Greek 'Führer' vows to ‘take back İzmir' after Istanbul

A member of the extreme right Golden Dawn party holds a flag bearing their party's logo during an election campaign rally. REUTERS photo

The leader of the Greek extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party, Nikos Mihaloliakos, has promised to “take back İzmir" a week after saying his party wanted “Istanbul back."

Mihaloliakos, nicknamed the "Greek Führer," said they would take back Turkey's Black Sea region as well during a party rally yesterday in the city of Thessaloniki, daily Milliyet reported.

"We will take back Istanbul, İzmir and the Black Sea," Mihaloliakos said during the rally while addressing accusations of racism that have been directed at his party. "Yes, we are nationalists and racists. We are not hiding that."

Mihaloliakos also criticized the mayor of Thessaloniki for wanting to name a street after modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who was born in Thessaloniki in 1881 when the city was still under Ottoman rule. (From online dispatches-Hurriyet Daily News)

5.0-magnitude quake hits İzmir on Turkey's Aegean coast

A 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck the city of İzmir on Turkey's Aegean coast at 5:48 p.m. today.

The quake happened at a depth of 12 kilometers with its epicenters located in the Gulf of İzmir.

No injuries or damage to property were reported but the temblor caused panic among İzmir residents. (Doğan News Agency (DHA))