Day: September 13, 2022

Arda Turan, 35, one of the best players in Turkish football history, on Monday announced his retirement from football.

He was a decorated player, having helped his teams win titles in both Spanish La Liga and the Turkish Super Lig along with a UEFA Europa League victory in 2011.

Early years

Arda Turan was born on Jan. 30, 1987 in Istanbul. In 2000, when he was just 13 years old, he transferred to the youth team of Istanbul powerhouse Galatasaray.

After playing six years for the youth team, Turan was loaned to Manisaspor in the second half of the 2005-06 season, to gain experience.

Under the helm of head coach Ersun Yanal, Arda played in 15 of 17 matches left in the season. There he made one assist against his former team Galatasaray.

After his return home, Galatasaray offered him a contract extension until 2011, which he accepted.

His first big performance was Galatasaray’s 5-2 victory over Czech club FK Mlada Boleslav in the 2007 UEFA Champions League qualifiers, in which he scored twice.

In the 2007-08 season, Turan clinched his first and only Turkish Super Lig title with Galatasaray.

In the summer of 2008, the Turkish National Football team was one of the title contenders in UEFA EURO 2008. The left-winger was an integral part of the bronze-medaled squad, who were famous for their comebacks.

Troubles, transfer to Spain

The 2008-09 season was a turning point for Arda Turan. Galatasaray underperformed for the entire season and could barely finish in the number five spot to be eligible to compete in European tournaments.

Turan, who up to then was well known for his friendly disposition, tarnished his reputation for the first time in a week 27 derby against Fenerbahce. He was sent off with a red card and after the game made an aggressive statement to the press.

The next season, the Lions decided to rebuild their squad. Arda was at the center of the new team as he was named team captain and awarded the iconic jersey number 10, previously worn by team legends including Gheorge Hagi and Metin Oktay.

In the 2009-10 season, Turan, only 22 at that time, was expected to lead the Frank Rijkaard-coached squad including star players like Harry Kewell, Kader Keita, Lincoln, and Milan Baros. This weighty responsibility put a lot of pressure on Turan, and he seemed to grow more and more irritable. During at least one point he found himself booed by his own fans.

The 2010-11 season was worse for both Galatasaray and skipper Turan, as the Lions faced one of their worst season finishes in club history, ending the season in the number eight spot.

Through the season he also suffered several groin injuries, which would later grow to be a chronic problem until the end of his career.

The opportunity for Arda to make his career flourish again came from Spanish club Atletico Madrid, as the club made him a more than $14 million transfer offer, which he accepted.

Turan reached the top of his form with the Madrid club, helping them win the UEFA Europa League in 2011, UEFA Super Cup in 2013, and Spanish La Liga title in 2014.

In July 2015, Turan made the biggest transfer move in Turkish football history by signing a contract with Spanish powerhouse Barcelona worth more than $37 million.

Fall from grace

Despite clinching one La Liga title with Barcelona in 2016, Turan’s time with Barca was disappointing for many.

He was even included in “the worst 11 of the season” by the Spanish press.

After searching for a suitable club for Arda for some time, Barcelona decided to loan the left-winger to Turkish club Basaksehir in 2018.

After his loan with Basaksehir ended, Turan returned to Galatasaray in 2020 on a free transfer move.

However, due to his absence from the pitch for several years, his contributions to the team fell short, and he announced his retirement on Sept. 12.

Play style, controversies

Arda was a very talented dribbler. His ball control, game vision, and passing skills were remarkable.

His inclination to dribble towards the goal from the left line gave him the opportunity for some well-aimed shots and unexpected goals.

He was named captain of both Galatasaray and the Turkish national team.

Despite being one of the most talented players in Turkish football history, Turan’s name came up in controversies several times during his career.

His media and political ties sparked controversy.

In 2016, Turan was rumored to have gotten into a heated discussion with then-Turkish national team manager Fatih Terim about the bonuses that players would get for the tournament.

On June 6, 2017, Arda attacked journalist Bilal Mese by cursing and choking him on the national team’s plane. The next day, he said that he did not regret it, refused to apologize, and announced his retirement from the national team.

On Oct. 10, 2018, Turkish singer Berkay claimed that Arda Turan harassed his girlfriend and attacked him in a nightclub. Footage showing Turan at a hospital approaching Berkay with a gun attracted public criticism.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in a telephone call with the Armenian prime minister, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

“This night, a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister (Nikol) Pashinyan took place. The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border was discussed, the serious escalation that took place there,” Peskov said at a press briefing in Moscow.

Asked about Armenia’s request for help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Peskov said, “intensive work at the expert level is currently underway.” When there are results, the Kremlin will inform the media.

“The president is making every effort to contribute to the de-escalation of tension on the border, these efforts continue,” he added.

Regarding Russia’s financial “safety cushion” for “de-dollarization,” Peskov said the government is still working on the budget.

On Sept.12, speaking at a meeting on economic issues, Putin said Russia has disagreements and discussions about a financial “safety cushion,” in conditions of “the inevitable process of de-dollarization.”

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

In 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and more than 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia, and the fighting ended with a deal brokered by Russia.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The 2022 US Open broke its all-time attendance records, attracting 888,044 tennis fans in the three-week event.

“The full, three-week attendance, including US Open Fan Week, was 888,044. The previous three-week best of 853,227 was also set in 2019,” the US Open said in a statement.

“A total of 776,120 fans came through the gates during the two weeks of the main draw to surpass the previous record of 737,872 set in 2019,” it added.

The organizers also said that every session was sold out for the first time in Arthur Ashe stadium with a capacity of 23,859, which first opened its gates in 1997.

Carlos Alcaraz took the number one ranking with a 6-4 2-6 7-6 (1) 6-3 victory against Casper Ruud of Norway in Sunday’s final in New York.

The win made the 19-year-old Spaniard the youngest ever Grand Slam champion in men’s tennis since Rafael Nadal did it just shy of his 19th birthday at the 2005 French Open.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Greek parliament is switching off all exterior lights on the building as an example for energy consumption, the House said Tuesday.

The decision was made by parliament’s head Kostas Tasoulas who said all lights in the front and sides of the building will be shut off but security lighting will remain on. He did not say how long the exercise would last.

Also, a program that started in 2019 to reduce the energy consumption of the building by up to 36% is almost finished.

The energy upgrade program on heating and cooling systems and low-energy lighting installation in the interior of the House are in its final stage.

And the government, trying to lessen the burden on households because of surging electricity bills, is offering an incentive to reduce electricity consumption through a scaled subsidy program.

Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas told Mega TV that the government has been subsidizing electricity bills since June. “We will continue to subsidize all bills and all monthly consumptions and all households with one difference: The lower the consumption, the greater subsidy,” he said.

“Even someone with high consumption, if they manage to reduce energy consumption by 15%, they will receive an additional subsidy,” he said. “This is feasible since authorities have comparable data with the previous year’s consumption.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

French-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard, a pioneer of the French New Wave cinema, died at age 91 by assisted suicide, local media reported on Tuesday.

According to confirmation to daily Liberation by his relative, Godard made the decision to end his life. “He was not sick, he was simply exhausted,” the relative said.

He passed away peacefully at his home in Rolle, Switzerland surrounded by his loved ones, a statement from the family said.

Assisted suicide is authorized by law in Switzerland.

In a tribute on Twitter, French President Emmanuel Macron praised Godard as a “national treasure” and “genius.”

“Jean-Luc Godard appeared as if by magic in the world of French cinema – and became a master of it,” he said. “As the most revolutionary filmmaker of the New Wave, he invented a truly modern and intensely free art. We have lost a national treasure and the eye of a genius.”

Godard’s debut feature film Breathless, released in 1960, became a cult classic of the New Wave cinema with its striking filmmaking style. The movie also gifted French cinema with Jean-Paul Belmondo, who became a major star.

Belmondo was among Godard’s close circle of collaborating artists alongside French-Danish model Anna Karina, whom the director married in 1961. They divorced in 1965.

Swiss filmmaker Anne-Marie Mieville became his partner after the breakdown of his second marriage to French actress Anne Wiazemsky.

Godard further fortified his position in world cinema with notable works, including The Little Soldier, My Life to Live, Contempt, A Woman is a Woman, Alphaville, The Chinese, Pierrot le Fou, and Band of Outsiders, among others.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish organizations are at the forefront of helping flood victims in Pakistan, which has been hit by a devastating flood that killed over 1400 people and destroyed infrastructure.

The first team of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) arrived in Pakistan on Aug. 7, when the flood hit the provinces of southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh.

Another team of 20 members arrived after a massive flood hit the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh in the last week of August.

Ankara has so far sent 12 military aircraft and four “Kindness Trains” loaded with relief supplies, including thousands of tents, emergency food items, medicines, boats, kitchen items, baby food, and other goods.

The Turkish Red Crescent has also dispatched two trucks loaded with relief supplies.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, along with Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum and the heads of several Turkish relief organizations, were the first foreign delegation to arrive in Pakistan soon after the flood to show solidarity with the government and people of Pakistan and to monitor the devastation caused by floods.

On Sunday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Ankara for extending humanitarian aid to flood-battered people across the country.

Describing the gesture as “the truest tradition of Pakistan-Türkiye exemplary relationship,” Sharif also expressed his gratitude for the recent visit of Soylu and Kurum, as well as heads of several Turkish relief organizations, to monitor the devastation caused by floods, said a statement from Prime Minister’s Office.

During the 2005 earthquake and the subsequent devastating flood in 2010, Türkiye was also at the forefront of assisting the Pakistani people.

“We never could forget our Turkish brothers and sisters who helped us in 2010 and built a new house for us,” Ihsanullah, a resident of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Nowshera district, told Anadolu Agency.

Hundreds of people continue to live in that village, which was built near the Islamabad-Peshawar highway in the district.

Turkish organizations’ relief activities

Teams from various Turkish organizations, including AFAD, the Turkish Red Crescent, and the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), are still working on relief efforts in different areas of Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

When an AFAD team visited Mirpur Khas district in Sindh last week to distribute food and other items to victims, locals and officials thanked them for coming in such a difficult time.

Thousands of people living in tents on both sides of roads in the district are facing a shortage of drinking water and food as the areas are still submerged, destroying the drinking water system in the entire region.

The AFAD team was flanked by a Pakistan army officer, Muhammad Ashiq, who said authorities are clearing the areas of flood waters in order to allow the victims to return homes.

“We are thankful to President Erdogan, the people of Türkiye, and all Turkish organizations for helping us in this difficult time,” he said, adding that he salutes President Erdogan and all Turkish people who have always stood by Pakistan in every difficult time.

So far, 1,427 people have lost their lives, including 510 children, and 12,742 others have been injured in flood-related incidents since mid-June, according to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Over 1.75 million houses were damaged, with 567,688 completely destroyed, while 883,268 livestock perished.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Hosting millions of tourists each year, the famed Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya is distinguished with its 5-star hotels that combine thematic architecture and luxury along with stunning natural and historical beauties.

The Topkapi and Kremlin Palace hotels, in Kundu in the city center, echo the architectural characteristics of the palaces after which they are named.

The Titanic Mardan Palace Hotel offers its guests a simulated scenic view of Istanbul through a silhouette formed by architectural features such as the iconic Maiden’s Tower.

In the Lara region, the Titanic Hotel sports architectural features evoking the legendary luxury liner, and the main building of the Concorde Hotel mirrors the celebrated supersonic jet.

The Calista Hotel, in Belek, feels much a “space base” with its rounded glassed-in buildings, while the Transatlantik Hotel in Kemer welcomes its guests with ship-shaped architecture.

Ulkay Atmaca, head of the Professional Hotel Managers Association of Türkiye (POYD), said themed hotels initially gained popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“Since facilities with different concepts attract people’s curiosity and interest, they add significant value to tourism and promoting the city,” he added.

According to latest data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Antalya welcomed some 6.4 million foreign tourists in the first seven months of this year.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Ukrainian foreign minister on Tuesday criticized Germany for its stance on battle tank deliveries, as Kyiv defends itself from Moscow’s “special military operation.”

“Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from genocide. Not a single rational argument on why these weapons cannot be supplied, only body_abstract fears and excuses,” Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. “What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?”

Kuleba’s comment came after German Defense Minister Christine Lambrech on Monday rejected demands to supply Kyiv main battle tanks.

“So far, no country has sent Western infantry fighting vehicles or battle tanks to Ukraine,” she said in Berlin, adding that Germany will not take such action unilaterally.

Kyiv had requested 88 Leopard tanks and 100 Marder-type armored infantry fighting vehicles from Germany.

Germany’s Greens, Scholz’s coalition partners, have also insisted that Berlin should deliver weapons directly from the stocks of the Bundeswehr (armed forces), and not limit transfers to the so-called ring swap mechanism.

In the ring swap, Germany equips Eastern European NATO partners with Leopard main battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, which in return hand over older Soviet-designed tanks to Ukraine.

Ukraine has recently made rapid advances against Russian forces, retaking over 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles) of land in Kharkiv from Russia.

Source: Anadolu Agency

An Indian Muslim journalist despite securing bail from the Supreme Court after spending nearly two years in jail on charges of conspiring to incite riots in a northern state will remain behind bars, a police official said on Tuesday.

Siddique Kappan is required for investigation in another case being probed by India’s Enforcement Directorate, said Santosh Verma, an official of the Lucknow Jail. “Kappan will continue to remain in jail as a case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate is still pending,” according to him, as reported by the Press Trust of India.

“We are confident that he will be free soon as we have complete faith in our legal system,” his wife Raihanath Kappan told Anadolu Agency. They expect that he will be granted bail in this case when it is heard on Sept. 19.

The journalist, who worked for a regional Malayalam news website, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Friday after being detained by police in northern Uttar Pradesh state in 2020 on his way to report on the death of a lower-caste Dalit teenager days after she was gang raped.

On Sept. 14, 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit woman was gang raped in the state’s Hathras area, resulting in serious injuries and her death two weeks later. The incident triggered widespread outrage and protests across the country.

The caste system in India divides Hindus into four main categories – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras. Outside of this are Dalits, who are regarded as “untouchables” or socially excluded from upper caste Hindus.

The state authorities alleged that Kappan and the co-accused were traveling to Hathras with the purpose to disrupt the area’s harmony. They also alleged that he had close ties to the Popular Front of India, a Muslim organization accused by the federal government of having ties to “terrorist” outfits, which the organization denies.

Source: Anadolu Agency