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According to a statement released yesterday, the Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) has successfully carried out the first test payment transactions of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Turkish Lira, on its CBDC network. The CBRT has stated that it will continue to run “small-scale, closed-loop application pilot tests” with technology stakeholders in the first quarter of 2023. It will later expand the pilot to include selected banks and financial technology companies over the course of the year. https://cointelegraph.com/news/turkey-s-central-bank-completes-first-cbdc-test-with-more-to-come-in-2023

via .ORGWorld News

So if Assad defends the Kurds, he's the bad guy. If Assad lets Turkey invade and wipe out the Kurds, he's a bad guy for that too.

The Turkish lira (-2.4% against the dollar) and the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index (-2.7%) took a beating when both the U.S. and Turkish governments announced they would stop issuing most new visas to each other’s citizens. Even though the U.S. and Turkey are NATO allies, they’re desperately in need of couples therapy. The relationship first turned sour when Turkish President Erdogan accused the U.S. of harboring a cleric who (allegedly) instigated a failed coup in 2016. And now there’s this visa debacle, coming days after Turkish authorities arrested a U.S. embassy employee in Istanbul…also in connection with the coup. The quasi-diplomatic crisis finds the Turkish economy at a crossroads. On one hand, GDP rose 5.1% in Q2 (ahead of most developing nations) and the consumer confidence index jumped nearly 7 points. But the economy is also on the verge of overheating—YoY inflation sat above 11% for the second straight month. A public dispute with an old friend isn’t going to help.

via TheWorldNewsOrg World News

via TheWorldNewsOrg via journal.theworldnewsmedia.org

they are rounding them, i'm guessing there will be a mass execution? one like we haven't seen in a long time i'm guessing..

The military in Turkey claims to have taken over the government, detaining the country’s leaders and seizing buildings amid scenes of tanks on the streets and the sound of explosions.

One of the attackers at Istanbul Ataturk Airport smashing his rifle on the floor in frustration over being unable to find new victims.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Turkey violated the right to freedom of religion of a group of Jehovah Witnesses in İzmir and Mersin through “direct interference” by refusing to grant them appropriate places of worship. The Association for Solidarity with Jehovah Witnesses and others appealed against the ECHR against Turkey in June 2010 and complained that national authorities refused to grant a place of worship status to their houses of worship while also rejecting their requests to provide access to places of worship. In the appeal, the association claimed Turkey violated the group’s right to freedom of religion (Article 9), right to a fair trial (Article 6) and freedom of assembly and association (Article 11). The group added that they did not benefit from the right to an effective remedy (Article 13) and were discriminated against over their membership to a minority religious community – a violation of prohibition of discrimination (Article 14). The aforementioned difficulties arose from a Turkish Law No. 3194 on Urban Planning which prohibits the opening of places of worship on sites which were designated for other purposes in local development plans. The same law also established a number of conditions to build places of worship. Accordingly, even a small place of worship must have a surface area of at least 2,550 square meters. The private premises which were used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the southern province of Mersin and the Aegean province of İzmir were closed down by authorities for being “unlawful.” Appeals by the believers for the allocation or use of alternative premises as places of worship were also turned down by courts. In its decision, the ECHR ruled that “the impugned rejections by the authorities amounted to such a direct interference with their freedom of religion that it was neither proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued nor necessary in a democratic society.” Noting that states are largely free to implement urban planning policies, the court nevertheless underlined that the needs of minority communities were not taken into consideration by state authorities. “Domestic courts had taken no account of the specific needs of a small community of believers,” the ECHR said, adding that Turkey’s practices were in violation of Article 9 of the convention. Violations of the remaining articles on which the Jehovah Witnesses complained should also be declared admissible, the court said, but found no need to examine their merits because they were already sufficiently covered. Turkey was ordered to pay 1,000 euros to the applicants in non-pecuniary damages in addition to 4,000 euros to cover their costs and expenses. Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-violated-religious-freedoms-of-jehovah-witnesses-echr.aspx?pageID=238&nID=99591&NewsCatID=509

Amarna had lived in Turkey for six months while working as a wedding planner and had always begged her family to come over. Her mum said: "She had wanted the entire family to go out there, but I never thought it would be under these circumstances. "She knew all of the locals and they are coming up to me in the street and saying it feels like they have lost a sister. "Nothing will make this better but it helps knowing how well-loved she is. "I know she is my daughter and I'm going to be biased but some people are just that little bit different and special. "She was kind-hearted and friendly. She was so strong and I'd like to think her strength is going to live on through us." Amarna and Jakadi had been on a one-week holiday and were due to fly home last Wednesday. Amarna, who has four sisters - Kyanne, 12, lvladison, six, and two-year-old twins Ada and Lylah - had just set up a health business with her mum before the trip. They were driving behind two lorries when cars became agitated at them because they were driving at 25mph, so they pulled over. Step-dad Craig Baumber, 33, said: "As far as we know, they pulled into the country's equivalent of the hard shoulder to let the cars pass but they ended up running out of road and going 'down a verge." Amarna was already unconscious when medics arrived and pronounced dead at the scene. The family have set-up fundraising page on JustGiving to help with the cost of bringing Armana's body home and her funeral. They are also raising money to pay for a flight for Jakadi when she is able to lay flat, and have already amassed £8,000. Craig, who is also a singer, added: "We do not know how much it's going to cost but it's already in the thousands. "I tried to put a modest target of £3,000 and we've already passed that. "Any extra will go towards giving her the best send off she could possibly have." Dozens of family members and friends have also paid tribute to Armana on her Facebook page. Cousin Shana-Louise Smalley, who studies photography at New College Nottingham, said: "Being told that my beautiful, sweet and kind-hearted cousin had suffered an accident on holiday in Turkey and had sadly passed away broke my heart into a million pieces. ''It hurts so much knowing I will never see her beautiful smile or hear her infectious laugh again. "I will never be able to sit with her and laugh until I cry and listen to her tell me about all of the amazing things she is going to do and the funny things she's already done. "You were my rock all through school and my life will never be the same without you." And friend Ess Pree commented and said: "So beautiful. So full of life, so full of ambition, so much to offer the world. "This isn't real, I refuse to believe it. You was an angel before you left us." Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/7178600/Brit-tourist-21-dies-in-freak-quad-bike-accident-on-holiday-in-Turkey-after-being-forced-off-the-road-by-tailgaters.html

Authorities in Turkey breached European human rights law by refusing to provide the Mersin and İzmir Jehovah’s Witnesses with an appropriate place of worship. In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of Association for Solidarity with Jehovah Witnesses and Others v. Turkey (applications nos. 36915/10 and 8606/13) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 9 (right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights As just satisfaction (Article 41), the court held that Turkey was to pay 1,000 euros (EUR) jointly to the applicants in application no. 36915/10 and EUR 1,000 to the applicant association in application no. 8606/13 in respect of nonpecuniary damage, and EUR 4,000 to the applicants jointly in respect of costs and expenses. On the basis of a law prohibiting the opening of places of worship on sites not designated for that purpose and imposing certain conditions on the building of places of worship, the private premises which the Mersin and İzmir congregations of the Jehovah’s Witnesses had been using were closed by the national authorities and their applications to use those premises as places of worship were rejected. The congregations were also informed that the local development plans comprised no sites which could be used as places of worship. The court found in particular that the congregations in question were unable to obtain an appropriate place in which to worship on a regular basis, which amounted to such a direct interference with their freedom of religion that it was neither proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued, that is to say the prevention of disorder, nor necessary in a democratic society. The court considered that the domestic court had taken no account of the specific needs of a small community of believers and noted that the impugned legislation made no mention of that type of need, whereas, given the small number of adherents, the congregations in question needed not a building with a specific architectural design but a simple meeting room in which to worship, meet and teach their beliefs. Source: http://www.humanrightseurope.org/2016/05/turkey-refusing-worship-place-to-jehovahs-witnesses-breached-human-rights-law/

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Turkey violated the right to freedom of religion of a group of Jehovah Witnesses in İzmir and Mersin through “direct interference” by refusing to grant them appropriate places of worship. The Association for Solidarity with Jehovah Witnesses and others appealed against the ECHR against Turkey in June 2010 and complained that national authorities refused to grant a place of worship status to their houses of worship while also rejecting their requests to provide access to places of worship. In the appeal, the association claimed Turkey violated the group’s right to freedom of religion (Article 9), right to a fair trial (Article 6) and freedom of assembly and association (Article 11). The group added that they did not benefit from the right to an effective remedy (Article 13) and were discriminated against over their membership to a minority religious community – a violation of prohibition of discrimination (Article 14). The aforementioned difficulties arose from a Turkish Law No. 3194 on Urban Planning which prohibits the opening of places of worship on sites which were designated for other purposes in local development plans. The same law also established a number of conditions to build places of worship. Accordingly, even a small place of worship must have a surface area of at least 2,550 square meters. The private premises which were used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the southern province of Mersin and the Aegean province of İzmir were closed down by authorities for being “unlawful.” Appeals by the believers for the allocation or use of alternative premises as places of worship were also turned down by courts. In its decision, the ECHR ruled that “the impugned rejections by the authorities amounted to such a direct interference with their freedom of religion that it was neither proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued nor necessary in a democratic society.” Noting that states are largely free to implement urban planning policies, the court nevertheless underlined that the needs of minority communities were not taken into consideration by state authorities. “Domestic courts had taken no account of the specific needs of a small community of believers,” the ECHR said, adding that Turkey’s practices were in violation of Article 9 of the convention. Violations of the remaining articles on which the Jehovah Witnesses complained should also be declared admissible, the court said, but found no need to examine their merits because they were already sufficiently covered. Turkey was ordered to pay 1,000 euros to the applicants in non-pecuniary damages in addition to 4,000 euros to cover their costs and expenses. Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nid=99591&NewsCatID=509

The state-sanctioned seizure is just the latest in a number of worrying developments to come out of increasingly hardline Turkey, which is in advanced talks with the EU over visa-free travel for its 80 million citizens. Included in the seizures are Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches, one of which is over 1,700 years old. They have now effectively become state property - meaning they are run by the government - in a country with a dire human rights record where about 98 percent of the population is Muslim. The order to seize the churches was made on March 25 by Erdogan's council of ministers, according to the website World Watch Monitor. They claim it was made on the grounds that authorities intend to rebuild and restore the historical centre of the city, which has been partially destroyed by 10 months of urban conflict between government forces and militants from the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey declares a curfew in the town of Yüksekova on the border with Iran as Turkish forces prepare an offensive against the PKK. An explosion occurs in central Ankara, Turkey, with at least 34 people killed and 125 wounded.