News

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Racism kills yet again 

“I can’t breathe”. The last words George Floyd uttered, just before he was murdered in cold blood in Minneapolis, USA. George Floyd has entered into the statistics of those many killed by this cruel State. Neither his family, nor anti-racists around the world will allow him to be just another Ame...

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My first memories of smell at home and in London, Britain

The jessamine is odorous; so Maid lilies are, and clematis And where tall meadowsweet flowers grow A rare and subtle perfume is; - What can there be more choice than these? – A rose when it doth bud and blow.” By Christina Rosetti (1830-1894)   When I began interviewi...

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Former head of Turkish Army Gen. İsmail Hakkı Karadayı, behind Turkey’s 'post-modern coup', dies

Turkey’s former Chief of General Staff Gen. İsmail Hakkı Karadayı has died in hospital from cancer and multi-organ failure. He was aged 88. The general is best known for orchestrating a non-violent military coup in 1997 that led to the fall of a coalition government led by Islamist Prime Minister...

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Returning to school before it’s safe won’t do anything to reduce the inequality gap – proper funding for education will

When compared to the enormous impact of proper funding and provision in our education sector, the argument now that certain year groups returning to school to catch a few weeks before the summer holidays will have some sort of critical benefit for learners who are vulnerable or struggling academical...

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How Turkey’s universal healthcare system is underpinning its success against Covid-19

The Turkish government provides free universal health care, and made early investments in its health care infrastructure that are paying off now. Our efforts and strategy have been central in turning the tide. The number of new cases of coronavirus has decreased significantly in recent few weeks...

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The importance of ‘19 Mayıs’ Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day

Every 19 May, the people of Turkey commemorate Mustafa Kemal’s landing at Samsun, on the Black Sea, on May 19, 1919, which marked the start of the Turkish War of Independence. The Turks emerged victorious from the four-year war, expelling numerous foreign powers which had invaded the crumbling Ottom...

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Istanbul Mayor’s ‘pay it forward’ campaign raises over $1 million in 2 days for city’s poor

It took residents of Istanbul just 55 hours to raise $1.4 million in response to a campaign by the city’s Mayor to help families struggling to pay their bills during the coronavirus pandemic. The “Askıda Fatura” (Bill on the Hook) scheme was launched by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on Monday 4 M...

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Coronavirus alert: the sheep have taken over in Samsun!

There has been no shortage of strange scenes of animals around the world running amok during the coronavirus pandemic, as nature seeks to assert itself into spaces abandoned by humans during the lockdown. Cameras have captured thousands of flamingos gathering by Mumbai’s lagoons, dozens of hungry...

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Turkish court indicts 20 Saudis over murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

A Turkish court has accepted charges against twenty suspects over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The decision from Istanbul’s Heavy Penal Court, on April 11, came after Turkish prosecutors presented 117-page indictment accusing 20 Saudi na...

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Turkey ceases all international flights in response to coronavirus crisis

The Turkish authorities have extended their partial ban on flights to now cover all overseas destinations. The decision to ground all international flights to contain the coronavirus pandemic was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday, 27 March. The president gave the news at a pre...

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