Kids in southeast Turkey: smuggling to survive
SMUGGLING – At the end of December 35 people lost their lives in a bombardment by the Turkish army. Seventeen of them were less than 18 years old. They were smugglers, who brought diesel and sugar from Iraq to Turkey. There is a war going on in the area between Turkey and the PKK, a forbidden Kurdish movement. That makes …
Professional journalism? Not in Turkey!
Blue murder is being cried over the lack of press freedom in Turkey. You never hear about the other side of the medal: journalists give themselves too many freedoms. Journalist Banu Güven (photo): ‘Extreme language and polarization sell.’
There is a huge red board in the hallway at Hürriyet, one of the biggest papers in Turkey: Our Basic Principles …
Microsoft sends successful Turkish dealers to Mecca
ISTANBUL – Microsoft Turkey rewards successful dealers: for $40,000 worth of Microsoft sales, the dealer gets a ticket for the pilgrimage to Mecca. A spokes pseron of Microsoft confirms that.
Every following $25,000 of sales earns the dealer another ticket for the pilgrimage, of Hajj, in November 2012. Winning a trip doesn’t make the pilgrimage free of costs though: not the …
ISTANBUL – In need of gold? In the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul you can now go and get it from a ‘gold ATM’. For the small Turkish bank Kuveyt Türk, introducing a gold ATM was a logical step after specializing in the private gold market.
Turks love gold: it’s the most frequently given present for births, engagements and marriages. An estimated …
Late summer time causes trouble for Turkish companies
ISTANBUL – Turkish companies will add overtime and incur extra costs because the Turkish government decided on short notice that summer time will start one day later,. In Turkey time will go forward by one hour not on Sunday night the 27th of March, but on Monday night. The reason is the university entrance exam, on Sunday. How much damage …
Istanbul taxi drivers protest against illegal drivers
ISTANBUL – Eighteen thousand legal taxis and at least twenty-five thousand illegal ones: Istanbul taxi drivers protested today against their unlicensed colleagues. Their most important demand was more severe punishments for illegal drivers. However, many Instanbul residents think that the licensed cabbies should first try a bit of introspection.
It’s the first time that taxi drivers have protested so massively against …
Row over press freedom in Turkey
ISTANBUL – A restriction of the freedom of press, or simply an effort to get big businesses to pay their taxes too? A tax fine of 700 million lira (325 million euros) for tax evasion by a big newspaper publisher, has sparked a debate about press freedom in Turkey.
Dogan Publishers is part of Dogan Holdings, one of Turkey’s biggest businesses, …
Turks get another new currency
ISTANBUL – For the second time in four years the Turks have to get used to new money: on the first of January, the ‘yeni Türk lirasi’ (new Turkish lira), which was introduced at 1 January 2005, will be a thing of the past. The word ‘yeni’ will be removed and the notes will have a new look.
The new Turkish …
In Tuzla, we don’t work with wool
The shipbuilding business is growing rapidly in Turkey. Especially in Tuzla, south of istanbul, it’s powering ahead. Unfortunately the number of fatal accidents is also on the rise. The employers say: “Accidents are inevitable in this industry. Here in Tuzla we’re not working with wool.”
After her husband died, nobody from his work-place came …
Gold mines threaten green Turkey: even national parks are no longer safe. Villagers protest and go to court. “We expected more support from Europe.”
If only it was so simple, sighs Kumsal Yenilmez, protester against the opening of more mines in the west of Turkey. A judge recently decided that a gold mine close …
Recent Comments