Day: July 30, 2021

The number of foreign arrivals in Turkey surged 27.07% year-on-year in the first six months of 2021, the Culture and Tourism Ministry said on Friday.

Nearly 5.8 million foreign nationals visited the country between January and June, an increase from 4.5 million in the same period last year.

Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city by population and its top tourist draw, welcomed 2.8 million foreigners in the first six months of 2021, giving it a share of 47.49% in the overall figure.

It was followed by the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya with 1.5 million visitors and Edirne in northwestern Turkey with 611,306 visitors.

Ukrainians made up 13.9% – 772,437 – of all foreign visitors, followed by Russians at 13.04% (746,724) and Germans at 9.02% (more than 510,000).

The total number of visitors, including Turkish citizens living abroad, in the first six months of the year was 7.5 million, marking a 32.1% increase compared to the same period in 2020, the data showed.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish jets destroyed PKK terror targets in several regions of northern Iraq, across the border, Turkey’s National Defense Ministry said on Friday.

Airstrikes were carried out in the Qandil, Gara, Hakurk and Zap regions of northern Iraq, destroying nearly 40 targets, including shelters, ammunition depots, and caves, said a ministry statement.

It added that, with these operations, the army inflicted a heavy blow on the PKK terror group.

The PKK terror group often uses bases in northern Iraq just across Turkey’s border to hide and plot terror attacks in Turkey.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A suspected PKK terror was arrested in the southeastern Turkish province of Mardin, the Interior Ministry said Friday.

During a routine check on a road linking central Mardin to its Kiziltepe district, police teams found nearly two kilograms of plastic explosive in a car they stopped, said a ministry statement.

The explosives were seized, and the suspect was taken to the provincial police department, it noted.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk

Source: Anadolu Agency

Security forces launched simultaneous operations at 10 locations in eight districts of the metropolis, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A large number of organizational documents and digital materials were also seized, they added.

In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terrorist group.

The country has since been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed assaults.

In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Oil prices dropped on Friday on data signaling that US economic growth is weaker than expected in the second quarter of the year amid rising COVID-19 cases worldwide.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $74.47 per barrel at 0712 GMT for a 0.84% decrease after closing Wednesday at $75.10 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $73.25 a barrel at the same time for a 0.50% fall after ending the previous session at $73.62 per barrel.

Weaker-than-expected data is putting pressure on prices, raising concerns that the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in many countries will negatively affect the global economic recovery and oil demand.

Despite the rise in the number of cases worldwide, expectations that increasing vaccination rates will reduce strict quarantine measures and travel restrictions are limiting further oil price declines.

The US economy showed a slight growth rate of 6.5% in the second quarter, remaining lower than the expected 8.5% rate as strong consumption was partially offset by lagging property investments and inventory drawdowns.

However, the number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 24,000 to 400,000 last week, less than the market expectation of 380,000, according to Labor Department figures on Thursday.

Despite the decline, the unemployment rate rose to 5.9% in June from 5.8% the previous month, according to the figures.

Although the world’s largest economy added 850,000 jobs in June, it still has 9.5 million unemployed.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Novak Djokovic’s bid for a Golden Slam was foiled by a surprise loss to Alexander Zverev in the tennis singles semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday.

The 24-year-old German came from a set down to shock the top-ranked Serb 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 at Tokyo’s Ariake Tennis Park.

Djokovic, ranked number one in the world and a 20-time Grand Slam champion, was vying to be the first man to win all four major titles and an Olympic gold medal in the same year.

The Serb came into the Olympics having won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon this year, and remains a favorite for the US Open, which kicks off on Aug. 30.

American tennis star Steffi Graf became the only player to achieve a Golden Slam in 1988.

Zverev’s challenger for the Olympic gold will be Karen Khachanov of the Russian Olympic Committee, who beat Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to book his final berth.

Djokovic, 34, will face off with Carreno for the bronze medal.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Saudi Arabia will allow fully vaccinated tourists to enter the country as of Aug. 1 following a year and a half break due to the coronavirus, local media reported Friday.

The Saudi news agency SPA cited the Ministry of Tourism as saying that the Kingdom will lift the suspension of entry for tourist visa holders.

“Fully vaccinated tourists can enter the Kingdom without the need for an institutional quarantine period, provided that an official vaccination certificate is presented upon arrival and proof of a PCR test with its negative result within 72 hours from the time of departure,” SPA reported.

“We welcome tourists again, and we are very happy to receive the Kingdom’s guests again after a pause due to the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic,” the agency quoted Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb as saying.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s daily electricity consumption increased by 0.97% to 1,076,957 megawatt-hours on Thursday compared to the previous day, breaking the previous record high set on July 28, according to official figures of the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAS) on Friday.

As temperatures continue to rise and electricity demand increases throughout the country, a new record high was set on Thursday, superseding the 1,066,604 megawatt-hours recorded on July 28.

Hourly power consumption peaked at 51,933 megawatt-hours at 15.00 local time (1200 GMT), data from TEIAS showed. The country’s electricity usage dropped to its lowest level of 35,414 megawatt-hours at 07.00 local time (0400 GMT).

Electricity production amounted to 1,087,319 megawatt-hours on Thursday, marking a 0.9% increase from Wednesday.

Turkey’s electricity production from natural gas plants constituted 36.6% of total electricity consumption, imported coal powerplants contributed 15.1% while hydropower plants comprised 13.6%.

On Thursday, Turkey’s electricity exports amounted to 12,961 megawatt-hours, while imports totaled 2,809 megawatt-hours.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US stock market opened lower Friday with personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index showing an increase in June.

The Dow Jones was down 8 points to 35,076 at 9.55 a.m. EDT, while the S&P 500 fell 12, or 0.3%, to 4,407 with general Electric sliding 1.1%.

The Nasdaq declined 80 points, or 0.54%, to 14,698 as Amazon shares plummeted 6.9% as revenue increase came less than the same period of last year.

The e-commerce firm announced late Thursday its revenue rose 27.2% in the second quarter, which came much lower than the 41% increase in the second quarter of 2020.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes decreased 2.1% to 1.242, and the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was down 0.8% to 17.55.

The dollar index, on the other hand, was up 0.1% to 91.96.

Precious metals reversed course from the previous day’s gains as gold fell 0.2% to $1,824 per ounce and silver was flat at $25.5.

PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, increased 0.5% in June. Core PCE price index, excluding food and energy, rose 0.4% from the previous month. Year-on-year, they were up 4% and 3.5%, respectively.

Source: Anadolu Agency