Author: Daily Sabah

Widespread distrust is stoking financial troubles for the new leaders of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) following the death of the group’s leader, Fetullah Gülen. The group’s so-called executive board of 12 members took over the reins after Gülen’s death in Pennsylvania in October, but their squabbling is growing into a tumultuous power struggle for the one to succeed Gülen as the next FETÖ ringleader, according to Turkish security sources. The terror group orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Türkiye, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded. Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a…

Real Madrid and Mallorca will battle for a spot in the Spanish Super Cup final on Thursday at King Abdullah Sports City. Los Blancos enter the semifinal as reigning La Liga champions, while Mallorca secured their place as Copa del Rey runners-up last season. Madrid, fresh off lifting the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in December with a 3-0 win over Pachuca, have been in fine form. Their 4-2 victory over Sevilla in their final 2024 match was followed by a dramatic 2-1 win against Valencia last Friday. Despite Vinicius Junior’s red card, Luka Modric’s equalizer and Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time winner propelled…

Real Madrid and Mallorca will battle for a spot in the Spanish Super Cup final on Thursday at King Abdullah Sports City. Los Blancos enter the semifinal as reigning La Liga champions, while Mallorca secured their place as Copa del Rey runners-up last season. Madrid, fresh off lifting the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in December with a 3-0 win over Pachuca, have been in fine form. Their 4-2 victory over Sevilla in their final 2024 match was followed by a dramatic 2-1 win against Valencia last Friday. Despite Vinicius Junior’s red card, Luka Modric’s equalizer and Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time winner propelled…

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said President Erdoğan is his friend, as he noted that he’s someone he likes and respects, while highlighting Türkiye’s crucial role in Syria. Trump addressed key foreign policy issues during a press briefing at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Tuesday, emphasizing the situation in Syria and Türkiye’s critical role in the region. Trump, who significantly reduced the U.S. military presence in Syria during his previous term, responded cautiously to questions about the remaining 2,000 American troops in the country. When asked whether these troops would be withdrawn, Trump said, he wouldn’t respond because it’s part…

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Bashar Assad’s 13-yearlong oppressive rule in Syria inflicted more damage than previously thought, as he called for international support to help rebuild the country. “The cost of thirteen years of slaughterous policies exceeds $500 billion,” Erdoğan said, adding that Turkish expert teams visiting the country warn that the situation is far worse than anticipated. “With the collapse of the 61-year Baath dictatorship, a new era has begun. Not a day passes without new evidence exposing the barbarity of the Baath regime,” Erdoğan said. He continued by saying that Syria will need time to recover and…

Ankara on Tuesday hosted Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Barzani first met Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan before the two held a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex. Barzani’s visit comes at a time of a new phase in Türkiye’s fight against the PKK terrorist group, whose last remaining strongholds are located in an area controlled by the KRG in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria bordering Türkiye. Türkiye often carries out counterterrorism operations in northern Iraq against the PKK and saw escalating support from the KRG in recent years, after past hostilities…

The main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), on Tuesday voiced tentative support for the recent initiative to end PKK terrorism in Türkiye. “Such a process should be based at Parliament, which would steer and supervise it,” CHP leader Özgür Özel told reporters in Ankara after receiving lawmakers from the PKK-linked Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). Tuesday’s talks were the latest in a string of meetings DEM Party lawmakers Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan have held since meeting jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in the prison on Imralı Island near Istanbul. Önder and Buldan, accompanied by Ahmet…

Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) who shook Turkish politics with his unusual offer to end PKK terrorism, renewed commitment to his “terror-free Türkiye” initiative endorsed by the government. The outspoken nationalist leader allied with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) announced, “Times have changed and chains are broken,” as he addressed fellow lawmakers at the parliamentary group meeting of the MHP in the capital, Ankara, on Tuesday. Bahçeli on Jan. 2 hosted a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in an unprecedented meeting with his political rivals. The meeting was…

The push for change at Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has led to the replacement of 47 provincial chairs since last year as part of the party’s congress process that aims for extensive overhauls following unprecedented losses in the March 31 local polls in 2024. The party’s chair, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, kickstarted the congresses in southeastern Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep provinces, in October 2024, which were hit by the deadly twin earthquakes of Feb. 3, 2023. The events are meant to promote Erdoğan’s post-election message that focused on “change” within the party, both in its cadres and…

The latest official figures show that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) retains the highest number of members since it came to power over two decades ago. The party is part of a growing list of 168 parties officially registered by the General Prosecution Office of the Supreme Court of Appeal. The office oversees the approval and closure of parties and recently updated its list of active parties in Turkish politics. The AK Party has more than 11.1 million members, ahead of its main rival, the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which has more than 1.5 million members.…