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x0x Turkish News for the week ending 25 November 2023
[This is a transcript of the news broadcast on 25 November 2023]
Courtesy of Turkish Radio Hour, producer of the
TURKISH CULTURAL PROGRAM, every Saturday from 2 P.M. to 4 P.M.
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NEWS
★ On Nov. 23, speaking at the 9th Sustainable Finance Forum in Istanbul, The World Bank country director for Turkey Humberto Lopez, The World Bank country director for Turkey, estimated that Turkey would need to spend $500 billion to quakeproof all buildings.
He added that Turkey would need $100 billion to rebuild the damages of the Feb. 6 earthquakes.
Lopez stated that the cost to rebuild all demolished buildings corresponded to more than 10% of Turkey's gross national product (GNP), which was "a considerable sum."
Lopez also drew attention to Turkey's need to adapt to the intensifying climate crisis. "The extreme weather conditions experienced in Turkey rose to over 1000 in the recent years. 20 years ago, this value was 200," he stated. Such an adaptation process would cost over 600 billion dollars, according to Director Lopez.
He said these projects were beyond the capabilities of the World Bank, as the sum of all the loans the World Bank grants to countries is 168 billion dollars.
He added that Turkey would need $100 billion to rebuild the damages of the Feb. 6 earthquakes.
Lopez stated that the cost to rebuild all demolished buildings corresponded to more than 10% of Turkey's gross national product (GNP), which was "a considerable sum."
Lopez also drew attention to Turkey's need to adapt to the intensifying climate crisis. "The extreme weather conditions experienced in Turkey rose to over 1000 in the recent years. 20 years ago, this value was 200," he stated. Such an adaptation process would cost over 600 billion dollars, according to Director Lopez.
He said these projects were beyond the capabilities of the World Bank, as the sum of all the loans the World Bank grants to countries is 168 billion dollars.
★ Turkey's Central Bank implemented a larger-than-anticipated interest rate hike of 500 basis points, raising its benchmark rate to 40% while signaling a slowdown in the pace of monetary tightening.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chose former Wall Street banker Hafize Gaye Erkan as central bank chief after his May re-election and she has led a policy U-turn, vowing to raise rates as high as needed to cool inflation.
President Erdoğan in the past repeatedly criticized tight monetary policy, describing himself as an enemy of interest rates but has said in recent months that tight policy would help bring down inflation.
Under pressure by Mr. Erdoğan, the bank's previous policy of cutting interest rates despite high inflation triggered a currency crisis in 2021, after which the government introduced a scheme to protect lira deposits from currency depreciation.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chose former Wall Street banker Hafize Gaye Erkan as central bank chief after his May re-election and she has led a policy U-turn, vowing to raise rates as high as needed to cool inflation.
President Erdoğan in the past repeatedly criticized tight monetary policy, describing himself as an enemy of interest rates but has said in recent months that tight policy would help bring down inflation.
Under pressure by Mr. Erdoğan, the bank's previous policy of cutting interest rates despite high inflation triggered a currency crisis in 2021, after which the government introduced a scheme to protect lira deposits from currency depreciation.
★ In 2024, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Justice and development party administration is working very hard to get back the mayoralty's it lost to the opposition in the 2019 local elections.
Among the tactics they are using are intimidation, judicial harassment, and cutting off the funding to the municipalities ruled by the opposition.
The government started law case against Tunç Soyer, The Metropolitan mayor of Izmir from the opposition, the third-largest metropolitan area in Turkey,
The lawsuit claims that he gave away an old church bell to the Greek consulate 14 years ago when he was the mayor of a district in the Aegean province.
On November 16, The Interior Ministry also started an investigation that he insulted the Ottoman Empire and the Sultan in a speech. Mayor says that he was quoting from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president and the independence war hero.
Mayor Soyer stated, "These (investigations) show that as the local elections approach, the government will exert greater pressure on the Republican People's Party municipalities and try to take harsher measures."
Among the tactics they are using are intimidation, judicial harassment, and cutting off the funding to the municipalities ruled by the opposition.
The government started law case against Tunç Soyer, The Metropolitan mayor of Izmir from the opposition, the third-largest metropolitan area in Turkey,
The lawsuit claims that he gave away an old church bell to the Greek consulate 14 years ago when he was the mayor of a district in the Aegean province.
On November 16, The Interior Ministry also started an investigation that he insulted the Ottoman Empire and the Sultan in a speech. Mayor says that he was quoting from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president and the independence war hero.
Mayor Soyer stated, "These (investigations) show that as the local elections approach, the government will exert greater pressure on the Republican People's Party municipalities and try to take harsher measures."
★ Or-ahayim Balat Jewish Hospital in İstanbul issued a statement after a group of doctors announced that they would stand guard near the hospital in support of Palestine. The history of the hospital dates back to the Ottoman period, reports the online Turkish news outlet Bianet.
Hospital officials condemned the protesters and said:
"Since its establishment in 1898 by the decree of Sultan Abdulhamit, providing dedicated and sensitive service to every patient who entered its doors, we condemn the targeting of our hospital, one of Turkey's oldest healthcare institutions."
Hospital officials condemned the protesters and said:
"Since its establishment in 1898 by the decree of Sultan Abdulhamit, providing dedicated and sensitive service to every patient who entered its doors, we condemn the targeting of our hospital, one of Turkey's oldest healthcare institutions."
★ At least 54 motorcycle delivery people have died on the job as of Nov. 11 in Turkey while facing the risk of death every day due to speed pressure from employers, mobbing, and attacks, reports the daily Duvar.
★ 17.6 million people live in need of social assistance in Turkey,. according to the data revealed during the discussions on the 2024 budget of the Family and Social Services Ministry at the Turkish Parliament, reports the Turkish daily Duvar.
According to the data boastfully announced by Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, 4.4 million households benefited from social assistance in 2023 while 3.5 million of them received regular assistance, as reported in the daily BirGün.
In 2018, when Turkey switched to a presidential system, 3.5 million households were benefiting from social assistance.
In 2023, the number of children whose families cannot meet even their most basic needs reached 164,000. This figure was
The ministry also spent $3.2 billion in local currency in 2023 "to fight poverty." It expects to spend about $7.2 billion in 2024.
The assistance provided by the Ministry is distributed in areas such as monthly aid for those below the extreme poverty line, disability and elderly allowances, aid for women whose husbands have died, and aid for education.
According to the data boastfully announced by Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, 4.4 million households benefited from social assistance in 2023 while 3.5 million of them received regular assistance, as reported in the daily BirGün.
In 2018, when Turkey switched to a presidential system, 3.5 million households were benefiting from social assistance.
In 2023, the number of children whose families cannot meet even their most basic needs reached 164,000. This figure was
- 130,000 in 2020,
- 141,000 in 2021, and
- 155,000 in 2022.
The ministry also spent $3.2 billion in local currency in 2023 "to fight poverty." It expects to spend about $7.2 billion in 2024.
The assistance provided by the Ministry is distributed in areas such as monthly aid for those below the extreme poverty line, disability and elderly allowances, aid for women whose husbands have died, and aid for education.
★ Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has announced a new incentive regulation aimed at encouraging foreign currency inflows into Turkey reports the news outlet Bianet.
The regulation is part of the government's efforts to stabilize the lira, rein in inflation, and restore investor confidence under the leadership.
The regulation calls for the increased tax reduction and exemption for some activities of income and corporate tax payers abroad, provided that the earnings are brought into Turkey.
Read more >> here <<
The regulation is part of the government's efforts to stabilize the lira, rein in inflation, and restore investor confidence under the leadership.
The regulation calls for the increased tax reduction and exemption for some activities of income and corporate tax payers abroad, provided that the earnings are brought into Turkey.
Read more >> here <<
ARTS AND CULTURE
★ The BBC has revealed its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2023.
Among them is Canan Dağdeviren of Turkey , a scientist and inventor.
BBC describes her as follows:
"An associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab in the US, Canan Dağdeviren has recently invented a wearable ultrasound patch for early breast cancer detection.
She drew inspiration from her aunt who was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer at age 49, despite having regular cancer screening, and died six months later.
At her aunt's bedside, Dağdeviren drew up a rough plan of a diagnostic device that could be incorporated into a bra and would allow for more frequent screening of individuals at high risk of breast cancer. The technology could potentially save millions of lives. "
Among them is Canan Dağdeviren of Turkey , a scientist and inventor.
BBC describes her as follows:
"An associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab in the US, Canan Dağdeviren has recently invented a wearable ultrasound patch for early breast cancer detection.
She drew inspiration from her aunt who was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer at age 49, despite having regular cancer screening, and died six months later.
At her aunt's bedside, Dağdeviren drew up a rough plan of a diagnostic device that could be incorporated into a bra and would allow for more frequent screening of individuals at high risk of breast cancer. The technology could potentially save millions of lives. "
★ Turkish Chef Ebru Baybara Demir received the Basque Culinary World Prize for 2023.
On the prize wen shop it said the following about Ms. Demir:
Hailing from Turkey, the country that hosts most Syrian refugees, this great chef uses gastronomy as a tool for integration. In the many initiatives in which she is part of, Baybara Demir empowers women from both countries and dismantles prejudices by highlighting the richness of the exchange of cultures. She currently supports the agricultural development cooperative From Soil to Plate, in which volunteers from the region encourage the production and consumption of local, ancestral grains such as Sorgül (as well as making soaps, jams or handicrafts marketed through online platforms); and is involved in efforts aimed at the management of biodegradable waste in popular markets in Diyarbakır.
According to Wikipedia, The Basque Culinary World Prize is an annual global award co-founded by the Basque Government and the Basque Culinary Center in 2016. A prize of €100,000 is granted to a chef whose work has a wider socio-economic benefit.[1] The winner is to use the prize to devote to a project of their choice that demonstrates the wider role of gastronomy in society.
The award is open to anyone with a professional background in cooking– regardless of their culinary culture or nationality– and whose work has made an impact in the fields such as innovation, technology, education, the environment, health, the food industry and social and economic development.
The award is sometimes referred to as "the Nobel of gastronomy."
Ms. Demir donated the €100,000 prize to a project she started in Hatay, one of the provinces devastated in the February earthquakes. The project will give breakfast to children who survived the earthquakes.
On the prize wen shop it said the following about Ms. Demir:
Hailing from Turkey, the country that hosts most Syrian refugees, this great chef uses gastronomy as a tool for integration. In the many initiatives in which she is part of, Baybara Demir empowers women from both countries and dismantles prejudices by highlighting the richness of the exchange of cultures. She currently supports the agricultural development cooperative From Soil to Plate, in which volunteers from the region encourage the production and consumption of local, ancestral grains such as Sorgül (as well as making soaps, jams or handicrafts marketed through online platforms); and is involved in efforts aimed at the management of biodegradable waste in popular markets in Diyarbakır.
According to Wikipedia, The Basque Culinary World Prize is an annual global award co-founded by the Basque Government and the Basque Culinary Center in 2016. A prize of €100,000 is granted to a chef whose work has a wider socio-economic benefit.[1] The winner is to use the prize to devote to a project of their choice that demonstrates the wider role of gastronomy in society.
The award is open to anyone with a professional background in cooking– regardless of their culinary culture or nationality– and whose work has made an impact in the fields such as innovation, technology, education, the environment, health, the food industry and social and economic development.
The award is sometimes referred to as "the Nobel of gastronomy."
Ms. Demir donated the €100,000 prize to a project she started in Hatay, one of the provinces devastated in the February earthquakes. The project will give breakfast to children who survived the earthquakes.
Photography by Gage Skidmore
★ Australian Hollywood actor Travis Fimmel, best known for his iconic role as King Ragnar in "Vikings," visited Istanbul on Nov. 23 and held a meeting with Batuhan Mumcu, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.
The actor visited Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and Historical Museum with Mumcu.
The actor visited Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and Historical Museum with Mumcu.
★ Archaeologists unearthed a mosaic floor with two lions during excavations in the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium in the Konuralp region of Düzce, in Northwestern Turkey.
In the past months, they found a portrait head, which was determined to belong to Alexander the Great, in the theater of the ancient city and later delivered it to the Konuralp Museum.
Now, the excavation team working in the area above the theater came across a mosaic floor depicting a lion in a structure connected to the portico. Archaeologists think that this mosaic room may be a cult site from the late Roman period.
The interior walls of the building, which measures approximately 15 ft. x 25 ft., are covered with marble slabs on a thick layer of mortar. There is a platform foundation to the north of the room, which has a rectangular plan in the north-south direction.
The entire room is covered with a mosaic floor consisting of finely crafted tesserae of various colors. The edges of the mosaic, decorated with geometric patterns, are made in the form of a frame consisting of larger and colorful tesserae. In the middle of the mosaic floor, a scene is depicted inside a quadrangular frame made of smaller tesserae.
In the scene in the middle, there are two lions looking at a pine tree, a drum, and a pan flute on the branches of the tree.
Archaeologists say that when one considers the artifacts unearthed inside the room together, this room may be a "Dionysus Cult Place."
In the past months, they found a portrait head, which was determined to belong to Alexander the Great, in the theater of the ancient city and later delivered it to the Konuralp Museum.
Now, the excavation team working in the area above the theater came across a mosaic floor depicting a lion in a structure connected to the portico. Archaeologists think that this mosaic room may be a cult site from the late Roman period.
The interior walls of the building, which measures approximately 15 ft. x 25 ft., are covered with marble slabs on a thick layer of mortar. There is a platform foundation to the north of the room, which has a rectangular plan in the north-south direction.
The entire room is covered with a mosaic floor consisting of finely crafted tesserae of various colors. The edges of the mosaic, decorated with geometric patterns, are made in the form of a frame consisting of larger and colorful tesserae. In the middle of the mosaic floor, a scene is depicted inside a quadrangular frame made of smaller tesserae.
In the scene in the middle, there are two lions looking at a pine tree, a drum, and a pan flute on the branches of the tree.
Archaeologists say that when one considers the artifacts unearthed inside the room together, this room may be a "Dionysus Cult Place."
EXCHANGE RATE
EXCHANGE RATE for the U.S. dollar in Turkish Liras: 28.87
WEATHER
★ Severe storms and flooding have left nine people dead across Turkey, officials said Monday, including one seaman who died when a cargo ship sank off Turkey's Black Sea coast. Eleven other crew were reported missing, Associated Press reported on November 20.
★ Istanbul will get heavy snowfall in the coming days, reports the news agencies. Officials both from the central government and the local municipal government started taking precautions.
High and Low Temperatures in Degrees F, Weather Ankara, in central Turkey : 52/48 Showers Antalya, on the Mediterranean : 70/59 Thunderstorms Erzurum, in Eastern Turkey : 45/32 Snow Istanbul, in northwestern Turkey : 46/45 Sleet Izmir, on the Aegean : 57/54 Showers Trabzon, on the Black Sea : 75/63 Partly Cloudy
SPORTS
Premier League
* Results for week: 12
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* In games played so far this weekend:
G. Antep - Ankaragücü 0 - 1 Istanbul - Hatay 2 - 1 Konya - Kasımpaşa 2 - 0 G. Saray - Alanya 4 - 0* 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
ANNOUNCEMENTS
[Saat 14:30 and 15:30 'da iki kez okuyun]
*** Turkish American Association of California
is a non-profit
charitable organization established to promote better
understanding between Americans and Turks.
if you have any questions about Turks and Turkey,
e-mail them at taac@taaca.org
*** Azerbaijan Cultural Society of Northern California
Organizes many events throughout the year. Follow their activities through
their web pages, or subscribe to their e-mail list by sending an email to:
secretary@acsnc.org
acsnc.org/
Location:
secretary@acsnc.org
acsnc.org/
Location:
Azerbaijan Cultural Society of Northern California
16400 Lark Ave., Suite 260
Los Gatos, CA 95032
16400 Lark Ave., Suite 260
Los Gatos, CA 95032
*** Turkish schools in the Bay Area are starting:
There are currently three schools:
Los Altos, San Ramon and Berkeley
For more information on these schools, drop an email to trh@turkradio.us.
HELLO THERE!
Our online school is starting in September. There are some innovations in our new term program, which we will start in September 2022.
We have prepared more enjoyable posts with your happy feedbacks from you.
> By the principles of language learning; listening, speaking, reading, writing activities
> Kitchen Workshop
> Anatolian Civilizations
> Interactive Games
> Periodic Projects
> Skill Workshops
> Our Holidays
> Bodily Activities
> Traditional Music
> About This Day
Los Altos, San Ramon and Berkeley
For more information on these schools, drop an email to trh@turkradio.us.
HELLO THERE!
Our online school is starting in September. There are some innovations in our new term program, which we will start in September 2022.
We have prepared more enjoyable posts with your happy feedbacks from you.
> By the principles of language learning; listening, speaking, reading, writing activities
> Kitchen Workshop
> Anatolian Civilizations
> Interactive Games
> Periodic Projects
> Skill Workshops
> Our Holidays
> Bodily Activities
> Traditional Music
> About This Day
*** Turkish Folk Dancing with TUFOD in the South Bay
Join TUFOD as a family! For more information on the venue and hours drop us
an email, we'll put you in touch with them:
trh@turkradio.us
Or visit their web pages at https://www.tufod.org/
Or visit their web pages at https://www.tufod.org/
*** Heart to Heart Anatolia
Providing scholarships and bringing people together while promoting Anatolian cultural values
Visit their pages at h2ha.org/
Visit their pages at h2ha.org/
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