Urban decay

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said on Aug. 9 authorities have dismantled 119 criminal gangs in the city this year, following 747 operations that resulted in the apprehension of over 3,500 individuals.

Nearly 1,700 of those were arrested, and around 700 were released on probation.

Police have unraveled a criminal gang of people employed in the civil service that extorted or aided catering establishments and hotels to skirt the law, for building permits, the use of tables and seating and other illegalities.

Police conducted a raid on an anarchist squat located within the Aristotle University campus in northern Greece in the early hours of Monday.

The evacuation of the self-proclaimed "Self-managed Canteen of the Medical School" took place in the presence of a judicial officer. No individuals were present at the site during the police intervention, and various items were seized.

Shutdown announcements for the factories of the Yioula glassworks firm in Aigaleo in Athens and of EVIEN in Thessaloniki and Kilkis in northern Greece within less than a week served as an alarming message about the risk of deindustrialization.

The European Union must act fast to prevent the deindustrialization of Europe, the president of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, Dimitris Papalexopoulos, warns in an interview with Kathimerini.

Ecuador's president gave orders Tuesday to "neutralize" criminal gangs after gunmen opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions on a second day of terror in the violence-riddled country.

At least 10 people have been killed in a series of attacks blamed on gangs as the country exploded in what President Daniel Noboa called an "internal armed conflict".

As the year comes to a close, it seems likely that the freeze on foreclosures on primary homes in Cyprus valued at up to 350,000 euros will be extended.

Soccer-related violence is not just a police issue. It is the business of several state agencies as well as the various bodies involved in the sport in order to dismantle the gangs that operate under the cover of a club jersey. 

No new laws or proclamations are required. The problem and its roots are well known. All that is required now is political will.

A significant mobilization by the Cypriot government and the Central Bank of Cyprus this week regarding the framework of foreclosures bore fruit. It primarily aimed to withdraw the "problematic" proposal that, according to the state and banks, would have negative consequences for the Cypriot economy.

Cyprus is heading toward suspending first-residence property foreclosures up to 350,000 euros by end-October.

This intermediate solution is seen as a compromise, allowing either the government, the Central Bank of Cyprus, or both to come up with proposals that will effectively address the issue of nonperforming loans.