Author: Daily Sabah

The negligence behind the fire that claimed 78 lives at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu, northwestern Türkiye, is coming to light. It has been revealed that 19 days before the disaster, the Bolu Municipality Fire Department identified shortcomings during a fire safety inspection at the hotel but took no action. Furthermore, the fire department issued a “fire safety compliance certificate” for the restaurant, which was the source of the deadly blaze. Bolu’s mayor, Tanju Özcan, who claimed “the responsibility is not ours,” was caught in a lie after details of the documents were revealed. Özcan, from the Republican People’s…

The Turkish military presence in neighboring Syria will continue and may even relocate within that country based on “needs,” Turkish Defense Ministry sources said Thursday. The statements come amid the fate of the U.S.-backed YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK terrorist group, which poses a direct threat to Türkiye. Sources said the tasks of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have not been completed yet in Syria. “Depending on the need, the redeployment of our troops in Syria or their assignment to different regions may be considered,” sources said. As the civil war escalated in Syria, the terrorist groups Daesh…

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party), in power since 2002, secured another seat in the Parliament when opposition Good Party’s (IP) lawmaker Kürşad Zorlu joined it last week. Zorlu’s switch boosted the party’s parliamentary standing after losing several seats after the 2023 general elections. In one and a half years, the AK Party managed to increase the number of seats in the Parliament to 269 from the 268 seats it won in the legislative vote despite losing many lawmakers. The party has nominated five lawmakers from the Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR) and Democratic Left Party (DSP) as AK Party…

Zafer Sırakaya, deputy chair of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), was the first high-ranking official of Türkiye’s ruling party to visit post-Assad Syria. Sırakaya, who also acts as the party’s foreign affairs chairperson, held talks with officials in Syria’s Idlib and Aleppo on Wednesday. Sırakaya told Anadolu Agency (AA) that his visit aimed to demonstrate Türkiye’s support for the rebuilding of Syria and contribution to regional peace. Türkiye maintains close ties with the new administration of Syria and was one of the first countries to open its embassy in Syria on Dec. 14 after the fall of the…

The founder of the Turkish far-right in the modern era is on the fast track to becoming a political “martyr” after his arrest but Ümit Özdağ’s provocative rhetoric has already been the subject of lawsuits. The Victory Party (ZP) chairman was arrested on charges of inciting hatred on Tuesday evening, hours after he was detained on a separate charge of insulting the president. Imprisoned in Istanbul, Özdağ will appear before a court on an unscheduled date while his supporters claim the charges against him are politically motivated. The opposition parties, not very different than ZP in their anti-migrant, anti-refugee discourse,…

An Islamophobic attack targeting a Turkish-owned mosque in northern France has left the local Muslim community rattled. Unknown people left a plaster grenade used in drills outside a mosque managed by the Turkish-Islamic Union of Religious Affairs (DITIB) in the city of Saint-Omer, DITIB said in a statement on Instagram late Tuesday. A similar incident took place last year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when several people left a pig’s head outside the same mosque. “We strongly condemn this hateful attack on our mosque. Such attacks on houses of worship, symbols of peace and fraternity, are unacceptable,” the…

Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan, who formed a delegation as part of the ambitious terror-free Türkiye initiative, made their second visit to Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the PKK terrorist group. Lawmakers from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is known for its links to the group, traveled on Wednesday to Imralı, a Marmara Sea island where Öcalan is incarcerated. Öcalan, who already expressed support for the initiative, is expected to take action to further advance it, namely by calling the PKK to lay down arms after DEM’s second visit. Önder and Buldan, accompanied by…

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will introduce Türkiye’s new and fourth legal reform strategy document on Thursday, a move aimed at boosting timely facilitation of justice, according to the Justice Ministry on Wednesday. The document, which acts as a roadmap for the four years from 2025 to 2029, has been prepared with the vision for a predictable justice system that will not be delayed and be based on the supremacy of the law, the ministry said in a statement. The reform outlines five primary principles, including the strengthening of the corporate structure and the human resources capacity, restructuring of processes, increasing…

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Wednesday that a total of 240 suspects were apprehended in two weeks of “Operation Mace-39” and “Operation Mace-40” across Türkiye against the PKK/KCK terrorist group. The PKK has been responsible for the killings of thousands of people since the 1980s in its brutal campaign of violence. The KCK is a so-called political umbrella group that includes the PKK’s wings in Iran, Syria and Iraq. The minister said police and gendarmerie forces have been conducting operations against the terrorist group in 43 provinces, including the capital Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. Captured suspects included members of…

Syria’s north is the scene of joy and concern as the U.S.-backed terrorist group YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK, which killed thousands in Türkiye, struggles for survival. For residents of Tal Rifaat, a district of Aleppo, YPG losses are good news. The Syrian National Army’s (SNA) operations, which ran parallel with anti-regime forces’ advance in late December that toppled the Assad regime, drove out terrorist groups from the occupied districts where it displaced thousands. The YPG, however, stands ground elsewhere, especially around strategic Tishrin Dam, where it killed two people in a rocket attack on Tuesday. Resilient despite…