★ According to Al Jazeera, the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs commission has delayed a vote on Sweden's NATO membership bid in a further setback to the Nordic country's hopes of joining the Western alliance. Swedes have been waiting for 18 months.

  Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said earlier this month that he would try to facilitate the ratification process but added Sweden has not taken enough action on supporters of Kurdish rebels in Sweden.

★ President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visit Germany on Friday. There, he reiterated his view that Germany was supporting Israel in the Gaza war out of guilt over the Holocaust. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Erdoğan exchanged barbs earlier in the week on German support to Israel. On Tuesday, Scholz called Erdoğan's accusations "absurd," adding that Israel is a democracy and "a country that is bound to human rights and international law and acts accordingly."

  Read more about the differences between the two leaders >> here <<

  However, analysts say that Mr. Erdoğan limited his rhetoric during the visit and focused on trade ties and German approval of the sale of Euro Fighter jets to Turkey.

  Chancellor Scholtz did not say if Germany would approve the sale.

  Britain, Spain, Italy, and Germany make the Eurofighter jointly.

  Mr. Erdoğan's administration, finding it nearly impossible to purchase F-35 and F-16 jets from the U. S., has turned to Europe to acquire fighter planes.

  According to Deutsche Welle, Germany is Turkey's most important trading partner and top foreign investor. The trade between the two countries in 2022 was $56 billion, a record high. Read from Deutsche Welle on the economic ties >> here <<

★ Deutsche Welle also had a video news on Turkish asylum applications in Germany.

  The number of asylum-seekers from Turkey is surging, with a 200% increase in applications compared to the previous year, making them second only to Syrians. The economic crisis and rising living costs are fueling the exodus. Deutsche Welle adds that intense pressure on freedoms and human rights violations adds to the problem.

★ Other headlines in the news:  

• Turkish Navy commander says Turkey does not want U.S. or NATO presence in the black sea.
• Turkish President says West has Crusader imperialist ideals.
• Turkish activists hang Hamas leader Abu-Obaida's profiles on Turkish landmarks.
• Evacuation of Turkish citizens from Gaza to Egypt started.
• Treatment of cancer patients from Gaza continues in Turkey.
• Turkey will seek to rebuild Gaza if a cease-fire occurs, says President Erdoğan.
• Evacuation of Turkish citizens from Gaza to Egypt started.
• Israeli police disrupted journalists from Turkey's public broadcaster and shattered the camera of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation team covering Friday prayers in Jerusalem.

★ According to the statistical agency of the European Union, Turkey ranked as the country importing the most plastic waste from Europe in 2022, receiving 319,000 tonnes, 30 percent of the continent's plastic waste.

  With 588,000 tonnes, 12 percent of the European Union's recyclable paper exports, it was also one of the largest importers of recyclable paper.

  Fires in recycling plants have been increasing in parallel with waste imports.

  In 2022, Turkey domestically created 109.2 million tonnes of waste, 29.4 million of which were hazardous, according to the state-run Turkish Statistical Institute. With 28.5%, Turkey recorded the highest share of hazardous waste, according to Eurostat.

  Human Rights Watch reported in September 2022 that workers at the recycling plants complained of respiratory diseases, chronic headaches, and skin problems. They lacked access to protective equipment and health care for occupational diseases.

★ Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı stated that Turkey was already under water stress according to international indicators, and it would be among countries with extreme scarcity by 2030.

  Water stress emerges when the water demand surpasses the available supply during a specific period or when poor water quality limits its usability.

★ Enterprises in Turkey's quake-hit region receive support from European Union-funded DAHIL Project

  The project's results include training 450 SMEs, Small to Medium-sized Enterprises, to facilitate their access to finance and offering business skills training to 250 SMEs through chambers of commerce in the region.

  Additionally, SPARK provided sectoral connections by facilitating SME participation in trade fairs and business-to-business networking events. It helped establish 40 new businesses. Collaborating with the Needs Map and the Regional Reconstruction and Development Center established within the chambers of commerce, SPARK provides €375,000 in grant support to SMEs.

  SPARK is an Amsterdam-based international non-governmental organization operating in 14 regions in the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Since its founding in 1994, it has assisted young people by providing education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities, particularly for women and refugees.

★ Turkey's poverty threshold reached 44,718 Turkish liras ($1,559) in October and hit roughly four times the minimum wage (11,402 liras or $397), data from the United Metal Workers Trade Union's Research Center revealed. While the hunger threshold was 12,928 liras ($450), Labor Minister Vedat Işıkhan stated that no Turkish citizens were experiencing "extreme hunger or poverty."

★ In October, Turkey's central government budget posted a deficit of 95.5 billion Turkish liras ($3.4 billion), as disclosed by official data from the Treasury and Finance Ministry on November 15.

★ The credit card debts of Turkish citizens increased by 119 percent to 991 billion liras ($34.7B) in the first ten months of 2023. The creditors started legal proceedings against 12 out of every 100 people because they could not pay their debts.

★ İş Sanat Kibele Art Gallery started the new season with an exhibition titled "Retrospective" by Berna Türemen, one of the important representatives of contemporary Turkish painting.

  Türemen's works, featuring cat motifs and the "symphony of the universe," can be viewed free of charge at Kibele Art Gallery every day until December 18.

  The main feature of Berna Türemen's works, based on "naiveté," is her view of life and her formal approach. Critics, academics, and artists have written many articles on her works.

★ Turkish artist Handan Börüteçene's most comprehensive exhibition to date, "The Land of the Three Inland Seas," opened on Tuesday, November 7, at Salt Beyoğlu.

  Handan Börüteçene has been producing with a determined focus on archaeology, history, and nature for more than forty years. The exhibition's name points to a geography where the artist receives inspiration from its cultural heritage, myths, rocks, soil, and blues: Anatolia and Thrace.

  The exhibition will be on until April 14, 2024.

★ 2024 Turkey Michelin stars were awarded at a ceremony held last week.

  Michelin inspectors included 111 restaurants, 15 in Izmir and 19 in Bodrum, in the guide's 2024 selection.

  Three restaurants from Izmir and two from Bodrum received a Michelin Star. Eight restaurants, two from Bodrum and six in Izmir received the Bib Gourmand award.

  Two of the twenty-five restaurants newly added to the Istanbul selection received a Michelin Star, increasing the number of culinary establishments in Istanbul to 77.

  Four new environmentally friendly restaurants received Michelin Green Stars.

  At this year's event, awards were in 3 new categories: Michelin Sommelier Award, Michelin Service Award, and Michelin Young Chef Award.

  Urla district in the Izmir province shined in the awards: its culinary establishments received three classical and three green Michelin stars.

  ★Locarno Film Festival, one the world's oldest, will show a selection of its award-winning films in Istanbul this year.

  The screenings will be at Istanbul Modern Movie Theater between November 23 and December 3.

  Locarno Film Festival of Switzerland has celebrated its 76th anniversary this summer.

★ For the 100th year of the Turkish Republic, the Turkish branch of the German company Siemens opened an exhibition.

  The Siemens exhibition shows how the company contributed to Turkish industry, health, transportation, and power distribution.

  The exhibition features older objects dating back to 1872. Among them are Telegraph equipment, radios, and telephones.

  It also has documents with the signatures of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey's first president, and İsmet İnönü, the second.

  Author Pelin Batu's life stories of Mualla Eyüboğlu, one of Turkey's first female architects; Mübeccel Belik Kıray, the first Turkish female sociologist; Remziye Hisar, first female chemist and Sabiha Fırat, one of the first female civil engineers, take their place in the exhibition.

  There are also examples of the firsts that Siemens Turkey achieved in the first years of the Republic, not only in industry but also in many other sectors, including the Republic's first hydroelectric power plant, the first x-ray device, the first electric tram, the first underground railway and dozens of other examples.

★ Archaeologists found a 2800-year-old decorated ivory piece in the Hattusha Ancient City in Çorum. The piece is approximately 11 inches long and 4 inches wide. It features a figure with a human head with an animal body, a lion, and two Tree of Life figures.

  Hattusha was the capital of the Hittite kingdom. Hittites established it 4000 years ago. UNESCO included the site in its World Heritage list.

  Excavations started there 116 years ago and are still ongoing. Over the years, archaeologists found many cuneiform tablet archives that helped decipher the oldest known Indo-European language. For this, UNESCO included the site also in its "Memory of the World List."

★ Archaeologists uncovered an ancient floor mosaic in Turkey's Cappadocia and Central Anatolia, the largest in the region. The mosaic is about 7000 sq. ft.

  The mosaic, decorated with geometric figures, is at the remains of a fourth-century villa in the İncesu district of Kayseri province.

  In an area identified as the reception hall, inscriptions in Latin and Greek also emerged.

★ In Turkey's Muğla province, archaeologists discovered three 1800-year-old footsteps belonging to three toddlers.

  The footsteps found in the ancient city of Stratonikeia are on bricks that were wet at the time.

★ A symposium on the Italian contributions to the excavations in Turkey took place at Istanbul's Italian Culture Center this weekend.

  In a press release, the Italian Culture Center said that there were currently 18 Italian archaeological teams working throughout Turkey.

★ Hadrianopolis is an ancient city. Its ruins are in the Eskipazar district of Karabük province.

  In ongoing excavations, the latest discovery is big earthenware containers containing wheat, vetch, catchweed, an iron knife, and a sharpening stone.

  Dr. Ersin Çelikbaş, the head of the excavations and a professor of archaeology at the Karabük University, estimates that the finds are 1500 years old. They were in a kitchen of a structure. He says that they do not fully know the function of the structure.

★ Archaeologists found the remains of well-preserved objects made from wood dating to the Neolithic age in Istanbul's Beşiktaş neighborhood.

  The remains were at a construction site for a new Metro station.

  Archaeologist Rahmi Asal said that the Istanbul region may have rivaled the civilization in southeastern Turkey, where numerous stone structures exist dating back to 10,000+ years ago.

★ In construction excavations at an industrial site in Turkey's Yalova province, crews found an 1800-year-old grave stele.

  The stele, split into two, is eight feet tall and dates back to the Roman period. The images on the stele show a family. The local museum will call on experts to read the inscriptions on it.

Ankaragücü 	-      Antalya           0 - 4
Trabzon         -      Konya             2 - 1
Hatay           -      G. Saray          2 - 1
Kasımpaşa       -      Kayseri           3 - 4
K.gümrük        -      Sivas             3 - 0
Alanya          -      G. Antep          0 - 3
Beşiktaş        -      Başakşehir        1 - 0
Rize            -      Istanbul          1 - 0
Adana           -      Fenerbahçe        0 - 0
Pendik          -      Samsun            1 - 0

* No games this week

* Standing in the league as of week ending 12  

 1 - Fenerbahçe      31
 2 - G. Saray        31
 3 - Adana           22
 4 - Trabzon         22
 5 - Beşiktaş        22
 6 - Kayseri         22
 7 - Antalya         18
 8 - Kasımpaşa       18
 9 - Hatay           17
10 - Rize            17
11 - G. Antep        15
12 - K.gümrük        14
13 - Sivas           14
14 - Ankaragücü      13
15 - Pendik          13
16 - Konya           10
17 - Alanya	     10
18 - Başakşehir       9
19 - Samsun           8
19 - Istanbul         5