Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony of Sazlidere Bridge over the planned route of Kanal Istanbul on Saturday. Reuters
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday launched the start of construction on a controversial canal aimed at easing congestion on the Bosphorus but which critics say courts environmental disaster.
The “Canal Istanbul” is a gigantic waterway running parallel to the Bosphorus Strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean.
“Today we are opening a new page in the history of Turkish development,” Erdogan said during the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of a bridge forming part of the project. The 45 kilometre long waterway will connect the Black Sea to global maritime networks, a strategically important issue at the heart of European geopolitics and conflicts for centuries.
We ll watch another round of scattered showers and storms across the state Sunday, mainly from the midday hours onward, with highs topping off right around average. Meanwhile, the Northwest continues to bake under what looks to be the warmest temperatures ever on record for some locations. Click for more details. - D.J. Kayser
С 16 июня 2021 года вступили в силу принятые правительством Латвии поправки к Правилам КМ №360 «Меры эпидемиологической безопасности по ограничению распространения инфекции COVID-19». Они значительно упростили жизнь путешественникам. И главное: Латвия открыла внешние границы, в том числе и с Беларусью. Кому и по каким визам можно ехать в Беларусь? Выясняем в пограничной службе Латвии и в Генеральном консульстве Беларуси в Даугавпилсе.