In his remarks, Secretary-General Ambassador Sohail Mahmood emphasized that education, science, and technology constitute vital pillars of D-8 cooperation, offering significant opportunities for strengthening institutional linkages and advancing collaborative initiatives. He particularly highlighted the D-8 Network of Pioneers for Research and Innovation (NPRI) as a flagship platform connecting leading Universities across D-8 Member States, currently comprising 28 prominent institutions. The Secretary-General encouraged more Pakistani Universities and institutions of higher learning to become part of NPRI through relevant national Ministries.

The Secretary-General also noted Pakistan’s important role in hosting key D-8 affiliated bodies -- including the D-8 NPRI Secretariat at COMSATS University, Islamabad; and the D-8 Research Center for Agriculture and Food Security (RCAFS) at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.

The delegation members commended the Secretariat’s efforts in promoting academic and scientific collaboration and expressed strong interest in expanding engagement with D-8 initiatives, especially within the NPRI framework.

They added that the delegation was visiting Türkiye to participate in the Eurasia Higher Education Summit (EURIE) 2026, which brought together a broad representation of Universities and institutions, reflecting Pakistan’s expanding higher education landscape and its commitment to international academic cooperation.

The exchanges in the meeting reflect a shared commitment among D-8 Member States to strengthen knowledge-based cooperation and foster innovation-driven development through enhanced collaboration in higher education, research, and technology.

Source: Press release from Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8)

According to information obtained from the Türkiye National Agency, at APAIE 2026, considered the most prestigious and comprehensive event in the Asia-Pacific region, Turkish universities held hundreds of meetings and signed bilateral and multilateral agreements.

The internationalization vision in higher education was represented in alignment with the "Türkiye Century" goals and the "Re-Asia Initiative" announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2019.

While aiming to strengthen relations with Asian countries systematically and steadily within the framework of a holistic and comprehensive strategy, Türkiye's academic capacity, research power, and dynamic structure open to cooperation were also showcased on the Asia-Pacific stage.

İlker Astarcı, Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Türkiye National Agency, stated in his evaluation, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that "there is a Türkiye wind blowing in the world."

Astarcı noted that they took part in the APAIE fair under the leadership of the Türkiye National Agency with 82 Turkish universities and participated in the world's largest higher education fairs, adding that they have also attended fairs held in countries such as the USA and Sweden.

Astarcı explained that they held numerous meetings and signed international agreements within the scope of APAIE, conveying the message that they continue to promote "the higher education community that will leave its mark on Türkiye's centennial" on a global scale.

Medipol Health Group provided institutional support for an event that integrated science, technology, and clinical expertise. Organized by PARMER, NeuroLab Istanbul 2026 addressed a broad spectrum of topics, including Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery and advanced programming methodologies; objective assessment of gait, balance, and tremor; applications of Magnetic Resonance–guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS); and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence–assisted strategies. Through the “How I Do” theme, the summit sought to communicate not only which interventions are employed in the diagnosis and management of movement disorders, but the procedural nuances, implementation practices, and experiential foundations that inform clinical decision-making.

Dizzying Speed in Treatment and Diagnosis:

On behalf of the NeuroLab Istanbul Organizing Committee, Associate Professor Dr. Ali Zırh (Department of Neurosurgery, Medipol Acıbadem District Hospital) provided an evaluative overview of recent developments in the field. He emphasized that the diagnosis and management of movement disorders are progressing at a markedly accelerated rate both globally and within the country. He attributed these advances to the introduction of novel diagnostic modalities, increased disease awareness, and the concurrent evolution of technologies and therapeutic options. According to Dr. Zırh, these combined developments have yielded substantive progress in the management broad spectrum of movement disorders, with particular impact on Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Zırh further characterized NeuroLab Istanbul 2026 as an event that convenes leading international experts devoted to movement disorders for educational purposes. With robust participation from domestic faculty, the meeting functions not only as a training forum but also as a scientific platform for knowledge exchange, hardware and device development, and the strategic planning of future therapeutic approaches.

Technology-Supported New Approaches In Movement Disorders

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zırh said, "with Deep brain stimulation, MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound—and the introduction of robotic surgery into current treatments, together with the rollout of device-supported applications developing in parallel, the field has now become a structure where multidisciplinary discussions are necessary, and different and innovative treatment methods specific to each patient are applied. At NeuroLab 2026, experts in the field share their knowledge and experience and carry out a solid and high-quality knowledge sharing with the aim of guiding young physicians with the lessons learned and experiences gained from previous experiences.”

Multidimensional Perspectives On Movement Disorders

Dr. Alfonso Fasano, a member of the NeuroLab Istanbul Organizing Committee, consultant physician for PARMER, and faculty member in the Department of Neurology at the University of Toronto, was among those who contributed to the summit. Describing the event as a scientific meeting aimed at examining different aspects of movement disorders from a practical perspective, Dr. Fasano said, “To offer our participants the best possible program, we invited highly respected expert colleagues in their fields. All speakers address different facets of the movement disorders field. Presentations cover a wide spectrum, from the diagnosis of various diseases to the treatment of advanced-stage Parkinson’s disease. More specific topics, such as functional movement disorders, are also explored in depth. The field of movement disorders is growing fast and almost exponentially; technology plays a major role in this development. In particular, new techniques used in deep brain stimulation and the ability to create lesions in the brain with MR-guided focused ultrasound without opening the skull — that is, without making an incision — are among the important innovations. We also make use of pump systems for medication delivery,” he said.

We Are Going Through an Exciting Period.

“At the meeting that features a ‘course of excellence in the treatment of movement disorders,’ there is a highly respected, international lineup of speakers in the field, and participants presented top-level scientific content,” said Prof. Dr. Andres Lozano, a Neurosurgeon at the University of Toronto and an expert in neurosurgery. He stated, “There are quite remarkable advances in the treatment of movement disorders. New application techniques in deep brain stimulation are available. Additionally, new methods like MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) are being developed that allow lesioning in the brain without surgery. In the coming period, many innovations are on the agenda, such as studies involving the transplantation of dopamine-producing cells into the brains of Parkinson’s patients, gene therapies, and brain–machine interfaces. In short, we are going through an exciting era in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.”

Important Progress Has Been Recorded.

Neurology expert Prof. Dr. Alberto Espay, who serves as Professor and Emeritus Chair of the James J. and Joan A. Gardner Parkinson’s Disease Center at Cincinnati University, expressed that he was quite impressed by the scientific level of the presentations at the meeting. He stated, “The meeting was truly very successful. I particularly appreciate the diversity of topics in the program. I believe this is extremely valuable for participants in daily neurology practice. In recent years, many new treatment options have emerged for Parkinson’s disease. While there is still work to be done in disease-modifying therapies, substantial progress has been made in symptomatic treatments. In particular, surgical therapies have shown remarkable developments in terms of the magnitude of their benefits.”

On One Hand Evaluation, On The Other Hand Education

Highlighting the excitement around NeuroLab Istanbul 2026, Prof. Dr. Francesca Morgante, Neurology Expert at ST. George‘s, University of London, Chair of the Eleanor Peel Aging Studies and Head of the Department of Neuromodulation and Motor Control, said, “We addressed the phenomenology of movement disorders; we conducted training sessions on how these diseases should be evaluated and examined, including conditions such as tremor and abrupt jerk movements. We also shared practical recommendations for the treatment of complex symptoms such as orthostatic hypotension seen in Parkinson’s disease and for managing motor complications.”

Reciprocal Collaboration Opportunity

Highlighting notable developments in the field of movement disorders in recent years, Prof. Mohammad Rohani, Neurologist at Rasoul Akram Hospital in Iran, stated, “New technologies and new treatment methods have been developed. Deep brain stimulation can provide miraculous results for some movement disorder patients. It can be effective in both dystonia and Parkinson’s patients. Turkey is one of the leading countries in the Middle East and the region in this field. I believe opportunities for mutual collaboration will grow even more in the future.”

Important Gains Made

Neurologist Prof. Dr. Murat Emre, one of the leading experts of movement disorders and cognitive impairments in Turkey, commenting on the summit, said, “Technological developments will have significant and lasting effects on neurological diseases in both diagnostic and treatment processes. The meeting was a highly productive scientific organization that comprehensively addressed movement disorders, with international faculty delivering presentations. I hope these kinds of meetings continue to provide important gains for young trainees, residences, and specialists.”

Support For Young Researchers

Young researchers were not forgotten within NeuroLab Istanbul 2026. Within the program, awards for “Best Case Presentation,” “Best Research Project,” and the “Dr. Alfonso Fasano Fellowship” were announced.

What is MRgFUS (MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound) Treatment?

MRgFUS is a non-invasive treatment method used for movement disorders, performed under MRI guidance and does not require incisions. The treatment is based on focusing ultrasound waves, directed with millimetric precision to the brain’s target region responsible for the disease, especially tremor.

Before treatment, the patient undergoes a preparatory process. The head is fixed and a stereotactic frame is placed to ensure accurate targeting. Local anesthesia is administered at this stage. At the same time, a special cooling system is used around the head to balance heat that may arise during the procedure.

After preparation, the patient is taken into the MRI machine with the frame on the head. During treatment, the patient remains awake and communicates with the physicians. Using high-resolution MRI images, the brain regions responsible for the disease, including the tremor, are identified with millimetric precision.

During application, ultrasound waves are first sent to the target region at low energy. Temperature changes are monitored via MRI, and the clinical effect is assessed. Once the target accuracy and the response obtained are confirmed, controlled energy is applied to create a permanent lesion.

The entire process proceeds with coordinated imaging and clinical assessment. This ensures that both targeting accuracy and safety are prioritized. The procedure typically lasts a few hours, and patients are often discharged on the same day.

MRgFUS requires careful planning and patient selection. When evaluated in suitable patients, it can offer a meaningful option to reduce tremor’s impact on daily life or to lessen leading symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The treatment decision should always be made after a thorough neurological assessment and individualized planning.

Applications for Türkiye Scholarships 2026, administered by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and Türkiye’s brand in international higher education, are still underway. Applications for the program, which offers scholarship opportunities for international students to study in Türkiye, are accepted in a single period between January 10 and February 20, 2026.

With the increasing number of applications each year, Türkiye Scholarships reinforces Türkiye’s strong position in international education. Over 125,000 applications received from 171 countries in 2025 stand as a significant indicator of Türkiye’s role in international student mobility.

THE WORLD’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Türkiye Scholarships offers international students from all corners of the world the opportunity to study with scholarships at Türkiye’s most prestigious universities, providing not only education quality at international standards but also a wealth of knowledge and experience. The program includes comprehensive benefits such as university and department placement, monthly stipend, tuition fees, health insurance, dormitory and accommodation, free professional and academic programs, and round-trip flight tickets. With this scope, Türkiye Scholarships stands out as the world’s most comprehensive scholarship program.

OPEN TO DIFFERENT STUDY LEVELS

2026 Türkiye Scholarships applications will be open to candidates seeking education at associate, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Application dates for other scholarship programs such as Research Scholarships, Success Scholarships, and KATİP will be announced at different times. Current information regarding these programs will be shared via Türkiye Scholarships' official website and social media accounts.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE PART OF TÜRKİYE’S GLOBAL VISION

Speaking about Türkiye Scholarships, YTB President Abdulhadi Turus stated that Türkiye has reached an important point in international education worldwide. Emphasizing that international students are part of Türkiye’s global education vision, Turus said: “The main goal of Türkiye Scholarships is to provide scholarships to successful students from around the world, offering them higher education opportunities at Türkiye’s prestigious universities, and after our students graduate and become ‘Türkiye Alumni’, to foster cultural, social, political, and economic cooperation between Türkiye and their home countries through them. In summary, this scholarship program aims to contribute to regional and global development in fields such as academia, technology, art, and economics, and to create a global alumni network that will strengthen the ties between our graduates’ countries and Türkiye.”

APPLICATION DATES AND ADDRESS

Türkiye Scholarships 2026 applications will be accepted between January 10 and February 20, 2026. For detailed information and the application process, visit www.turkiyeburslari.gov.tr.

For additional information, visit:

www.turkiyeburslari.gov.tr/hakkimizda/medyavetanitim/afis

Agency’s productive participation

Introtema Copyright and Translation Agency played an active role at the event, organizing specialized matchmaking sessions with publishers from China, the Philippines, Italy, and South Korea. Over the course of five days, the agency conducted more than 200 one-on-one meetings with publishers, agencies, and rights representatives from around the world. These meetings laid the groundwork for new projects and reinforced existing collaborations.

Recognition for promoting Turkish literature

A highlight of the fair for Introtema was the award ceremony organized on the 20th anniversary of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s TEDA Program. The agency was presented with a plaque honoring its successful efforts in introducing Turkish literature to international readerships. This recognition underscored Introtema’s long-standing commitment to cultural exchange and its influential role in global publishing.

Global team collaboration

The Frankfurt event also provided an opportunity for Introtema’s team members from its offices in Istanbul, China, Azerbaijan, and Germany to come together. This convergence of colleagues enhanced the agency’s coordinated presence and symbolized its multinational operational strength.

Türkiye Tech Visa: A Gateway for Global Innovators

Launched by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the Türkiye Tech Visa is an exclusive invitation program designed for technology experts with critical skills and startups with groundbreaking ideas.

The program offers a wide range of privileges, including:

1. A 3-year work permit exclusive to Türkiye Tech Visa holders
2. Simplified residence permit processes for families
3. Tax exemptions in technology development zones
4. Comprehensive healthcare assurance
5. Office opportunities in technoparks and incubation centers
6. Venture capital investments and financing support
7. Mentorship and consultancy for growth
8. And a dedicated partner to ease integration into the Turkish tech ecosystem

With these incentives, Türkiye is not only opening its doors to global talent but also ensuring that innovators find the right environment to scale their ambitions.

A Springboard for Startups and Talent

Türkiye’s fast-growing technology ecosystem already hosts world-renowned projects, from unmanned aerial vehicles to electric cars, and continues to expand across artificial intelligence, fintech, biotechnology, and more.

For startups, Türkiye offers fertile ground to grow, supported by government incentives, a large domestic market, competitive talent costs, and quick access to global markets.

For tech professionals, the country provides opportunities to work on future-shaping projects alongside motivated teams in state-of-the-art facilities.

Turcorn 100: Building the Next Generation of Global Tech Giants

Türkiye’s ambition is clear: not just to attract talent, but to build global champions. The Turcorn 100 Program, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, aims to help startups on their journey to becoming unicorns — “Turcorns.”

At GITEX Global 2025 in Dubai — one of the world’s largest technology and AI events — Sadullah Uzun, Director General of National Technology at the Ministry of Industry and Technology, told Anadolu Agency that Türkiye is determined to accelerate the global journey of its tech entrepreneurs:

“Our mission is to support startups on their journey to becoming Turcorns and help them access global investors faster. By 2030, we aim for the total valuation of our Turcorns to reach $100 billion.”

Uzun highlighted that more than 7,000 companies and 200,000 participants attended the event, including 2,000 startups, many of which were able to connect with investors. Türkiye also introduced its unique Turcorn Lounge concept, where startups met potential partners and investors in a dynamic environment that blended networking with Turkish hospitality.

The program already includes dozens of promising ventures, some of which are securing international contracts and attracting global investors.

Why Türkiye?

1. Advanced Technology Ecosystem with strong R&D support
2. Highly educated, young population
3. Modern lifestyle and vibrant culture
4. Comprehensive healthcare system
5. Government incentives and support mechanisms
6. Strategic location at the heart of global markets

Türkiye is not only at the geographic center of the world — it is determined to become the center of technological innovation as well.

A Call to Innovators

Türkiye is extending an invitation to visionaries:

Whether you are a tech expert seeking groundbreaking opportunities, or a startup ready to scale globally, Türkiye offers the springboard to unlock your true potential.

US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, Massachusetts issued an injunction barring the Trump administration from moving forward with mass layoffs that would cut the agency's workforce in half and ordered the government to reinstate 1,300 laid-off workers.

"The record abundantly reveals that defendants' true intention is to effectively dismantle the department without an authorizing statute," Joun wrote in his ruling, adding that the plaintiffs "have provided an in-depth look into how the massive reduction in staff has made it effectively impossible for the Department to carry out its statutorily mandated functions."

Joun wrote that the plaintiffs have demonstrated irreparable harm with school districts having delays in federal funding and the layoffs resulted in the "practical elimination" of essential offices in the Federal Student Aid office (FAFSA).

"The Department's actions have directly impacted the FAFSA system and risk its functionality," wrote Joun.

The decision is a blow to Trump's efforts to eliminate the agency and also stifles the president's directive to move student loans and programs for students with disabilities outside the department.

The Trump administration is expected to file an appeal.

Only an act of Congress can definitively close the Education Department, but Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are seeking to reduce its size and scope as much as possible while urging lawmakers to eliminate it.

Ventos Gymnasium in the city became the first school in the country to introduce a ban on phone use by students who are now required to put their phones in lockers when they come to school and cannot retrieve them until they go home, LRT noted.

Commenting on the issue, Daiva Griciene, the school’s headmistress, said: “There is a big problem of students getting addicted to phones in class.”

Also remarking, Augustas Kiudulas, a student at the school, stressed that the ban made students communicate with each other more.

Against this backdrop, experts warn that more and more pupils are becoming emotionally dependent on their smartphones and the situation has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic.

A draft law regulating the use of mobile phones has been debated in the Lithuanian parliament. However, no nationwide policy regulating the use of mobile phones at school has been introduced so far.

The government banned the abaya, a loose-fitting, full-length robe worn by some Muslim students, as of Monday, when the school year started.

Out of the 12 million students nationwide, 298 of them came to school wearing an abaya despite the ban, and 67 of them refused to remove it, Education Minister Gabriel Attal said.

The abaya ban is not a fresh debate for France, but it has dominated the French news agenda for a while now and tends to occult the real problems in the education system, according to teachers' unions.

Secretary-General of the Snes-FSU trade union, Sophie Venetitay, told broadcaster France Inter on Aug. 28 that the abaya debate was masking a lack of teachers and overcrowded classes.

President Emmanuel Macron and the minister, however, have promised that every class would have a teacher.

Staff at the most problematic schools in those terms will go on strike in the coming days to protest the lack of resources.

Teachers' unions are also calling for better salaries.

According to a report published in 2022, the average salary of a French teacher with 15 years of experience is getting 19% less than the OECD average wage.

"This decision seems to confront the universal and inviolable values of the familial education framework, and the interests of the students and their families," Muslim associations said in a statement on social media.

The EVRAS program on relational, affectional and sexual life "raises major concerns when it comes to its means of application and the messages that it will deliver," according to the group, who said decision-makers must recognize families' right to choose their children's education.

Expressing "total disagreement" with the program, the group said it was against the "hypersexualization" of children.

"We also fear that the EVRAS program could erode the religious freedom and parents' rights to guide their children's education according to their beliefs," it said and urged authorities to hear the concerns.

It also noted that the program violates children's rights.

The statement was signed by seven associations including the Diyanet Foundation, Islamic Federation of Belgium, Federation of Albanian Mosques in Belgium, Belgium African Mosques Union, Liege Mosques Union, Belgium Bosnian Islamic Community and Ehli-Beyt Turkish Islamic Culture Center.

Expert teams will go to schools as part of the EVRAS program to give students a sexual, affectional and biological education via animations.

The project which will be adopted in parliament Thursday, targets 85,000 students in the French-speaking Wallonia region and 25,000 in Brussels.

Cezeri Science and Technology Schools, with students from over 45 countries, achieved success in different fields at two separate conferences in Istanbul, including the "Model United Nations" program for high school students to address global issues.

Cezeri students excelled in the February and March Model United Nations Conference, receiving awards for "Best Delegate," "Honorable Mention," and "Outstanding Achievement."

Among the recipients were Haya Al Haj Arhayem, Leul Kebede Tessama, Mostafa Houssari, Osama AlMahmoud, Farah Darwish, Nismah Alqasmee, Enver Mehcur, Dalla Darwish, Abdul Rahman Jameel, Rasheed Kilani, and Malak Ahmed.

- Achievements at TEKNOFEST 2023

Cezeri Science and Technology Elementary School students achieved success at TEKNOFEST 2023 by reaching the finals in the "Educational Technologies" category with their team "Maverics Team."

The team's advisor teacher, Ziad Elkhouly, also the head of the school's technology department, praised the students' hard work and deserving accomplishment.

High school students of the "8 Ideas Team" achieved success by reaching the finals in the Disaster Management category of the Humanitarian Technology Competition with their innovative vehicle.

The project gained significant attention at the festival and received support and appreciation from various national and international organizations.

Türkiye's premiere technology and aviation event TEKNOFEST is organized every year by the T3 Foundation and the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry.

- First places in Swimming and Taekwondo

Cezeri Technology School student Cemal Celal Ceyhan became the Turkish champion in the 100-meter fin swimming category at the Individual Türkiye Championship on May 31.

Meanwhile, Nusret Efe Cakir, another student from Cezeri Technology Schools, won the Istanbul championship in the 63-kilogram category at the Youth Istanbul Taekwondo Championship organized by the Turkish Taekwondo Federation in May.

*Writing by Necva Tastan

The lawsuit, filed by the Lawyers for Civil Rights group on behalf of the Chica Project, the African Community Economic Development of New England, and the Greater Boston Latino Network, alleges that nearly 70% of Harvard’s donor-related and legacy applicants are white.

"Qualified and highly deserving applicants of color are harmed as a result, as admissions slots are given instead to the overwhelmingly white applicants who benefit from Harvard’s legacy and donor preferences," Lawyers for Civil Rights said in a statement on Monday.

"Even worse, this preferential treatment has nothing to do with an applicant’s merit. Instead, it is an unfair and unearned benefit that is conferred solely based on the family that the applicant is born into. This custom, pattern, and practice is exclusionary and discriminatory. It severely disadvantages and harms applicants of color."

The lawsuit comes after the Supreme Court overturned race-based college admissions last week.

Universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice," said Chief Justice John Roberts in the conservative majority ruling.

According to the results announced by the Interior Ministry, the New Democracy party won 40.56% of the votes, with SYRIZA gaining 17.83%, down from 20.07 % from previous elections held on May 21.

The New Democracy won an outright majority in the parliament to form a single-party government with the 158 seats it secured in the 300-seat parliament.

The social democratic PASOK party received 11.86%, while the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) became the fourth largest with 7.67% of the votes.

Meanwhile, the far-right Spartans party, which was openly backed by imprisoned lawmaker Ilias Kasidiaris of the banned neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, won over 4.68% of the votes and entered the parliament for the first time.

Also, the far-right, populist Greek Solution party and the far-right, religious Niki (Victory) party were others that passed the 3% electoral threshold and entered the parliament, with 4.45% and 3.70%, respectively.

The polls also show that the Sailing for Freedom party founded by former Parliament Speaker Zoe Constantopoulou secured seats in the parliament with 3.17%, while the MeRA25 led by SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras’ former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis stayed out of the parliament with 2.46%.

The turnout rate in Sunday's elections was only 52.75%, down from 61.1% in the May 21 elections.

- Reactions by party leaders

Addressing his supporters in front of the party building, Mitsotakis said they will rule the country without arrogance and will accelerate the reforms.

Accepting the defeat, which he called "heavy," SYRIZA leader Tsipras stressed that three far-right parties will be in the new parliament.

He added that the party will undergo a serious change in the face of the election defeat.

PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, in his brief speech, underlined the rise of neo-Nazis and extremists in the country's political scene.

Similarly, KKE's leader Dimitris Koutsoubas noted the strong presence of the far-right parties, saying the days will be tough but that they will be at the forefront of the struggle against capitalist-class and imperialism.

Vassilis Stigas, the head of the Spartans party, thanked Kasidiaris for his support, which, he said, played a significant role in the party's unexpected victory.

Dimitris Natsios, the leader of the another extreme-right party Niki, said in a statement that they will fight for Hellenism and common people.

The discovery, expected to provide insights into the origins of life on Earth and the possibility of extraterrestrial life, revolves around the concept of homochirality, which explains the preference for specific mirror-image forms of molecules in living organisms.

Furkan Ozturk, 26 and his team's research has been published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Science Advances. They have made progress in understanding the origin of biological handedness and propose that magnetic minerals on early Earth may have played a role in selecting one mirror-image form of biomolecules over the other.

In 1848, French chemist Louis Pasteur introduced the concept of homochirality, which explains that certain molecules necessary for life exist in mirror-image forms, just like the left and right hands. However, despite 175 years of research, the origin of this property remained one of biology’s great mysteries.

Although more work is needed to fully unravel the mystery, scientists believe this discovery is a crucial step in understanding the fundamental processes that initiated the formation of life.

- 'A real breakthrough'

"It’s a real breakthrough. Homochirality is essential to get biology started, and this is possible—and I would say very likely – solution," said Nobel laureate biochemist Jack Szostak, according to the journal.

Ozturk, who earned a bachelor’s in physics at Bilkent University in the Turkish capital Ankara, has been doing research on the origins of life for approximately two-and-a-half years at Harvard.

- 'We begin to see first traces of life on Earth'

"Approximately 4 billion years ago, roughly 500 million years after the formation of the solar system and our Earth, we begin to see the first traces of life on Earth," the 26-year-old physicist told Anadolu.

His experimental studies aim to shed light on this mystery, which the journal recognized as one of the 125 greatest problems in the natural sciences, he added.

About the impact of his discovery, he said: "Our discovery sheds light on the origin of life, a major mystery in nature. It's like solving a puzzle, where we have limited evidence from 4 billion years ago. Our study contributes a significant piece to understanding life's origin.

"Although we’re unsure how it all fits together, this discovery will help answer questions and provide clues about life's beginnings. It could also offer insights into life on other planets. Understanding Earth's life formation enhances our knowledge of conditions for life elsewhere. This knowledge guides the search for extraterrestrial life, although certainty remains a challenge, it's possible,” he added.

Asked about the potential window of opportunity of this discovery for the scientific world, Ozturk said: "Honestly, I believe this discovery can lead us to the point where we can create life in a laboratory setting. My goal is to recreate the conditions of life's origin in a laboratory and witness how life emerges with my own eyes."

Although the fighting has intensified in some areas, Borrell told Spanish broadcaster TVE that “Ukraine still hasn’t launched the counteroffensive that everyone is waiting for.”

Borrell’s comments came just days after the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine was destroyed. While Moscow has blamed Kyiv, Borrell said “everything indicates” that Russia is behind the destruction.

“The dam was destroyed with explosives installed within the turbine chamber. And it occurred in an area under Russian control … it would be difficult for it to be anyone else,” Borrell continued.

The EU’s foreign policy chief called the dam breach an enormous humanitarian and environmental catastrophe that will impact the battlefield.

“The consequences for Ukraine are terrible,” he added.

Russia and Ukraine traded blame over the blast, which destroyed part of the dam in Kherson, southern Ukraine, that supplied water to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Ukrainian officials said on Thursday that 29 communities along the Dnipro River have flooded. The local mayor of Nova Kakhovka city, Vladimir Leontiev, told Russian media that five people were found dead.

Borrell also accused Russia of attacking civilians who had been evacuated from flooded cities.

The program enabled 106 students and teachers to carry out internships and personnel mobility in Austria and Belgium. The project has so far provided 95 students and 11 teachers from various departments with internship mobility and on-site training sessions in Vienna, Austria, and Brussels, Belgium.

Within the framework of internship mobility and on-site practice training sessions, which were held in three separate groups on 1-30 October 2022, 13 November-10 December 2022, and 12 February-13 March 2023. The program also included cultural trips and information programs to give students a diverse experience.

Students who participated in the program shared their experiences at a meeting held at Şehit Yüzbaşı Yusuf Kenan Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School as part of the "Dissemination of Project Results".

MUSIAD, which has Erasmus+ Accreditation for European Union Erasmus+ Vocational Education Learner and Staff Mobility, will continue to expand the mobility with vocational internship mobility, on-site application activities, and expert participation. Furthermore, the Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer announced at the Vocational Education and Employment Workshop held at the MUSIAD Headquarters in October 2022 that the studies on vocational education and Erasmus+ Vocational Education Learner and Personnel Mobility would be expanded.

The European Union Erasmus+ Vocational Education Learner and Personnel Mobility program supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union Presidency, and the Turkish National Agency aims to enable vocational education students to participate in internship mobility abroad and gain new experiences with on-site practical training.

Launched by San Francisco-based OpenAI in November, ChatGPT's popularity quickly surged as it gained more than 1 million users in five days with its detailed and human-like responses in dialogue format, challenging incorrect premises, and answering follow-up questions.

It has great potential to transform the way we collect information while its capabilities quickly draw attention.

Twitter's CEO Elon Musk praised the program, defining it as "scary good."

While many experts argue that ChatGPT's capabilities can provide opportunities to innovate in diverse fields, including education, the challenges that the AI bot poses for students and teachers alike also demand consideration.

Darren Hick experienced one of these challenges when he caught a student cheating with the program to write an essay.

"I was immediately worried about what the future looked like. This is a game-changer for plagiarism. It's free, it's nearly instantaneous, and it's designed to get better. This will be very enticing to students who are considering plagiarizing," he told Anadolu in an explanation about his thoughts when he realized the student was cheating with ChatGPT.

Hick, who teaches philosophy at Furman University in the US state of South Carolina, warned that teachers or instructors should always be on guard against cheating and so need to be aware of it, and what it can do.

"Plagiarism isn't new, and I don't think we're going to see an enormous rise in the number of plagiarists out there, but I think we'll see a lot of the students who would plagiarize turning to ChatGPT and similar AI."

Mary L. Churchill, an associate dean for strategic initiatives and community engagement who serves as program director for the Higher Education Administration at Boston University, struck a more conciliatory tone as she told Anadolu that teachers should "adapt to the reality of ChatGPT."

Still, some schools and universities see the program as a threat, with possible negative ramifications on student learning, while educators raise concerns that ChatGPT could inspire cheating and plagiarism.

US school districts in New York City, Los Angeles, and Baltimore have responded to the chatbot by banning it on public school devices and networks.

Jenna Lyle, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education, said that ChatGPT, while answering questions quickly, does not "build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success."

The leading Group of Eight universities in Australia changed how they would run assessments in 2023, including "greater use of pen and paper exams and tests."

However, it is not difficult to see that students are likely to find a way around restrictions, which Churchill said will fail to prevent the use of ChatGPT.

"We will need to find creative ways to use this tool in our teaching. For example, asking students to create a first draft of an assignment with ChatGPT and then asking students to critique that draft."

- Great transformative potential, but needs time to adapt

Hick highlighted that ChatGPT makes factual errors in responding to questions.

"If a student doesn't already know the material, then they can't tell what ChatGPT has gotten right and what it's gotten wrong," he said, while also opposing its banning in schools. "Helping students to know what ChatGPT can't do is probably more useful than simply restricting access."

ChatGPT is a new technology and needs time to adapt to education, but so far, it has demonstrated that it offers a lot of potential for different industries.

Hick noted that figuring out how best to use it in the classroom is an issue.

"Certainly, I now have to think about ChatGPT every time I give an assignment to students, but I can also ask how I might actually use it in the classroom," he said.

"For instance, I teach about the nature of the mind, and the old question of whether computers could have minds. ChatGPT raises the bar here, and I would be remiss in not having my students play with it."

He added that creative educators could come up with ways to incorporate it into the classroom.

"But, at the same time, it is a loaded weapon," he concluded.

First, a solemn welcoming ceremony was held, and the defense ministers of both countries passed along the guard of honor. The national anthems of Azerbaijan and Italy were performed as well.

Crosetto signed the “Book of Honor” in accordance with the protocol.

Hasanov welcomed the guests, informing the delegation about the military-political situation in the region following the second Karabakh war.

It was emphasized that Azerbaijan-Italy cooperation on military education, as well as within NATO, continues rapidly. Hasanov noted that this visit is the beginning of a new development stage in the Azerbaijan-Italy military cooperation.

Crosetto, in turn, thanked for the hospitality and highlighted the importance of developing military cooperation between the two countries.

The minister emphasized the significance of mutual visits in the development of relations between the countries based on strategic partnership.

During the meeting, the further expansion of cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Italy in military, military-technical, and military-educational spheres, as well as other issues of mutual interest were discussed.

In the end, the defense ministers of both countries signed a protocol of intent on training and education cooperation.

“I think the YTB scholarships are a great opportunity for foreign students. I can recommend it not only for Moroccan students but also fellow students from all over the world to study in Türkiye,” Ayoub Salem told Anadolu at the Turkish institution's Istanbul office, near the iconic Taksim Square.

Salem is fluent in Turkish and thanks to Türkiye Scholarships program he came to the country’s largest city in 2010 to study at Istanbul University’s Communication Faculty. He later earned a master’s degree in HR and now is a new media PhD candidate at Istanbul’s Yildiz Technical University.

Noting that these grants are offered to successful students, Salem said: “As part of these scholarships, students are provided accommodation, air tickets, meals, health insurance, and most importantly, internship and job opportunities.”

“I think this is a very good opportunity for students,” said the 34-year-old communications expert who now works for Turkish TRT broadcaster as a producer.

- ‘Turks felt like my family’

Originally from the northern Moroccan city of Meknes, Salem has been living in Türkiye for over a decade now.

While many Moroccans studying abroad head to France, as their second language is French, he said: “Actually, (originally) the idea of ​​studying in Türkiye never occurred to me. It was a complete coincidence.”

Although he said he was familiar with Ottoman history from his high school years, he said that he applied for the scholarship without really knowing the Turkish language or culture.

Despite all the uncertainties, when Salem arrived in Istanbul, he said he felt like he was at home.

“Turkish people are really good, I felt them like my family. From the very first day, I didn’t feel like a foreigner at all,” he explained.

Noting that Türkiye is a majority-Muslim country, Salem highlighted this as an “important factor” for him to apply for the scholarship. He noted the mosques and hearing the call to prayer in the streets as well as eating halal food made according to Muslim standards.

“These are very important. Some friends who study in Europe don’t experience these. So I’m very lucky,” he said.

- YTB ​ greatly contributed to careers

He also mentioned a certificate program on international journalism organized with the cooperation of Anadolu and the YTB in 2015. “This was a great opportunity for me because I benefited from the experiences of the instructors at Anadolu, and this training provided my current career.”

The son of a retired soldier and a housewife, Salem said that he was a busy student while living in Morocco. “When I was in high school, I was attending international conferences abroad.”

Despite having the right to gain Turkish citizenship after living and working in the country for over a decade, Salem has not become a Turkish citizen yet, explaining: “Because I don't live here to get Turkish citizenship, or a passport, I'm here because I love Türkiye.”

“Morocco's economic situation is better at the moment. But here I am, it's like my home now,” he said.

Noting that the YTB ​​has greatly contributed to his career in the media and television industry, he said that the institution ​​opened the door for him to enter the sector.

“This mutual education network also serves as an important bridge between Türkiye and Morocco,” he said. “I hope to see very successful Moroccans in Türkiye in the coming decade.”

Salem, along with his friends, also established a foundation to bring together Moroccan students, or professionals who are living in Türkiye and also act as a bridge for economic, political, and cultural cooperation between the two countries.

They have organized festivals along with the YTB in Istanbul, and their new project focuses on an exchange program for young people from both countries. He also mentioned a cultural event held by Türkiye’s Yunus Emre Insitute in the northern Moroccan city of Tatvan.

Saying that Turkish-Moroccan ties are flourishing thanks to good relations between the two countries, he also said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited Moroccan King Mohammed VI to visit Türkiye.

On Tuesday, public scholarship applications opened for international students considering studying at Turkish universities this year.

The Türkiye Scholarships program, also known as Türkiye Burslari, offers a range of programs for undergraduate, graduate, research, and language education opportunities in Türkiye's most prestigious universities for international students and researchers.

Applications for the scholarships, provided by the country's Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), will be open online until Feb. 20 at the website tbbs.Türkiyeburslari.gov.tr.

Established in 2012, the YTB is responsible for coordinating activities of Turks living abroad and developing relations through economic, social, and cultural activities.

More than 90 students attended the workshop facilitated by the expert staff of TRT and GZT. At the end of the training, videos prepared by the students were evaluated and gifts were presented to the most successful team.

Speaking at the certificate ceremony held at the end of the training, Kyrgyzstan – Turkey Manas University Rector Prof. Dr. Alparslan Ceylan said, “Our youths definitely learned a lot from this workshop, I would like to thank all the institutions and trainers who contributed.”

TIKA Bishkek Coordinator Osman Usta emphasized the importance of strengthening the relations between the two countries and the media sector.

Media Manas, operating within Manas University, played an important role in the planning and implementation of the training. Trainers from TRT and GZT conveyed their thanks to the University and Media Manas management and emphasized that they would like to see the youths who will start their careers among them one day.

Second stage of training program held in Kyrgyzstan Maarif Schools

Kyrgyzstan Maarif Schools, the first and only Maarif School in Central Asia, became the second address where education is practiced. In the training program attended by 55 high school students, youths received comprehensive training in telephone journalism and social media literacy. At the end of the training, videos created by the trainees who produced creative content were shared on TRT and GZT's social media platforms.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the program, Metin Kılınç, director of the Kyrgyzstan Maarif Schools, said, "We have been wanting to implement this training in our school for a long time, it has been a very productive week for our students."

Speaking at the closing ceremony, GZT Editorial Director Doğukan Gezer noted that it was very productive to meet with youths from the Turkic world.

TRT Journalism for Youth Project Manager Alpay Arı said in his speech, “Our project was developed to enable youths to tell their own stories in disadvantaged areas. It is very meaningful for us to come together with the Turkic world.”

The trainers who went to Kyrgyzstan as part of the training later met with the students from the Kyrgyz Turkish Anatolian Vocational High School for Girls.

The video shows them apparently confessing to working for the French intelligence agency to "foment unrest" in Iran over the death last month of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Amini died after being detained by Iran's morality police for an alleged violation of the dress code. The cause of her death remains shrouded in mystery, and the official probe has yet to be concluded.

Major Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran, have been rocked by angry demonstrations in recent weeks and pitched battles between protesters and policemen.

The government has not given an official casualty toll from the ongoing protests, but international human rights watchdogs have put the death toll at more than 100.

The video posted by state media shows French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, both of whom are associated with France’s National Federation of Education, Culture, and Vocational Training.

Kohler, wearing a headscarf, introduces herself as an "operative" for the French spy agency aiming to "put pressure on Iran's government" to bring about regime change.

According to Iranian media, the short clip is part of a documentary that will be aired on state TV in the coming days to support claims made by top Iranian authorities in recent days of a "foreign hand" in the ongoing protests.

Reacting to the video, the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday described the confession as “shameful, revolting, and unacceptable."

“Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris have been arbitrarily detained in Iran since May 2022, and as such are state hostages ... the staging of their supposed confessions is shameful, revolting, unacceptable and contrary to international law,” said a ministry statement.

Meanwhile, the European Union is reportedly mulling sanctions on Iran in the coming weeks, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday, without providing further details.

In a phone call with Borrell on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned against any "hasty political action" by the European Union, saying Tehran will give an appropriate response.

Also on Wednesday, the top Iranian diplomat spoke to his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, warning against what he called "hasty and ill-considered" action by the European bloc against Iran.

Last week, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said that it had arrested nine foreign nationals from Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden, among others, for alleged involvement in recent protests.

Many foreign envoys in Tehran have also been summoned in recent weeks over support for protesters.

On Wednesday, the British envoy was summoned for the second time in two weeks. Last week, the French charge d'affaires was also summoned to protest France’s "interference in Iran's domestic affairs.”

Speaking at an end of 2021-2022 academic year ceremony in Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “We are in a multifaceted struggle to raise the quality of education, make education more widespread and achieve equality of opportunity in education.”

Erdogan noted that Türkiye has always allocated the lion’s share to education in all budgets prepared by his Justice and Development (AK) Party governments.

“We have inaugurated in our 81 provinces a large number of educational institutions, from kindergartens to primary schools, from secondary schools to high schools and universities,” said Erdogan.

“That is why we see education as the beginning of every work. That is why we mobilize all our resources for education. We consider every penny spent for education as the biggest investment made for Türkiye’s future,” he also said.

“We want every kid of ours, boys and girls alike, to receive education, and the child of every citizen, rich and poor alike, to pursue the highest quality of education,” the president added.

The religious school takes its name from Fatih (Conqueror), the title given to Sultan Mehmet II, who conquered the city in 1453. It was the first of its kind in the capital of the former Ottoman Empire.

“We have taken a very important step to carry our magnificent past to the present and the future, and to bring it together with our people,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the inauguration ceremony.

“After the conquest of Istanbul, this place was put into service as the first madrassa of the city, next to Hagia Sophia," Erdogan added.

He said the school continued to operate until 1924 with maintenance, repairs and construction during different periods, but was later demolished by "those who wanted to erase the country’s rich history."

Erdogan said the madrassa will again be an education center, operated by the Fatih Sultan Mehmet University.

“Hagia Sophia Fatih Madrasa, which has been instrumental in the training of countless scholars for nearly four and a half centuries, will serve as an education center from now on. I hope that tomorrow's scholars, intellectuals, scientists and researchers will be trained here,” the president said.

Hagia Sophia was built in the year 532 CE, and turned into a mosque after the conquest by the seventh sultan, who later established a mosque foundation.

In the building, he also ordered the construction of a minbar (pulpit), a mihrab (niche showing the direction of Mecca), and a library.

Hagia Sophia served as a church for 916 years and 86 years as a museum. But for most of its existence – from 1453 to 1934, or nearly 500 years – it served as a mosque. In 1985, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Hagia Sophia is among Turkey's top tourism destinations and remains open for domestic and foreign visitors.

University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) developed by the Informatics Institute of Turkiye’s Middle East Technical University (METU) published the 2021-2022 edition of the best global universities' rankings.

The new edition evaluates more than 3,000 universities in the overall ranking on academic research and reputation.

The US leads the overall ranking with Harvard University in the top spot, followed by the University of Toronto, University College London and Stanford University.

Rounding out the top five is the University of Oxford in the UK.

Other entries in the top 10 rankings were Johns Hopkins University, the University of Cambridge, the University of Michigan, the University of Washington Seattle and Tsinghua University, respectively

For global rankings, URAP employs indicators of research performance including the number of articles, citations, total documents, article impact total, citation impact total and international collaboration.

-Turkish universities in 'World's Top 500' list

URAP also published the results of the rankings for 203 universities in Turkiye.

The universities were evaluated by 11 ranking institutions including METU URAP, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), Centre for Science and Technology Studies Leiden (LEIDEN), National Taiwan University (NTU), Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QS), Round University Ranking (RUR), Scimago Institutions Rankings (SCIMAGO), Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE), US News amp; World Report (US News), and Ranking of World Universities (WEBOMETRICS).

Ten Turkish universities were among the “World’s Top 500 Universities” in 2021, the URAP report showed.

METU, Bogazici, Hacettepe and Istanbul universities were the top four of Turkiye's 10 most successful universities.

METU was the only Turkish university that was included in three of the “World’s Top 500 Universities” rankings, while Bogazici, Hacettepe and Istanbul universities were included in two of the rankings made by 11 ranking institutions, said a report by METU URAP.

METU was listed 425th by RUR, 484th by US News and 497th by WEBOMETRICS, while Bogazici University was ranked 387th by RUR and 287th by US News.

Hacettepe University took the 456th spot on LEIDEN and 388th on RUR, while Istanbul University ranked 450th on ARWU and 376th on LEIDEN.

Six universities that made it to one of the top 500 rankings were Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Bilkent University, Koc University, Sabanci University, Cankaya University and Istanbul Bilgi University.

He had just graduated in Singapore and traveled far from his home in eastern Geylang estate of the city-state to study theology at Cukurova University.

A student who was very active at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), Mardi had succeeded in getting a full scholarship to support his stay and study through the Turkiye Burslari, a program run by the Presidency of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB).

“I studied both religious education and modern courses back home,” said Mardi, before he took a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.

Singapore offers an integrated national curriculum giving Muslims the opportunity to study Islam under the same system.

In 2018, Mardi graduated with first-class honors and soon applied for a master’s program in the department of Islamic History at the same university.

"This is where I chose to dig deep into Ottoman-Singapore relations,” Mardi told Anadolu Agency in an interview.

The next two years were quite revealing for him and his supervisor, Fatih Yahya Ayaz, a professor in Islamic history and art.

Mardi was already fluent in Turkish, as the YTB requires all scholarship holders to study academic-level Turkish before starting their formal degree courses.

“But, knowing Turkish is not enough to study the Ottoman era,” he notes. “To study the diplomatic and allied relations of the Ottoman state with its then-international partners, one must know the language used during that era.”

During the summer of 2018, Mardi attended classes at Turkiye’s Directorate of State Archives in Istanbul to study Ottoman Turkish.

The directorate is the main archival body of the country, where the majority of Ottoman-era historical archives are preserved.

This is where Mardi also improved his Arabic.

A version of Turkish with a vast mixture of both Arabic and Persian grammar and vocabulary, Ottoman Turkish was the official language of the Ottoman Empire.

Mardi thus began a two-year journey to conduct research about Ottoman-Singapore relations between 1864-1924.

“I studied almost 286 documents from the Ottoman Archives about Singapore,” Mardi said, roving through his thesis which he compiled into a book.

Singapore was a colony of the British Empire, from which it attained independence in 1965.

Turkiye and Singapore established modern-day diplomatic relations in 1969, with Turkiye opening an Embassy in the Southeast Asian country on Nov. 1, 1985.

- Voyage to Japan stops at Singapore

Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II, who was also caliph of the Muslim world, sent his envoy Miralay Osman on a voyage to Japan in 1889.

Osman commanded the Ertugrul, a frigate representing the Ottoman state, reaching Singapore on Nov. 15, 1889 for repairs and replenishment.

The commander, his crew, and the vessel stayed there until March 22, 1890.

“Muslims from the city-state itself and the neighboring regions, flocked to Johnston Pier port in Singapore, and were excited to see the Ottoman flag when the frigate docked,” Mardi explained.

The Southeast Asian Muslims, he added, “in fact, had come to receive the Ertugrul frigate and welcome the commander.”

During weekly congregational prayers on Friday, following the arrival of the Ottoman frigate, said Mardi, “the Muslims also mentioned the name of Sultan Abdulhamid II during the Friday sermon.”

“Muslims gave several gifts, like cows, to the Ertugrul frigate crew,” he added.

Not just from Singapore, Mardi’s study reveals, “Muslims from other neighboring places including Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei came to pay respects to the Ottoman commander and his crew.”

Mardi said the Ottoman-era journal Ceride-i-Bahriye (Maritime journal) “recorded these events.”

“Later, to thank the Muslims of Singapore and the region, the frigate’s musicians made a performance at Esplanade Park Singapore on Nov. 25, 1889,” he added.

Osman restarted his voyage to Japan in March 1890, where he died due to a typhoon.

- Ottoman caliph sends first diplomat to Singapore

Ahmed Ataullah Efendi, who was born to a Turkish father in South Africa, was summoned to Istanbul by Ottoman officials.

After his arrival in the capital of the Ottoman state, Abdulhamid appointed Ataullah Efendi as the state’s first Consul General to Singapore.

“Since Singapore was colony of the British, Queen Victoria approved the appointment made by the Ottomans, thus making it the first official diplomatic appointment to Singapore from the Ottoman state,” Mardi said.

His father, Abu Bakr Efendi, Mardi said, was a reputed Muslim scholar appointed and sent by the Ottomans to teach and spread Islam in South Africa.

Earlier, Mardi added, there were two honorary representatives of the Ottomans in Singapore.

Ataullah Efendi started his official journey to Singapore with stops in Yemen and modern-day Sri Lanka.

On Nov. 7, 1901, Ataullah Efendi assumed his duties as the first Turkish Consul General in Singapore.

He operated from Imperial Ottoman Consulate Singapore, then located at No: 94 Robinson Road, which was inaugurated on Nov. 16, 1901.

Syed Abdullah bin Omar Al-Junaid was first honorary consul general appointed by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Aziz and Queen Victoria, who approved the appointment on July 21, 1864.

“After he died, Syed Muhammad Alsagoff succeeded him. But, his appointment was not approved by the queen because the Dutch government in Indonesia pressured the British not to appoint an Arab to such a position as this could lead to an anti-colonial movement,” Mardi noted.

“The Singapore press of that era has also recorded these events,” he explained.

Both of these officials were of Arab descent from families originating in Yemen, but were born in Indonesia and had migrated to Singapore.

- Pilgrimage to Mecca spreads and becomes cheaper

With the invention of steam ships, said Mardi, Muslims from Southeast Asia more frequently traveled to what is today Saudi Arabia "for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, as it was a faster and cheaper mode of transport.”

“I found that Alsagoff had donated his own money to bring back some people with Southeast Asian residency from Saudi Arabia who were unable to return home because they could not afford to buy the return ticket for the ship,” he said.

“Else, Alsagoff thought it would be burden on the Ottoman state if those people were not brought home,” Mardi explained.

Until then, there was no system to maintain records of people leaving Singapore and the region for travel to Arab lands.

“(Ataullah) Efendi systematized it,” Mardi argues. “To keep record of people who would embark on foreign travels from Southeast Asia, (Ataullah) Efendi introduced a visa document which would allow the people to enter Ottoman lands,” he said.

“It would help keep record of people so that, in case of any misadventure or death, their families would be properly informed,” the Singaporean scholar said. “It was not the case in the past.”

“There was no such travel document before.”

He said this also helped formalize the Hajj pilgrimage, as well as trade.

Ataullah Efendi died in a carriage accident on Nov. 10, 1903.

He is buried inside the Temenggong Mosque compound in Singapore. This mosque belongs to the Malaysia Johor Royal family.

“On his coffin, the Ottoman as well as British flags were spread, side by side, as a show of respect,” Mardi said.

“His funeral prayers started a day later, as Muslims from the region flocked to bid adieu to the first top Ottoman diplomat in the region,” he added.

Mardi said his study reveals that the Ottoman archives and archives of the Singaporean press of that era “complement each other.”

“I did not find any significant contradiction,” he claimed.

His study also sheds light on how Muslims of Southeast Asia collected money as their contribution in the construction of the Hijaz railways.

“They have also sent monetary aid to Ottomans during Balkan wars,” he added.

“During World War I, some Turks detained by the British in Tanglin barracks were taken good care of by the people of Singapore.”

Hopefuls can submit their applications between Jan. 10 and Feb. 20 via the scholarship program’s online application system, free of charge.

The program, which boasts research and language learning opportunities, is competitive and merit-based, where, alongside candidates’ academic achievements, extra-curricular social activities and other qualifications are taken into consideration. 

According to the head of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) Abdullah Eren, student interest in the scholarships has been on the rise with every passing year since the “Türkiye Scholarships” was entrusted to YTB, the body in charge of administering the scholarship program. 

“Back in 2012, the Türkiye Scholarships program received 42,000 applications, while last year it reached a record number of 165,500 applications from 178 different countries. This year, we also aim to set a new record,” said Eren. 

All awardees are provided with a year-long free-of-charge Turkish language course regardless of their program and academic background, and students get the chance to acquaint themselves with Turkish culture through a variety of trips and programs in their first year.

The institution provides around 5,000 scholarships every year including full-time degrees (bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.) as well as short-term programs such as research scholarships and language and culture programs. 

Referring to the interest shown in the program, Eren pointed out that this stems from the wide range of services and programs that the scholarship covers.

“It is an all-inclusive program that covers the cost of tuition fees, monthly stipends, accommodation, health expenditures, round-trip flight tickets and a one-year Turkish language course for all students. Hence, it’s one of the world’s most comprehensive scholarship programs.”

Aiming to enhance Turkey's educational and cultural ties with other countries, students become part of a large family comprising of 15,000 current scholarship students and a 170,000-member international student body in Turkey. Following graduation, students are initiated into the Turkey Alumni network, which boasts around 150,000 graduates from more than 156 countries.

Describing the move as a “setback”, Hamas said signing security and military deals with Tel Aviv “can’t be justified under any pretext."

"The strategic interests of our Arab nation of which Morocco is part can't be achieved by making alliance with the nation's enemy and the enemy of the Palestinian people," the statement said.

Hamas termed Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s recent visit to Morocco as “a great sin to the Palestinian people and their cause".

“[Gantz] is a war criminal who has always taken pride in killing Arabs and Palestinians,” the statement said.

Gantz visited Morocco on Tuesday for a two-day visit, during which he signed an agreement with Morocco to sell Israeli drones and "advanced weapons" systems to Rabat. He also signed a memorandum of understanding on defense between Israel and Morocco.

On Dec. 10, 2020, Israel and Morocco announced the resumption of diplomatic relations that were suspended in 2002, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

Recently, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), a European network of 103 NGOs in 39 European countries, told Anadolu Agency there is an unwillingness of EU institutions to act because the general strategy is based on the prevention of arrivals of people seeking protection, regardless of the costs and consequences.

Some EU countries have been mentioned with constant pushback in recent years in the name of fighting irregular migration. Numerous cases of pushbacks have been recorded, especially from Greece, Croatia and recently Poland and the Baltic countries.

“The latest reports add to the mountain of evidence about violent pushbacks at the EU’s borders. It is clear that states are using all means possible, including extreme violence, to prevent access to EU territory and access to asylum procedures,” Catherine Woollard, the director of ECRE, told Anadolu Agency.

Many of the actions taken by European countries against asylum seekers and refugees are illegal under EU and international law and “morally abhorrent,” said Woollard.

“There are multiple violations, including violations of the human rights of the people concerned under the ECHR and IHRL, violations of the right to asylum in EU law. There is a high risk of refoulement and chain refoulement – pushback to a country from which they are the refouled,” she said, referring to the European Convention on Human Rights and international human rights law.

“However, states are able to act with near impunity. This is for legal and political reasons: it’s difficult to mount a legal challenge due to the precarious position of the people affected. Even when we reach that stage, there is a failure of states to implement judgments,” she added.

Woollard said that EU member states are praised for their actions, “as in the shameful comments from the director of [the European Border and Coast Guard Agency] Frontex on Poland. We can talk of the complicity of parts of the EU in these actions.”

On the other hand, states use security as a concept to justify their actions, said Woollard, adding “refugees attempting to cross a border is not a major security threat to Europe, nor is it perceived as such by the European public.”

“These actions are however a threat to European law, the rule of law in general, to European values and to basic human decency, as well as probably undermining European security in the long term,” she said.

“We urge states to heed the recommendations of international organizations, their own statutory watchdog bodies such as Ombudsman offices, and NGOs, and to cease these violent practices. Also to resist the culture of tolerance of violent abuse that has developed. Journalists, NGOs and IGOs will continue to document [these practices] in order to hold to account those responsible.”

-Pushbacks

A UN Human Rights office spokeswoman said Tuesday her office is receiving “mounting evidence” of pushbacks of asylum seekers from Greece to Turkey in recent times.

“Pushbacks are illegal under international law and should not happen,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said at a UN press conference.

“Every person, every migrant trying to cross an international border has the right of an individual assessment,” Hurtado said.

To a question by Anadolu Agency about the pushbacks, Hurtado said her office is currently talking with the EU.

“For a few months, we’ve been trying to confirm and see what the EU should do to stop the undertaking of these pushbacks on the external borders,” she said.

Last Friday, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson urged Greece to investigate illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Luxembourg, Johansson said she expects Greece to “take it seriously, do the investigation, and find out what really happened.”

At Tuesday’s news conference, Hurtado said her office is “extremely worried about the continued suffering of migrants and asylum seekers in Libya who are experiencing a myriad of daily violations and abuses.”

“We also call on the Libyan authorities to release all arbitrarily detained migrants and asylum seekers, cease the raids on their settlements, halt evicting them, and stop criminalizing them,” Hurtado said.

“We encourage the authorities to reform the legislation to decriminalize irregular entry, stay, and exit of people,” she added.

*Writing by Busra Nur Cakmak in Ankara

"We are determined to continue education without interruption at our universities by taking necessary measures against the pandemic threat," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the opening ceremony of 2021-2022 academic year for universities.

Regarding education in preschools, primary, secondary and high schools, Erdogan said some classes may be quarantined depending on the case number, however, he ruled out a closure of a school or schools across districts and cities.

Distance learning cannot not replace face-to-face education, the president said, adding that the government took every precaution to resume in-class learning in all education institutions in preset time.

Turkey resumed face-to-face learning in schools five days a week beginning Sept. 6.

The country administered more than 110 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since launching a mass immunization campaign in January.

According to the Health Ministry, over 6.98 million infections and 62,745 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in Turkey so far.

Ozer has replaced Ziya Selcuk, who resigned on Aug. 6.

Ozer had been a deputy education minister for three years and had previously served as the head of the Measuring, Selection and Placement Center (OSYM), the body responsible for organizing the national-level university entrance examinations.

According to the 2011 census, there were 5.07 million hearing-impaired students in India, and out of them, just 1% had the access to quality education.

On eve of the International Day of Sign Languages being observed on Thursday, experts say the government's decision to introduce Indian Sign Language (ISL) in the school curriculum will improve accessibility and create awareness.

As part of a new national education policy announced in July, the government has designated the ISL a subject now.

“Students can opt to study this. It will promote Indian Sign Language and will help differently-abled people,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while unveiling the new policy.

He also released an ISL dictionary of 10,000 words.

Experts say the move would give a boost to inclusive education besides empowering special needs children to convey their thoughts ably.

“For a long time, sign languages of persons with hearing disability were not considered a real language. However, with research in the field of linguistics, it has been established that sign languages of the persons with hearing disability are complex grammatical languages which developed naturally when people with hearing disability came together,” said Sharita Sharma, assistant professor in the Department of Linguistics at the Central University of Rajasthan.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Sharma, who was also a member of the committee that devised the new education policy, said the sign languages have their grammar and are highly creative.

“Anything communicated in spoken language can be communicated in sign language also. They can be used to teach mathematics, written language, science, and any technical subject. Sign languages all around the world are not the same as there is no universal sign language,” she said.

-142 sign languages across globe

Almost 142 different sign languages have been studied around the world. These include Indian Sign Language (ISL), American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL) among others.

Gyanendra Purohit, who runs an NGO Anand Service Society (ASS) for deaf and speech impaired children in central India’s Indore district, said that the system so far has been to provide only oral education to deaf children.

He said that in absence of a sign language, and because these children were provided only oral education, they could not develop cognitive writing ability.

Sharma said that the formative years of a child are crucial for the development of cognitive and linguistic skills. She expects that with ISL now part of the curriculum, the deaf children will also get a strong foundation.

“It is therefore imperative during these years that children can access teaching-learning resources as per their learning needs. Before the above efforts, deaf children, teachers, or the deaf parents alike were at a disadvantage as no teaching-learning resources were available in ISL,” she said.

Harvard Management Company (HMC), which manages the Massachusetts-based university's endowment, "has been reducing its exposure to fossil fuels," President Larry Bacow said in a letter Thursday.

"HMC has legacy investments as a limited partner in a number of private equity funds with holdings in the fossil fuel industry. These indirect investments constitute less than two percent of the endowment, a number that continues to decline," he added.

Noting that HMC has not made any new commitments to such limited partnerships since 2019, Bacow said HMC does not intend to make such investments in the future.

Harvard University's endowment was valued at around $41.9 billion as of June 2020 -- the largest academic endowment in the world.

The university earlier this week appointed its first-ever Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability, which aims to accelerate and coordinate research and education on climate change.

The Harvard Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, also directed HMC in April 2020 to develop a plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

"None of us will be spared the realities of climate change, which means we are all in this together ... we must find a way to work side by side to have any hope of changing behaviors, adopting policies, and decarbonizing the economy," Bacow said.

“With the digital infrastructure we have established at the National Education Ministry, we closely monitor and will follow the processes in our schools and the course of the disease. We are determined to continue in-class learning,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a ceremony in an Istanbul school, marking the first day of the new term.

Touching on the adverse impact of the pandemic on education, he said: “As Turkey, we had to act carefully during the last academic year because of the extent of the deadly effect of the virus.

“We have exercised extreme caution not to risk the lives of our teachers, children, and their families. We left behind the period when we opened our schools from time to time but mostly held lessons via the EBA,” which stands for Educational Informatics Network, the TV and internet platform through which most of distant education was carried out in Turkey.

Erdogan said the National Education Ministry and Health Ministry set the rules and measures to be taken at schools.

“By supplying hygiene and cleaning materials and masks, we formed an infrastructure through which the parents will send their children to school safely,” he continued.

The course of the disease will be followed closely via the digital infrastructure at the National Education Ministry, Erdogan said, calling on all citizens to get vaccinated.

“The total number of doses that have been administered as part of our vaccination campaign that we maintain on the basis of volunteering nears 100 million,” he added.

As schools have reopened for face-to-face learning after a long break since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, some 18 million students will attend classes five days a week.

Breaks and meals times will be scheduled for different intervals to avoid crowds. Classes will be held in 40-minute periods at most.

School administrations will provide free-of-charge masks for students and school personnel in case anyone needs them.

Unvaccinated teachers and school staff will take PCR tests twice a week. Parents and visitors will not be admitted to schools except in mandatory situations. School authorities can check the visitors’ HES code – coronavirus contact tracing system – to see whether they are “risk-free.”

Turkey has so far confirmed over 6 million coronavirus cases and 52,860 deaths, while nearly 80% of the country’s adult population has received at least one dose of a two-shot vaccine.

As schools have reopened for in-person teaching after a long break since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, some 18 million students will attend classes five days a week.

Breaks and meals times will be scheduled for different intervals to avoid crowds. Classes will be held in 40-minute periods at most.

School administrations will provide free-of-charge masks for students and school personnel in case anyone needs them.

Unvaccinated teachers and school staff will take PCR tests twice a week. Parents and visitors will not be admitted to schools except in mandatory situations. School authorities can check the visitors' HES code – coronavirus contact tracing system – to see whether they are "risk-free."

Turkey has so far confirmed over 6 million coronavirus cases and 52.860 deaths, while nearly 80% of the country's adult population has received at least one dose of a two-shot vaccine.

This came after the number of COVID-19 vaccine jabs given in Turkey has exceeded 96.9 million since the country launched an immunization campaign in January.

As part of the preparations for the start of the new academic year, pre-school and first-grade students participated in the face-to-face integration training on Sept. 1-3. Over 2.3 million students were given training by 165,450 teachers.

About 18 million students and more than 1 million teachers at all grades across the country will attend school five days a week as of Monday.

As part of COVID-19 measures, approximately 650 million liras ($ 78.1 million) were sent to around 58,000 schools for mask, disinfectant, and cleaning needs, while 113,000 cleaning personnel were assigned.

With a new electronic tracking system established within the Education Ministry, all processes will be followed in order to ensure that education is not disrupted.

In case of possible virus infection, the contact or risk status of students and staff will be monitored through data integration between the Education Ministry and Health Ministry, and the necessary notification will be issued to the schools.

- Vaccination, PCR test

According to a guide on measures to be taken in schools due to the coronavirus, teachers and school staff will be asked to take a PCR test twice a week if they are not vaccinated.

It will be ensured that the mask waste boxes in schools, public areas, classrooms, and teachers’ rooms are emptied daily. A sufficient number of masks will be provided by the Education Ministry in all schools.

In-person education will be held without reducing the class hours and taking into account the whole of the existing curriculum, just like before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Mahmut Ozer said the country wants to continue full-time face-to-face learning unless health conditions dictate otherwise.

"Education in schools will be carried out without reducing class hours while being committed to the entire existing curriculum," said Ozer.

He said the vaccination rate for teachers who received at least one dose of a two-shot vaccine is 80.34% as of Wednesday, and the rate is 69.73% for a second jab.

Ozer also said vaccinations will not be mandatory but necessary measures will be taken by the Health Ministry.

School administrations will provide masks to students and school personnel free of charge in case anyone needs them.

Turkey has administered more than 87 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since launching a mass immunization campaign in January.

According to the Health Ministry, the country confirmed 19,320 new infections and 216 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 14,743 more patients recovered.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that PCR tests, which will be mandatory for unvaccinated teachers, staff, and university students when academic activities resume Sept. 6, will be conducted for free at public hospitals.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 4.39 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with an excess of 209.67 million cases reported worldwide, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University,

“I would like to express clearly and loudly that all our schools will open on time. It is impossible for us to give up face-to-face education,” Fahrettin Koca said following a virtual meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board.

“Regardless of the conditions, we will continue our hands-on and face-to-face education by protecting our students,” he added.

During the transition period for school-based education, Turkey has an “important job,” he said, explaining that the ministry will implement measures that will lead to the vaccination of all teachers and lecturers.

Koca highlighted the importance of vaccination and said it “should become an indispensable rule so that education and work-life are not interrupted, and those who are not vaccinated should regularly show negative PCR test results.”

The minister went on to say that especially the parents of the students will either complete their vaccinations or have to have their children checked regularly that they do not have any diseases.

The details of this process will be announced later, Koca said.

Vaccination

Koca underscored that Turkey has not achieved “herd immunity” yet and it cannot be obtained without “at least two doses of vaccine.”

“Anyone who has not been vaccinated for at least two doses should not think they have been vaccinated,” he said.

People who have received all three doses of inactivated vaccines have “the highest level of protection,” he stated.

“The closest protection level to this is in our people who have received two doses of an inactivated vaccine and got a third shot of mRNA vaccine,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Koca announced that Turkey has administered over 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January.

On Twitter, he said more than 50% of the population aged 18 and over have been fully vaccinated.

Over 42.85 million people have received their first doses, while over 31.02 million have been fully vaccinated, according to the Health Ministry data.

“I would like to express clearly and loudly that all our schools will open on time. It is impossible for us to give up face-to-face education,” Fahrettin Koca said following a virtual meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board.

“Regardless of the conditions, we will continue our hands-on and face-to-face education by protecting our students,” he added.

During the transition period for school-based education, Turkey has an “important job,” he said, explaining that the ministry will implement measures that will lead to the vaccination of all teachers and lecturers.

Koca highlighted the importance of vaccination and said it “should become an indispensable rule so that education and work-life are not interrupted, and those who are not vaccinated should regularly show negative PCR test results.”

The minister went on to say that especially the parents of the students will either complete their vaccinations or have to have their children checked regularly that they do not have any diseases.

The details of this process will be announced later, Koca said.

Vaccination

Koca underscored that Turkey has not achieved “herd immunity” yet and it cannot be obtained without “at least two doses of vaccine.”

“Anyone who has not been vaccinated for at least two doses should not think they have been vaccinated,” he said.

People who have received all three doses of inactivated vaccines have “the highest level of protection,” he stated.

“The closest protection level to this is in our people who have received two doses of an inactivated vaccine and got a third shot of mRNA vaccine,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Koca announced that Turkey has administered over 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January.

On Twitter, he said more than 50% of the population aged 18 and over have been fully vaccinated.

Over 42.85 million people have received their first doses, while over 31.02 million have been fully vaccinated, according to the Health Ministry data.

Addressing 233 students who are continuing their Turkish studies in the capital Ankara and central Kirikkale province through the "Welcome to Turkiye Scholarships Program,” Abdullah Eren congratulated them for successfully passing the qualification among 170,000 applications received by YTB for Turkiye Scholarships in 2020.

"Under normal circumstances, we should have brought you to Turkey in September 2020 and made this program at that time. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we could not bring you to Turkey. But what did we do? We brought you the opportunity to study Turkish online for about eight months,” he said.

Noting that there are international students from 55 countries in the program, Eren said he is pleased that students from each continent bring their Turkish language knowledge to a certain level by following online courses.

He noted that students will also take an accelerated Turkish course for two months.

"We welcome you to Turkey. Turkiye Scholarships are one of the most outstanding scholarship programs in the world. It is a scholarship program that receives applications from the largest number of countries in the world.

"Whatever your goal is, whatever you believe in, follow it to the end. If you succeed, opportunities will come to you both at the university and outside the university," he emphasized.

-Turkiye Scholarships

Higher education scholarship programs provided by Turkey were branded "Turkiye Scholarships" in 2012.

More than 165,000 applications from 178 countries were received in 2021.

Nearly 15,000 international students are currently studying in Turkey as part of the Turkiye Scholarships program, while nearly 3,000 students from 104 countries have graduated in 2021.

International students who graduated attended the "10th International Student Graduation Ceremony and 2020 Turkey Alumni Awards" ceremony in Ankara.

Protests had erupted in Istanbul against the appointment in January, with a group of students calling for his resignation.

The small-scale protests later escalated and members of some far-left terror groups had been detained.

Mehmet Naci Inci from the faculty of science and literature has been appointed as the acting rector of the major research university founded in the 19th century as Robert College.

“If YTB had not given us this opportunity, perhaps we would not have had the opportunity to do a doctorate as the situation in Palestine is difficult,” said Issa M. A. Baraijia, a Palestinian who graduated from Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University’s Department of Contemporary History postgraduate program. “There are no PhD programs in the West Bank.”

“I think this program is good for international cooperation. Graduates of this program will contribute to relations between countries,” said Indonesian Haryono Haryono, a graduate from the Department of Business Administration at Selcuk University in central Konya province.

Higher education scholarship programs provided by Turkey were branded "Turkiye Scholarships" in 2012.

More than 165,000 applications from 178 countries were received in 2021.

Nearly 15,000 international students are currently studying in Turkey as part of the Turkiye Scholarships program, while nearly 3,000 students from 104 countries graduated in 2021.

International students who graduated attended the "10th International Student Graduation Ceremony and 2020 Turkey Alumni Awards" ceremony in Ankara.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.

The second Study in Turkey YOK Virtual Fair 2021 will open its doors online, Yekta Sarac tweeted. The first edition was also held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“International students who want to study in Turkey will be able to get information on many subjects including admission conditions, quotas, programs, scholarships, accommodation, etc,” Sarac said.

“Our virtual fairs play an important role in ensuring the participation of more international students in our higher education system in our country, where more than 200,000 international students from 182 countries are educated."

Last year, in an opinion piece, Sarac wrote: “Today a total of 7.5 million students are studying in 207 universities in Turkey, making it the second-largest country of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) after Russia.”

Ziya Selcuk made the announcement while speaking with the Turkish private news channel Haberturk.

Referring to the National Education Ministry’s efforts for allowing students to access online learning during the time schools were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Selcuk noted that around 750,000 tablets were distributed to needy students to follow the online classes.

He also noted that around 90% of the teachers in the country have been vaccinated.

Underscoring the importance of interaction between children and animals, Selcuk said that around 20,000 schools now regularly feed dogs.

The country has so far administered over 52.62 million doses since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to the Health Ministry.

More than 35.88 million people have received their first doses, while over 15.66 million have been fully vaccinated.

The number of people who have received their third COVID-19 vaccine dose crossed 1 million as of Sunday.

Amid a nationwide fall in virus cases and an expedited inoculation drive, Turkey has entered a new normalization phase, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions.

Local rights groups estimate that over half of the 1.2 million refugees stationed in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh are children and youths. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled in 2017 after a military-led crackdown in Rakhine state in which villages were razed, women raped and thousands killed.

Although Rohingya children between the ages of six and 14 have been included in the non-formal education programs initiated by the government and other non-profit organizations, a majority is not a part of any initiative, according to Cox's Bazar CSO-NGO Forum.

“There is no formal education for our children. We want education for the future of our next generations and reintegration in the society after repatriation,” Khin Maung, the founder of the Rohingya Youth Association, told Anadolu Agency. He resides in Cox's Bazar.

“Our first priority is to return to our motherland with full rights and dignity, we don't want to live as refugees anymore." Rohingya do not have citizenship rights in Myanmar.

Ro Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the UK-based Free Rohingya Coalition, said Bangladesh thinks the Rohingya will stay if they are given their due rights.

“This is not true. We belong to Myanmar. We will definitely go back to Myanmar once the situation changes,” he said.

Louise Donovan, a communications officer at the UNHCR office in Bangladesh, said "further livelihoods and skills training opportunities would provide refugees with a sense of purpose, autonomy and dignity while they are in Bangladesh, while preparing them for reintegration when conditions allow them to return to Myanmar."

CR Abrar, a professor of international relations at Dhaka University, said Bangladesh should provide formal education to refugee children in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Bangladesh is a signatory.

“It’s our responsibility to provide them formal education for their reintegration, and if we don’t want them to be a burden on our shoulders," he said. "Funds will come from donor agencies. We need a policy."

He said informal education is good but is not serving the purpose of sustainable reintegration and repatriation to Myanmar.

The government, meanwhile, says it is working toward that goal, but refuses to provide certificate-based education offered to other citizens.

Md Delwar Hossain, the head of Myanmar wing at the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, told Anadolu Agency that “Rohingya children and youth must be provided education under a curriculum allied with Myanmar and their language so that it can be easy to avail Rohingya’s demand of Myanmar citizenship.”

“In January 2020 we got a draft policy following meetings with a UN agency concerned for child education, but it was not comprehensive enough to go ahead. We asked them to come up with a complete plan, and are still waiting to hear from them,” the official added.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement in 2017 for the repatriation of the Rohingya, but to no avail. The situation drastically changed after a military coup in Myanmar on Feb.1.

Dhaka has now called on the international community, including the UN, for support and involvement on the matter. Experts say the UN can also help in introducing a globally-recognized education certificate for the Rohingya.

The institute – which was present in 38 of the US’ 50 states before it closed in 2016 – “misled students about the ability to transfer their credits to other institutions ... credits rarely transferred and borrowers made little to no progress along their educational journey, yet were saddled with student loan debt as a result of their time at ITT," the statement said.

On March 18 the department took action to grant $1 billion relief to 72,000 debtors with previously approved borrower defense claims, saying: "This action reinstated discharges for 41,000 borrowers and will help protect another 190,000 borrowers from the risk of losing their discharges."

Borrower defense refers to cancelling loans if a school misled students or “engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain state laws,” according to the department.

The $1 billion “brings total loan cancellation under borrower defense by the Biden-Harris Administration to $1.5 billion for approximately 90,000 borrowers," it said.

On March 29 the Joe Biden administration cancelled an additional $1.3 billion in student loans for 41,000 borrowers with total and permanent disability.

This brought the Biden administration's total cancellation in student loans to around $2.8 billion.

Total student loan debt in the US, however, stands at almost $1.75 trillion, an average $39,808 debt per student, according to real-time data on usdebtclock.org as of Thursday.

Democratic members of Congress are pressing President Biden to use his executive power to issue a general loan forgiveness of up to $50,000 per person, citing debt’s role in keeping people from buying houses and cars, getting married, and taking other steps to protect their financial future.

The YTB stated in a statement that the program aims to improve the Turkish reading, writing, and speaking skills of Turkish children living abroad, as well as to support children and young people in learning Turkish correctly.

The Turkish YTB aims to strengthen Turkish diaspora ties with their homeland, and individuals who have completed their education in Turkey or a foreign country and still have the right of residence or citizenship can apply, it said.

The applicant must be under 40 years old, a Turkish citizen, a dual citizen, or a holder of a Blue Card.

The Blue Card is given to people who are born in Turkey but lose their Turkish citizenship by withdrawing it with permission in order to conduct business in Turkey comfortably.

As per the program, the candidates will study for two semesters, then write a thesis and complete an internship in their home country for two semesters.

The YTB will cover the candidates' university education fees if they are accepted into the program. It will also grant a monthly scholarship of 2,000 Turkish liras ($233) to the students and, if necessary, lodging support, according to the announcement.

Details about the program can be accessed at https://www.ytb.gov.tr/yvburslari/.

While nine Turkish universities are among the top 1,000 in the world, the universities of Koc, Sabanci, and Middle East Technical University (METU) have been ranked as Turkey's most successful.

The Koc University was listed in the 511-520 band, Sabanci University in the 541-550 band, and METU in the 551-560 band.

The top three are followed by Bilkent University, Bogazici University, Istanbul Technical University, Ankara University, Hacettepe University, and Istanbul University, rounding out the top nine universities in the world.

The list also included Anadolu University, Ege University, Gazi University, Istanbul Aydin University, Istanbul Bilgi University, Izmir Institute of Technology, Akdeniz University, Cukurova University, Dokuz Eylul University, Marmara University, Sakarya University, and Yildiz Technical University.

- MIT on top for 10th time in row

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) topped the list for the 10th straight year.

The other four universities in the top five list are the universities of Oxford, Stanford, Cambridge, and Harvard.

The educational institutions were ranked based on academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, and international student ratio.

As of next Monday, education will be tried to be enriched mainly with social, emotional, physical, cultural, and artistic activities, Ziya Selcuk told an introductory program for remedial education in Istanbul.

Turkey resumed in-person learning for primary school students as of June 1 in line with its efforts to return to normalcy, while secondary and high school students will start going to school as of June 7.

While those living in populated cities will go to school two days a week, students in villages and sparsely populated settlements will go five days a week.

Selcuk also said that even though in-person education has started, attendance at the classes is not compulsory as most of the topics are covered during distant education.

He said they are trying to overcome skill gaps of the children caused by the pandemic and added that first-grade students have no problem in reading, but their writing skills will be worked on during face-to-face education.

The minister said the 2020-2021 academic year will end on July 2, and schools will decide their roadmap according to the needs of their students.

All kinds of resources are ready, Selcuk said, adding that a part of them are allocated for children who need remedial education.

He noted that all materials for remedial education are prepared after the pandemic and a summer holiday book is published for students.

Last year, a parcel consisting of 14 books was sent to around 1.5 million students in villages and rural areas, he said, adding that this distribution will be repeated this year.

The summer holiday book was also sent to 5.5 million children, he recalled.

While the schools are closed during the summer holiday, Selcuk said children can benefit from many activities such as basic science camps, English reading courses, theater, movie screenings, reading activities, children's games, and mind games tournaments.

*Writing by Sena Guler in Ankara

Mustafa Sentop sent a letter to Abdelmonem al-Odat, speaker of Jordan’s Parliament, and Faisal al-Fayez, speaker of the country’s Senate.

“On behalf of the Turkish nation and myself, I congratulate the friendly people of Jordan on the occasion of the National Day,” he said.

“I believe that relations between Turkey and Jordan based on historical friendship and cooperation will continue to develop steadily in the upcoming period.”

He said inter-parliamentary visits will positively contribute to relations between Turkey and Jordan.

Jordan gained independence from the British after the Treaty of London was signed on May 22, 1946.

The kingdom celebrates its National Day on May 25 to mark the day when the UN approved the end of the British mandate.

“Scholarships will contribute to academical development of Turkish diaspora, encourage the achievements, and will play role in gaining familiarity with Turkish language and culture,” YTB said in a statement.

A new program called Teaching Turkish to Turkish Children Living Abroad, was initiated, to teach the Turkish language to Turkish citizens younger than 40 years old and those holding Turkish blue cards and dual citizenship, the YTB said.

Moreover, another program was also announced to reward successful high school graduates of the Turkish diaspora.

Additionally, successful Turkish citizens and blue cardholders with masters and doctoral degrees will be supported through Fuat Sezgin Achievement Awards. Moreover, the graduate students of the diaspora in fields of international relations, cultural studies, history, pedagogy, sociology, law, migrations studies will be given thesis/dissertation grants.

YTB also launched a scholarship program to encourage diaspora youth to study in the fields of family and social counseling. They can apply till May 20.

For all other scholarship programs, the announced application deadline is Aug. 15.

Interested parties can access further information on the scholarships on YTB’s web page and apply for scholarship programs.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $66.56 per barrel at 0654 GMT for a 0.29% decrease after closing Friday at $66.76 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $63.41 per barrel at the same time for a 0.26% drop after it ended the previous session at $63.58 a barrel.

Last week’s euphoria over an oil demand recovery in the second half of the year has been overshadowed by demand fears in India as the country’s caseload reached 19.9 million.

India registered 368,147 infections in the past 24 hours while recording 3,417 new deaths. The fatalities in the country have risen to 218,959, according to the Indian health ministry.

Limiting further price declines, vaccination campaigns are speeding up, raising expectations of an oil demand rebound especially in the third quarter of the year, when the summer driving season is at its busiest.

On the supply side, oil output from oil producers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC nations eased by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) as of May 1, which includes 350,000 bpd from the OPEC members and 250,000 bpd from Saudi Arabia.

Although these oil majors projected a better oil market in the second half of the year, falling demand due to virus cases in India and elsewhere is not consistent with the group’s positive forecast and the group’s returning output at such a time is negatively impacting oil prices.

To add more to supply concerns, Iran and the US are holding talks on a nuclear agreement that could lead to the lifting of US sanctions, allowing Iran to increase oil exports.

Discussing the draft bill, which has been criticized for alienating Muslims, the center-right Republicans (LR) party proposed adding a clause prohibiting prayers in university corridors as well as banning religious activities that might hinder educational activities.

Although Left Party senators and Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer objected to the proposal, it was accepted through the votes of the right-wing senators.

On Feb. 16 this year, France’s National Assembly approved the bill, which will be debated in the Senate on March 30. It is expected to return to the National Assembly after a vote is held.

It was introduced by President Emmanuel Macron last year to fight so-called "Islamist separatism."

The bill is being criticized because it targets the Muslim community and imposes restrictions on almost every aspect of their lives.

It provides for intervening in mosques and the associations responsible for their administration as well as controlling the finances of associations and non-governmental organizations belonging to Muslims.

It also restricts the education choices of the Muslim community by preventing families from giving children a home education.

The bill also prohibits patients from choosing doctors based on gender for religious or other reasons and makes "secularism education" compulsory for all public officials.

At a press conference following a key European summit, Mario Draghi said that the decision was taken earlier Friday by the COVID-19 task force in light of the latest data on infections.

Around eight out of 10 pupils in Italy are currently taking lessons online due to coronavirus restrictions, with both parents and students protesting across the country against prolonged closures.

Draghi had repeatedly said that reopening schools was among the government’s priorities, as soon as infection risks would allow it.

"School itself, up to middle school, is not a source of contagion," Draghi said, adding that transportation and all the other issues related to schooling are the real source of concern.

As the country battles a third wave of infections, all regions will be declared "red zones" during the Easter holidays, with most of Italy under partial lockdown until the end of April.

Responding to questions on the delays in vaccine supplies that hit Italy’s vaccination campaign, Draghi stressed that Italy was the first country in Europe to raise the issue of imposing restrictions on the exports of COVID-19 vaccines outside the EU.

He added that EU leaders have now agreed to tighten up the rules on vaccine exports, modifying the previous criteria.

"Beforehand, the only condition for a ban on the exports of a certain vaccine was the failure to respect a contract by a producer," Draghi said.

"Yesterday, the Commission extended the criteria introducing the words proportionality and reciprocity," he added.

Draghi also announced that the government is studying a decree obliging all the operators working in the health sector to be vaccinated.

The need for a decree emerged after a few cases of health operators who refused to accept vaccination, which is not obligatory in the country yet.

Cases of clusters in hospitals and elderly residences were registered in connection with personnel refusing jabs.

The government was aiming to resume in-person education – suspended for over a year now – from March 30, but retracted the decision in view of a recent surge in coronavirus infections.

The country reported 25 fatalities and 3,567 cases, the highest daily figure in nine months on Wednesday, taking its overall count past 580,000 and the death toll to 8,763.

Education Minister Dipu Moni said campuses may reopen after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in mid-May, but only if there is a significant improvement in the country’s COVID-19 situation by the time.

She stressed that the government does not want to put students in any sort of risk.

The Education Ministry, however, has instructed schools across the country to be prepared and start implementing safety measures for students and staff.

“The government will soon start a vaccination drive for school teachers so that in-person education can restart in the country,” Moni said.

Bangladesh launched a nationwide COVID-19 immunization drive on Feb. 7 and more than 5 million people have received their first or both doses to date.

"Additionally, Turkey allocates one million Turkish liras [$133,000] for researchers as an initial research grant in the International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers program and 500,000 Turkish liras [$66,000] for the International Young Researchers program," said Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank.

For the researchers who currently reside in the country, Turkey also offers an RD incentive package of up to 1 million Turkish liras ($133,000) under the program, as well as up to 750,000 Turkish liras ($100,000) for early stage researchers, Varank added.

Addressing an event at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) in Ankara, Varank stressed that 127 scientists from 21 countries were accepted to the program in 2019 and 42 scientists last year.

As part of the International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers program announced in November 2018, Turkey seeks to attract top researchers to the country in coordination with TUBITAK.

Varank also announced the launch of the International Fellowship for Early Stage Researchers program to attract young researchers to the country.

More than 36,000 projects were implemented and €1.4 billion was allocated to the programs, said Ilker Astarci, head of the Turkish National Agency, a subsidiary organization that carries out the EU’s education and youth programs under the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Noting that grants are provided to 60,000 participants annually, including 20,000 higher education students, Astarci said they have entered the new term between 2021-2027 and new programs will be implemented.

In December last year, the European Parliament and the European Council approved the new term (2021-2027) Erasmus program budget, according to the Turkish National Agency’s website.

Astarci said Turkish citizens who benefit from the programs in EU countries also contribute to the formation of the dialogue between the bloc and Turkey.

Erasmus was founded in 1987 as a European Union student exchange program and later turned into Erasmus -- a program to support education, training, youth and sports in Europe. Turkey has been a member of the program since 2003.

Schools and other educational institutions closed in Jammu and Kashmir in March last year following the coronavirus outbreak.

Kashmiri schools usually close in December for winter vacations and open on March 1. But last March, schools had barely opened after a seven-month-long military and communications lockdown the Indian government imposed on Aug. 4, 2019, a day before Kashmir was stripped of its autonomous political status.

Saad Ahmad Bhat, a third grader, is excited to attend classes after Aug. 3, 2019, when tens of thousands of Indian soldiers started taking over official buildings and streets in the run-up to the Aug. 5 decision.

Saad's school is about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) from his residence in Qamarwari area of the capital Srinagar. The region’s COVID-19 guidelines do not allow school buses to pick and drop students for now. So Saad’s father Tariq Ahmad has hired an autorickshaw to carry his son to Ram Nath Goenka School.

“Saad has been on his toes. In fact, during the COVID-19 lockdown last year, he asked me to take him to his school. He said, ‘Baba I have forgotten what my classroom looks like.’ In this godforsaken place, seeing children go to school is one of the happiest sights,” Tariq told Anadolu Agency.

Classes for the sixth and eighth grades opened on March 8 but the classes for kindergarten and the grade five were deferred till March 15. Some schools will be holding classes for only half of the total students with social distance maintained in classes.

- Disputed region

Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965, and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.