Author: Ihsan Altan

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…),…

Berlin (21/08 – 37) Kenes Rakishev, an international entrepreneur, philanthropist and former special envoy of the Kazakhstan government, is leading the charge for an upcoming Nasdaq listing of Borealis Foods Inc.. He is included in the “Top 50 Wealthiest Businessmen of Kazakhstan” and “Top 50 Most Influential Businessmen of Kazakhstan” lists by Forbes magazine. In Forbes’ list of the wealthiest businessmen in Kazakhstan for 2021, he holds the 9th position with a capital of 950 million dollars. Rakishev is President of Fincraft Group and Net Element; a global publisher of online destinations and business services on a custom technology platform…

There has been a significant surge in legal demands being made by India — from various courts and the government — to remove content from Twitter between 2014 and 2020, an analysis of Twitter’s global transparency reports by The Indian Express had earlier shown. Twitter’s co-founder and former boss Jack Dorsey has reiterated that the platform received “many requests” from the Indian government to block accounts covering farmers’ protests and those critical of the government. He has also said that the platform was threatened with “a shut down” and conducting raids at its employees’ homes in the country. Minister of…

CNN Türk has once again promoted a pro-war climate against Greece following the latest threats by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu about the Aegean islands. In the presence of the Romanian counterpart of Bogdan Aurescu, Çavuşoğlu urgently asked Athens to demilitarise its islands, otherwise: “we will come suddenly one night”. The head of Turkish diplomacy, clearer than ever, emphasised that if the weapons do not leave the islands, Ankara will question their sovereignty. “Greece must abandon this violation of the demilitarised regime of the islands. Either Greece will back down on this issue and abide by the Treaties or we will do the…