The first grain ship to depart from Ukraine during the ongoing war with Russia reached Turkish waters safely on Tuesday near the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait.

First Ukrainian grain shipment reaches Turkiye, more ships expected to set out

Istanbul's mayor&nbsp;Ekrem Imamoglu, is being probed for opposing&nbsp;President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's dream of building an alternative to the Bosphorus Strait, according to his spokesman.

While,&nbsp;Erdogan argues that the new Istanbul canal, which he has dubbed one of his "crazy projects", would relieve pressure on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.&nbsp;Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, whose election last year saw Erdogan's ruling AK Party lose its 25-year grip on Turkey's largest city, has been a vocal opponent of the project on financial and environmental grounds.

The Bosphorus creates a border between Europe and Asia, splitting Istanbul in two as it runs between the Black and Marmara Seas.

The proposed 75-billion-lira ($9.8-billion) alternative would run to the west of the Bosphorus along a new 45-kilometre (28-mile) route.

The investigation by the ministry's property inspectorate is focused on posters containing the phrases, "Either Canal or Istanbul" and "Who needs Canal Istanbul?", Imamoglu's spokesman Murat Ongun tweeted.

The investigation was started on the grounds that the posters violated articles of the constitution prohibiting public resources from being used against "the integrity of the administration and state policy," Ongun said.

Critics say the project would destroy nature and could even worsen the earthquake risk in the city of more than 15 million people.

Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, is being probed for opposing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's dream of building an alternative to the Bosphorus Strait, according to his spokesman.

Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, is being probed for opposing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's dream of building an alternative to the Bosphorus Strait, according to his spokesman. While, Erdogan argues that the new Istanbul canal, which he has dubbed one of his "crazy projects", would relieve pressure on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, whose election last year saw Erdogan's ruling AK Party lose its 25-year grip on Turkey's largest city, has been a vocal opponent of the project on financial and environmental grounds. The Bosphorus creates a border between Europe and Asia, splitting Istanbul in two as it runs between the Black and Marmara Seas. The proposed 75-billion-lira ($9.8-billion) alternative would run to the west of the Bosphorus along a new 45-kilometre (28-mile) route. The investigation by the ministry's property inspectorate is focused on posters containing the phrases, "Either Canal or Istanbul" and "Who needs Canal Istanbul?", Imamoglu's spokesman Murat Ongun tweeted. The investigation was started on the grounds that the posters violated articles of the constitution prohibiting public resources from being used against "the integrity of the administration and state policy," Ongun said. Critics say the project would destroy nature and could even worsen the earthquake risk in the city of more than 15 million people.

Istanbul's mayor being investigated for opposing Erdogan's dream project

A foreign cargo ship ran aground in Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Friday, requiring a rescue operation and prompting authorities to temporarily close the picturesque and crowded waterway running through <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-to-send-troops-to-libya-at-tripolis-request-270402">Turkey</a>'s largest city.

There were no injuries or casualties, the governor's office said, adding that the ship had reported engine failure shortly before its grounding near the shore.

There was no damage to the concrete walkway running along the shore, Reuters witnesses said.

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/bosphorus-strait-of-istanbul-turns-from-blue-to-turquoise-273">Bosphorus</a>, among the world's busiest shipping routes, was temporarily closed to international traffic as boats towed the vessel south towards the Sea of Marmara.

The Liberian-flagged Songa Iridum had come from Ukraine's Odessa and was headed for Istanbul's port of Ambarli, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data. Shipping agency GAC said the rescue work had been completed on the vessel.

Such accidents are rare on the Bosphorus, which is vital to Russia and other Black Sea states for shipping and some naval passage.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/dont-do-it-trump-warns-russia-syria-iran-against-killing-civilians-in-idlib-270437">Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan</a> has warned about such accidents as he has revived plans in recent weeks to dig a massive canal on the western fringes of Istanbul to ease traffic on the Bosphorus.

The city's new mayor, environmentalists and hundreds of petitioners oppose the Kanal Istanbul plan.

A foreign cargo ship ran aground in Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Friday, requiring a rescue operation and prompting authorities to temporarily close the picturesque and crowded waterway running through Turkey's largest city.

A foreign cargo ship ran aground in Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Friday, requiring a rescue operation and prompting authorities to temporarily close the picturesque and crowded waterway running through Turkey's largest city. There were no injuries or casualties, the governor's office said, adding that the ship had reported engine failure shortly before its grounding near the shore. There was no damage to the concrete walkway running along the shore, Reuters witnesses said. The Bosphorus, among the world's busiest shipping routes, was temporarily closed to international traffic as boats towed the vessel south towards the Sea of Marmara. The Liberian-flagged Songa Iridum had come from Ukraine's Odessa and was headed for Istanbul's port of Ambarli, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data. Shipping agency GAC said the rescue work had been completed on the vessel. Such accidents are rare on the Bosphorus, which is vital to Russia and other Black Sea states for shipping and some naval passage. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has warned about such accidents as he has revived plans in recent weeks to dig a massive canal on the western fringes of Istanbul to ease traffic on the Bosphorus. The city's new mayor, environmentalists and hundreds of petitioners oppose the Kanal Istanbul plan.

Cargo ship runs aground in Istanbul's Bosphorus strait

Bosphorus: The Strait of Istanbul is on fire, literally. Perhaps there has not been a single day when journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal killing inside the Saudi consulate has not made headlines worldwide in the last three weeks. The slow trickle of evidence through anonymous sources must be working like Chinese torture to crown prince Mohd bin Salman who till recently was enthusiastically courted by the western media as a reformer who wanted to change the very DNA of his country. 
&nbsp; 
But what he is left with today is a badly tarnished record which would be very difficult to whitewash. From the abduction of the Lebanese Prime Minister to a disastrous and inhumane war in Yemen to arm-twisting of the Qataris government, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia stands exposed today. A monarch who was masquerading as a modernist and a reformer. 
&nbsp; 
The intelligence agencies and leaders of the free world knew it but today even average joe is well aware of his motto. Even the taxi driver in Istanbul does. One of them told me,” I think the crown prince is in big trouble.” I said,” Why.” He said,” Everyone knows.” I do not know what he knew but all taxi drivers in Istanbul, I’m sure, today know the address of the Saudi Consulate and shortest way to it.

<img alt="Bosphorus" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="18674706-c86f-4e56-bfe1-a990b0742c17" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/IMG-20181025-WA0021.jpg" /> 
<img alt="Bosphorus is on fire, literally" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d618cf17-6e97-48e5-a4f2-db9bafccc4cf" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/IMG-20181025-WA0019.jpg" />&nbsp;<img alt="Bosphorus is on fire, literally" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2ca27b31-8fb3-42ae-928c-8758f08ae6e4" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/IMG-20181025-WA0022.jpg" />

The Saudi consulate in Istanbul is the new little Mecca of Istanbul’s economy. Maybe the Saudis will vacate it one day because as it has the potential to become a site of conservation and showcase the barbaric act lest people forget. A small building closed from both sides protected by the police is what it stands for today. You see the gate and try guessing what his fiancée might have felt 4 hours waiting there for him to turn up. Right now, it looks more like a campsite where international and national media works in a cramped space. 
&nbsp; 
The news does not come from the consulate. It is the backdrop for the TV coverage. A camp where West Asia is the topic of discussion and MBS is the Lord Voldemort. The excitement also depends on the weather. Winter months are kissing Istanbul. Even a light shower and hide and seek by the sun can send shivers down your spine. For once I wished that sun was more uncivilized but that was not to be. 
&nbsp; 
This is not my first visit to Istanbul. I visited this beautiful city with my wife a few months back. Today, I’m here to cover the biggest global story. It is Khashoggi’s murder. You would have guessed it by now. But I feel guilty. The hotel is the same because of its location and centrality. The reason for guilt is that I got a bigger room to stay put with my cameraman than the one I had with my wife. That was the first thing I told her. But, boy, the room has a view of the beautiful Bosphorus. A water lane which connects the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea. It divides and connects Asia and Europe at the same time. I’m staying put on the European side and without bias. But what I have been doing for the past 24 hours is to discuss West Asian politics. This is Istanbul.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Bosphorus: The Strait of Istanbul is on fire, literally. Perhaps there has not been a single day when journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal killing inside the Saudi consulate has not made headlines worldwide in the last three weeks.

Bosphorus: The Strait of Istanbul is on fire, literally. Perhaps there has not been a single day when journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal killing inside the Saudi consulate has not made headlines worldwide in the last three weeks. The slow trickle of evidence through anonymous sources must be working like Chinese torture to crown prince Mohd bin Salman who till recently was enthusiastically courted by the western media as a reformer who wanted to change the very DNA of his country. But what he is left with today is a badly tarnished record which would be very difficult to whitewash. From the abduction of the Lebanese Prime Minister to a disastrous and inhumane war in Yemen to arm-twisting of the Qataris government, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia stands exposed today. A monarch who was masquerading as a modernist and a reformer. The intelligence agencies and leaders of the free world knew it but today even average joe is well aware of his motto. Even the taxi driver in Istanbul does. One of them told me,” I think the crown prince is in big trouble.” I said,” Why.” He said,” Everyone knows.” I do not know what he knew but all taxi drivers in Istanbul, I’m sure, today know the address of the Saudi Consulate and shortest way to it. The Saudi consulate in Istanbul is the new little Mecca of Istanbul’s economy. Maybe the Saudis will vacate it one day because as it has the potential to become a site of conservation and showcase the barbaric act lest people forget. A small building closed from both sides protected by the police is what it stands for today. You see the gate and try guessing what his fiancée might have felt 4 hours waiting there for him to turn up. Right now, it looks more like a campsite where international and national media works in a cramped space. The news does not come from the consulate. It is the backdrop for the TV coverage. A camp where West Asia is the topic of discussion and MBS is the Lord Voldemort. The excitement also depends on the weather. Winter months are kissing Istanbul. Even a light shower and hide and seek by the sun can send shivers down your spine. For once I wished that sun was more uncivilized but that was not to be. This is not my first visit to Istanbul. I visited this beautiful city with my wife a few months back. Today, I’m here to cover the biggest global story. It is Khashoggi’s murder. You would have guessed it by now. But I feel guilty. The hotel is the same because of its location and centrality. The reason for guilt is that I got a bigger room to stay put with my cameraman than the one I had with my wife. That was the first thing I told her. But, boy, the room has a view of the beautiful Bosphorus. A water lane which connects the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea. It divides and connects Asia and Europe at the same time. I’m staying put on the European side and without bias. But what I have been doing for the past 24 hours is to discuss West Asian politics. This is Istanbul. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Blog: Bosphorus is on fire, literally

I thought landing in Istanbul would be an experience. It turned out to be a banal exercise. Routine and well-practised.&nbsp;

I reached my hotel quickly. A hotel belonging to the same chain exists in NOIDA too.&nbsp;

In Turkey, a narrow strip of water — the Bosphorus Strait — divides Asia from Europe.&nbsp;

I was amused to find later that the two sides also reflects the cultural differences between the two sides. As my guide confessed to me, alcohol is served more widely on the European side. (I had packed a bottle to be on the safe side but fortunately, my hotel was on the European side.)&nbsp;

The Asian side seemed older and traditional, the European more cosmopolitan.&nbsp;

 
A vague idea of India

Istanbul has a vague idea of India.&nbsp;

At a posh eatery near the waterfront, I met a man at lunch who spoke about the late filmmaker Raj Kapoor, and the bane of Hindi cinema.&nbsp;

When I enquired about the "bane", he said "length".&nbsp;

"Either you are a Pakistani or an Indian,” he said as we started to chat.&nbsp;

I wasn’t pleased. But the conversation quickly veered to vegetarian food, a big concern for my wife.&nbsp;

On the one hand, I savoured the moment of being identified as Indian while on the other, I was miffed for being clubbed with the Pakistanis. But then these are the small and beautiful mercies of globalisation, when it becomes difficult for the other to treat you like an alien.&nbsp;

 
'Dikkat', which means 'difficulty' or 'to stop' 
 
The word "dikkat", which means "difficulty" in Hindi and Urdu, means "to stop" in Turkish.&nbsp;

The word was not alien to me. I understood what it meant. It was in front of a kebab shop and I didn’t feel too "nationalistic" about ownership of it.&nbsp;

Deep down, I knew that like chocolate, potato, biryani and many other things, this too came from faraway lands but we made them our own by spicing them up.&nbsp;

We bettered them.&nbsp;

<img alt="istanbul3.jpg" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="430" src="http://images.wionews.com/iniline-images/istanbul3.jpg" width="770" />

<img alt="istanbul2.jpg" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="430" src="http://images.wionews.com/iniline-images/istanbul2.jpg" width="770" />

<img alt="istanbul4.jpg" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="430" src="http://images.wionews.com/iniline-images/istanbul4.jpg" width="770" />

 
Who are we, and how did we become this way?&nbsp; 
The news on TV was filled with talk about Syrian immigrants, the Iran deal and oil. Some of it was inward-looking.&nbsp;

With liberalism in retreat throughout the world, "strong" leaders have emerged through the ballot box who are now asserting their economic and cultural nationalism. Turkey is one example. &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Similar debates pepper the popular media in India.&nbsp;

Most of the debates are about who we are without understanding how we became this way because of constant interaction with the world. We are becoming insular. Inward looking.&nbsp;

A case in point is whether India became modern under the Marathas or the Mughals? Absolutely not. Would we have been richer without cultural interaction or poorer? Obviously poorer. 
&nbsp; 
Turkey stands at the confluence of two continents. Did it become poorer by cultural intercourse or richer? Absorbing all those influences made them prosperou.&nbsp;

Though their transition to modernity was preceded by the collapse of the Ottomon empire, a nation with a wider worldview was already shaping up under Ataturk.

Today, debate in India is only about who we are.&nbsp;

Who are we? What makes us a nation? Is it culture or constitution?&nbsp;

The debate continues.&nbsp;

The debate is polarising and insular.&nbsp;

Despite nations being the most workable system, they are not cast in stone. They can wither away. 
&nbsp;

Indebted to globalisation

So, to not be treated as an alien in Istanbul, I truly felt indebted to globalisation. 
&nbsp; 
Today, globalisation is a maligned word. In this world of economic and cultural nationalism, it was good to be culturally acknowledged and accepted as different.&nbsp;

With all due respect, Istanbul's Spice Market looked like an upgraded version of Palika Bazar but the fact that 10 percent of the shopkeepers there knew Hindi was good enough for me.

In an ever-changing world, we are becoming more and more culturally insular. Our quest is not to discover the other but to find sameness in a faraway land. &nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
At a time like this, if India turns insular, then it should not aspire to be a world leader.&nbsp;

More initiatives were taken under a Nehru when India’s economy counted for nothing on the world stage. 
&nbsp; 
The question to be debated is whether political and cultural insularity will help India?&nbsp;

Doesn’t this country need to be intellectually connected with wider world issues, rather than worrying about who we are, who we&nbsp;were and what are the purest elements of the Indian identity.

In Turkey, a narrow strip of water — the Bosphorus Strait — divides Asia from Europe. Cultural differences show up on either side

I thought landing in Istanbul would be an experience. It turned out to be a banal exercise. Routine and well-practised. I reached my hotel quickly. A hotel belonging to the same chain exists in NOIDA too. In Turkey, a narrow strip of water — the Bosphorus Strait — divides Asia from Europe. I was amused to find later that the two sides also reflects the cultural differences between the two sides. As my guide confessed to me, alcohol is served more widely on the European side. (I had packed a bottle to be on the safe side but fortunately, my hotel was on the European side.) The Asian side seemed older and traditional, the European more cosmopolitan. A vague idea of India Istanbul has a vague idea of India. At a posh eatery near the waterfront, I met a man at lunch who spoke about the late filmmaker Raj Kapoor, and the bane of Hindi cinema. When I enquired about the "bane", he said "length". "Either you are a Pakistani or an Indian,” he said as we started to chat. I wasn’t pleased. But the conversation quickly veered to vegetarian food, a big concern for my wife. On the one hand, I savoured the moment of being identified as Indian while on the other, I was miffed for being clubbed with the Pakistanis. But then these are the small and beautiful mercies of globalisation, when it becomes difficult for the other to treat you like an alien. 'Dikkat', which means 'difficulty' or 'to stop' The word "dikkat", which means "difficulty" in Hindi and Urdu, means "to stop" in Turkish. The word was not alien to me. I understood what it meant. It was in front of a kebab shop and I didn’t feel too "nationalistic" about ownership of it. Deep down, I knew that like chocolate, potato, biryani and many other things, this too came from faraway lands but we made them our own by spicing them up. We bettered them. Who are we, and how did we become this way? The news on TV was filled with talk about Syrian immigrants, the Iran deal and oil. Some of it was inward-looking. With liberalism in retreat throughout the world, "strong" leaders have emerged through the ballot box who are now asserting their economic and cultural nationalism. Turkey is one example. Similar debates pepper the popular media in India. Most of the debates are about who we are without understanding how we became this way because of constant interaction with the world. We are becoming insular. Inward looking. A case in point is whether India became modern under the Marathas or the Mughals? Absolutely not. Would we have been richer without cultural interaction or poorer? Obviously poorer. Turkey stands at the confluence of two continents. Did it become poorer by cultural intercourse or richer? Absorbing all those influences made them prosperou. Though their transition to modernity was preceded by the collapse of the Ottomon empire, a nation with a wider worldview was already shaping up under Ataturk. Today, debate in India is only about who we are. Who are we? What makes us a nation? Is it culture or constitution? The debate continues. The debate is polarising and insular. Despite nations being the most workable system, they are not cast in stone. They can wither away. Indebted to globalisation So, to not be treated as an alien in Istanbul, I truly felt indebted to globalisation. Today, globalisation is a maligned word. In this world of economic and cultural nationalism, it was good to be culturally acknowledged and accepted as different. With all due respect, Istanbul's Spice Market looked like an upgraded version of Palika Bazar but the fact that 10 percent of the shopkeepers there knew Hindi was good enough for me. In an ever-changing world, we are becoming more and more culturally insular. Our quest is not to discover the other but to find sameness in a faraway land. At a time like this, if India turns insular, then it should not aspire to be a world leader. More initiatives were taken under a Nehru when India’s economy counted for nothing on the world stage. The question to be debated is whether political and cultural insularity will help India? Doesn’t this country need to be intellectually connected with wider world issues, rather than worrying about who we are, who we were and what are the purest elements of the Indian identity.

Istanbul diary: Small mercies of globalisation