Day: June 12, 2021

Demonstrators here in the Lebanese capital protested the economic crisis plaguing the country late Friday.

Groups of protestors gathered in different parts of the city to protest the high cost of living brought on by the devaluation of the currency.

Some shouted and set tires on fire, while others blocked main roads to protest the fuel crisis and worsening conditions.

Roads were re-opened after security forces intervened.

The economy has been in a fragile state due to political divisions based on different religions and sects.

Lebanon has been suffering one of the greatest economic crises since the end of a civil war from 1975-1990.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey rescued 35 asylum seekers in the Aegean Sea on Friday after they were illegally pushed back by Greek authorities into Turkish territorial waters, according to a security source.

Acting on a tip, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued 12 asylum seekers from a rubber boat off the coast of Dikili in western Izmir province, said the source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In another operation, authorities rescued 23 others from a rubber boat and took them to the coast.

After routine checks, they were taken to the provincial migration authority.

Turkey has repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

*Writing by Sena Guler

Source: Anadolu Agency

The global tourism sector will not be able to open until the world is ready for travel under a single system, the head of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) said Friday.

For that to happen, world leaders need to come together.

“Relying on vaccination systems alone will not be enough,” said Taleb Rifai. “We need to come up with different measures. An internationally accepted system should be established,” he said, noting that less than 70% of the world’s population will be vaccinated within five years if vaccination continues at the current rate.

During a speech at the Global Tourism Forum in Bodrum, Rifai said there are poor countries that cannot vaccinate most of their population.

“We must not let this turn into a political game. We need to ensure that it does not turn into a system like ‘the unvaccinated cannot enter, the vaccinated can enter.'”

Otherwise, the world will be completely lost, he warned, adding that the tourism industry will be disrupted if a travel barrier is imposed to travel from a vaccinated destination to an unvaccinated one or vice versa.

He said a hybrid system can be created where vaccination and test results are displayed in a single passport. “It is important to establish an internationally accepted system that will be valid in all countries, and that international world leaders should come together and decide,” he said.

Rifai said that there should be no competition between neighbors in tourism. “What is good for my neighbor will also be good for me.”

He also said insurance policies can be issued to foreigners, noting that crisis and opportunity are expressed in one word in Chinese, and this process can be an opportunity.

– Countries need each other

Pointing out that the Turkish and Jordanian governments have been doing good work promoting tourism amid the coronavirus pandemic, he said: “Countries focus on their own geographies and neighbors and then open up to international waters. We need to agree on at least some procedures in the tourism sector, with transferring these standards to the international level, to a more harmonized system,” he said. “Each country acts on its own, but of course, countries need each other. We cannot think of countries individually, especially when it comes to travel.”

The Global Tourism Forum kicked off Friday on the Turkish Riviera with a focus on the present and future of the sector as the coronavirus pandemic nears a more manageable phase.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A 1,800-year-old statue of a woman was unearthed in Turkey’s western Izmir province, Turkish officials announced on Saturday.

In a Twitter post, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Department of Excavations said the statue was found in the ancient city of Metropolis located in Izmir’s Torbali district, and noted: “Our excavations will continue in 2021.”

It also shared a 39-second video showing the process of unearthing the ancient statue.

The ancient city of Metropolis is located 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the western Turkish city of Izmir and 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the world-renowned ancient city of Ephesus.

The site, which bears traces of Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods, has been under excavation for years as part of a project jointly carried out by the Culture and Tourism Ministry and Celal Bayar University.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The president of Tunisia said late Friday that he was open to dialogue on the solution to an ongoing political crisis.

Kais Saied received Noureddine Taboubi, the head of Tunisian General Labour Union, at the Carthage Palace in the capital where they discussed the political crisis and means of overcoming it.

Saied said he was open to dialogue but indicated he would not establish talks with those suspected of embezzlement.

Tunisia has been gripped by a deep crisis since Jan. 16 when Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi announced a Cabinet reshuffle, but Saied refused to swear in the new ministers.

The country, amid a major economic downturn exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, has also seen protests in several regions.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara

Source: Anadolu Agency