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Liverpool and Swansea footballer Rhian Brewster speaks out over killing of George Floyd

A young British footballer of mixed Barbadian-Turkish Cypriot heritage has issued a statement calling for “justice” and “a level playing field” for people of colour. Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster, who is currently on loan to Swansea, made his comments on social media earlier today, writing tha...

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Coronavirus: live music in crisis – help Save The Jazz Cafe

One of London’s most iconic live music venues has launched a crowdfunding appeal to try and survive the coronavirus pandemic. The Jazz Cafe has been an important platform for a diverse range of artists, including those of Turkish origin. Like other venues up and down the country, it was forced...

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Media spotlight on the impact of coronavirus on London’s Turkish Cypriot community

From Getty Images to The Times, Hürriyet and LBC, multiple media have covered stories about British Turkish Cypriots in recent weeks. At the heart of these most of these stories is Shacklewell Lane Mosque (also known as Masjid Ramadan) – a community hub in Dalston, East London, that has come into...

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Outdoor ezans, but a subdued Ramazan Bayramı / Eid al-Fitr as Muslims “stay at home”

For the past few weeks Turkish owned mosques in Northeast London, like many others across the British capital, have been calling the faithful to prayer (ezan in Turkish) from their roofs and minarets at sunset every day. Yet in these extraordinary times none have been able to visit Aziziye Mosque...

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TRNC Government set to green light return of British expats with residency

British citizens with homes in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC) but currently stranded in the UK were given a massive boost today. Speaking live on BRT television, TRNC Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay said that foreigners with residency would be able to return on a date “close to 1 June.”...

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Partial victory for families as TRNC government lifts ban on repatriation of non-Covid dead

For the past two months, eighteen families have been campaigning to have their deceased loved ones returned to North Cyprus for burial. Last week, eleven of those families received the news that their applications had been successful. An announcement by the government of the Turkish Republic of N...

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Turkish Cypriot couple make it onto The Sunday Times Rich List 2020

After an absence of three years, British Turks make a return to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, which lists the country’s richest one thousand individuals. Mustafa and Fatma Kiamil are joint 923 on the 2020 list with an estimated fortune of £130 million from their food business. The Turkish Cypr...

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Hulya Erdal flies the flag for British Turks with her Tepsi Kebabı Ramazan recipe

A British Turkish Cypriot chef has featured in an international series of Recipes for Ramadan (‘Ramazan’ in Turkish). Hulya Erdal appears in a ten-minute online clip cooking homemade Tepsi Kebabı, the perfect meal for iftar (breaking of the daily fast). Speaking entirely in Turkish, Hulya first w...

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Coronavirus patient Ersu Ekrem tells the BBC about his near-death experience

Turkish Cypriot businessman Ersu ‘Eddie’ Ekrem, currently recovering in hospital from Covid-19, has featured on the BBC’s main evening news discussing his “terrible hallucinations” after being induced. The short clip, broadcast on Tuesday 12 May, opens with Mr Ekrem being helped to sit up in bed...

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UK media called out for “untrue” claims that PPE from Turkey is ‘not fit for use’

British and Turkish officials have refuted British media reports that personal protection equipment (PPE) from Turkey has fallen short of required standards. On Thursday evening, Britain’s envoy to Ankara Sir Dominick Chilcott took to Twitter to say, “Stories in the UK media that 400K items of PP...

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