Author: Levent Kaan

Thirteen suspects were arrested following the most recent incident of fan violence in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, on Sunday evening. The clashes, involving supporters from the city’s two major sports clubs, PAOK and Aris, occurred on a flyover in the Voulgari area of the eastern part of the city and resulted in two individuals sustaining injuries. They are currently receiving medical care under police supervision at a Thessaloniki hospital, as they are among the suspects. The individuals involved in the incident, who are aged between 16 and 37, will be prosecuted, with charges including participating in a brawl, causing severe bodily…

Memorial Health System is adding to the City of Athens medical infrastructure by constructing a four-story facility and accompanying parking garage along Columbus Road. Scott Cantley, system president and CEO, said they expect the 100,000-square-foot campus to open in the spring, with the 13-room emergency department opening in April of May 2024. “Then the rest of the building will start to open in phases, probably in the summer of 2024,” he said at an open house Oct. 19 near the construction site. Several people representing the businesses involved in the project were in attendance. Memorial Health System is a nonprofit…

A unique wine produced from vineyards on the Cycladic island of Naxos that will be sold for 550 euros per bottle is expected to be released within the next month. The bottles, numbering only 1,050, will be distributed by hand to people who have a special interest in wine – and of course who can pay the steep price. Is it a challenge that concerns a few? It is probably more of an experiment that costs money but could change a lot of what we know about wine. The creator of this new wine is Loic Pasquet, the famed Bordeaux…

A Turkish drone strike killed a high-ranking commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported. The attack also injured a child and a woman, SOHR said. The commander, Şiblî Dêrik, had survived a previous assassination attempt using a Turkish drone, according to a report on the Bianet news website. This latest attack is part of a series of Turkish drone strikes on the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. According to SOHR, there have been 92 such attacks since the beginning of 2023, resulting in 76 fatalities and…

In response to the escalating veterinary expenses, pet owners in the southern tourism hub of Antalya are increasingly turning to specialized health insurance for their cats and dogs. The trend comes as the city witnesses a surge in demands for insurance policies designed to alleviate the financial burden associated with pet care. Under the regulations, both cats and dogs are mandated to have all their vaccinations and possess an identification card. However, the mounting costs of medical treatments have led pet owners to explore private insurance options, offering coverage in the event of accidents, loss, or illness. Azmi Karakoyunlu, deputy…

We’re now a month into the 42nd annual KDKA-TV Turkey Fund, and just four weeks away from Thanksgiving. There are so many people in our area who depend on their local food pantries week after week, and it’s your donations to the Turkey Fund that help them have a wonderful dinner on Thanksgiving. Brian Piatt from Butler is one of those people. “Like some Americans right now, we’re going through some hard times. The place I worked at, the work dried up. I didn’t have any work for about three weeks, and I was down to no food in my…

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday openly expressed support for Hamas in the Palestine-Israel War and announced that sanctions would be imposed on Israel. In response to this, Turkey and Israel’s planned natural gas exploration activities and pipeline construction in the Eastern Mediterranean has been suspended, according to a report from Bloomberg. According to the report, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who was scheduled to visit Israel for bilateral talks on natural gas exploration activities and pipeline construction in the Eastern Mediterranean, has also canceled his program. As of now, there has been no official denial of this news.…

Turkey’s central bank on Thursday hiked its key interest rate from 30% to 35%, in an ongoing bid to rein in inflation. The move was in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters. The central bank said price rises were stronger than expected in the third quarter and monetary tightening is needed to anchor inflation expectations and “control the deterioration in pricing behavior.” It said knock-on effects from tax changes, wage growth and exchange rates have been “largely completed.” “Monetary tightening will be further strengthened as much as needed in a timely and gradual manner until a significant improvement…

Berlin (22/10 – 75) UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, reported during his trip to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan, he met with representatives of civil society and residents of the region. Varennes arrived in Tajikistan for a working visit on October 9 till October 20. The UN Special Rapporteur told journalists that the residents of Gorno-Badakhshan informed him about violations of their rights in 2021-2022, particularly concerning the rights of detainees and cases of harsh treatment by law enforcement agencies. He stated, “People are complaining about religious restrictions as well as limitations on the use…

The counterterrorism expert and author of “Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre: Lessons for the International Community” explains how religious extremism manifested in Sri Lanka’s deadliest terror attack. On April 21, 2019 – Easter Sunday – a coordinated series of bombings ripped through Sri Lanka, targeting churches and luxury hotels. Over 260 people were killed, making it the deadliest terrorist attack ever suffered by Sri Lanka. The attack has continued to resonate in Sri Lankan society and politics, as the public demands to untangle questions of responsibility: Why was the attack not prevented, and what can be done to stop the…