Author: Hikmet Ozogus

 As part of its efforts to preserve marine resources, seawater quality, and beach cleanliness within the general framework of Year of Sustainability, the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has launched an integrated programme to monitor plastic waste in the marine and coastal environment of the country. A series of scientific studies will be conducted as part of the programme to enhance efforts to reduce plastic waste. The studies will use a wide range of methods to measure the quantities and sizes of plastic waste in the country’s seawater and beaches. The study aims to identify the types of…

Before two earthquakes hit the Turkish province of Hatay, there were more than 30 shops making künefe. The few that remain are determined to keep this beloved tradition alive. It was an early November evening in downtown Hatay, Turkey’s southernmost province bordering Syria. The weather was warm, with pleasant, everlasting breezes. Just having finished up an assignment, I met up with a fellow journalist in the old town. After some kebab, meze and many rakis, stopping at a künefe shop to indulge in the cheesy Levantine dessert was our best option for ending a perfect night. The künefe’s thin, string-like strands of…

He is so calm he sometimes drives even his own colleagues crazy, one close confidant says. And yet 74-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu – pronounced Kilitch-daro-lu – has the biggest chance so far of unseating Turkey’s most powerful man, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, since he took power 20 years ago. A soft-spoken former civil servant, he is the very antithesis of Turkey’s grandstanding, powerful president. He has lost several elections since he took charge of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2010, when his predecessor was forced out because of an extra-marital affair. Perhaps not the obvious candidate, then, for six opposition parties uniting behind…

The Czech company Aircraft Industries held a presentation of the L410 NG aircraft at the Dushanbe International Airport on February 27. The turboprop aircraft can accommodate 19 passengers and can be used for local airlines. During the flight, representatives of the government, heads of aviation structures and journalists were able to evaluate the aircraft. A demonstration flight was made for them. The L410 NG is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency. The modernized aircraft has improved flight parameters and operational characteristics, and is equipped with innovative avionics. Earlier, the Somon Air delegation visited the LET Aircraft Industries plant in the Czech…

Brussels, Berlin (21/3 – 42.86) Tajikistan, a small fragile country in Central Asia, has been facing a multitude of issues in recent years. With a population of just over 9 million, the country has been plagued by corruption, crimes against humanity, violation of human rights, and impoverishment of the people. The neighboring Taliban regime in Kabul is threatening Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan over water resources with constructing a 258-kilometer Kosh Tepa canal. The hydraulic dam structure will deplete the central Asian states water resources. War preparations are continuously reported in local central Asian news outlet after defense ministers from the region…

Avesta.Tj – The fourth international tournament on the national type of wrestling “gushtingiri” will be held on March 18-19 this year in Dushanbe. The relevant resolution on holding this tournament in honor of the International Holiday of Navruz was signed by the Mayor of Dushanbe Rustam Emomali It was instructed to allocate 1 million 196 thousand somoni from the Capital Development Fund for the tournament. Responsible structures were instructed to organize and hold this sporting event at the highest level. It is expected that the best wrestlers from abroad and domestic athletes will take part in it.   Source: Avesta

Frankfurt, Brussels, London (15/12 – 40). Shortly after being re-elected in Kazakhstan’s presidential snap election on November 20, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a series of state visits to Russia and the European countries, building partnership, advocating peace and cooperation, and cementing Kazakhstan’s position as the new diplomatic center between East, West and Asia. President Tokayev has called for peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia during the Collective Security Council session of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) on November 23 in Yerevan, Armenia. The meeting gathered Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko,…