball; supports any team LeBron James is playing for

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Batman loach returns: fish feared extinct found in Turkey

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Scientists working on the Search For The Lost Fishes project have spotted the freshwater Batman River loach, which has not been seen since 1974

A freshwater fish that scientists thought was extinct has been found in south-east Turkey, after an absence of nearly 50 years.

“I’ve been researching this area for 12 years and this fish was always on my wishlist,” said Dr Cüneyt Kaya, associate professor at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University. “It’s taken a long time. When I saw the distinctive bands on the fish, I felt so happy. It was a perfect moment.”

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One of suspected killers of Jamal Khashoggi held in Paris, say reports

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Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi reportedly arrested as he was about to board flight to Riyadh

French police have reportedly arrested a former member of the Saudi royal guard suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi was said to have been taken into custody at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to take a plane to the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

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Lives lost at Europe’s borders and Afghan MPs in exile: human rights this fortnight – in pictures

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A roundup of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Mexico to Manila

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Refugees forced to claim asylum in ‘jail-like’ camps as Greece tightens system

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Aid agencies fear plans to scrap applications via Skype are an attempt to control and contain rather than help asylum seekers

When Hadi Karam*, a soft-spoken Syrian, decided to leave the war-stricken city of Raqqa, he knew the journey to Europe would be risky. What he had not factored in was how technology would be a stumbling block once he reached Greece.

“I never thought Skype would be the problem,” says the young professional, recounting his family’s ordeal trying to contact asylum officers in the country. “You ring and ring and ring. Weeks and weeks go by, and there is never any answer.”

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Trucks overturn and buildings collapse as extreme winds hit Turkey – video

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Four people, including a foreign national, were killed and at least 19 were injured in Istanbul on Monday as extreme winds battered Turkey's biggest city and its surrounding regions, the governor's office said. The wild weather caused at least two lorries to overturn, blocking traffic on a busy highway in Istanbul. The winds have knocked down buildings and lifted concrete slabs off roofs and walls

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