News archive of June 2017

Brett McGurk, the Special Envoy of the U.S. President for the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), arrived in Ankara on June 30 after carrying out inspections in the north of Syria on June 28-29. 

In Aesop's Fables, a group of mice get together to discuss how to rid themselves of the danger of the cat. After much discussion, they decide to put a bell on it, so that they can hear it when it approaches. Who though, the question then becomes, will bell the cat?

The other day, I called a Turkish Cypriot academic friend of mine who has written several articles on the Cyprus issue.

"What do you say; do you think they will solve it this time?" I asked directly.

Ahead of previous similar peace talks, he would always resolutely say, "It will not be solved."

A few days ago we heard from one of the top diplomats of the United States that the "unpredictability" of President Donald Trump's foreign policy has been serving her well in her negotiations with other countries. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, in a hearing before the Congress, implied that Trump's doctrine of diplomatic chaos was a kind of planned strategy.

On Aug. 24, 2016 the Turkish Armed Forces along with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) began a cross-border operation into northern Syria, in a bid to clear its borders from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) elements between the country's Azaz and Mare provinces.

Denmark has recently appointed the world's first ambassador to Silicon Valley. The first "tech-ambassador" on this earth, Casper Klynge, will most likely be joined soon by his foreign counterparts.

Plays staged at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's City Theaters will be viewed by the passengers of the Turkish Airlines, as part of a new campaign to promote Turkish theater to the world.

In the first stage, six plays including one for children will be delivered to Turkish Airlines within 60 days. 

Researcher and documentary maker Gülşah Çeliker has pushed the button to make a documentary on the famous 16th century Ottoman admiral, cartographer and sailor Piri Reis.

Çeliker, who made her name heard with the project on Turkey's first female fighter pilot, Sabiha Gökçen, says she is very excited to present the 75-minute documentary to Turkish and international audiences.

Researchers have found thousands of human and animal bones in the 12,000-year-old ancient settlement of Göbeklitepe in Turkey's southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, known as the "zero point of history," according to an article in the journal Science Advances.

Picture this: you’re on vacation on a beautifully exotic island surrounded by lush greenery miles away from gnarly traffic jams and endless