ANKARA, FEB 12: As part of its efforts to put Turkish nationals in space by its centennial in 2023, Turkey is preparing to select three candidates, one of whom will don the astronaut suit.

Once recruited under Turkey’s National Space Program, all three candidates will undergo two years of rigorous training. Among them, the candidate assessed to be the “most successful” will make the upward journey.

The candidates will be selected based on their skills in conducting scientific studies and their physical abilities, though the list of specific criteria will yet be shaped by specialists in various fields including aeronautics, medicine and psychology, officials from the country’s Ministry of Industry and Technology told Anadolu Agency.

The timetable for the launch to the International Space Station will be determined under international cooperation programs. Once there, Turkey’s astronaut will conduct various scientific undertakings from biological experiments to space endurance tests for materials developed in Turkey, with the exact content to be determined by deliberations with universities and scientists.

Alongside expertise in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, national space agencies also often look for certain physical qualities in astronaut candidates, who can be chosen from among military ranks or civilians. Experience in aerospace can also be a reason for preference.

To take part in spaceflight and spacewalks, candidates must meet anthropometric requirements, which are tested through various trials. They also have to have perfect eyesight in both eyes at short and long distances, and not suffer from blood pressure conditions.

Those who conduct scientific studies in space must not consume alcohol or smoke, or have any illness or psychological condition. They must have normal joint and bone structure as well as the mental, personal and spiritual abilities to fulfill the space mission.

LONDON, FEB 12 – British Airways intends to increase its trial of the VeriFLY digital health app across all international flights operating into the UK.

The carrier said the move comes in response to the tightening of border controls by the UK government.

The expansion, which will come in to effect from February 15th, is designed to help those eligible to travel to navigate the changing entry requirements and facilitate a seamless journey by ensuring customers are ready to fly and have the appropriate documentation in place, before departing for the airport.

The trial is part of an ongoing work to explore digital health travel wallet and document verification solutions which help customers and support the government in ensuring conformance with the UK’s entry requirements.

The news also comes as IATA chief executive, Alexandre de Juniac, this week reaffirmed that it was working closely with IAG, British Airways’ parent company, on its IATA Travel Pass app which is being developed to launch in the coming weeks.

Sean Doyle, British Airways chief executive, said: “We know that digital health apps and wallets will likely become commonplace when travel opens up again.

“We are exploring every available solution to support eligible customers and the UK government both during this period of limited travel and in preparation for a time when restrictions are eased, when we hope many more people will be able to resume flying again.”

VeriFLY can be downloaded to a mobile device is designed to offer peace of mind before travel by checking customers meet the entry requirements of their destination by providing digital health document verification and confirming eligibility.

Use of the VeriFLY app will be optional and customers will also continue to be able to evidence they meet a country’s entry requirements at check-in.

The app has been pioneered by private software company, Daon.

The software will allow people to combine travel verification documents and Covid-19 test results in one place, ensuring travellers are fully compliant with the entry requirements for their destination before leaving home.

Certified customers will be fast-tracked through the airport where specially designated desks will be available for check in.

ANKARA, FEB 12 – Turkey’s next-generation specialized free zones will attract more investments thanks to their suitability for value chains and modern digital infrastructure, Turkey’s trade minister said Friday.

“More R&D activities will be carried out, a significant level of intra-sector interaction will be ensured, and there will be a concentration of qualified human resources in those zones,” Ruhsar Pekcan told a meeting in the capital Ankara touting the zones.

Noting that the share of high-tech products in Turkey’s total exports is 3.4% while the figure in free zones is nearly three times that, at 9%, Pekcan said specialized free zones aim to boost those rates.

The groundwork for Turkey’s next-generation specialized free zone model was laid in a January 2020 presidential decree.

“With this model, we aim to establish free zones on the basis of specialization in R&D-intensive, high-value-added, innovation, and tech-oriented goods and services sectors,” Pekcan said.

Additional incentive mechanisms were provided for rent, qualified employment, interest and dividends in order to support the basic needs that will affect firms’ investment decisions, she noted.

Pekcan called on Turkish private sector and foreign investors to invest in the country’s next-generation specialized free zones.

Those zones will serve as hubs with an efficient, smoothly functioning management thanks to their streamlined bureaucratic procedures, Pekcan stressed.

Turkey has 18 free trade zones, with the first one established in 1985, Pekcan said.

Noting that the number of companies operating in Turkey’s free trade zones stands at 1,900, nearly 500 of them with foreign capital, Pekcan said their trade volume in 2020 was $22 billion.

To date, foreign capital companies have invested more than $2.5 billion in the zones, she said.

CAPE TOWN, FEB 12 – Corruption is one of the greatest impediments to South Africa’s growth and development, President Cyril Ramaphosa said late Thursday, vowing to take action against the vice.

Delivering his State of the Nation address to a joint sitting of the houses of parliament, Ramaphosa said revelations made at a commission of inquiry probing graft laid bare the extent of state capture and related corruption.

State capture is a form of corruption where businesses tend to influence politicians to take decisions to favor their business interests.

“Testimony at the commission has shown how the criminal justice system was compromised and weakened,” Ramaphosa said.

He further said that the government has started implementing the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which lays the basis for a comprehensive and integrated society-wide response to corruption.

“We will shortly be appointing the members of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, which is a multi-sectoral body that will oversee the initial implementation of the strategy and the establishment of an independent statutory anti-corruption body that reports to parliament,” Ramaphosa said.

The state capture commission led by South Africa’s deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo is currently interrogating senior politicians, former officials and government officials accused of corruption.

The commission was established in 2018, shortly before former President Jacob Zuma stepped down as head of state amid pressure from his own ruling African National Congress party (ANC) regarding allegations of corruption and other offences.

Zuma is accused of giving lucrative state contracts to the Guptas, a wealthy Indian family that was close to him.

The Guptas are said to have influenced Zuma’s appointments of top government officials, including ministers whom they would later use to win lucrative contracts.

However, both Zuma and the Guptas deny the allegations.

Officials believed to have links to the Guptas or the Zuma family have been called to testify at the commission.

Determined to fight graft

Ramaphosa said his government was determined to fight corruption, giving an example of how they had quickly put an end to possible incidents of fraud and corruption in the procurement of COVID-related goods and services.

“We acted decisively to put a stop to these practices, to investigate all allegations and to act against those responsible,” he said.

Ramaphosa said his government established a “fusion center” which brings together key law enforcement agencies to share information and resources.

“The Fusion Center has brought many cases to trial and preserved or recovered millions of rands in public funds,” he said.

The president said the Special Investigating Unit has finalized investigations into 164 COVID-19 procurement fraud contracts at the value of 3.5 billion rand (US$239.3 million).

Ramaphosa also said that crime and violence continue to undermine people’s sense of safety and security in the country. The president said tackling crime is central to the success of the country’s post COVID-19 recovery.

“We have taken steps and will continue to stop these crimes and deal with those responsible in terms of the law,” he said.

South Africa has one of the highest incidents of crime on the continent.

BRUSSELS, FEB 12 – The European Union’s €672.5 billion ($814 billion) recovery package was signed on Friday. The largest stimulus package in the bloc’s history aims at relaunching the European economy after the COVID-19 crisis by channeling EU funds to preserve jobs, to maintain social security systems and to invest in health care.

The act was signed by Portuguese premier Antonio Costa on behalf of the EU member countries, as the chair of rotating presidency of the Council of European Union, and European Parliament President David Sassoli.

The recovery package is “vaccine to save lives, vitamin to boost the economy”, Costa said at a press conference following the signing ceremony.

After a year-long deadlock in negotiations, EU leaders and the European Parliament reached in December an agreement on the bloc’s budget of €1.8 trillion for the period of 2021-27, which includes a €750-billion temporary recovery instrument called Next Generation EU and the ordinary long-term budget.

The act on Recovery and Resilience Facility signed on Friday is part of the Next Generation EU, but it needed special authorization because — unlike the rest of EU budget which is mostly based on contributions from member states — the European Commission will finance the €672.5 billion fund by raising money at the international financial markets.

The scheme provides €360 billion worth of loans and €312.5 billion in grants for EU member states.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who was also present at the ceremony called the adoption of the community-financed stimulus a “historical act”.

She said she expects the EU executive body to secure the credits and start the transfers to EU states this year.

However, member states’ parliaments still have to ratify the decision which implies assuming guarantee for the common EU debt in addition to the national contributions for the EU budget.

The Portuguese presidency counts on EU states to ratify the act by this summer, Costa said.