he Turkish businessman, who retained former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn's company before the U.S. presidential elections last fall, denied that his agreement with Flynn Intel Group (FIG) aided the Turkish government. Ekim Alptekin, chairman of the Turkish-American Business Council (TAIK) and owner of the Turkey-based EA Group, said he hired the FIG through his Dutch company, Inovo BV, last September in order to promote theTurkish business environment in the U.S. and receive geopolitical reporting services in the U.S about Turkey. "I've never lobbied or contracted lobbyists on behalf of the Turkish government," Alptekin told Daily Sabah.
British phone maker Vertu has long been considered unique because it designs and makes all of its devices on site at a small plant in the Hampshire countryside. Now the luxury tech company has been snapped up by exiled Turkish businessman Hakan Uzan for £50 million ($60 million), the Telegraph reported Monday. Vertu is known for making phones with sapphire screens, titanium frames and leather cladding that can cost up to £40,000 apiece. Included in the deal is a concierge on speed dial.
The Ottoman Lieutenant," a love story about an American nurse and an Ottoman officer serving in eastern Anatolia during World War I, has premiered in theaters across the United States. The Turkish-American co-produced Hollywood film has reached U.S. audiences in some 300 cinemas across more than 200 regions of the country. Telling the story of an American nurse named Lillie during the first years of World War I, the film incorporates striking décor and staging to create a modern version of an old fashioned picture.
High-profile New York prosecutor Preet Bharara -- who was among the federal attorneys asked to resign by the White House -- said Saturday that has been fired. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Friday demanded the resignations of 46 U.S. prosecutors -- including Bharara -- appointed during the two terms of his predecessor Barack Obama. The federal attorney's firing capped a standoff with the Trump administration that started when Bharara refused the White House order to resign.
