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The Council of the European Union has approved new rules for the processing of Schengen visas. On a special online platform it will be possible to enter all data, upload documents and pay the visa fee. Personal application to the consulate will be necessary for those applicants who get Schengen for the first time, whose biometric data are not in the system and who have just received a passport. Instead of a standard visa sticker, a barcode with a cryptographic signature will be placed in the passport. It is planned that the platform will start working in 2026.

Ey p Aksu, president of the Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Drivers, announced that they have demanded a 65% increase in cab fares. If the request is granted, the car pickup fee will be increased to 31.63 liras, the minimum charge per trip to 115 liras and the charge per kilometer to 22.69 liras. "I expect this decision to be made by the end of the month," Aksu said. Last time cab fares were raised by UKOME's decision in August, after which cab fares became 19.17 TL for cab pickup, 70 TL for a minimum trip and 13.75 TL per kilometer.

A total of 1 million 214 thousand 505 people were surveyed. The provinces that scored the maximum number of points in the test are marked in green in the figure.The residents of Eskisehir turned out to be the most intelligent - 105.2 points. They are followed by Ankara - 104.9, Izmir - 104.91, Mugla - 104.12. Fifth place was shared between Istanbul and Canakkale with a score of 104.02 points. Antalya province was in 12th place with a score of 103.29 points.

The Bank of Russia has announced the creation of a joint payment system with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using the digital ruble. The Russian Central Bank will work on the integration of the System of Rapid Payments (SRP), as well as settlements in digital currencies with the UAE, as announced by Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, at the Finopolis-2023 forum. "Already in a year we will be able to build a normal settlement system between Russia and the UAE for citizens and businesses," Skorobogatova said.

In the 7th International Chess Tournament organized by Mersin Municipality, 291 athletes from 13 countries take part. The total prize fund of the tournament is 372,500 liras. The awarding ceremony will be held on November 18, the final day of the tournament. 31 athletes from Azerbaijan, 10 from Iran, 4 from Russia, 3 from Syria, 1 from Georgia, 1 from India, 1 from Kyrgyzstan, 1 from Norway, 1 from Turkmenistan, 1 from Palestine, 1 from USA, 2 from TRNC and 234 athletes from Turkey are participating in the tournament. The prizes will be distributed as follows: 269,500 liras in category A, 66,250 liras in category B, 22,750 liras in category C, 14,000 liras in category D.

Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacir said that the participants of the prestigious congress will be hosted in Antalya in 2026.

Turkish Airlines management met with Airbus representatives in Istanbul to discuss the largest airplane order ever for Turkish Airlines. The company plans to purchase 345 aircraft: 75 A350-900 wide-body aircraft, 15 A350-1000 wide-body aircraft, 5 A350F freighters and 250 A321 NEO narrow-body aircraft. The contract for 10 A350-900 aircraft has already been signed. Earlier, in May 2023, Turkish Airlines Chairman Ahmet Bolat said that the company plans to order a total of 600 new aircraft. The company currently has 435 airplanes and is the airline with the largest route map in the world.

All schoolchildren in Turkey are happy to start their vacation! The Children's Library of Alanya Municipality, inaugurated by Mayor Adem Murat Yucel, invites everyone to interesting activities. The weekly program of workshops and classes can be found on the social media pages of Alanya Municipality. https://www.instagram.com/alanyabelediyekutuphaneleri/?g=5

Not only foreigners are not satisfied with the new rules concerning the increase of the threshold for obtaining a residence permit on tapu from 75 thousand dollars to 200 thousand dollars. Representatives of Alanya's construction and real estate sectors have once again appealed to government officials to cancel or change the new circular. Alanya has always lived off the influx of not only tourists but also foreign investors. Both businessmen and officials believe that the new rules will negatively affect both the profits of local companies and the amount of taxes coming into the budget.

Ali Emiroglu, president of Turkey's Mining Industry Association (TMD), announced ambitious goals for gold production and increased exports. "Our country has the potential to increase gold production to 100 tons per year and increase exports to $15 billion," he said. Turkey is now one of the countries with the largest gold reserves. " In 2023, gold imports increased by 75%," Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said.

The 8th Extraordinary Summit on the situation in Gaza was also attended by the presidents of Turkey, Iran and Syria. Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed the establishment of a fund for the reconstruction of Gaza and said that Turkey is ready to act as a guarantor in the establishment and preservation of peace in the region.

According to Arabian Business, the six Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia) agreed at the 40th meeting in Muscat to introduce a single tourist visa, similar to the European Schengen. The introduction of a single visa is expected to have a positive effect on the economy and tourism of these countries. The introduction of the visa is scheduled for 2024.