Mark Lowen
@marklowen
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BBC News Correspondent and Presenter. Previously in Rome, Istanbul, Athens, Belgrade and lots in between. Dad. Heart belongs to a Portuguese. All views my own
Joined December 2010
Well this week has been quite an experience, detained by Turkish police while covering the anti-government protests and deported. Here’s my full story. Do take a read if you can - and thank you to everyone for kind messages and support:
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The Turkey that actually exists versus the one Turks are told exists
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In today’s @lemondefr: When #Trump received the leaders of #Estonia, #Latvia and #Lithuania, he began by blaming them for the war in Yugoslavia. It took them a few moments to realise he’d mixed up the Balkans and the Baltics. @SylvieKauffmann
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President Erdogan visits Marmaris, ravaged by wildfires, and chooses to throw out boxes of tea to locals as he drives by
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OK so tonight might just be the best I’ve ever seen. Mesmerising doesn’t come close.
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As Matteo Salvini visits the Poland-Ukraine border, the mayor of Przemysl shows him the Putin-admiring T-shirt he proudly wore in Moscow. Not so simple for a leopard to change its spots.
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Ah canım @Ahaber I missed you too.
İngilizler kaos planına destek çıkıyor! Boğaziçi Üniversitesi'nde CHP ve PKK da devrede.
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After @BorisJohnson was asked in parliament why Germany & Italy are doing better on Coronavirus than UK and replied the difference is "ours is a freedom-loving country", Italian President Mattarella tells reporters "we Italians love freedom too but seriousness is also dear to us".
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📣 Some news about me:.Yesterday (Wednesday) I was detained by police in Istanbul, held for 17 hours and then deported from Turkey to the UK. Told I was “a threat to public order”. In the country I lived in - and love. Journalism is not a crime. Here’s the BBC’s statement:
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One of the million reasons to love Italy: even when you might be voted out of office, there’s always time for espresso. (Pic @davideghiglione)
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Taxi at Fiumicino picking up a friend visiting. First claims it’s 70€ to central Rome (it’s 50). Then says credit card machine isn’t working, so only cash. Then says he has no internet (it “recharges at midnight”) so has no GPS. Benvenuto a Roma.
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Spring brings the wisteria to Rome. It’s glorious - even if there’s nobody out to see it
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Silvio Berlusconi (likely to become President of Senate after elections this month): “Before we start, I saw you talking to a beautiful girl. Did you get her number?”.TV Presenter: Obviously. Berlusconi: Well done, you learnt well. Italy, 2022.
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Istanbul passport officer: Mr Mark, what do you do in Turkey?.Me: Journalist. Him: Aha! For MI5 or MI6? .Me: Both!.Him: (Knowing laugh) So who won the election?.Cue 5 minutes of chat. Then me: I’m gonna miss my flight .Him: See you abi. We’ll chat over tea. I do love this place.
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Breaking: #Italy, a country of 60m, has just overtaken China, with a population of 1.5bn, in numbers of deaths from #Coronavirus. Another 427 today, taking those killed to 3405. And more than 5000 new total cases, up to 41,035. Sobering, awful, heartbreaking.
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Just found this old friend in the bottom of a suitcase I brought from 🇹🇷. And suddenly my weekend looks very nice indeed. #rakıjoy
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Bellissimo. Ukrainian children arriving at school in Italy for the first time…
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6,000 passengers are currently blocked on a cruise ship near port of Civitavecchia, near Rome, while a Chinese couple on board - reportedly with fever and respiratory problems - are checked for #coronavirus. The Costa Smeralda arrived from Marseille, Barcelona and Mallorca.
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Italy, 2024: the “Roman Salute” in the heart of the capital. A country that never went through a postwar “de-fascistisation” as Germany did, and where the glorification of fascism is somehow still accepted.
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As protesters prepare to gather for a sixth straight da against the arrest of @ekrem_imamoglu, we are live in Istanbul all day @BBCNews. As the demonstrations grow, so does the clampdown. This is becoming a fight for democracy in Turkey - with both sides determined to win
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Trump to Hilal Kaplan: “you’re sure you’re a reporter, you don’t work for Turkey?” .Rarely have truer words been said.
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“Sorry to interrupt, fastest man on earth, the Italian Prime Minister is on the phone”. ❤️🇮🇹
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Tells Italians to stay at home, to think of the common good, to play their part to combat #Coronavirus. Cancels all sports matches across the country.
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Lost in translation: @DerSPIEGEL cover depicts #Erdogan together with Xi, Putin and Trump as the autocrats. Pro-govt Turkish paper @takvim thinks it’s a compliment and reproduces it with headline “Merkel didn’t make it to the front cover but Erdogan did”. You couldn’t make it up.
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As a new year comes, so has a new life: @PedroZegrePenim & I are overjoyed that our perfect daughter has arrived to grace our lives. A long, bumpy path has led to elation, thanks to our incredible surrogate. I’ll be taking some months off to learn the job of my dreams: fatherhood
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5 years in Turkey mean that 6 months after moving to Italy, I still somehow find myself being surprised by how openly critical Italians are on Twitter about their politicians. The number of times I’ve thought “if that tweet had been in Turkey, the tweeter would’ve been in jail”.
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Wonderful moment to meet Paulette Monier at #Compiègne commemoration, who turns 100 the day after tomorrow. “I never thought I’d see the French and German leaders together like this today”, she tells me. “My message to everyone here is no more war - we must be together”
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Hope continues in #Italy: 285 deaths, lower than yesterday & second-lowest in almost 7 weeks. Current cases see record fall by 3106. Total cases up just 0.9%. Record number of tests, over 68k. ICU patients down again and record daily rise in recoveries: 4693. We’re getting there.
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Today for the first time I finally saw Milan’s famous “Bosco Verticale” or “Vertical Forest” towers up close. A wonderful feat of architecture and environmental sustainability, with their thousands of trees, shrubs and other plants. What a model for us all.
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#Istanbul’s governor has banned #LGBTPride for the 5th year in a row. But we’re off to support it - because #lovewins. #Proud #AşkAşktır
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When I moved to Turkey in 2014, £1 was 3.5TL. Now it’s hurtling towards 10. An extraordinary collapse.
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'Mazbata': one of the Turkish words I'll never forget.
Mandate to authorize CHP's Ekrem Imamoğlu as the Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor for the next 5 years has been written at Istanbul Province Election Council.
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THREAD: #Italy PM Conte lays out how lockdown will be eased. From 4 May:.- People can move within region but not beyond.- Visiting family members allowed but not social gatherings. With masks.- Private sport allowed (eg running).- Parks reopening.- Funerals - max 15 ppl. [1/4].
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A perfect last question from the passport officer: .“İstanbul güzel mi?”.“Evet abi, çok çok güzel”. Görüşmek üzere, you extraordinary place.
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#Italy is recovering. Lowest death toll (174) since Mar 10, almost 8 wks ago; lowest ever rise in total cases (0.67%) and current infections down again by 525 (but over 10k fewer tests than y'day). Just over 1500 ICU patients now, down from 4000. On eve of reopening, encouraging.
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New: 601 #Coronavirus deaths in #Italy in past 24 hours, a fall again from yesterday - and crucially the rise in new infections has slowed again, from 9 to 8.1%. Second consecutive one-day fall. Will give people heart that there could be a flicker of light at end of tunnel.
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#Italy is now the most affected country in Europe by #Coronavirus. With +100 cases and 2 deaths, 50,000 people are under lockdown with nobody entering/leaving towns, football matches cancelled, universities closed for a week in attempt to control spread
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Belgrade - the first place I lived as a foreign correspondent - is rising up. Mass protests over the last 4 months over perceived corruption in the government are coming to a head. Biggest crisis of Vucic’s presidency - and biggest demos since Milosevic
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#Italy again sees its biggest rise in #Coronavirus deaths in a day, up 250 to 1266, and an increase of 2116 cases, now at 14,955. Each day seems to be breaking new grim records here - it's unfathomable, incomprehensible and tragic.
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Today should have been #Istanbul #Pride. If Covid hadn’t stopped it, #Turkey’s government would have banned it for 5th year. Last year, my husband & I joined Istanbullus trying to celebrate love (before being tear-gassed). So today from Rome, @PedroZegrePenim & I say: #AşkAşktır!
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Istanbul University students read Ataturk and boycott their classes in solidarity with the growing anti-government protests. It looks as though students and others are going to take these demonstrations forward from the opposition CHP party, turning it into a grassroots movement
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UPDATE: The suspected case of #Coronavirus is with the woman, a 54-year-old from Macau, while her husband did not show symptoms. She's been isolated on board and is being checked by medical staff. Results expected this afternoon.
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#Turkey sadly never changes. Riot police use violence and tear gas against students of the top university #Boğazici furious at government interference after Erdogan appoints a rector @melihbulu who was AKP candidate (& seems to have plagiarised his thesis)
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#Turkey President's office confirms to @bbcturkce that when President #Erdogan received #Trump's letter, he "thoroughly rejected it, threw it in the bin" and launched the #Syria operation the same day. His mind was already made up to move in; letter was reportedly the final straw
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Now reports of a Swedish journalist detained in Turkey. It continues.
Swedish journalist Joakim Medin has been detained in Turkey after arriving in Istanbul on Thursday to report on the protests. We do not as yet know where or how he is, and are imploring the Swedish government to take action to help get Joakim home.
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So excited to be appointed @BBCNews Rome correspondent, covering Southern Europe. After 5 wonderful, exciting & sometimes tough years in Istanbul, I’ll miss beautiful Turkey, its warm people and many friends we’ve made. On to the new challenge! Görüşürüz Türkiye, ciao Italia!🇹🇷🇮🇹.
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#Turkey journalism: colleague went to interview Ankara govt official. The secretary gave USBstick to journalist& said "we did the interview".
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Merhaba Türkiye! So good to be back in my beloved Istanbul, even if dark clouds are descending…
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To imagine the hell of the last Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol is impossible. To witness the heartbreak and terror of their loved-ones in Kyiv is deeply moving. Our #BBCNewsTen piece with relatives of those on the frontline. With Chris Parkinson @MichaSteininger @MarianaMatevic1
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What’s the least rational move by a politician during a pandemic that’s killed 80,000 Italians & crippled the economy? Pull out of coalition & potentially bring down the government, maybe. Well thats what Matteo #Renzi, whose party polls 3%, might do tonight. Timing is everything
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A very thoughtful delivery from our hotel staff in Kyiv. Hospitality in the midst of war.
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#Italy sees 482 #Coronavirus deaths in past 24 hours - lowest in almost a week. Positive cases rise by less than 1%, total cases by 2% (both broadly similar to y'day). ICU occupancy falls again to level of 4 weeks ago. And now almost 45k recovered. 🤞for continued fall in deaths.
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I've stood on this roof a few times over the years - and this is as big a crowd as I can remember. #oxi #greece
http://t.co/1vzUlEd2FH.
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Shocking stuff from Italian paper @Libero_official, calling @KamalaHarris "the mulatto Vice President". Derogatory, racist - and shows again how far behind the line of acceptability some parts of the Italian media still are.
Italian right-wing daily saying, "and you think YOU are racist. "
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The scale of the #Imamoglu victory: a record-breaking result over the past 35 years.2019 - E. İmamoğlu: 54%.2014 - K. Topbaş: 47.9%.2009 - K. Topbaş: 44.7%.2004 - K. Topbaş: 45.3%.1999 - A. Gürtuna: 27.5%.1994 - R. Erdogan: 25.2%.1989 - N. Sözen: 35.6%.1984 - B. Dalan: 49.7%.
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#Turkey police force someone to take off their t-shirt because it says "pride". #Istanbul #LGBTPride
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10 years ago, I met this guy on a street corner in Tel Aviv. And I haven’t stopped smiling since. @PedroZegrePenim
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Spare a thought tonight for transgender activist #HandeKader burnt to death in #Turkey hate crime #HandeKadereSesVer
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11 years since I met this beauty - so he bought me a trip around Rome in this other beauty. #Cinquecento
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#Italy sees its lowest one-day death toll since March 17: 420. Too soon to get our hopes up but a positive sign. Current infections fall again for 5th day in a row, by 321; total cases up by 1.6% (similar rise to yesterday). Now over 60k recovered. An optimistic end to the week🤞🏻.
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Turkey still claims to have no Coronavirus cases, despite bordering Iran, having one of the world’s biggest airports with connections to all hotspots and a population of 80million. Simply not credible.
Coronavirus claims first Turkish victim – in France.
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A Turkish military operation in Afghanistan? Nope, a police crackdown on protesting students.
Istanbul police/SWAT teams in full gear launching a dawn operation to detain #BogaziciUniversity students who protested at the appointing of a new rector politically affiliated to the governing AKP. Swat vs student - could it be an excessive use of force?
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During my move from Istanbul to Rome, my lovely old cello was seriously damaged. It was devastating to see. But a brilliant luthier, Mathias Menanteau in Rome, worked for months to repair, rebuild and make it better than ever. So here’s the before and after. And it’s a joy to see
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One of Erdogan’s biggest gripes = Islamophobia in Europe. Arguably Europe’s most anti-Islamic leader = Orban. And yet the mutual admiration society grows - because strong men leaders emulate each other and that trumps everything else.
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Happy New Year to all. Hoping that light might just be 2021 burning bright.
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Ok so I’m in good company getting to the bottom of my building before remembering.
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Best way to celebrate my 3rd anniversary in Italy, tucking into one of the million reasons to love this country. From being the epicentre of Covid to government collapses to migration to Vatican shenanigans to the Eurovision Song Contest, it’s never a dull moment. Viva BBC Roma!
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The tragic moment when Rome’s “Ponte di Ferro” or “iron bridge” broke apart in flames early this morning. Built in 1860s, it was iconic. Luckily no injuries. It’s thought gas canisters in shacks beneath could be to blame but could also be electric cables.
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A month ago, unlocking #Italy seemed almost impossible. But it’s happening, with shops, restaurants and hairdressers opening on Monday, gyms, swimming pools and sports centres a week later and travel restrictions easing. And suddenly life is returning.
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It’s clear that @BBCYaldaHakim has perfected the hand gesture when talking about Italy 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
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