Author: Didem Ayik

Sweden must stop protests by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Stockholm to get the green light on its NATO membership bid, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told NATO’s Secretary-General. Erdogan told Stoltenberg in a phone call on Sunday that Turkey had a constructive attitude, but Sweden’s change of “terrorism” laws to meet demands from Ankara was “meaningless” while PKK supporters continued to hold protests in the country, the Turkish presidency said in a statement. Turkey has objected to Sweden’s bid to join the Western military alliance, citing security concerns, but members of the bloc and…

The Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity will be hosted by Türkiye in 2024, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday. “Global solidarity is the solution to tackling the triple planetary crisis called climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution,” said Erdoğan in his address to the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. Erdoğan said floods occurred in the Feb. 6 earthquake zone in Türkiye, which once again showed the destructive effects of climate change. The president said that a new law on climate change would soon be approved by the Turkish Parliament. “We not only…

A selection of rare books, photographs and personal belongings of the Alash movement’s activists were presented on April 13 at the National Center of Manuscripts and Rare Books in Astana. The exhibition will run through April 26.  The Alash movement was established by the emerging national intellectuals in 1917, which published several publications and materials, including Ayqap (Regret) magazine, Birlik Tuy (The Flag of Unity), Sary-Arka, Ak Zhol (White Road) newspapers, and books. These editions contained persuasive messages and enlightenment work. One of the main ideas was the unification of the Kazakh society based on national unity rather than the…

US Secretary of State Blinken met with representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The aid should flow into language courses, among other things. During a visit to Central Asia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised to help countries in the region secure their sovereignty in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the presence of representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Blinken assured in Astana on Tuesday that Washington supports their “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”. The US Secretary of State announced additional aid of 25 million dollars (23.6 million euros) for the five countries. In…

Despite the difficulties they have endured in the last few weeks, Real Madrid proved that they are still the king of football world. Since last October, Real Madrid did not look like an unbeatable team. The team that won almost nearly everything in 2021-2022 season are struggling. Luka Modric and company are losing a lot of ground to their arch-rival in LaLiga, Barcelona. Real Madrid lost their position on the top of the league table with a 2-3 loss at the hand of Rayo Vallecano. Things went worse for Carlo Ancelotti’s team. Another defeat in the match against Villarreal and…

At the end of this year, Novak Djokovic could become The GOAT aka The Greatest of All Time in Grand Slam tennis. Last month Novak Djokovic won Australian Open 2023 rather easily. While also battling a hamstring injury, he dispatched 7 opponents almost all with straight sets. He only lost one game against Enzo Couacaud in the second round. Djokovic defeated number 5 seed, Andrey Rublev (6-1, 6-2, 6-4) in quarter finals, and number 3 seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-3, 7-6 [7-4], 7-6 [7-5]), in the final. The Serbian claimed a record tenth Australian Open title. He already won Australian Open…

Bomb shelters across Russia are undergoing systematic inspections and repairs following a Kremlin order to upgrade the country’s crumbling Soviet-era infrastructure, according to current and former officials who spoke to The Moscow Times. Many of Russia’s thousands of bunkers, reinforced cellars and other safe hideouts have been mothballed for decades. But as the war in Ukraine drags on, local authorities appear to be spending hundreds of millions of rubles to again make them fit for habitation. “A decision to inspect the network of bomb shelters was made by the government in the spring,” said one Russian official, citing knowledge of…