Latest news with #Istanbul-based
The Hindu
01-08-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Fenerbahce signs defender Skriniar from PSG, Semedo from Wolves
Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar has left French champion Paris St Germain to join Fenerbahce on a four-year contract, the clubs said on Thursday. Fenerbahce said that Skriniar, on loan with the Istanbul-based club since January, will receive an annual salary of 8.0 million euros ($9.13 million). The transfer fee was not disclosed. 'Milan Skriniar... has completed a permanent move to Fenerbahce SK in Türkiye' PSG said in a statement. ALSO READ | Galatasaray breaks Turkish transfer record to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli The 30-year-old joined PSG from Serie A club Inter Milan in 2023 and helped Fenerbahce to second place in the Turkish top flight last season. Portuguese international Nelson Semedo also signed with the club, managed by Jose Mourinho, on a two-year contract. The 31-year-old defender previously played for Barcelona and Benfica and joined the Turkish side on a free transfer after his contract with Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers expired.
Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Fenerbahce sign defender Skriniar from PSG and Semedo from Wolves
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Knockout Phase Playoff - First Leg - Fenerbahce v Anderlecht - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey - February 13, 2025 Fenerbahce's Milan Skriniar celebrates after the match REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya/File Photo GDANSK - Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar has left French champions Paris St Germain to join Fenerbahce on a four-year contract, the clubs said on Thursday. Fenerbahce said that Skriniar, on loan with the Istanbul-based club since January, will receive an annual salary of 8.0 million euros ($9.13 million). The transfer fee was not disclosed. "Milan Skriniar... has completed a permanent move to Fenerbahce SK in Türkiye" PSG said in a statement. The 30-year-old joined PSG from Serie A club Inter Milan in 2023 and helped Fenerbahce to second place in the Turkish top flight last season. Portuguese international Nelson Semedo also signed with the club, managed by Jose Mourinho, on a two-year contract. The 31-year-old defender previously played for Barcelona and Benfica and joined the Turkish side on a free transfer after his contract with Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers expired. ($1=0.876 euros) REUTERS
Straits Times
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Fenerbahce sign defender Skriniar from PSG
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Knockout Phase Playoff - First Leg - Fenerbahce v Anderlecht - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey - February 13, 2025 Fenerbahce's Milan Skriniar celebrates after the match REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya/File Photo GDANSK - Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar has left French champions Paris St Germain to join Fenerbahce on a four-year contract, the Turkish club said on Thursday. Fenerbahce said that Skriniar will receive an annual salary of 8.0 million euros ($9.13 million). The transfer fee was not disclosed. Skriniar moved to the Istanbul-based club on loan from PSG in January before the move was made permanent on Thursday. "Milan Skriniar... has completed a permanent move to Fenerbahce SK in Türkiye" PSG said in a statement. The 30-year-old Skriniar, who joined PSG from Serie A club Inter Milan in 2023, helped Fenerbahce to finish second in the Turkish top flight last season. Fenerbahce are managed by Jose Mourinho. REUTERS
Daily Maverick
31-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
High court drives ‘final nail' into Turkish Karpowership coffin
'The Karpowership deals are now absolutely dead. It will never be loaded on to your electricity bill,' says Outa's executive director, Stefanie Fick. The Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria has formally cancelled the three South African 'emergency power' contracts of the Turkish Karpowership company, nearly a year after two senior government ministers verbally signalled the end to one of South Africa's most controversial electrical power generation agreements. Following a legal settlement agreement reached between the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) on 31 July, the high court has formally set aside the power generation licences granted by Nersa to the Istanbul-based floating powerships company. The agreement recognises that any further court action by Outa to review the legality of the licence awards had become 'academic' after it emerged that the minister of mineral and energy resources advised Karpowership in writing on 29 September 2024 that the multibillion-rand deal had been terminated due to Karpowership's failure to reach commercial close or to meet deadlines as a preferred bidder for the power supply contracts. In October 2024, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Environment Minister Dion George both indicated verbally that the deal was dead in the water — but some civil society organisations nevertheless called for iron-clad assurances that the deal was at an end. At the time, The Green Connection environmental justice group asked: 'Why, if the Karpowership deal is truly off the table, is the government still opposing The Green Connection and Outa's court cases?' The Centre for Environmental Rights law clinic in Cape Town had also called for further reassurances from the government, while Karpowership did not acknowledge or respond to requests for clarity. The plan to moor several floating, gas-powered powerships in Richards Bay, Coega and Saldanha harbours came to light nearly five years ago when Daily Maverick exposed the apparent abuse of an emergency procedure to sidestep environmental authorisation procedures during the Covid-19 crisis. A senior Council for Scientific and Industrial Research engineer later estimated that the gas-to-electricity project could cost taxpayers more than R200-billion over 20 years. This week, in the high court, the final nail appears to have been hammered into the coffin of the South African Karpowership plan following the official cancellation of the power generation licence granted by Nersa, the full terms of which were not disclosed. In a media statement on 31 July, Outa noted that it had filed legal papers in April 2022 calling on the high court to review Nersa's decisions to grant the licences. This led to a three-year fight, including a long dispute over access to documents. 'Outa believes this case contributed significantly to the collapse of the Karpowership deals, as Eskom eventually cancelled the grid access. The removal of the generation licences is the final end of this deal. Outa regards this as a significant legal victory, and a huge victory for the public. 'The Karpowership deals are now absolutely dead. It will never be loaded on to your electricity bill,' said Outa's executive director, advocate Stefanie Fick. 'This ruling is a powerful affirmation that decisions involving billions in public funds must comply with the law. We challenged this process because the public deserves transparency, proper oversight and value for money, none of which were present in this licensing saga.' Nersa and Karpowership have not responded to requests for comment on the legal ruling, but any comments will be added when received. DM
The Star
30-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Turkiye offers financial incentives for more babies
Alarmed by the fact that Turkish women are having fewer children, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has moved to tackle falling birthrates – 'a threat greater than war' – through policies designed to bring on the babies. After declaring 2025 Turkiye's 'Year of the Family', Erdogan in May announced 2026 would mark the start of the 'Decade of the Family'. But his pleas for women to have at least three children and offers of financial incentives for newlyweds may not be enough as Turkiye grapples with a deepening economic crisis. Official figures show Turkiye's birthrate has fallen from 2.38 children per woman in 2001 to 1.48 in 2025 – lower than in France, Britain or the United States – in what Erdogan, a 71-year-old Muslim and father-of-four, has denounced as 'a disaster'. During his 22 years in office – first as premier, then president – fertility rates have dropped sharply in this country of 85 million people. Women are considered culprits for the declining population growth rate, with no acknowledgement of political mistakes, said retired academic and feminist activist Berrin Sonmez. 'People might be hesitant to have children in this chaotic and uncertain environment. Additionally, child support is almost non-existent and education has become the most expensive sector,' she said. Dr Bodur says some women ask for a C-section 'at the first appointment for fear of pain.' No education, no jobs High inflation has raged in Turkiye for the past four years, forcing education costs up by more than 70% over the past year, official data shows. In the first quarter, unemployment stood at 8.2%, or 15% among 15- to 24-year-olds. Researchers with the DISK union say the real rate is 28.5%, and 37.5% among young people. But the government seems bent on fixing other issues, such as Turkiye's record number of elective Caesarean births – which stands at 61%, rising to 78% in some private hospitals. In April, Turkiye banned C-section births at private healthcare facilities 'without a medical justification'. The procedure generally limits the number of pregnancies to two, or a maximum of three. C-sections: the 'safer option' Medical professionals say the high number of C-sections is linked to the rampant privatisation of the healthcare system since the late 1990s. C-sections are more time-efficient for medical staff – 30 minutes, versus 12 hours for a traditional delivery – and lower the risk of legal action over complications, said Hakan Coker, an Istanbul-based gynaecologist. 'Ultimately, C-sections are perceived as a guarantee of safety' for doctors and women alike, he said. Dr Harika Bodur, an obstetrician at a major Istanbul hospital, said some women ask for a C-section 'at the first appointment for fear of pain'. 'If you refuse, they'll go elsewhere,' she said. The fear is rooted in a lack of education and discomfort with sexuality. The health ministry says it is now 'aiming for a target rate of 20% (of C-sections) by encouraging normal childbirth through education of future parents'. But the word 'normal' has raised hackles – notably in April, when a football team carried a huge banner promoting vaginal births onto the pitch before a top-flight clash, which read: 'Natural birth is normal.' Women as 'birthing machines' 'If I don't want to, I won't have any children at all, it's my right,' said 23-year-old chemistry student Secil Murtazaoglu. By offering interest-free loans of 150,000 Turkish lira (RM16,135) for newlyweds and a monthly allowance of 5,000 lira (RM537) from the third child onwards, Erdogan was trying 'to turn women into birthing machines', Murtazaoglu said. Feminist activist Sonmez said women were subjected to huge pressures, both within their families and within society, when the much more pressing issue was the need to tackle gender violence. 'We must start by combating violence against women: such policies have been eradicated and protections seriously undermined,' she said. – AFP
