Author: Daily Sabah With Agencies
Defending NBA champion Boston Celtics dominated the Golden State Warriors 125-85 on Monday, while league leaders Cleveland cruised to victory over the Phoenix Suns. Jayson Tatum scored 22 points with nine rebounds and seven assists before sitting out the entire fourth quarter for the Celtics, who handed the Warriors their worst home defeat since a 149-104 loss to Dallas in 1985. Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points and Jaylen Brown chipped in 17 for Boston, who took full advantage of the absence of Draymond Green, the latest Warriors injury victim after he strained his left calf on Saturday. “Those are some…
Officials hoisted Turkish flag to country’s consulate building in Aleppo, a key Syrian city, as diplomatic mission reopened 12 years later on Monday. Ambassador Burhan Köroğlu, the interim charge d’affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Damascus, which was reopened earlier, accompanied Consul General Hakan Cengiz and dignitaries as the consulate was reopened. Locals also attended the reopening ceremony, chanting celebratory slogans. Türkiye maintains close ties with the new administration of Syria and was one of the first countries to open its embassy in Syria on Dec. 14 after the fall of the Baathist regime. The embassy was forced to shut…
Turkish Süper Lig giants Beşiktaş unveiled Sunday former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the club’s new coach. Solskjaer, who has not held a coaching role since leaving Old Trafford in 2021, takes over at the Istanbul side who have been without a head coach since letting Giovanni van Bronckhorst go last month. The Norwegian, who arrived in Istanbul Friday, was formally presented to the press at a ceremony at the club’s home Sunday. He has agreed a 3.6-million euro ($3.7 million) deal until the end of the 2025-2026 season, with a one-year extension option. Earlier Saturday, a statement…
Turkish Süper Lig giants Beşiktaş unveiled Sunday former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the club’s new coach. Solskjaer, who has not held a coaching role since leaving Old Trafford in 2021, takes over at the Istanbul side who have been without a head coach since letting Giovanni van Bronckhorst go last month. The Norwegian, who arrived in Istanbul Friday, was formally presented to the press at a ceremony at the club’s home Sunday. He has agreed a 3.6-million euro ($3.7 million) deal until the end of the 2025-2026 season, with a one-year extension option. Earlier Saturday, a statement…
The U.S.-backed terrorist group YPG cannot retain its own bloc within the broader integrated Syrian armed forces, the defense minister said on Sunday. Speaking to Reuters at the Defense Ministry in Damascus on Sunday, Murhaf Abu Qasra said the heads of YPG fighters were procrastinating in handling the complex issue. The YPG, the Syrian wing of the terrorist group PKK – which has killed thousands in Türkiye in more than four decades, established itself as a semi-autonomous entity in Syria’s northeast, exploiting the security vacuum amid the civil war. When 14 years of civil war came to an end last…
The PKK’s U.S.-backed Syrian offshoot, the YPG, is courting Iraqi Kurds in an apparent push to garner support at a time when the political upheaval in Syria has left the terrorist group facing an uncertain future. Hoshyar Zebari, a senior Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official, said KDP leader Masoud Barzani and YPG leader Ferhat Abdi Şahin, code-named “Mazloum Abdi,” met in Irbil, the capital of the semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Zebari said the meeting was a “significant achievement to strengthen Kurdish unity and position” during Syria’s transitional phase. The meeting came weeks after the fall of the regime…
Additional measures have been implemented to prevent the sale and consumption of counterfeit alcohol, the Istanbul governor’s office announced after dozens of deaths related to bootleg beverages. A statement noted that the relevant institutions and law enforcement agencies are working tirelessly to combat the issue effectively. The statement recalled that, as per the governor’s directive dated Oct. 10, 2024, businesses selling alcohol are required to install a high-resolution camera system capable of recording 24/7 and covering the entire premises starting Jan. 1, 2025. These recordings must be retained for 30 days. The statement included the following details: “With the governor’s…
Additional measures have been implemented to prevent the sale and consumption of counterfeit alcohol, the Istanbul governor’s office announced after dozens of deaths related to bootleg beverages. A statement noted that the relevant institutions and law enforcement agencies are working tirelessly to combat the issue effectively. The statement recalled that, as per the governor’s directive dated Oct. 10, 2024, businesses selling alcohol are required to install a high-resolution camera system capable of recording 24/7 and covering the entire premises starting Jan. 1, 2025. These recordings must be retained for 30 days. The statement included the following details: “With the governor’s…
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington sought President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s help to convince Hamas to return to the cease-fire negotiation table, as he spoke at his final news conference as the top U.S. diplomat on Thursday. Blinken told reporters that he discussed bringing Hamas back to the table with Erdoğan, urging him to use his influence and leverage, to reach a deal. Hamas returned to the table after this, the top U.S. diplomat said. Blinken visited Türkiye in December when he held meetings with President Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The top White House spokesman had…
Teenage qualifier Learner Tien stunned last year’s Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev in an epic Melbourne match that began Thursday night and ended in the wee hours of Friday. The 19-year-old qualifier from California became the youngest American man to reach the Australian Open’s third round since Pete Sampras in 1990. Tien outlasted three-times Australian Open runner-up Medvedev with a 6-3 7-6(4) 6-7(8) 1-6 7-6(7) victory in the 4-hour, 49-minute contest. The match had a bit of everything, including – hard to believe – a six-minute rain delay that interrupted play shortly before 2:30 a.m. with Tien serving at 5-all,…