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If Santa Is Buried in Turkey, Who Has Been Delivering the Presents?

Turkish archeologists announced this week that they may have discovered the bones of St. Nicholas, the saint better known to the world as Santa Claus. The remains were unearthed beneath a 4th-century structure in Demre (ancient Myra), the traditional location of Nicholas’ birth. The discovery of St. Nicholas raises a whole host of unpleasant bedtime questions. If Santa is buried in Turkey, who has been delivering the presents? The discovery was made after digital analysis of the ground beneath the church. Archaeologists currently believe that the tomb has gone undisturbed since antiquity, but the mosaics on the floor make it difficult to excavate there. Cemril Karabayram, the head of Antalya’s Monument Authority, explained that specialists are unable to confirm the story until the floor of the church (which depicts scenes from the life of Nicholas of Myra) can be carefully removed.

October 10, 2017
Published in Culture & Art
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Steel Exports up by 7pct in Jan-Sept 2017

According to the data published by Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association (CIB=Çelik İhracatçıları Birliği), Turkish steel exports increased by 7 pct YoY to 13.1 mln tons in the first nine months of 2017. Export value increased by 23.4 pct to USD 8.2 bln. In Jan-Sept 2017, EU remains the top destination for Turkish steel exports. Steel exports to EU were 4 mln tons, a considerable 53 pct increase against the same period last year. Turkish steel exports to Middle East were 3 mln tons and that of North Africa were 1.1 mln tons.

October 10, 2017
Published in Associations
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A Man of Many Talents: Turkish Fashion Designer Goes Global

A fashion designer, painter, decorator and entrepreneur, Emre Ertürk is undoubtedly a diverse artist. For him, every form of art is somehow related to the other, and he loves doing it all. Daily Sabah sat with Ertürk in his lovely office to discuss his line, projects and his new website for online sales. We wanted to know what inspires him in general. Most people know Ertürk as a world-renowned fashion designer specializing in handbags, sunglasses, shirts, skirts and "mostly anything that adds style to people's daily lives," as he says himself. However, there is much more to him than that. "I am also a recognized painter and a professional decorator for home and hotel owners. After opening several art shows in Istanbul, Ankara, London and New York, my yearning to reach out to more people give me the drive to create my own fashion company," Ertürk said.

October 10, 2017
Published in Companies
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United States and Turkey Mutually Suspend Visa Services

Both the United States and Turkey have suspended all non-immigrant visa services for travel between the two countries, after last week's arrest of a US consulate employee in Istanbul.
With some exceptions, the move effectively blocks Turks from travel to the United States, and vice versa, indefinitely. "Recent events have forced the United States government to reassess the commitment of government of Turkey to the security of US mission and personnel," the statement by the US mission in Ankara said.

October 10, 2017
Published in Politics1
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Orbital Space Mission UNOOSA Call for Interest

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is partnering with the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to offer United Nations Member States the opportunity to participate in an orbital space mission utilizing SNC's Dream Chaser® space vehicle. The mission will be open to all Member States of the United Nations, and developing countries are particularly encouraged to participate. The mission will carry experiments, payloads, or satellites provided by institutions in the participating countries.

November 30, -0001
Published in Businessman
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SNC
UNOOSA

The First Annual “Women in Power” Event

The First Annual “Women in Power” Event, in partnership with The Hollywood Reporter will take place at a secret location on Wednesday, October 18th from 11am-3pm. This event is a pre-celebration of Chelsea Film Festival 5th Year Anniversary. Attendance is by invitation-only. For press coverage, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Presented by Chelsea Film Festival.

November 30, -0001
Published in Culture & Art
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Chelsea Film Festival

Four New Members Join The American Turkish Society's Board Of Directors

The American Turkish Society selected four new members to its Board of Directors. Nevzat Aydin, founder and CEO of Yemeksepeti, Seval Oz, founder and CEO of Aurima.ai, William J. Parker, III, PhD, COO at The East West Institute and Andrew Littlejohn, Executive Director of Global Families Group at J.P. Morgan Private Bank are The Society's newest board members. Nevzat Aydin is the co-founder and CEO of Yemeksepeti, the leading online food delivery service in Turkey, which operates in 64 Turkish cities and in Cyprus, with more than 14,000 member restaurants, more than 7.6 million users, and 200,000 orders delivered to 400,000 people on a daily basis. An honoree of The Society's Annual Gala in 2017, Nevzat is a member of the Boards of Endeavor Turkey and TOBB (Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey) Young Entrepreneurs, a member of TUSİAD (Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association), a founding member of Galata Business Angels, Vice President of Trabzonspor Football Club, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Bogazici University.

October 6, 2017
Published in Associations
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Sierra Nevada Corporation CEO Calls for Advancement of U.S. Leadership in Space Economy

CHANTILLY, Va. (Oct. 5, 2017) — Invited to address the newly formed National Space Council, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) CEO Fatih Ozmen today told members that the United States has economic and national security interests in promoting U.S. leadership in space through investments, managing risk, and expanding opportunity in a new space economy. The first meeting of the National Space Council took place at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. SNC's Ozmen was joined by executives from two other leading private space companies, Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, on a panel dedicated to space innovation.

October 5, 2017
Published in Businessman
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Panelists speaking at the 'Success Stories of Turkish American Women in Washington

Activities of Turkish American Women’s Leadership Initiative

On September 29, TCA hosted a panel discussion on the ‘Success Stories of Turkish American Women in Washington’ in collaboration with Turkish Women’s International Network’s (TurkishWIN) DC chapter at TCA headquarters. The speakers included Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Senior Director of Finance and Markets Global Practice at the World Bank Group; Gonul Tol, Director of the Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies; and Merve Hande Akmehmet, Managing Partner of Sandalyeci and President of the Hologram Network. The moderator for the event was Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, the Neil Moskowitz Endowed Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, College Park.

October 5, 2017
Published in Associations
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Batmaz was caught by CCTV cameras at the Akıncı Air Base, the decision center of the coup, on the night of July 15.

Mastermind of July 15 Coup Attempt Was Guest in Gülen’s US Residence, Document Shows

U.S. document that only recently surfaced has confirmed that Kemal Batmaz, one of the masterminds of the July 15 coup attempt, stayed in Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) leader Fetullah Gülen's residence in the U.S. six and a half months before they tried to overthrow the government. Batmaz and Adil Öksüz, two civilians believed to have directedsoldiers on behalf of FETÖ, were caught by CCTV cameras at the 143rd Fleet of the Akıncı Air Base, the command center of the putschist soldiers, on the night of July 15. Öksüz managed to flee after a controversial court ruling ordered his release, while Batmaz was jailed. According to the official document time stamped Jan. 1, 2016, which was released by Turkish daily Hürriyet's columnist Sedat Ergin and later published by Anadolu Agency, Batmaz told American officials questioning him at New Jersey's Newark Airport in the U.S. that he "will stay with Imam Fetullah Gülen in Pennsylvania" during his visit to the country.

October 5, 2017
Published in Politics1
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Chobani Chooses Next Incubator Class of Food and Beverage Startups

Chobani, maker of America's top Greek yogurt brand, has selected seven startups out of more than 550 applicants for its second annual Food Incubator program, based on each company’s commitment to innovation. The program, which began Sept. 26 and runs through December, is situated in a dedicated space at Chobani's sales and marketing offices in New York. The startups were selected based on a combination of product quality and mission, including bringing nutritious and affordable food to more people.

October 1, 2017
Published in Companies
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Ayca Ariyoruk: “To Help Solve Global Conflicts, Populate the Digital Space with Human Facilitators”

We interviewed Ayca Ariyoruk, cross-cultural facilitator and partnerships manager for Soliya Inc., a not-for-profit, technology-enabled organisation educating young people across difference. Ayca is an international development expert and a cross cultural facilitator with over a decade of experience in policy advocacy and in facilitating public-private partnerships for global public good. Previously, as the director for communications at Turkish Philanthropy Funds, a New York based community foundation, Ayca supported education initiatives to empower marginalised youth. At the United Nations Association of the USA (now the UN Foundation), she devised policy research and advocacy campaigns in favour of transparency, reform and US leadership on a range of issues that were on the UN Security Council’s agenda. She started her career as a young scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a public educational foundation dedicated to informed debate on US foreign policy in the Middle East.

September 30, 2017
Published in Technology
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Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and the Chief of the Turkish military, General Hulusi Akar, in Uniform, along with Turkish Ambassador to Somalia, Olgan Bekar, jointly cut the ribbon for the inauguration of Turkey’s largest foreign military base in

Turkey Opens Largest Foreign Military Base in Mogadishu

WASHINGTON — VOA - Turkey’s largest foreign military base in the world opened Saturday in Mogadishu, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Somali leaders, top Turkish military officials and diplomats. Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and the head of the Turkish military, General Hulusi Akar have jointly inaugurated the 4 square kilometer (1.54 square mile) facility, which holds three military residential complexes, training venues, and sports courts. It had been under construction for the last two years.

September 30, 2017
Published in Politicians
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turkish military base in mogadishu

Thomas Cook: British Holidaymakers Are Returning to Egypt and Turkey

Turkey and Egypt are attracting more British holiday bookings, as prices in destinations seen as safer continue to increase. Both countries have seen a slump in visitor numbers due to a series of terror attacks, together with the closure to UK airlines of the main Egyptian resort airport, Sharm el Sheikh. But Peter Fankhauser, Chief Executive of Thomas Cook, said demand had picked up “as customers look for quality and value”. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Both destinations are wonderful countries, with great hotels, great beaches, nice people, and it’s really good value.

“People want to go back. We are not a security company; as long as we have the advice of the Foreign Office that we can fly to Egypt and Turkey, we offer a great product.”

Many holidaymakers have switched from the eastern Mediterranean to destinations perceived as “safe”, notably Spain.

Sales to Spain were unchanged, with “a very competitive trading environment” — due to the sheer number of aircraft seats from the UK to Spanish airports. Average selling prices for seat-only tickets are down 3 per cent, while holiday prices overall have risen by 7 per cent.

“Spanish hoteliers are taking advantage a bit of the increased demand, and prices went up because we have not enough beds for all the demand,” said Mr Fankhauser. He predicted “A 5 to 10 per cent price increase we’ll have for sure in Spain” for summer 2018.

Thomas Cook has faced criticism from some holidaymakers caught up in the extreme weather in the Caribbean and Florida earlier this month, in particular travellers who were in Cuba as Hurricane Irma approached and who say Thomas Cook was slow in responding.

But Mr Fankhauser said: “I am proud of how fast we acted in the wake of Irma to support our customers, and offer them alternative destinations for their winter sun.” (Simon Calder / independent.co.uk)

September 27, 2017
Published in Tourism
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