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The world of chess is talking about the 12-year-old Turkish schoolboy Yagiz Kaan Erdogan. He became one of the four youngest grandmasters in the world in the history of chess games! Yagyz, who participates in the Grande Open chess tournament, received the title of grandmaster from the International Chess Federation and inscribed his name among those who bear the title of "The youngest Grandmaster in the world". Yagyz Kaan Erdogan became the fourth youngest person to achieve this title in the history of chess. In addition, at the age of 11, Erdogan received the title of "The youngest International Master of the World (International Master -IM)".

An ancient sarcophagus was discovered in the Yeshilpynar quarter of the Defne district of Hatay city during repair work on laying an electric cable. The situation was reported to the gendarmerie teams, and teams of experts from the Khatai Museum Department were sent to the scene. The valuable find was transported to the Khatai Museum for study and restoration. The figures and other details on the sarcophagus indicate that it has great historical and archaeological significance. This important discovery in Hatay will allow us to take a fresh look at the rich history and cultural heritage of the region.

According to the TÜIK State Institute of Statistics, inflation in Turkey increased by 3.16% in March and amounted to 68.5% in annual terms. However, the independent organization ENAG, which tracks inflation in Turkey, reports annual inflation of 124.63%.Finance Minister Mehmet Shimshek noted the impact of tight monetary policy on curbing inflation and recalled that by the end of 2024, the Turkish Central Bank predicts a decrease in inflation to 36%.

The Yalova Bonsai Museum, the first bonsai museum in Turkey and the largest bonsai museum in Europe, was opened with the participation of Kenichi Kasahara, Consul General of Japan in Istanbul. The project started back in 2020, when the first steps were taken in the implementation of the museum project and a technical trip abroad was organized. "The Yalova Bonsai Museum opened today, which is the first bonsai museum in Turkey and the largest bonsai museum in Europe. I would like to thank all the people and institutions who provided support, all my colleagues who worked hard, and our distinguished guests who came to the opening of our museum," said Hassan Soyguzel, Chairman of the Provincial General Assembly and a member of the museum's board. 200 bonsai trees of various sizes and shapes are on display in the museum, which has an indoor area of 200 m2 and an outdoor exhibition area of 1500 m2. Tags with the number of the work, the type of wood, the age of the tree and the names of the bonsai masters who own the works are attached next to the trees.

Suleiman Cetinkaya, the founder of the Artaş Holding construction company, established in 1977, expressed his opinion about the decline in housing sales to foreigners. Artaş Holding has sold and commissioned more than 35 thousand houses to date. "For some reason, there is an opinion in our country that housing sales to foreigners are very high. For some reason, this opinion is constantly on the agenda in some circles, despite the fact that TÜIK (Institute of Statistics of Turkey) regularly and openly provides the public with figures indicating the opposite. Let me remind you that the share of foreigners in the total volume of housing sales in our country last year decreased by half compared to the previous year and amounted to 2.9%. Consider that in 2023 alone, Dubai sold $6-7 billion worth of housing to foreigners. In America, this figure is 70-80 billion dollars. In other countries, including Europe, the percentage of foreign real estate sales is much higher than in our country. Why can't we make such sales? There is a popular point of view that says that foreigners raise housing prices. In fact, their share in total sales is so small that they cannot influence prices in any way. In addition, real estate that foreigners buy is rarely considered for purchase by Turkish citizens - it is, as a rule, a completely different market and, accordingly, different prices." It remains to be hoped that officials will listen to the opinion of professionals and will contribute to creating conditions favorable for foreign citizens to invest in real estate in Tuzria.

"Holding municipal elections in a calm and professional atmosphere confirms the honor of Turkey and demonstrates the commitment of citizens to local democracy. Our relations are based on rights and democracy. We look forward to working together on reforms that bring Turkey closer to joining the European Union," said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has made changes to the limits of operations of the Fast Financial Transfer System (FAST). Starting tomorrow, it will be possible to send 100,000 liras in a single transaction in the FAST system (previously, it was possible to send 50,000 liras as much as possible). In transactions carried out using the FAST-TR QR code, the maximum transfer amount has been increased to 250 thousand liras.

Antalya is breaking records - in the first three months of 2024, 1 million tourists visited the resorts of the region! March also broke the historical record for the number of tourists - 500,421 tourists visited Antalya in the first month of spring. This is a 45% increase compared to March 2023. Tourists from which countries preferred Antalya in 2024? Germany - 279.803 people.Russia - 171.770 people.England - 124,621 people.Poland - 34,880 people.Iran - 30.717 people.Ukraine - 16,881 people.Kazakhstan - 16.563 people.Netherlands - 13.222 people.Denmark - 12,832 people.Belgium - 11,848 people.Austria 10.108 people.Switzerland - 9,328 people.

"In accordance with the Law on Notification No. 7201 and the Regulation on Electronic Notification No. 30617, the National Electronic Notification System (UETS) has been established to send and deliver notifications to individuals," the Turkish Interior Ministry's Migration Affairs Department said in a statement. From April 15, when applying for an extension of a Turkish residence permit, it will be necessary to provide the UETS address along with the application and other documents. You can get a UETS address for free at PTT post offices by presenting your passport, TIN, valid Turkish phone number, your e-mail and an application for UETS. After that, you will be given a PDF file. If you have an electronic signature, you can apply for UETS online on the website www.etebligat.gov.tr . What is UETS?The Electronic Notification System (UETS), created and operated by PTT, is a digital notification system. The UETS system allows you to receive all documents transferred on paper after legal and other official actions in digital form. In fact, all official and legal documents will not need to be delivered in paper form. Such documents will be sent by e-mail to the profile opened in the UETS system for both individuals and legal entities.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, has issued a resolution that bans the import and trade of single-use plastic products. The ban is being introduced in stages - at the first stage, from January 1, 2024, the use of disposable plastic bags is prohibited. Non-plastic disposable goods will be banned from June 1, 2024. Cocktail sticks, cups and plastic cotton swabs will be banned from January 1, 2025. From January 1, 2026, a ban on the sale and use of plastic food containers, tableware, as well as plastic cups and lids for them will come into force. The ban does not apply to thin-film tapes used for packaging meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, cereals and bread, as well as garbage bags. The amount of fines for violators of the resolution is 200-2000 dirhams ($55 - $545).

Zeynep Celik, an independent candidate for mayor of the small town of Kalkim in Canakkale province, won the election and became mayor. Thus, Celik became the youngest female mayor in Turkey. There are 1983 voters in the city of Kalkym, 47.91% of whom voted for Zeynep. The girl, who will hold the post of mayor of Kalkym for 5 years, thanked the residents of the city for their support and promised to do everything to justify their trust.

According to the election results, the current mayor of Alanya, Adem Murat Yudzhel, could not get the necessary number of votes to run for a third term and lost the leadership to a member of the CHP party, Osman Taryk Ozchelik. The top three candidates with the highest number of votes are as follows: Osman Taryk Ozchelik - 45.50%Adem Murat Yudzhel - 26.66%Mehmet Shahin - 21.68% Congratulations to Alanya on the new mayor! We wish Osman Taryk success and fruitful work!