Western Balkans citizens legally resident in EU equal to 14% of region’s population
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has stripped Belarus of the right to hold the World Championship this year
Alexei Navalny arrested on arrival as he returns home
LONG READ: The oligarch problem
Russia's biggest demonstrations since 2011 in protest against Navalny jailing
Opposition activist Navalny's call for mass protests a success as thousands take to the streets across Russia
Russia's National Welfare Fund accounts for almost 12% of GDP
Police arresting activists ahead of Saturday’s demonstration in support of Navalny
NBU keeps key policy rate at 6%, worsens CPI outlook
Western Balkans and Ukraine urged to scrutinise coal subsidies
Oligarchs trying to derail Ukraine’s privatisation programme, warns the head of Ukraine’s State Property Fund
VISEGRAD BLOG: Central Europe's populists need a new strategy for Biden
OUTLOOK 2021 Lithuania
EBRD says loan to Estonia’s controversial Porto Franco project was never disbursed
Czech MPs pass protectionist food law in violation of EU rules
M&A in Central and Eastern Europe fell 16% in value in 2020, says CMS report
Hungarian vehicle makers hit by supply chain shortage
COVID-19 and Trump’s indifference helped human rights abusers in 2020
OUTLOOK 2021 Poland
OUTLOOK 2021 Slovakia
BRICKS & MORTAR: Rosier future beckons for CEE retailers after year of change and disruption
FDI inflows to CEE down 58% in 1H20 but rebound expected
Albania needs reforms for e-commerce to thrive, says World Bank
BALKAN BLOG: US approach to switch from quick-fix dealmaking to experience and cooperation
Corona-induced slump in global clothing sector dragged down Albania’s 2020 exports
Bosnia's exports in 2020 amounted to BAM10.5bn, trade deficit to BAM6.3bn
Retailers and restaurant owners threaten protests in Bulgaria if reopening is delayed
Bulgaria's Biodit first company to IPO on new BEAM market
Bulgaria’s government considers gradual easing of COVID-related restrictions
Spring lockdown caused spike in online transactions in Croatia
ING: Growth in the Balkans: from zero to hero again?
Labour demand down 28% y/y in Croatia in 2020
EBRD investments reach record €11bn in pandemic-struck 2020
OUTLOOK 2021 Moldova
Storming parliaments: New Europe's greatest hits
World Bank revises projection for Moldova’s 2020 GDP decline to 7.2%
Montenegrins say state administration is most corrupt institution
North Macedonia plans to cut personal income tax in IT sector to zero in 2023
Romania government to pursue “ambitious” timetable for justice reforms
Private finance mobilised by development banks up 9% to $175bn in 2019
OUTLOOK 2021 Romania
OUTLOOK 2021 Slovenia
Slovenia’s opposition files no-confidence motion against Jansa cabinet
Slovenia’s government to release funds to news agency STA after EU pressure
UK Moneyhub picks Slovenia for post-Brexit European base
D’S Damat franchise deals ‘show Turkey’s hard-pressed mall operators becoming their own tenants’
Turkey’s benchmark rate held as concerns over faltering recovery come to fore
Turkish lira breaches HSBC’s stop-loss, Turkey ETF signalling outflows
CAUCASUS BLOG : What can Biden offer the Caucasus and Stans, all but forgotten about by Trump?
Armenia ‘to extend life of its 1970s Metsamor nuclear power plant after 2026’
OUTLOOK 2021 Armenia
COMMENT: Record high debt levels will slow post-coronavirus recovery, threaten some countries' financial stability, says IIF
OUTLOOK 2021 Georgia
Iran’s Khamenei menaces private citizen Trump with image of aircraft shadowing blond golfer
Iran’s technology minister indicted for failing to properly implement internet censorship
No US move to rejoin Iran nuclear deal imminent, say Biden national security nominees
TEHRAN BLOG: Will Biden bet on a quick return to the Iran nuclear deal?
Central Asia vaccination plans underwhelm, but governments look unruffled
Fears of authoritarianism as Kyrgyz populist wins landslide and backing for ‘Khanstitution’
Mongolia's PM quits amid protests over treatment of mother with coronavirus and newborn baby
Mongolia's winter dzud set to be one of most extreme on record says Red Cross
Mongolian coal exports to China paralysed as Beijing demands virus testing of truck drivers
Mongolia fears economic damage as country faces up to its first local transmissions of coronavirus
OUTLOOK 2021 Tajikistan
OUTLOOK 2021 Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan: How the Grinch stole New Year
COMMENT: Uzbekistan is being transformed, but where are the democratic reforms?
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Turkey “could be heading to the brink of a catastrophe” unless the government “takes drastic measures, including a complete lockdown” to battle the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, columnist and scholar Cengiz Candar warned on March 26.
Writing for Al-Monitor, Candar expressed regret that even while it was faced by the emergency “on March 23, Ankara was still preoccupied with political repression, firing and detaining mayors in eight more towns in the predominantly Kurdish southeast”.
Candar, a distinguished visiting scholar at Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS) and a senior associate fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, referred to the gloomy COVID-19 prognosis for Turkey of Haluk Cokugras, an expert on infectious diseases at Istanbul University’s medical faculty. He told Haberturk TV on March 22 that given the rate of cases in the country, Turkey might surpass Italy’s outbreak in two weeks' time. Stating that a countrywide curfew or a total lockdown was urgently needed, he added: “The economy will collapse and we will have social troubles, but we have no other choice in order to stop the outbreak.”
Candar added: “An even worse prediction is made by Onur Baser, a health economist at the University of Michigan who also teaches at MEF University in Istanbul. Speaking to Deutsche Welle's Turkish-language service March 23, he claimed at least 32 million people—more than a third of Turkey’s population—are expected to be infected with the coronavirus, meaning ‘150,000 to 600,000 deaths.’”
Separately, The National reported on March 25 that one of Turkey’s most qualified experts on coronaviruses, Mustafa Ulash, remains sidelined in the country despite his willingness to provide his expertise.
Ulaslı spent more than a decade researching coronaviruses. He was among thousands of academics purged from their jobs in the wake of the failed coup against the Erdogan administration in July 2016. Ulaslı was accused of having ties to the banned Gulen movement, which the government blames for orchestrating the attempted coup.
“I have a PhD in this field and I’m ready to make any kind of contribution,” he was reported as saying. “I don’t want to make any political point. The urgent matter is the pandemic. The important thing is we have to act and I just want to contribute.”
Many experts fear Turkey hasn't got a grip on its coronavirus emergency.
Local conglomerate Turkerler and Italy’s Astaldi, the consortium building the Ankara Etlik City Hospital, has restructured an €833mn loan with a consortium of 15 banks, including the European ... more
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of up to $58mn to Turk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S. (TEB) in support of local small businesses facing liquidity ... more
Turkish flour producer Ulusoy Un is to get a fresh financial shot in the arm to help it keep up with high demand from pasta-makers, bakeries and locked-down customers as ... more
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