Author: Anadolu Agency

Anadolu Efes beat Real Madrid 74-64 on Thursday to clinch their sixth Turkish Airlines EuroLeague win. Real Madrid had three double-digit scorers as Elijah Bryant came off the bench to score 13 points and five rebounds at the WiZink Center in Madrid. Jordan Nwora and Darius Thompson each produced 10 points. For the losing side, despite 20 points from Facundo Campazzo, Real Madrid couldn’t secure a home win. Mario Hezonja scored 13 points and Walter Tavares had 13 rebounds. Anadolu Efes are ninth with six wins and four defeats while Real Madrid are 11th with four wins and six losses.…

A UEFA Nations League match between France and Israel kicked off Thursday at the Stade de France in Paris amid record-low attendance due to security concerns. Whistles echoed throughout the 80,000-seat stadium when Israel’s national anthem was being played. A group of Israeli hooligans with their faces covered attacked French fans, with around 50 people involved, said local broadcaster BFMTV. Videos posted on social media showed Israeli supporters clashing with police and the stadium’s security intervening. The venue saw a notably low turnout for the Group A2 match, with only 20,000 tickets having been sold, giving the match a subdued…

The “only legitimate state” on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), said Türkiye’s vice president on Friday. “The Turkish Cypriots took a vital step towards independence by establishing their own state and have clearly expressed their national will. Today, the only legitimate state on the island of Cyprus is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” Cevdet Yilmaz said in a speech in Lefkosa, the TRNC’s capital, marking the country’s 41st anniversary. Yilmaz said the declaration of the TRNC on Nov. 15, 1983 was a turning point for the Turkish Cypriot people. Despite the…

Türkiye and Azerbaijan on Friday signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy gathered with the Chairman of the State Tourism Agency Fuad Nagiyev on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku. “We are ready to share our tourism experience with our brother Azerbaijan,” Ersoy said. Underlining that tourism ties between Ankara and Baku have good potential, Ersoy noted that relations should be further developed and tourist visits should be increased. In his part, Nagiyev said: “We are ready to further develop our…

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving showed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza by wearing a chain with the Palestine flag in the shape of Israel’s land mass. In a pre-game interview on a San Francisco basketball court Tuesday, Irving, 32, was seen wearing the necklace. “I’m excited for him (his Dallas teammate Klay Thompson). I want him to be present as much as possible, to really receive the love and the flowers that he deserves. He put in a lot of hard work here, a lot of sacrifice for this organization,” Irving told reporters as Thompson, a former Golden State Warriors…

Türkiye on Tuesday rejected “in the strongest terms” recent calls by top Israeli officials to annex the occupied West Bank. “These statements, which are in defiance of international law and the two-state solution, are proof that Israel’s ultimate goal is the seizure of Palestinian territories,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The lack of penalties for Israel’s ongoing “policy of genocide and occupations” against Palestinians further encourages Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters, it stated. It called on the U.N. Security Council and the international community to take a strong stance against Israel’s “unlawful” policies. Ruling Justice…

A second Donald Trump presidency could bring with it advancing cooperation between uneasy NATO allies Türkiye and the U.S. on critical issues, from Syria to Ukraine, considering Trump’s close ties with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, experts in Washington have said. President-elect Trump will return to the White House in January. Analysts and former U.S. officials speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) anticipate both opportunities and challenges for Turkish-U.S. relations, especially due to lingering disagreements, notably over the Gaza war. ‘Window of opportunity’ Erdoğan was one of the first leaders to congratulate Trump on his apparent election victory Tuesday night and spoke…

The price of Bitcoin reached almost $90,000 level on Tuesday, hitting historical high levels. During the last 24-hour period, the price of the largest cryptocurrency saw a low of $80,800 and a high of $89,900. It was at $70,000 level a week ago, and gained around 30% in the seven-day period following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory in the US. After Trump’s win, the market expects positive developments for cryptocurrencies, as he pledged that the US will be the “crypto capital” of the planet. “If crypto is going to define the future, I want it mined, minted and made in…

Ferdi Kadıoğlu has been left out of the Turkish national squad due to an injury, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced on Tuesday. “Ferdi Kadıoğlu has been dropped from Türkiye’s team due to a capsule tear in his left big toe,” the federation said in a statement. The TFF added that Freiburg winger Eren Dinkçi and Kasımpaşa defender Yasin Özcan were included in the squad. In August, Brighton & Hove Albion signed a four-year contract with full-back Kadıoğlu from Fenerbahçe. Kadıoğlu, 25, amassed 22 caps for Türkiye as he recently played at the EURO 2024 from June to July. Turkish…

Anna Joseph, a board member of Erev Rav, a Netherlands-based Jewish anti-Zionist organization, blamed Israeli fans for violent incidents surrounding the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv UEFA Europa League match on Nov. 7. She criticized the portrayal of criticisms against Israel as anti-Semitic and challenged the Dutch government and media’s handling of the events. Joseph also expressed concern over the Dutch authorities’ response, condemning the tendency to equate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. “Israel and Judaism are different concepts. Israel is a state encompassing various religions and ethnicities, while Judaism is a religion. Conflating the two endangers both Jews and supporters of…