Türkiye draws over 7M foreign tourists in Q1, sees revenues hit $8.8B

ürkiye drew more than 7 million foreign visitors in the first quarter of the year, according to official data on Tuesday that also showed robust arrivals fueled a 5.4% increase in tourism revenue.

The number of foreign tourists arriving from January through March climbed 1…[Read more]

Operation ‘Mahzen-34’ targets organized crime in Istanbul

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that the organized crime group led by Sezai Gülmez was dismantled in the “Mahzen-34” (“Vault-34” in English) operation held in Istanbul.

Minister Yerlikaya, in a statement on his social media account, provided information that nine suspects,…[Read more]

Istanbul mayor draws ire for ‘terrorist’ Hamas remarks

Statements by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu in an interview with CNN International angered Turkish social media users and critics of the mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Answering a question on the Palestine-Israel conflict, Imamoğlu criticized Israel’…[Read more]

FM Fidan meets Finnish, Greek, UK counterparts in Brussels

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held meetings with his British, Finnish, Greek and Bulgarian counterparts on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers summit in Brussels on Wednesday.

Fidan and British foreign minister David Cameron discussed a wide range of issues, including conflicts in…[Read more]

No place for terrorism in Türkiye’s future: Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara is determined to show everyone that there is no place for terrorism in Türkiye’s future.

Speaking at an iftar gathering with police, gendarmerie and coast guard members, Erdoğan reiterated Ankara’s determination to root out terrorism.

Erdoğan said th…[Read more]

Islamism is dead in Erdogan’s Turkey

There are moments in the political life of every nation that mark the breaking of an old order, even if the new order has not yet been built. Last weekend’s local elections in Turkey marked such a fracture with the beginning of the end of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 22 year rule.

Erdogan has bestrode Turki…[Read more]

Turkey’s election authority reinstates pro-Kurdish mayoral election winner

Turkey’s election authority has reinstated a pro-Kurdish mayoral election winner in the eastern city of Van after the annulment of his victory provoked clashes.

The Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced on Wednesday that it has overturned a decision by the regional ele…[Read more]

Bundesliga: Dortmund earn shock win at Bayern Munich

For the first time in 15 years Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund met in ‘Der Klassiker’ without the Bundesliga title on the line, but Germany’s most-anticipated clash still drew the attention of an international crowd.

Munich-born Karim Adeymi silenced a 75,000-strong crowd at the Allianz…[Read more]

Germany: Knife-wielding man killed by Nienburg police

German police shot dead a man armed with a knife in the city of Nienburg, in the state of Lower Saxony on Saturday.

The man had allegedly been threatening his girlfriend and then went on to attack police.

A police officer and service dog were seriously injured during the incident according…[Read more]

Police boost Bayern v Dortmund security amid terror alert

Police in the German city of Munich have deployed more officers to secure the the Allianz Arena during a Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

The increased security presence comes after police received a tip on Friday that images circulated on social…[Read more]

Germany shuts 7 coal power stations after winter ends

Seven coal-fired power stations in Germany were shut down over Easter, power generators RWE and LEAG said on Sunday.

The government took five plants out of mothballs to cope with a shortfall in gas supplies through the winter as Europe’s largest economy sought to reduce its dependency on…[Read more]

Germany’s AfD on TikTok: The political battle for the youth

Maximilian Krah is not your typical TikToker. He’s a middle-aged white man, wears a suit with a handkerchief tucked into the pocket, is Catholic, has eight children and is a politician. His short video clips feature him doing nothing more than delivering short statements.

And yet he is…[Read more]

Japan raids factory making health supplements linked to deaths

Health officials in Japan have raided a factory belonging to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical after the drugmaker reported a fifth death possibly linked to its dietary supplements advertised as helping to lower cholesterol.

On Saturday, officials from the ministries of health, labour and…[Read more]

Japan to resume funding to UNRWA, following Sweden, Finland and Canada

Japan is planning to resume funding to the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees after suspending assistance over Israeli claims that some of its staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met UNRWA chief Philippe L…[Read more]

Japan, China hold ‘expert dialogue’ over Fukushima water releases

Japan and China held an “expert dialogue” on Saturday over the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in their latest effort to address the dispute about the issue.

During the talks in Dalian, northeastern China, the…[Read more]

Central Tokyo logs 28.1 C on Sunday; record-high temperature for March

Central Tokyo experienced a record-high temperature for March at 28.1 C on Sunday as a high-pressure system brought summer-like heat to parts of the Japanese archipelago, the country’s weather agency said.

The high was marked at 1:32 p.m. in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, according to…[Read more]

Record 63% of Japanese in financial stress, poll shows

A record 63.2 percent of respondents said they do not feel financially secure in Japan and have a negative outlook on their future, a recent government survey showed.

The proportion of people who experienced financial stress in 2023 rose 0.7 percentage point from a year earlier against the…[Read more]

Turkey raises interest rate to 50% amid soaring inflation

Turkey’s central bank has raised its key interest rate by 500 basis points to 50 percent from 45 percent following a deteriorating inflation outlook.

The move comes after monthly inflation was higher than expected in February, driven by services inflation, the monetary policy committee (…[Read more]

UK and Turkey open fresh trade negotiations

The UK and Turkey have launched fresh trade talks targeting the services sector as part of any new deal.

The two countries are planning to enhance their current trade deal, which was negotiated back in the 1990s and has remained despite the UK leaving the European Union in 2020.

Bilateral trade stood…[Read more]

Turkey and GCC to create $2.4trn free trade area

Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA), to create one of the world’s largest free trade areas worth $2.4 trillion.

GCC secretary general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi and Turkish trade minister Omer Bolat signed a pact to proceed with the t…[Read more]