Author: Ihsan Altan

BEIRUT (AP) — Yahya Sinwar masterminded an attack on Israel that shocked the world, unleashing a still-widening catastrophe with no end in sight. In Gaza, no figure loomed larger in determining the war’s trajectory than the 61-year-old Hamas leader. Obsessive, disciplined and dictatorial, he was a rarely seen veteran militant who learned Hebrew over years spent in Israeli prisons and who carefully studied his enemy. On Thursday, Israel said troops in Gaza had killed Sinwar. A top Hamas political official confirmed the death Friday. The secretive figure feared on both sides of the battle lines engineered the surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern…

Tech giant Microsoft sees Türkiye as a “key market” and is committed to expanding its presence, a company’s executive said recently, detailing the scope of initiatives in R&D, cloud network and broader approach to artificial intelligence solutions. “Türkiye, celebrating 30 years of Microsoft presence, is a key market for us, and we’re committed to expanding our presence here,” said Kristina Tikhonova, Microsoft General Manager for Southeast Europe. “We’ve already made substantial investments, including a technology center, regional shared services center, and an R&D center focused on both core AI and open-source technologies, many of which power our global products,” Tikhonova…

Reviving relations between Türkiye and the European Union, without linking the matter to the Cyprus issue, would serve the interests of all parties, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday, as he attended an EU foreign policy summit for the first time in five years. “We believe that reviving Türkiye-EU relations is in everyone’s interest. However, we emphasized that establishing a link between the Cyprus issue and Türkiye-EU relations is not a healthy method and will not yield any results,” Fidan told Anadolu Agency (AA) after attending the EU’s informal foreign ministers’ meeting. The meeting, which was held at the EU…

Two-time alumna Gönül Tol has grown a reputation as an expert on Turkish and Middle East politics. A native of Turkey, she earned master’s and doctoral degrees in political science from the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs in 2003 and 2008, respectively. Tol is the founding director of the Middle East Institute’s (MEI) Turkey Program and has written extensively on Turkey-U.S. relations, Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy, and is a frequent media commentator. She has also taught at George Washington University’s Institute for Middle East Studies and at the College of International Security Affairs at…

Rather than walk the reader through some maps or interview some local ghost expert, I will share what I know from lore and legends about the pentagram of cemeteries around Athens. I’ve been visiting these sites off and on for years. And I live next to one of the big cemeteries – perched at the top of West State Street. More on that in a minute. Yes, Athens is haunted. No doubt. When the shadows grow longer in the fall and the fog rolls in, yes, spirits tend to wander and things go bump in the night. The same can…

More than 100 sailboats took part in a race on the challenging course of Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait on Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye. The fourth International Yacht Race lured around 1,000 competitors, who struggled against the southwestern wind and strong currents of the strait, one of the most critical waterways connecting the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea. Before the race, the competitors honored Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic, by blowing their horns and waving their flags. Ekrem Yemlihaoglu, president of Istanbul Offshore Yacht Racing Club,…

As poor harvests send prices soaring, one raid mounted on a quiet rural grower netted an illicit haul worth €300,000. The Polygyros olive oil cooperative does not seem a likely target for a heist. If anything, its setting, at the foot of the Holomontas mountain in Halkidiki, evokes the bucolic innocence of rural Greece. Certainly its breezeblock warehouses bear little resemblance to the modern premises that house the Mitseas olive mills in southern Messinia. But in recent weeks both have been targeted by thieves, who gained entry through a battered iron door in Polygyros and a hi-tech security portal in…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has attended a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Turkic States at the Turkish House in New York. During the meeting on Friday, they discussed regional matters, including the situation in Karabakh. The top diplomats also discussed “Azerbaijan’s anti-terror operation” and reviewed the preparations for the upcoming summit of the Organization of Turkic States, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.  The Organization’s relations with other international organisations, such as the UN General Assembly and OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), and strengthening its institutional structure were also discussed during the meeting. …

Paris, Wellington, Cape Town (23/10 – 33) History is arising on the horizon, as New Zealand and South Africa, two ancient foes, clash in the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final on Saturday 28 October. New Zealand smartly swept Argentina aside, 44-6, in the first semifinal on 20 October. After their embarrassing defeat 13-27 at the hands of France in the first pool match, The All Blacks are now on a fantastic run. Will Jordan and Co. destroyed Namibia 71-3, Italy 96-17, and Uruguay 73-0 in the remaining pool matches to the knock-out phase. Ian Foster’s team overcame the world number…

Paris, Auckland, Sydney (9/9 – 10) Disclaimer. This article may offend you. Well, tough luck, go and read the science section or volunteer for the Girl Scouts. This is men’s rugby. Redneck, muscles and unabashed violence. Not suitable for the “Woke Generation”. Swearing, alcohol consumption and “guy talk” included. Political correctness? Dumped in the Men’s Room with the rest of the waste. There was once a myth going that claimed that “All Blacks are unbeatable”. Like, “the Russians are invincible and can’t be beaten”, “Americans are the Gods of basketball” (but beaten by the darn Krauts, whoever would have imagined…),…