ANKARA: Turkiye’s former foreign minister and distinguished Arab News columnist Yasar Yakis died on Wednesday. He was 86.
Yakis had been undergoing cancer treatment at a private hospital in Ankara for some time.
A former diplomat, Yakis served as foreign minister in the first government formed by the Justice and Development Party, also known as the AKP, in 2002. He was decorated by the Saudi government with the Order of King Abdul Aziz (1st Degree) in 1992 for his contribution to the improvement of Saudi-Turkish relations.
“At a time when global politics lacks adults in the room, heavyweights of the caliber of Yasar Yakis will certainly be missed,” said Arab News Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas.
“As a columnist for our newspaper, he always added insight, context and a rational voice to our coverage. He will be dearly missed, our condolences to his family,” said Abbas.
Yakis penned a regular column for Arab News since February 2017. He brought vast global knowledge and long years of experience as his country’s chief diplomat, as well as a deep understanding of Arab affairs.
Born in 1938, Yakis’ first posting abroad was as deputy consul at the consulate general in Antwerp, Belgium. Throughout his career, Yakis held various posts, including ambassadorships in Riyadh, Rome, Cairo, Damascus and Lagos, as well as being Turkiye’s permanent representative to NATO in Brussels. He was a senior associate member at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, between 2012 and 2014.
In 1985, Yakis founded and chaired the Coordination Committee of the Standing Committee on Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
In 1988, he was appointed as the Turkish ambassador to Riyadh, followed by an ambassadorial post in Cairo and as permanent representative of Turkiye to the UN Office and other international organizations in Vienna. From 1992 to 1995, he was deputy undersecretary for economic affairs.
He retired from the Foreign Ministry in 2001 and entered politics as a founding member of the AKP. He served as deputy chairman and member of the Central Decision and Administration Board. He was elected to parliament in 2002 and was quickly appointed minister of foreign affairs in the same year.
Known as a prominent intellectual who was fluent in French, English and Arabic, Yakis was often quoted in the Turkish and Arabic media thanks to his objective and in-depth insights, backed by his diplomatic experience.
Yakis was often present at ambassadorial events in Ankara. He was always accompanied by his beaming wife and their unwavering love was evident to an outsider’s eye.
What struck one the most about these meetings was his attentive listening and his ability to learn from everyone, while humbly sharing his own diplomatic experience with others.
He recently wrote his memoirs, detailing his private life and decades-long diplomatic experiences. His only child was Ayse Basak Yakis, who is an associate professor at King’s College London.
Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador and the head of delegation to Turkiye from 2006 to 2011, wrote on the social media platform X: “A man of great culture and remarkable wisdom, always open to discussion with foreign ambassadors. I learned a lot from him.”
Ozdem Sanberk, one of Turkiye’s most experienced diplomats and a former ambassador to the UK, had his first six months of military service with Yakis in Istanbul. Talking to Arab News, Sanberk recalled that Yakis enjoyed each free moment by reading classic novels from around the world.
Sanberk said: “He was telling us that, due to his own family conditions, he couldn’t read all the Russian classics at an early age. So, he felt the need to compensate for those years by reading extensively. He also asked to serve his second stage of military service in the eastern part of Turkiye to concentrate more on reading. He even had his books placed on a horse’s back and had them transported to the place where he would serve in the military. He had a great talent for learning new languages and an insatiable thirst for learning. His intellectual deepness was great.”
Sanberk also said that Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had lost one of its most distinguished Middle East experts. “Yakis served as a diplomat in some of the most pivotal countries in the Middle East and the Gulf region,” he said.
Former Turkish FM and Arab News columnist Yasar Yakis is no more
https://arab.news/y6mkn
Former Turkish FM and Arab News columnist Yasar Yakis is no more
- He added insight, context and a rational voice to our coverage, says Arab News Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas
Moscow ‘jails’ popular Ukrainian TV host and blogger in absentia
- Dmitry Gordon was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment
- The YouTuber was found guilty of calls for terrorist activity, publicly distributing false information about the Russian military and inciting hatred
A Moscow military court sentenced Dmitry Gordon to 14 years imprisonment, the TASS news agency reported.
Russia has been convicting its opponents in absentia as part of a crackdown since the start of the Ukraine offensive.
Gordon, 56, is a household name in Ukraine with millions of followers on social media.
A poll in August 2023 placed him seventh among Ukrainians’ most viewed “experts” commenting on YouTube.
Starting as a newspaper journalist, he founded a Russian-language weekly newspaper called “Gordon’s Boulevard” and hosted a television show called “Gordon’s Guests,” also in Russian.
He then launched an online news site called Gordon and two YouTube channels.
Gordon used to often appear as a commentator on Russian television talk shows, saying on Olga Skabeyeva’s 60 Minutes show in 2019 that “I would call Putin one word: a criminal.”
He was critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky up to Russia’s offensive.
In 2022, Russia declared him a “foreign agent,” while he countered that he is not a Russian citizen.
He commented on Instagram of Russia’s verdict against him: “this is how they grow savage near the end, which will be soon and inevitable.”
The court decision Monday cited YouTube videos posted by Gordon in 2022, TASS wrote.
It said one contained a “call to eliminate” Putin.
The court said Gordon felt “hatred toward the current Russian president” and viewed Russia’s offensive in Ukraine “extremely negatively.”
It added he called for civil war and to kill Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and urged US President Joe Biden to launch a nuclear strike on Russia.
The court found Gordon guilty of calls for terrorist activity, publicly distributing false information about the Russian military and inciting hatred.
New season of MBC’s ‘Top Chef’ to be shot in NEOM
- ‘Visionary location aligns food show with city’s futuristic and sustainable values,’ MBC director of production says
LONDON: MBC Group announced on Monday that the new season of its popular show “Top Chef” will be filmed in NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city.
Samar Akrouk, MBC Group’s director of production and MBC Studios’ general manager, said that moving the show to NEOM offers more than just a new location, providing a “visionary setting” that aligns with the city’s futuristic and sustainable values.
“This eighth season will merge the high-energy competition that viewers expect with a strong emphasis on ecological awareness and sustainable living, reflecting the core values of NEOM as a city of the future,” Akron said.
“Top Chef,” originally launched by Bravo in the US, features chefs competing in various culinary challenges, judged by a panel of professional chefs and notable personalities from the food and beverage industry. Contestants face elimination at the end of each episode.
Akrouk explained that this season will introduce a new layer of difficulty.
Contestants will not only be judged on their culinary skills and creativity but also on their “sustainable approach” to cooking.
“These challenges have been designed to inspire contestants to think about food in its relation to the environment,” she added, emphasizing that the program “echoes the principles upon which NEOM is built.”
In the region, the Arabic version of “Top Chef” by MBC Group has previously been filmed in locations across the UAE, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.
NEOM marks the latest location for the program in the Kingdom, underscoring efforts to position the region as a premier filming destination for local, regional, and international productions.
The new season of “Top Chef” is currently in production and is set to be released later this year.
India human rights body says Reuters story on Foxconn hiring raises discrimination concerns
- Reuters investigation alleges that Foxconn rejected married women from iPhone assembly jobs due to family responsibilities
- National Human Rights Commission has requested detailed reports from the Indian and Tamil Nadu governments regarding the accusations
NEW DELHI: India’s human rights watchdog said on Monday it had asked government officials to examine reported discrimination by Foxconn, after a Reuters investigation found the major Apple supplier has been rejecting married women from iPhone assembly jobs in the country.
In a statement, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it had issued notices to the secretary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s labor ministry and the chief secretary of the state government of Tamil Nadu, site of a major iPhone factory, calling for a detailed report within a week.
“NHRC observes that the matter, if true, raises a serious issue of discrimination against married women causing the violation of the right to equality and equal opportunity,” it said.
The Reuters story has sparked debates on TV channels, newspaper editorials, calls from women groups, including within Modi’s party as well as opposition parties to investigate the matter. Modi’s federal government has also asked Tamil Nadu state for a “detailed report.”
Modi’s labor ministry, Apple and Taiwan-based Foxconn did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Tamil Nadu government spokesman referred questions to its labor department, which did not respond.
The Reuters investigation found Foxconn systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone plant on the grounds they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts. Foxconn hiring agents and HR sources cited family duties, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons for not hiring married women.
Responding to the investigation, published last week, Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said they had worked to address the issues. All the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at the Tamil Nadu plant, however, took place in 2023 and 2024. The companies didn’t address those instances.
Foxconn has said it “vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form.”
Apple has said all its suppliers, including Foxconn, hire married women and “when concerns about hiring practices were first raised in 2022 we immediately took action and worked with our supplier to conduct monthly audits to identify issues and ensure that our high standards are upheld.”
Indian law does not bar companies from discriminating in hiring based on marital status, though Apple’s and Foxconn’s policies prohibit such practices in their supply chains.
The NHRC said it “noted the fact that gender equality is not only required in the Indian constitution but the international treaty and covenants.”
State authorities must ensure that all companies follow the norms and regulations relating to labor laws, it added.
Meta risks fines over ‘pay for privacy’ model breaking EU rules
- Latest case focuses on Meta’s new ad-free subscription model for Facebook and Instagram, which has sparked multiple complaints over privacy concerns
BRUSSELS: The EU accused Facebook owner Meta on Monday of breaching the bloc’s digital rules, paving the way for potential fines worth billions of euros.
The charges against the US tech titan follow a finding last week against Apple that marked the first time Brussels had levelled formal accusations under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The latest case focuses on Meta’s new ad-free subscription model for Facebook and Instagram, which has sparked multiple complaints over privacy concerns.
Meta’s “pay or consent” system means users have to pay to avoid data collection, or agree to share their data with Facebook and Instagram to keep using the platforms for free.
The European Commission said it informed Meta of its “preliminary view” that the model the company launched last year “fails to comply” with the DMA.
“This binary choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta’s social networks,” the EU’s powerful antitrust regulator said in a statement.
The findings come after the commission kickstarted a probe into Meta in March under the DMA, which forces the world’s biggest tech companies to comply with EU rules designed to give European users more choice online.
Meta insisted its model “complies with the DMA.”
“We look forward to further constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Meta can now reply to the findings and avoid a fine if it changes the model to address the EU’s concerns.
If the commission’s view is confirmed however, it can slap fines of up to 10 percent of Meta’s total global turnover under the DMA. This can rise to up to 20 percent for repeat offenders.
Meta’s total revenue last year stood at around $135 billion (125 billion euros).
The EU also has the right to break up firms, but only as a last resort.
Under the DMA, the EU labels Meta and other companies, including Apple, as “gatekeepers” and prevents them forcing users in the bloc to consent to have access to a service or certain functionalities.
The commission said Meta’s model did not allow users to “freely consent” to their data being shared between Facebook and Instagram with Meta’s ads services.
“The DMA is there to give back to the users the power to decide how their data is used and ensure innovative companies can compete on equal footing with tech giants on data access,” the EU’s top tech enforcer, commissioner Thierry Breton, said.
The commission will adopt a decision on whether Meta’s model is DMA compliant or not by late March 2025.
The EU has shown it is serious about making big online companies change their ways.
The commission told Apple last week its App Store rules were hindering developers from freely pointing consumers to alternative channels for offers.
The EU is also probing Google over similar concerns on its Google Play marketplace.
Apple and Meta are not the only companies coming under the scope of the DMA. Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance must also comply.
Online travel giant Booking.com will need to adhere to the rules later this year.
Meta has made billions from harvesting users’ data to serve up highly targeted ads. But it has faced an avalanche of complaints over its data processing in recent years.
The European data regulator in April has also said the ‘pay or consent’ model is at odds with the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which upholds the privacy of users’ information.
Ireland — a major hub for online tech giants operating in the 27-nation bloc — has slapped Meta with massive fines for violating the GDPR.
The latest complaint by privacy groups forced Meta last month to pause its plans to use personal data to train its artificial intelligence technology in Europe.
2 Algerian journalists arrested for publishing video showing businesswomen protesting
- Journalists in Algeria have faced mounting repression since President Abdelmadjid Tebboune came to power four years ago
ALGIERS, Algeria: Algerian authorities arrested two journalists for publishing a video showing businesswomen protesting how they were treated at a government-sponsored event.
Journalists in Algeria have faced mounting repression since President Abdelmadjid Tebboune came to power four years ago, with possible long jail time on flimsy charges, experts say. Many news outlets have also shuttered due to mounting legal fees.
Sofiane Ghirous and Ferhat Omar of the news website “Algerie Scoop” were detained last week for broadcasting material authorities claimed “constituted incitement and hate speech,” according to a statement from the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees, a local watchdog group, on Saturday.
In the video, women start-up founders accused the government of “humiliating” and treating them with “contempt” at an innovation event organized by the Ministry of Education and Professional Training.
Ghirous is the editor-in-chief of Algerie Scoop — accredited by the government in 2021— and Omar is the website’s director.
The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders has recently downranked Algeria on its freedom of expression index to 139th out of 180 in 2024 while decrying the country’s “pressure on independent media and threats to arrest journalists.”
In June, the popular news website Radio M announced it would cease publication due to “impossible conditions” while its editor, Ihsane El Kadi, serves a five-year prison sentence on charges alleging his media company accepted foreign funds for his coverage, which was often critical of the government.
Also over the weekend, authorities raided the Librairie Gouraya bookstore in the city of Bejaia, nearly 240 kilometers (149 miles) east of the capital, to prevent the sale of “Shared Kabylia” where a book signing was scheduled for its French author, Dominique Martre. They briefly arrested Martre, the Algerian publisher and several others, including journalists and activists.
In the book, Martre recounts her experiences teaching French in the mountainous region of Kabylia in the 1970s.
Those arrested were released later in the evening, attorney Mokrane Ait Labri — whose journalist brother was among the arrested — said.
The crackdown on freedom of expression comes as Algeria gears up for an election in September. Tebboune will likely seek a second term as president.
