Latest news with #Turks'
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Turkey's Visa Issues: EU Eases Schengen Regulations Amid Calls for Visa-Free Travel, ETTravelWorld
Advt Advt Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals. Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. All about ETTravelWorld industry right on your smartphone! Download the ETTravelWorld App and get the Realtime updates and Save your favourite articles. The European Union has eased rules for Turks to use its open-border Schengen area, the bloc's ambassador to Ankara said on Friday, calling for the urgent revival of negotiations on visa-free travel for years, Turks have complained about the EU's visa system. The EU has said the processes - managed by accredited visa agencies - have been slow due to the high number of applications and that it is discussing possible workarounds with Ankara. Ambassador Thomas Hans Ossowski said the new rules would help address Turks' complaints over long bureaucratic processes but warned it was not enough to permanently solve the problems."It will be much easier and much faster for Turkish citizens," Ossowski told reporters in Ankara, referring to the European Commission's new decision, in effect since July 15, simplifying the path to multiple-entry visas for who previously used visas correctly will be eligible for a six-month visa as early as their second application, followed by one-year, three-year and five-year multiple-entry foreign ministry welcomed the move and said Turkish institutions and the EU Commission would keep seeking further visa Minister Omer Bolat said the measure was a "facilitation that our citizens have been awaiting for a long time".Bolat also told the state-owned Anadolu news agency that Turkey wanted to start talks on modernising a customs union with the EU and for the scope of the accord to expand into the service and e-commerce has been an EU membership candidate since 1999 but its accession process has been frozen for years over issues ranging from human rights to democratic backsliding. There have recently been signs of increased engagement and economic said the EU had for more than a decade offered Turkey the prospect of visa-free travel and stressed the need to return to the liberalisation process."Every other candidate country has visa-free travel except Turkey," he said. "It is urgent to re-engage in this process of visa-free travel in the Schengen space and the EU," he Commission is ready to restart formal negotiations after the summer and work with Ankara on fulfilling the six remaining benchmarks required by the visa liberalisation roadmap, he said."We are ready, the Commission is ready to work closely with Turkish authorities," he said.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
EU eases Schengen visa rules for Turks; envoy urges further moves
ANKARA - The European Union has eased rules for Turks to use its open-border Schengen area, the bloc's ambassador to Ankara said on Friday, calling for the urgent revival of negotiations on visa-free travel for Turks. For years, Turks have complained about the EU's visa system. The EU has said the processes - managed by accredited visa agencies - have been slow due to the high number of applications and that it is discussing possible workarounds with Ankara. Ambassador Thomas Hans Ossowski said the new rules would help address Turks' complaints over long bureaucratic processes, but warned it was not enough to permanently solve the problems. "It will be much easier and much faster for Turkish citizens," Ossowski told reporters in Ankara, referring to the European Commission's new decision, in effect since July 15, simplifying the path to multiple-entry visas for Turks. Turks who previously used visas correctly will be eligible for a six-month visa as early as their second application, followed by one-year, three-year and five-year multiple-entry visas. Turkey has been an EU membership candidate since 1999 but its accession process has been frozen for years over issues ranging from human rights to democratic backsliding. There have recently been signs of increased engagement and economic cooperation. Ossowski said the EU had for more than a decade offered Turkey the prospect of visa-free travel and stressed the need to return to the liberalisation process. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore HSA looking to get anti-vape cyber surveillance tool with AI capabilities Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Singapore NTU upholds zero grade for student who used AI in essay; panel found 14 false citations or data Singapore Character counts as much as grades: Desmond Lee tells students after a class on race and culture Singapore Residents in South West District get help to improve employability, find career opportunities Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore at Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high "Every other candidate country has visa-free travel except Turkey," he said. "It is urgent to re-engage in this process of visa-free travel in the Schengen space and the EU," he added. The Commission is ready to restart formal negotiations after the summer and work with Ankara on fulfilling the six remaining benchmarks required by the visa liberalisation roadmap, he said. "We are ready, the Commission is ready to work closely with Turkish authorities," he said. REUTERS
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Found a Mysterious Secret Chamber Beneath a 12th-Century Castle
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Researchers discovered a secret sealed room in Ukraine's historic Galician Castle. After accessing the sealed room, the researchers found that it was once a fortified space for storing weapons and testing artillery. The research team may have also discovered the beginning of a network of tunnels—known only through legend—beneath the castle. For 300 years, nobody knew that a secret sealed room existed in Ukraine's historic Galician Castle, let alone entered it. But researchers recently discovered the room and broke that seal, discovering that it was likely a fortified space for storing weapons and (possibly) even firing artillery. The castle—prominent in the 12th through 17th centuries in the western Ukrainian city of Halych—has long been an attraction. When archaeologists from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine noticed a ventilation shaft among a tower's ruins, it led to an unknown room that hasn't been used for 300 years, according to a report from Heritage Daily. Most likely, it had been cut off from the rest of the castle since the Turkish-Polish War of 1676. As the shaft was too narrow to access—Vladimir Oleynik, director general of the Ancient Galich National Reserve, told Heritage Daily—crews dug through over 5,200 cubic feet of debris by hand to access the room. Oleynik said that the manual labor was key in ensuring artifacts weren't damaged and the integrity of the structure wasn't compromised while accessing the chamber. Once inside, archaeologists discovered that the room was likely a casemate—a fortified space for storing and testing weapons. Evidence for this included the walls (which featured dark soot stains, a common result of firing artillery from the time), and the presence of a ventilation shaft (they were popular in casemates to allow smoke to escape). The Galician Castle—sometimes known as Starasta Castle—was originally a wooden fortress from the 12th century, and was built along the Dniester River. In the 14th century, Casimir III the Great led major renovations, after which the castle was used as a residence. In the early 17th century, architect Francisco Corazzini designed a remodel, but not even a century later, the Turks' army sieged the castle with cannons during the Turkish-Polish War of 1676. Experts believe that the bombing of the castle buried the ventilation shaft, covering the recently rediscovered room. 'This part of the castle has been completely cut off since the explosion,' Oleynik said. 'No heavy machinery could be used, so it was all done manually to preserve the archaeological integrity.' Isolated from the main fortress, use of the chamber as a casemate makes sense, but crews will continue to analyze finds within the room to better understand how it fit into the site's patchwork ruins. Crews may soon have some more pieces of that puzzle to explore, as the team located a small gap in the chamber's walls that could lead to further exploration. With a legend circulating throughout the city that the castle site features secret underground passages—one such story tells of how the love-struck daughter of a high-ranking official escaped with her chosen man, all thanks to her maid bribing castle guards—any little clue about the existence of such tunnels would add a fresh level of intrigue to the site. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Reuters
26-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Turkish inflation expectations tick up after market turmoil: Reuters poll
ISTANBUL, March 26 (Reuters) - Turkish inflation is expected to end the year a bit higher than previously expected, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday, reflecting fallout from a currency selloff after authorities detained and jailed Istanbul's mayor last week. Based on the median forecast of nine poll respondents, year-end inflation is seen at 29.75%, up one percentage point from the previous poll, due to fallout from market volatility last week in which Turkish assets fell. The lira dropped as much as 12% on Wednesday last week after Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - President Tayyip Erdogan's chief political rival - was charged, detained and later jailed pending a trial in moves that raised concerns over rule of law. The forecasts suggest a risk to an economic picture in which both inflation and interest rates were heading lower as part of an orthodox economic programme that promised Turks future relief after years of soaring prices and currency crashes. The annual rate is expected to fall to 38.9% in March from February's 39.05%, the Reuters poll showed. The monthly inflation rate is seen edging up to 3% based on the median, with forecasts ranging from 2.7% to 3.56%. Lira briefly touched a record low of 42 against the U.S. dollar last Wednesday though later recovered most of those losses. It has since remained near 38 due to central bank steps to stabilise it. The central bank tightened its funding rate by 400 basis points and sold some $27 billion in foreign reserves since the mayor's arrest, data shows. It expects year-end inflation of 24% based on its February forecast. Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley said the "front-loaded currency depreciation" will likely lift inflation readings mainly in April and May. "Provided that FX pressures remain contained, and inflationary pressures start easing from June, the (central bank) may have room to restart cuts in June," it wrote. Morgan Stanley also said they've revised up their end-year policy rate forecast to 33.5% from 30.5% previously. EASING CYCLE The next central bank policy rate decision is set to April 17 when it could slow, pause or even reverse its easing cycle, analysts say. It held an unscheduled meeting last week to hike the overnight borrowing rate. The central bank has initiated an easing cycle and cut its policy rate to 42.5% gradually in the past three scheduled meetings. Before that, since mid-2023, it raised the rate 4,150 basis points to cool inflation in a shift to orthodox policy, after years of low rates aimed at fostering growth. Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek and Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan told investors on a call Tuesday that they expect especially the April inflation reading to be somewhat higher due to the lira's 4% depreciation, a participant said. They see a 40% "pass through" rate, which measures how much the depreciation lifts prices mostly via imports. Another signal that the market turmoil may have shaken Turks' confidence in price relief came from the Koc University Household Inflation Expectations Survey conducted between March 15 and 19 last week. On March 19 - the day Imamoglu was detained and the lira sold off - "we observed a noticeable shift in the overall that the political crisis is being reflected in household expectations," said Selva Demiralp, a Koc professor who leads the survey. The March survey data, which tracks annual and year-end expectations, it not yet released. In recent months it and other surveys have shown still-lofty expectations ticking down. The Turkish Statistical Institute will release March inflation data at 0700 GMT on April 3.
