Adam Klasfeld, a reporter for Courthouse News said late Tuesday that Gülenist Hüseyin Korkmaz testified in a trial in New York that the Federal Bureau of Investigation gave him $50,000 of "financial assistance" which he said he didn't ask for. Korkmaz has been an important name in the trial and has stood out with his contradictory statements, namely for completely denying while he was in Turkey that "he had anything to do with" the December 17-25 judicial coup attempt perpetrated by Gülenist terror group (FETÖ) to overthrow Turkey's democratically elected government, but later confessing after coming to the U.S. that he was actually the investigator of the case with eight officers working under his command.

By Jimmy Cuneyt Gurkan - The 16th New York Turkish Film Festival took place in SVA Theatre in Manhattan from November 30th to December 3rd. The festival is organized by ATS American Turkish Society and sponsored by TAIK (Turkey US Business Council). New York Consulate General Honorable Ertan Yalcin, Chair of Board of Directors of ATS Murat Koprulu, festival director Janset Bayibay, ATS board member Lawrence M Kaye, actors Mehmet Ali Alabora, Alican Yucesoy, Pinar Ogun, Peyman Umay, Director Doğan Özmekik, writer Nilüfer Ozmekik were some of the guests enjoying the festival. I have specially enjoyed the future film “Cold of Kalandar” and the short movie “Exhibit”.

The Turkish Statistical Institute has announced that its third-quarter GDP figures depict a growth rate of 11.1 percent year-on-year. This makes it the fastest-growing country in the G20 by a considerable margin, with China trailing behind with 6.8 percent growth. The double-digit figure marks a substantial leap from rates seen over the past year, with year-on-year growth coming in at around five percent for the first two quarters of 2017. Notably, it reflects a recovery from the contraction of 1.8 percent that was announced this time last year.

Turkish-American Prof. Dr. Asu Özdağlar has been named the new head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Özdağlar has served as the interim head of the department since July 1 after former head Acanthi Chandraksan was named dean of the School of Engineering. Özdağlar is best known for her contributions to the areas of optimization theory, economic and social networked systems, and game theory.