Women walk on a bridge past campaign banners with the portrait of Turkey's president in Istanbul on June 18. AFP
Women walk on a bridge past campaign banners with the portrait of Turkey's president in Istanbul on June 18. AFP

Turkey orders arrest of 124 in Gulen probe targeting military



Turkish prosecutors have ordered the arrest of 124 people in an operation targeting alleged supporters in the army of the US-based Islamic cleric accused of orchestrating an attempted coup in Turkey two years ago, state media said on Tuesday.

The arrest order, which the state-run Anadolu news agency said was part of an investigation focused on the central Turkish city of Konya and spread across 31 provinces, came as Turkey prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday.

The suspects were accused of being followers of the preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara says was behind the failed coup on July 15, 2016. They were said to have operated as religious guides for high-ranking military personnel.

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Turkey issues detention warrants for 101 soldiers

Turkey's spy agency has snatched 80 citizens from 18 countries

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Turkey has detained 160,000 people and dismissed nearly the same number of civil servants since the coup attempt, the UN human-rights office said in March. Of that number, more than 50,000 have been formally charged and kept in jail during their trials.

Critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuse him of using the failed coup as a pretext to quash dissent. Turkey says the measures are necessary to combat threats to national security.

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Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children

She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career

She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence

Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Coffee: black death or elixir of life?

It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?

Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.

The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.

Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver. 

The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.

But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.

Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.

It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.

So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.

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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013