Latest news with #Mehmet
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
EastEnders legend looks unrecognisable after making dramatic TV return
Early fans of BBC soap EastEnders may not have recognised an actor who returned decades later to star in a BBC2 series, with his social media also showing him in a different light EastEnders star Clair Norris has been told her contract will not be renewed, prompting the exit of her character Bernie Taylor after eight years. While viewers will say goodbye to Bernie, Oscar Branning is returning to Albert Square after an eight year absence, with actor Pierre Moullier taking over the role. Viewers who watched the soap from the start will remember a character brought to the fledgling soap by writers Tony Holland and Julia Smith to represent London's growing Turkish Cypriot community. Mehmet Osman was played by Haluk Bilginer, who spent three unforgettable years in Albert Square. Mehmet once duetted with his brother Ali Osman, played by Nejdet Salih, at The Queen Vic pub, where they performed the lively Turkish song Oy Oy Emine. In another scene at the Vic, he was struck by Mary the Punk after he attempted to kiss her. Sadly, both stars were abruptly written out of the goings-on in Albert Square when the writers exited the show. While Nejdet's acting career seemed to plateau after leaving EastEnders, Haluk's didn't. He continued acting and looked completely unrecognisable from his Walford days when he returned to TV in the starring role of The Turkish Detective. Stepping into the shoes of Detective Cetin Ikmen in the BBC2 series last July, he sported a bushy, grey beard and starred alongside Yasemin Allen, who played Cetin's female counterpart, Detective Ayse Farsakoglu. Haluk's Instagram account also shows him in a completely different light to the young Mehmet from EastEnders. In one image, taken back in 2021, he has long, wild hair and the same grey beard, with a photo that he captioned: "IS BALLET A SPORT???" Another picture, taken just before Christmas last year, reveals him to be in New York, as he smilingly poses for a selfie on the streets with a group of people on the street. The Turkish Detective was created for TV by American film company Miramax, and inspired by English author Barbara Nadel's The Cetin Ikmen Crime Novels. While Nadel's version stretches across 24 novels, the tale was condensed into eight episodes for viewers. Ethan Kai, recognised for his portrayal of Kasim in Emmerdale from 2016 to 2017 and his stint in BBC's spy thriller Killing Eve, also joined the cast. Haluk's acting credentials after EastEnders are impressive. In 1992, he and his then-wife Zuhal Olcay secured roles in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. After moving back to his native Turkey and starring in a host of films there, they even set up their own theatre. Despite taking a break from English-language films for some time, Haluk made a comeback in 2009 with the American thriller The International, where he took on the role of high-tech missile guidance system dealer, Ahmet Sunay. He also featured as Dr Ranbir Sartain, the new psychiatrist of Michael Myers, in the 2018 horror sequel Halloween. In 2014, he clinched the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Winter Sleep, and in 2018, he bagged an Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor for his portrayal of Agah Beyoglu in the Turkish crime drama Sahsiyet (Persona).
The Courier
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
What will Neil Lennon need to add to Dunfermline Athletic squad if he is confirmed as Pars boss?
As talks continue with Neil Lennon, Dunfermline remain optimistic of retaining the services of the former Celtic and Hibernian manager for next season. Charged with keeping the club in the Championship when he took over on a short-term deal for the final seven matches of the season, the Northern Irishman steered the Pars to seventh in the table. Chairman and chief executive David Cook revealed almost a fortnight ago that the Fifers were 'hopeful' of finalising negotiations to keep Lennon – who has since been on holiday – and assistant Iain Brunskill in place. He also said they were ready to 'have a go' at promotion this summer with wealthy new owners James Bord and Evan Sofer at the helm. However, with 14 players that finished the campaign released, and a further six 'in dialogue' with the club about their futures, what kind of squad will Lennon have and what areas will he need to strengthen if he does stay on? Courier Sport has taken a look at those who remain at East End Park. One of the most pressing positions to sort out will be the goalkeeper. Incredibly, predecessor James McPake was left with just one available player between the sticks – Deniz Mehmet – during all four of the Premier Sports Cup group matches. A repeat cannot happen. Even for the opening two league games, 17-year-old Lewis Briggs was the back-up before Tobi Oluwayemi was brought in on loan from Celtic. This summer, Mehmet is again last man standing, with Oluwayemi having gone back to Celtic and Briggs released. Lennon will be eager to get a dependable new number one sorted as quickly as possible to have certainty in the last line of defence. Should Mehmet decide that, at 32, he does not want another season sitting on the bench – and his 15-minute cameo in the last game against Morton was seen by some as a farewell – then Lennon will need two new keepers. With Aaron Comrie, Rhys Breen and loan duo Tommy Fogarty and Andre Raymond departing, Dunfermline are short on numbers at the back. Comrie's exit at the end of his deal may suggest Lennon might stick with a back three next term and is in need of wing-backs rather than traditional full-backs. Kieran Ngwenya and the versatile Ewan Otoo provide options down the left and Kane Ritchie-Hosler and new signing Keith Bray are possibilities on the right. But it may be Lennon would prefer out-and-out wing-backs for Dunfermline rather than wingers or midfielders whose preference would be to play elsewhere. At the heart of the defence, Kyle Benedictus finished the season in resolute form but is now 33, whilst Sam Fisher and Sam Young were both farmed out on loan in the second half of the campaign and face an uncertain summer. The Pars are expected to exercise their option to re-sign Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen but there is the potential for at least another two central defenders to arrive. All might depend here on what happens with the players who are in discussions over fresh terms. Three of them – Chris Hamilton, Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Victor Wanyama – are central midfielders. With Otoo still under contract and youngster Andrew Tod highly regarded, it may be deemed there are priorities in other areas of the team. However, there are likely to be plenty of free agents this summer who could boost the quality available to Lennon at Dunfermline. On the flanks, there is only really Ritchie-Hosler who fits the bill if the Pars want to deploy wingers, making this a likely consideration. Matty Todd failed to reach his high standards this season but there will be hope he can rediscover his best and provide an option in an attacking midfield position. Likewise, if he stays on, Josh Cooper can fulfil that role. But more creativity – from wide and the heart of the team – is desperately needed following a dismal season in front of goal. With just 28 goals from 36 league games this term, it is clear where the Pars' problems lie. Despite improvements under Lennon, Dunfermline still failed to score in their last three matches. In fact, they only netted twice in Lennon's seven games in charge. With seven goals in 15 league outings since the appointment in January of Lennon's predecessor, Michael Tidser, a drastic turnaround is required. When fit, Chris Kane is one of the best strikers in the division and the Fifers will need to find a way to keep the former St Johnstone player injury-free. Beyond him, Connor Young is highly rated but untested at Championship level, whilst Taylor and Jake Sutherland also still have much to prove, and Lewis McCann is out of contract and currently recovering from hamstring surgery. Every club will be searching for one, but Dunfermline could do with two forwards capable of delivering double figures in the scoring charts if they are to fulfil ambitions.
Local Germany
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
West German foothold of far-right AfD shows challenge for Merz
Once a bastion of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in Germany's industrial heartland, the town was a rare example of the Alternative for Germany (AFD) topping the vote outside its strongholds in the former East Germany. Despite its designation as extremist by the country's intelligence services, the AfD's growing strength poses an immediate challenge to incoming conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz, who takes office on Tuesday. In the doorway of the pizza delivery service where he works, Mehmet -- who asked that his real name not be used -- puts the AfD's popularity in Gelsenkirchen down to immigration. Opposite his workplace is a building housing many recent migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, who Mehmet says typify the challenges in integrating new arrivals. A graffiti of football club FC SChalke 04 is seen at an abandoned house in the Schalke neighbourhood, where southern Europeans used to live, in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany on April 28, 2025. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP) "The number of immigrants has gone up, there are people who don't speak German, who are very different culturally," he said. "When you go out at night, you see very few Germans. In some places, it's better to not leave home after 8 pm," Mehmet added. For Brigitte, 77, making her way through town with a walking frame, agreed that the town was not as secure as it used to be. Advertisement "I've had my purse stolen three times," she said, adding that she no longer felt safe going out in the evenings. 'Difficult to live together' Gelsenkirchen's former prosperity was built on the coal and steel industries, as in cities and towns across the Ruhr region. But in contrast to many of its neighbours, Gelsenkirchen was not able to reinvent itself as heavy industry dwindled. It now has Germany's highest unemployment rate, at 14.8 percent, almost three times the national average. Half of all children are at risk of poverty, compared to one in five nationally. An abandoned house in the Schalke neighbourhood, where southern Europeans used to live, is pictured in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany on April 28, 2025. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP) Its population has fallen from 400,000 in the early 1960s to just 272,000 now, 75,000 of whom do not have German nationality. When Germany lifted employment restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians in 2014, many of those who moved to Gelsenkirchen ended up in cheap but neglected apartment buildings and struggled to find work. "They don't have any chance of finding a job and so it becomes difficult for everyone to live together," said the town's SPD MP Markus Toens, who won direct election rather than the party list vote won by the AfD. As EU citizens, Romanians and Bulgarians have the same rights to welfare support as Germans, and Toens would like to see the rules on this toughened at a national level. Advertisement 'People are unhappy' The AfD, which won just over 20 percent of the vote nationwide and will be the biggest opposition party in the next parliament, has been quick to capitalise on people's frustrations. Its lead candidate in municipal elections in September, Norbert Emmerich, is standing on a platform of "cleanliness, order and security". "Our success is a reflection of the fact that people are unhappy," Emmerich told AFP. Laura Rosen, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) candidate for Lord Mayor for the 2025 local elections, poses for a photo in the city of Gelsenkirchen, western Germany on April 28, 2025. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP) The lead candidate from Merz's CDU, Laura Rosen, also said the town "hasn't been able to cope with integrating" recent immigrants. Rosen, 32, remembers that when she was at school, "there were seven immigrant children out of 25. Now it's 24 (out of 25)." The town has a long history of immigration, from Poles to Turks such as Mehmet's ancestors, and more recently refugees fleeing wars in Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The latest waves of immigration have coincided with a worsening in the job market. "There are barely any good jobs left in Gelsenkirchen," said Darko Manojlovic, president of the works council at the BP refinery that employs 2,000 people in the area. Even those jobs are now under threat, as the British energy giant says it plans to reduce its refining activities in Germany.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
West German foothold of far-right AfD shows challenge for Merz
His grandfather came from Turkey decades ago to work in the coal mines of the western German town of Gelsenkirchen, but Mehmet, 28, says he understands the rise of the anti-immigration far-right AfD there. Once a bastion of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in Germany's industrial heartland, the town was a rare example of the Alternative for Germany (AFD) topping the vote outside its strongholds in the former East Germany. Despite its designation as extremist by the country's intelligence services, the AfD's growing strength poses an immediate challenge to incoming conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz, who takes office on Tuesday. In the doorway of the pizza delivery service where he works, Mehmet -- who asked that his real name not be used -- puts the AfD's popularity in Gelsenkirchen down to immigration. Opposite his workplace is a building housing many recent migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, who Mehmet says typify the challenges in integrating new arrivals. "The number of immigrants has gone up, there are people who don't speak German, who are very different culturally," he said. "When you go out at night, you see very few Germans. In some places, it's better to not leave home after 8 pm," Mehmet added. For Brigitte, 77, making her way through town with a walking frame, agreed that the town was not as secure as it used to be. "I've had my purse stolen three times," she said, adding that she no longer felt safe going out in the evenings. - 'Difficult to live together' - Gelsenkirchen's former prosperity was built on the coal and steel industries, as in cities and towns across the Ruhr region. But in contrast to many of its neighbours, Gelsenkirchen was not able to reinvent itself as heavy industry dwindled. It now has Germany's highest unemployment rate, at 14.8 percent, almost three times the national average. Half of all children are at risk of poverty, compared to one in five nationally. Its population has fallen from 400,000 in the early 1960s to just 272,000 now, 75,000 of whom do not have German nationality. When Germany lifted employment restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians in 2014, many of those who moved to Gelsenkirchen ended up in cheap but neglected apartment buildings and struggled to find work. "They don't have any chance of finding a job and so it becomes difficult for everyone to live together," said the town's SPD MP Markus Toens, who won direct election rather than the party list vote won by the AfD. As EU citizens, Romanians and Bulgarians have the same rights to welfare support as Germans, and Toens would like to see the rules on this toughened at a national level. - 'People are unhappy' - The AfD, which won just over 20 percent of the vote nationwide and will be the biggest opposition party in the next parliament, has been quick to capitalise on people's frustrations. Its lead candidate in municipal elections in September, Norbert Emmerich, is standing on a platform of "cleanliness, order and security". "Our success is a reflection of the fact that people are unhappy," Emmerich told AFP. The lead candidate from Merz's CDU, Laura Rosen, also said the town "hasn't been able to cope with integrating" recent immigrants. Rosen, 32, remembers that when she was at school, "there were seven immigrant children out of 25. Now it's 24 (out of 25)." The town has a long history of immigration, from Poles to Turks such as Mehmet's ancestors, and more recently refugees fleeing wars in Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The latest waves of immigration have coincided with a worsening in the job market. "There are barely any good jobs left in Gelsenkirchen," said Darko Manojlovic, president of the works council at the BP refinery that employs 2,000 people in the area. Even those jobs are now under threat, as the British energy giant says it plans to reduce its refining activities in Germany. clp/jsk/fz/js
France 24
04-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
West German foothold of far-right AfD shows challenge for Merz
Once a bastion of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in Germany's industrial heartland, the town was a rare example of the Alternative for Germany (AFD) topping the vote outside its strongholds in the former East Germany. Despite its designation as extremist by the country's intelligence services, the AfD's growing strength poses an immediate challenge to incoming conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz, who takes office on Tuesday. In the doorway of the pizza delivery service where he works, Mehmet -- who asked that his real name not be used -- puts the AfD's popularity in Gelsenkirchen down to immigration. Opposite his workplace is a building housing many recent migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, who Mehmet says typify the challenges in integrating new arrivals. "The number of immigrants has gone up, there are people who don't speak German, who are very different culturally," he said. "When you go out at night, you see very few Germans. In some places, it's better to not leave home after 8 pm," Mehmet added. For Brigitte, 77, making her way through town with a walking frame, agreed that the town was not as secure as it used to be. "I've had my purse stolen three times," she said, adding that she no longer felt safe going out in the evenings. 'Difficult to live together' Gelsenkirchen's former prosperity was built on the coal and steel industries, as in cities and towns across the Ruhr region. But in contrast to many of its neighbours, Gelsenkirchen was not able to reinvent itself as heavy industry dwindled. It now has Germany's highest unemployment rate, at 14.8 percent, almost three times the national average. Half of all children are at risk of poverty, compared to one in five nationally. Its population has fallen from 400,000 in the early 1960s to just 272,000 now, 75,000 of whom do not have German nationality. When Germany lifted employment restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians in 2014, many of those who moved to Gelsenkirchen ended up in cheap but neglected apartment buildings and struggled to find work. "They don't have any chance of finding a job and so it becomes difficult for everyone to live together," said the town's SPD MP Markus Toens, who won direct election rather than the party list vote won by the AfD. As EU citizens, Romanians and Bulgarians have the same rights to welfare support as Germans, and Toens would like to see the rules on this toughened at a national level. 'People are unhappy' The AfD, which won just over 20 percent of the vote nationwide and will be the biggest opposition party in the next parliament, has been quick to capitalise on people's frustrations. Its lead candidate in municipal elections in September, Norbert Emmerich, is standing on a platform of "cleanliness, order and security". "Our success is a reflection of the fact that people are unhappy," Emmerich told AFP. The lead candidate from Merz's CDU, Laura Rosen, also said the town "hasn't been able to cope with integrating" recent immigrants. Rosen, 32, remembers that when she was at school, "there were seven immigrant children out of 25. Now it's 24 (out of 25)." The town has a long history of immigration, from Poles to Turks such as Mehmet's ancestors, and more recently refugees fleeing wars in Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The latest waves of immigration have coincided with a worsening in the job market. "There are barely any good jobs left in Gelsenkirchen," said Darko Manojlovic, president of the works council at the BP refinery that employs 2,000 people in the area.
