Author: Elmas Aslan

Two Ukrainians who collaborated with Russian authorities have been killed — one in a shooting in a village southwest of Moscow and the other in a car bombing in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Luhansk region. Ukrainian law enforcement sources told RFE/RL on December 6 that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) “liquidated” former Ukrainian lawmaker Illya Kyva by shooting him to death in a special operation. Russia’s Investigative Committee later confirmed Kyva’s death and announced that a criminal investigation has been opened.The Investigative Committee said in a statement that an unknown person shot Kyva in the village of Suponevo southwest of…

Inflation in Turkey showed a 62% year-on-year rise in November, according to official data published on Monday. The rate at which prices are increasing fell slightly from 3.43% to 3.28% from October to November, but figures remain high compared to the same period last year. November’s 61.98% year-on-year rise follows a 61.36% annual increase in October, a trend fuelled by the depreciation of the Turkish lira. Whilst these official figures are particularly high, independent economists from the Inflation Research Group (ENAG) say that the true fiscal picture could be even worse. They estimate a 129.27% annual rise in consumer prices…

Turkey’s Ministry of Justice said on Thursday that the parole of Ogun Samast – killer of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 – for “good behaviour”, is legal. “His sentence was executed in accordance with the general provisions of Law No. 5275,” the ministry said in a statement. It underlined that he had requested transfer to an open prison five times and probation two times. Dink, editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and a globally known Armenian figure, was shot dead in broad daylight as he left his Istanbul office in January 2007. Samast, a Turkish ultra-nationalist, was only 17 years…

ANKARA — Turkey and Greece on Monday provisionally agreed to implement a series of confidence-building measures, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement. The two NATO allies agreed “to implement or reactivate” a number of confidence-building measures during the course of 2024, the Turkish Defense Ministry stated. The two countries also agreed to set up a direct line between Ankara and Athens in a bid to “remain in contact and facilitate the implementation” of the measures, the statement said. The ministry didn’t elaborate on the nature of the new measures to be implemented, but some of the previously agreed-upon 29 measures…

An emergency weather warning for the weekend was upgraded on Saturday noon from “worsening weather” to “dangerous weather phenomena,” as Storm Oliver (also called Bettina) moves from the Adriatic Sea toward Greece, raising wind velocity to nine and locally to 10 on the Beaufort scale, the National Meteorological Service (EMY) said. EMY said that strong winds will affect nearly all of Greece, while several regions – western and northern Greece, and eastern and southern islands – will experience torrential rain and thunderstorms as of Saturday night, with the rest of the country will experience milder phenomena overnight to Sunday. Higher…

Moscow’s forces in Ukraine have been executing Russian soldiers who disobey orders, according to the U.S. “We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing in Washington on Thursday. “We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire,” he added. “It’s reprehensible to think … that you would execute your own soldiers because they didn’t want to follow orders,” Kirby said. “And now threatening to execute entire units. It’s barbaric.”…

Who is Glykeria Tsolpidou who will represent Greece at Miss Tourism International?The model is preparing to represent Greece in the Miss Tourism International competition, which will take place on November 25 in Malaysia. Glykeria Tsolpidou, originally from Thessaloniki, has studied classical ballet and psychology. As she mentioned in an earlier interview, she started modelling as soon as she finished school, and at the same time, she volunteers to help people with disabilities. She recently commented about her experience in the competition: “Very proud to represent our country Greece in Malaysia.. No matter what, experience counts.. Nevertheless, we are going for…

Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said on Thursday that Turkey is in talks with the UK and Spain for the purchase of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, despite Germany’s opposition. “We are working on the procurement,” Güler said at a parliamentary meeting in Ankara. “Now the UK and Spain are trying to convince Germany, although we are not negotiating with Germany. If possible, we are planning to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets.” NATO member Turkey has also asked to buy US F-16 fighter jets, but that order has been delayed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will probably ask German Chancellor Olaf…

The Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens has launched an initiative aimed at protecting the biodiversity and intangible cultural heritage of the islands of the Cyclades by helping identify funding resources and ensuring that they make their way to local organizations and agencies that are active in such fields. “The Museum of Cycladic Art would not exist without the Cycladic islands and their civilization… Today, local societies are more vulnerable than ever to increased tourism, the abandonment of traditional customs and their rituals, but also climate change,” said the museum’s president and CEO, Sandra Marinopoulou, about the initiative. “Cycladic Identity…

According to a recent report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Alevis were the religious community that suffered the most attacks on religious property in Turkey between 2003 and 2022, followed by Protestants and Armenians. In the report released on Monday, USCIRF examined threats to religious properties in Turkey, such as places of worship, religious institutions and cemeteries. The research team conducted interviews with religious communities and an atheist association, investigated select sites of religious heritage and carried out field surveys in Bursa, Edirne, Elazığ, Diyarbakır, İzmir, Kayseri, Mardin and Trabzon provinces. In total, researchers evaluated…