Turkey has been fighting forest fires for days. Drought was on the agenda before the fires. We still haven’t forgotten the death of the flamingos in Salt Lake. We are paying the heaviest price of the global warming bill in the Anthropocene era. When and how the fires will end is not easy to predict.
As a young journalist, I was assigned to the airport to report on the foreign dignitaries coming to attend Turkey’s 8th president Turgut Özal’s funeral.Some countries came in small delegations, while some others came with two jam-packed airplanes.Seeing my astonishment a veteran diplomat told me: “Set aside the United States, the more advanced a country
A group of journalists covering the wildfires in the Aegean coast of Marmaris were attacked by a pro-government mob late on Aug. 5. Commentators covering the poor measures against the fire that destroyed forests and fields in a peninsula were first interrupted by a group during live broadcast, who said they want to join the
The wildfires continue not only in the forests and on the shores of Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean regions, but also in every field. The fire in politics is visible when the seats in the cabinet of President Tayyip Erdoğan are shaken and the minister-lottery is played in Ankara. The fire in the field of foreign
Wildfires have destroyed forests on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey, claiming at least eight lives. Yet, a political fire burns in Ankara, with debate on a cabinet shift heating up. President Tayyip Erdoğan netted reactions for distributing packages of tea to the fire victims in Marmaris and his motorcade keeping ambulances and fire
The brutal murder of seven members of a family in the court of their house by their neighbor in the Central Anatolian province of Konya on July 30 fueled a debate on racism.The Dedeoğulları, a Kurdish family that moved to Konya some three decades ago, was the target of the massacre by Mehmet Altun, who
Rising temperatures and strong winds have triggered numerous forest fires in southern and western Turkey. At least five people have died in the past few days, wildfires are threatening settlements. Antalya’s Manavgat district was the settlement most affected by the fire hazard. Although the previous fires were generally associated with sabotage, we can say that
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told the German paper Bild on July 25 that those fleeing Afghanistan should go to “neighboring” countries such as Turkey, rather than European Union countries, to seek asylum. It’s a shameful statement because of trying to humiliate refugees and Turkey that he puts into a position of a refugee gatekeeper. He
The Afghan immigration to Turkey increased after the U.S. decision to withdraw from the war-torn country and requested Ankara to keep its soldiers in Kabul. This situation bears risk that the unsuccessful and bloody U.S. campaign in Afghanistan that resulted in new cross-border terrorism troubles for the world may turn into Turkey’s responsibility. But in