Ahmet Yilmaz* shouldn’t be in a dangerous profession. He’s not a cop or a criminal. Ahmet is a banana importer in Turkey. “This is my third decade in the industry,” he proudly told InSight Crime. “[My company] made the first transit sales from Turkey to countries [like] Iraq and Iran. Until 2010, we were the …
Turkish Bananas: The Cocaine Road to Russia and the Persian Gulf – Insight Crime Read More »
In Europe’s frantic search to end its dependence on Russian energy, there’s an untapped resource: The waters around Cyprus.
Yet a decades-old conflict between Turkey, Cyprus and Greece — rooted in Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus — is stymying efforts to explore and extract any natural gas lying beneath the Mediterranean Sea.
Turkey wants a say in how any profits are made off the island’s riches, ensuring the benefits flow to the Turkish Cypriot community. Ankara also wants any gas in the region to run across its territory en route to Europe. Athens, meanwhile, supports plans to move gas via Cyprus and Greece.
The United States expelled Turkey, a proven unreliable US ally, in 2019 from the F-35 air-fighter programme because it bought the Russian S-400 missile system. Now the Turks want to purchase 40 F-16s and upgrade kits for 80 more. Under no circumstances should Washington cave into Erdogan’s demands. Turkey will not use the F-16s for …
No American F-16s for anti-Western, anti-democratic and belligerent Turkey | Cyprus Mail Read More »
A text to the prime minister’s wife played a key role in opening the door to a country more known for its strict migration policies. ATHENS — The women of Afghanistan’s deposed democracy have found a temporary home in an unlikely location: Athens. In recent months, Greece appears to have welcomed more women fleeing Afghanistan …
How Athens became the unexpected hub for Afghan women – POLITICO Read More »