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Dolce vita! The Obamas arrive in Tuscany on a private plane escorted by six fighter jets and a 13-car motorcade for five days in a $15k-a-night private villa

Barack and Michelle Obama flew into a Tuscany militray base on Friday, escorted by six fighter jets
They were escorted in a 13-car motorcade to Borgo Finocchieto, a refurbished 14th century village
The five-building, six-acre space is owned by Obama's former ambassador to Italy, John Philips
It features 22 bedrooms, multiple saunas and Jacuzzis, a swimming pool, a gym and a basketball court
It's also surrounded by beautiful rolling hills that can be explored by car, helicopter or even hot air balloon
The Obamas, who have been on multiple vacations since leaving the White House, will reportedly visit Florence and Siena during their vacation


The Obamas arrived in Tuscany on a private plane escorted by six fighter jets and a 13-car motorcade on Friday as they continue their all-expenses-paid world tour.
Barack and Michelle Obama will have an entire 14th century village to themselves during their five-night stay - at an eye-watering cost of $15,000 per night.
Not that the couple are likely to have paid, as it's owned by the ex-president's former ambassador to Italy, John Philips.

On Friday, the former president and first lady touched down at Grosseto Air Base in Tuscany, their private jet accompanied by six Eurofighter Fourth Wing jets.
The couple where then whisked away in an armored Chevrolet as part of a 13-car motorcade, transporting them to their incredible Tuscan villa Borgo Finocchieto, as many Italians lined the streets to wave them as they passed.


But the family will be ensured privacy at their villa, which is a kilometer away from prying eyes on the road. Italian authorities have even imposed a ban on wild boar hunting, just in case the former president is accidentally shot. They are expected to fly out on May 24.
The Obamas, who have been on multiple vacations since leaving the White House in January, will reportedly visit Florence and Siena during their vacation.
Resting on more than six acres of rolling hillside near Buonconvento, 45 miles south of Florence, the village of Borgo Finocchieto provides superb views of the surrounding countryside - but what's inside the villa and its attached homes is just as stunning.
According to its official website, Borgo Finocchieto - its name translates as 'village of fennel fields' - has 22 bedrooms across its five buildings.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4524300/The-Obamas-arrive-Tuscany-five-days-villa.html#ixzz4hi4eNFHK

A Russian tourist was arrested on charges of robbery on May 16 in the Manavgat district of the southern resort province of Antalya, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The 42-year-old Russian tourist, identified only as Mikhail S., was caught on May 15 after he stole money from the cashbox of the spa center at the five-star hotel he was staying at with his friend.

He was handed to gendarmerie forces and later referred to a local court to be arrested.

The criminal court of peace on May 16 ordered the arrest of the tourist.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russian-tourist-arrested-over-robbery-at-hotel-in-turkeys-antalya.aspx?pageID=238&nID=113178&NewsCatID=341

Turkey celebrated one of its most meaningful national days on May 19, Youth and Sports Day, marking the 98th anniversary of the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk headed from allied-occupied Istanbul to Samsun on the Black Sea coast in 1919.

However, this year the day was also marked as another example of growing oppression of the independent media in Turkey with the operation staged against daily Sözcü, a critical mass-market newspaper.

Police searched the newspaper’s offices in Istanbul and İzmir as well as the house of its publisher, Burak Akbay, and issued detention warrants for him and online manager Mediha Olgun, finance manager Yonca Kaleli, and İzmir reporter Gökmen Ulu. The four were reported to be investigated over alleged links to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of masterminding the July 2016 failed coup attempt.

They were accused of “being a member of a terror organization,” “committing a crime on behalf of the organization,” “assaulting the president,” and staging an “armed insurgency against the Turkish government.”
The prosecutor’s move also includes confiscation of the newspaper, according to Sözcü’s lawyers, increasing concerns that the prosecution could result in shutting the newspaper down.

The operation against Sözcü follows the arrest of Oğuz Güven, the online manager of daily Cumhuriyet, landing another heavy blow on freedom of the media in Turkey. Güven was arrested simply over the headline of a news report on the car accident that killed chief prosecutor of Denizli two weeks ago. The headline was removed from Cumhuriyet’s website in less than a minute, but that did not stop the launching of a judicial move against Güven. In Turkey, a simple editorial mistake can turn a journalist life into a nightmare.

Sözcü is one of the country’s most critical newspapers and is well-known for its long-standing opposition to the Fethullah Gülen movement, even back in the days when the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was a close ally of Gülen. Accusing Sözcü of supporting the Gülen movement and taking part in last year’s coup attempt is ridiculous, even comical.

Sözcü, like all media outlets in Turkey, stood against the coup attempt and supported the crackdown on Gülenists within state institutions. But it also urged the government not to cover up the political branch of the Gülenists, especially within the AKP, through a number of insistent reports.

In his long address to mark the occasion of May 19, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the process that Turkey has been passing through since the AKP first entered office in late 2002 as a “silent revolution.”
However, in a country where more than 150 journalists are behind bars and oppression against freedom of expression, along with other fundamental freedoms, is constantly rising, it is not possible to talk about such a revolution. Rather, Turkey is in the midst of a noisy counter-revolution that deteriorates democratic principles and universal values.

Journalism is not a crime. Those who imprison journalists just because of what have written or reported are the onescommitting the real crime.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/journalism-is-not-a-crime-apart-from-in-turkey.aspx?PageID=238&NID=113310&NewsCatID=429

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 20 that Turkey would ensure that any opinion could be freely discussed at universities, as long as it did not serve terrorism, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul's Haliç Congress Center, President Erdoğan said that the government's struggle is against those who openly support and speak for terrorism.

"Our struggle is not against different ideologies, our struggle is against terror and terror groups," he said.

Erdoğan said that no civilized country in the world would allow terror groups to nest in universities nor transform universities into training camps for the groups.

"Weapons, molotov cocktails and violence can never be a means to seek rights," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan also stressed that 14 years were spent countering ideologies which banned students from enrolling at universities based on their clothing and appearance.

"There are no longer any tearful students who are turned back from the doors of universities due their clothing," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan said that those who ostracized others based on their ideologies in the past in Turkey, are accusing the current Turkish government of being against the freedom of speech.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-will-ensure-any-opinion-could-be-freely-discussed-at-universities-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=113330&NewsCatID=338

U.S. officials and lawmakers may have been outraged when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bodyguards attacked and beat peaceful protesters in Washington as their leader watched. Back in Turkey, however, that hard-line approach is welcomed by many of the president’s nationalist supporters.

The clash Tuesday began when Erdogan’s motorcade pulled up in front of the Turkish ambassador’s residence, returning from a visit to the White House and a meeting with President Donald Trump.

Erdogan, emerging from his limousine, stood and watched as his guards and supporters began punching and kicking their way through a group of mostly Kurdish protesters across the street. Eleven people were injured.

Two senators protest

Two U.S. senators protested to Erdogan Thursday about his guards’ behavior.

“The violent response of your security detail to peaceful protesters is wholly unacceptable,” Senators Dianne Feinstein and John McCain said in a letter to Erdogan. They added that the incident was “unfortunately reflective of your government’s treatment of the press, ethnic minority groups and political opponents.”

U.S. Senators John McCain and Dianne Feinstein wrote a letter to the Turkish government, demanding it take responsibility for a clash involving protesters and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's guards near the Turkish Embassy in Washington on Tuesday.

While some Turks also decried the use of force to quash a peaceful protest, calling it a blemish on the country’s international reputation and a violation of free speech, those who support Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule felt it was justified.

Protesters ‘deserved to be beaten’

“Those terrorists deserved to be beaten,” Atakan, a taxi driver from the city of Erzurum, told a VOA reporter. “They should not be protesting our president. They got what they asked for.”

Yusuf Kanli, a newspaper columnist and political analyst, said no matter how bad it may have looked, the scene played right into Erdogan’s image.


https://www.voanews.com/a/erdogan-watched-guards-beat-protesters/3861496.html




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_yZ1IG-9Wo

The president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, wore a long navy dress as she arrived in Saudi Arabia this morning as part of the party accompanying Trump

The president, the first lady, Chief of staff Reince Priebus, Jared Kushner, and Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka, left the White House aboard Marine One just before 2pm Eastern

The President and Vice President share some last words as Pence gets set to say farewell to the departing leader

President Trump understands that America First does not mean America alone,' said H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser. The President is pictured with King Salman of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud welcomed Trump during a reception ceremony this morning

Donald Trump flew to the capital Riyadh overnight on Air Force One, and his arrival following the 6,700-mile flight was met with the pomp usually reserved for a Papal welcome in South America

The last four presidents confirmed their first trips abroad to Canada and Mexico, but Trump is going big before going home

A 90-person Royal Saudi Air Forces honor guard practiced rifle drills and then stood at attention while Trump and his kingly escort ambled toward the terminal – with first lady Melania walking a few steps behind him

The president got the red carpet treatment – literally – and some airport workers even took off their shoes before manicuring it with brooms in 97-degree heat

The U.S. president was welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (right) upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this morning

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (left) shows the way to President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh

Trump and King Salman had a welcome ceremony inside the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport after Air Force One landed

The president and the king sat together in 'The Beast,' the White House's armored SUV that travels in the belly of Air Force One

Saudi military stood guard with the flags of the host and guest nations as a welcome retinue waited for Trump and his entourage to land

Watch out, world! Donald Trump and First Lady Melania (plus Ivanka) are greeted by the Saudi king as they land in Riyadh for his crucial first test abroad as they escape DC scandalfest for nine-day foreign tour

President touched down in Saudi Arabia after flying overnight on Air Force One to Middle Eastern state
After two days of meetings in Riyadh, during which he is set to call for Arab nations to help in the fight against ISIS, Trump will travel to Israel
He will then have an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday
Trump has become the only US president to make Saudi his first overseas stop

President Donald Trump has landed in Saudi Arabia as he begins his first foreign tour since taking office.
He touched down in the Middle East this morning, hours after tweeting about his excitement for his first 'big foreign trip.'
Trump flew to the capital Riyadh overnight on Air Force One – becoming the only president to make Saudi Arabia, or any majority Muslim country, his first stop overseas as president.


His arrival following a 6,700-mile flight was met with the pomp usually reserved for the likes of a Papal welcome in South America.
The president got the red carpet treatment – literally – and some airport workers took off their shoes before manicuring it with brooms in 97-degree heat.


There were 30 U.S. flags at the ready, a tiny fraction of the thousands that line streets and highways between the airport and the city center.
A 90-person Royal Saudi Air Forces honor guard practiced rifle drills and then stood at attention while Trump and his kingly escort ambled toward the terminal.
He heard an eight-bugle fanfare, watched a seven-jet flyover trailing red, white and blue smoke. And cannon fire. Lots of cannon fire, which didn't cease until Trump and King Salman were safely inside.
Inside the terminal, the fragrant smell of oud filled the air as workers burned the aromatic wood in charcoal lamps.
Wafting saudi oud scents also permeate the air in the souks – marketplaces – that snake through the oldest part of town. Just steps away is Ad Deerah, known to locals as 'chop-chop square' because of periodic public beheadings.
Trump will face questions over the weekend about the wisdom of establishing partnerships with a government known for human rights violations and for its Medieval treatment of women.
Females cannot drive cars in the kingdom, and their every move, from travel to shopping, is overseen by male family members.

On Saturday the only females seen among the welcome retinue were a pair of small girls presenting flowers and an African-American woman, who turned out to be a U.S. Secret Service agent.
Melania and Ivanka Trump seemed determine to make a statement by deplaning without head coverings, a rare sight among women in Riyadh whose main choices are the hijab and the niqab.
Still, the first lady stayed a half-dozen steps behind King Salman and her politician-husband, escorted by a lone U.S. Marine in full dress uniform.
After a welcome ceremony inside the Royal Terminal, Trump and Salman sat together in 'The Beast,' the White House's armored SUV that travels in the belly of Air Force One.
The first stop was the glitzy Ritz-Carlton, whose exterior is being lit up at night with giant projected images of the American flag.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4524666/Donald-Trump-lands-Saudi-Arabia-big-foreign-trip.html

EASY TO DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF ONLINE

IAU is offering 50% scholarship to all the International students. Istanbul Aydin University (IAU) is located in the heart of beautiful İstanbul and offers a wide range of subjects at the undergraduate, graduate and vocational (FE) levels. Istanbul Aydin University founded in 2003 as an outstanding higher education center in order to introduce high quality graduates to the business world. Today, IAU has 11 faculties, 3 graduate schools, 3 institutes. IAU has been the most preferred foundation university for the last 7 years in Turkey having the population of 4000 International students from 102 nationalities. We are offering programs in almost all the fields of education and at all levels (Associate degree, Undergraduate, Masters, Doctorate level and Turkish Language course).

Registration for the Fall Intake 2017 will be open in June 2017 and you can Apply Online immediately to secure a place in IAU. For the detailed information of the university see our Website and in case of further query feel free to write us at admission@aydin.edu.tr

How to apply:

First, you have to fill online application form Apply Online and you will attach all of your education documents with the form as mentioned below. After filling the form, we will evaluate your documents and within 15 days, we will confirm your final status of online application form. Following are the required documents for online application form.

- High School / Undergraduate diploma
- High School / Undergraduate Transcript
- Passport copy
- Language proficiency certificate (TOEFL-79)

(Students who do not have TOEFL they can also give English Proficiency Exam after reaching the university)

Please find the link below for tuition fee details:
http://int.aydin.edu.tr/en_US/tuition-and-fees/


Note: Admission for spring 2017 Intake is closed; Admission for fall 2017 Intake is open now. Also, be informed that Fall Intakes is for Associate, Undergraduate, Master and PhD applicants and we are offering scholarships up to 50%. Spring semester is for only Masters and PhD applications.


Admission Office
International Student Recruitment Offce

Istanbul Aydin University
P:+90 444 1 428 | e: admission@aydin.edu.tr
W: int.aydin.edu.tr , www.aydin.edu.tr
A: Beşyol Mah.İnönü Cad.No:38 Küçükcekmece, İstanbul