kuş gribi gelmiş (the bird flu comes to turkey)

Two teenagers who lived on a poultry farm in Doğubeyazit, near the Turkish-Iranian border, died this week of the notorious strain of bird flu that has caused several deaths in Asia. As far as I know, these are the first cases in Eastern Turkey--the much-publicized cull of bird flocks after some flu-stricken birds were found this past fall was in in western Anatolia near the coast, but there were no human cases.

This is an awful day for the region in general; two terribly effective suicide bombings in Iraq and a hotel full of hajj pilgrims collapsing in Mecca.