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Rebuilding after the Turkey-Syria earthquake

Feb 6, 2024
Turkey is still recovering from the huge earthquake that hit a year ago. U.S. funding is helping some companies rebuild.
A worker at Mirbey Flour throws a bag of flour on a conveyor belt after he filled and sealed it. Mirbey suffered damage but has received funding to get production up and running.
Victoria Craig/Marketplace

With new government hires, Turkey may be headed back to economic sanity

Recently re-elected President Erdogan's appointments to top government positions may signal a return to normal economic policy.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledges supporters at the presidential palace after winning reelection in a runoff on May 29, 2023 in Ankara, Turkey.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey’s retirees feel inflation’s pressures ahead of second-round election 

May 25, 2023
In 2021, the Istanbul Political Research Institute found that 12% of Turks over 65 were still working, in part because pensions are not adequate.
People sit at a tea house in Sincan, a district outside of Ankara’s city center where a majority of voters supported President Erdogan in the first-round of elections on May 14.
Victoria Craig

Foreign home buyers become a central issue in Turkish presidential election

May 12, 2023
In the Turkish city of Antalya, an influx of foreign buyers have exacerbated existing housing affordability woes.
Turkey's main opposition  leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks during a rally, Turkey. He has promised to restrict foreign homebuying if he wins the presidency.
Burak Kara/Getty Images

Turkey's soaring food prices take center stage in presidential election

May 10, 2023
Voters will head to the polls on Sunday for the most crucial election in a generation as households continue to deal with inflation.
People shop at a local street market in Istanbul on May 3. Annual inflation in Turkey reached a whopping 85.5% last year.
Burak Kara/Getty Images

Why U.S. dollars are a growing form of international aid

Feb 21, 2023
One reason to give cash: It empowers people to buy what they need, not what aid groups think they need.
Syrian rescue teams search for survivors after the recent catastrophic earthquake.
Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images

It's hard to send earthquake relief remittances to Syria

Feb 13, 2023
The Treasury Department has temporarily OK'd relief transactions. But most major money transfer companies won’t remit aid from the U.S. to Syria.
Syria has been under U.S. sanctions for years. That makes sending money there difficult. Above, a family from Kobane, Syria, takes refuge in Turkey after last week's earthquake.
Mehmet Kacmaz/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

A Ukrainian tourist poses for a picture near the Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul.
Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

What does 20% inflation feel like in Turkey?

Dec 21, 2021
A package of eggs recently jumped 60% in a week at one grocery store. Many economists fault the Erdoğan government's policies.
Turkey's economic woes are driving many young people to look abroad for opportunity, which could lead to a damaging brain drain.
BBC/Stephen Ryan

1 year after a catastrophic fire, this Texas smoked turkey business is back

"When you're faced with a disaster, the sun does come up the next day," says Sam Greenberg of Greenberg Smoked Turkeys.
"We put out a good product ... and it’s comfort food. And who doesn’t need comfort food in the times we’re going through now?" says Sam Greenberg of Greenberg Smoked Turkeys.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images