Author: Daily Sabah

Japan’s Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko visited the Istanbul landmark, the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, on Thursday. Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy accompanied the royal couple during their visit. Minister Ersoy and the Japanese royals greeted people as they left the mosque amid tight security. Japan has its own Hagia Sophia mosque, which was built in Nagoya by a Turkish association based in Germany. The couple arrived in Türkiye earlier this week for a days-long visit to mark the centenary of Turkish-Japanese relations. The crown prince on Wednesday met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in…

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has called for an investigation by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee following an incident during Beşiktaş’s UEFA Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The controversy stems from Maccabi’s Gavriel Kanichowsky, who celebrated his goal against Beşiktaş with a military salute in front of an Israeli flag. In their fifth match of the group stage, Beşiktaş suffered a 3-1 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv on neutral ground in Hungary. Kanichowsky’s goal celebration, which involved a military salute, quickly sparked criticism. The TFF argued that the salute carried political implications, sending a clear message with…

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has called for an investigation by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee following an incident during Beşiktaş’s UEFA Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The controversy stems from Maccabi’s Gavriel Kanichowsky, who celebrated his goal against Beşiktaş with a military salute in front of an Israeli flag. In their fifth match of the group stage, Beşiktaş suffered a 3-1 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv on neutral ground in Hungary. Kanichowsky’s goal celebration, which involved a military salute, quickly sparked criticism. The TFF argued that the salute carried political implications, sending a clear message with…

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has called for an investigation by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee following an incident during Beşiktaş’s UEFA Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The controversy stems from Maccabi’s Gavriel Kanichowsky, who celebrated his goal against Beşiktaş with a military salute in front of an Israeli flag. In their fifth match of the group stage, Beşiktaş suffered a 3-1 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv on neutral ground in Hungary. Kanichowsky’s goal celebration, which involved a military salute, quickly sparked criticism. The TFF argued that the salute carried political implications, sending a clear message with…

Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry said Thursday that military units took all measures for stability in the region amid a new round of conflict in neighboring Syria. Türkiye is among the regional actors that will be directly influenced by the conflict. Syria’s northeast is home to a stronghold of the YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK terrorist group, which has killed thousands in Türkiye since the 1980s. Türkiye also hosts the largest Syrian refugee community composed of those who fled the country more than a decade ago. Ankara recently sought to normalize ties with the Assad regime after a lengthy…

Authorities have captured 147 suspects linked to the PKK terrorist group in nationwide operations, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Thursday. Operation “Gürz-28” targeted PKK suspects in 30 Turkish cities, including Istanbul, Antalya and Diyarbakır, Yerlikaya said. The suspects are charged with operating within a terrorist organization, providing funds to a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist propaganda on social media platforms, according to the minister. The raids, conducted jointly by gendarmerie forces and anti-terrorist police, also seized unlicensed weapons, hunting rifles, narcotic drugs, organizational documents and other digital materials. “We are rooting out the terrorist group that has ambushed and targeted…

Ömer Çelik, deputy chair and spokesperson of Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told reporters on Wednesday that Ankara had no role in recent developments in Syria where anti-regime forces captured a key city and are advancing toward another one. Çelik said at a news conference in the capital, Ankara, that Türkiye did not desire an escalation of violence in its southern neighbor. “Developments in Syria stem from its own internal dynamics,” he highlighted. He was responding to allegations that Türkiye was unfairly accused by some circles on this issue. “Allegations that Türkiye incited the latest developments are…

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Ukraine and Greece on the margins of a NATO meeting in Brussels. Fidan and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha discussed bilateral ties, as well as regional issues. With Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, Fidan discussed recently thawed Turkish-Greek relations before posing for a family photo. Foreign ministers of 32 NATO countries met in Brussels to discuss efforts to provide ammunition and air defenses for Ukraine as it battles Russia. The allies also discussed ways to convince President-elect Donald Trump that it is in his interest to keep…

Ninety years ago, on Dec. 5, 1934, Türkiye decreed that women would have the right to vote and hold political office, some 11 years after the republic was founded. Turkish women lawmakers are set to mark the 90th anniversary of a constitutional amendment that paved the way for women to exercise voting rights and to be elected into political offices, from municipal councils to Parliament. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Parliament Deputy Speaker Gülizar Biçer Karaca expressed gratitude to modern Türkiye’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for paving the way to women’s suffrage while urging political parties to increase women’s representation…

Turkish counterterrorism operations have destroyed 709 hideouts, bunkers and depots used by the PKK terrorist group so far in 2024, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Wednesday. Raids dubbed “Gürz” have destroyed the PKK’s winter kits and explosives stashed in rural regions across southeastern provinces since Jan. 1, according to the minister. “Air-backed Gürz operations, conducted by gendarmerie forces, intelligence officers, commandos and security rangers, will continue regularly until all terrorists are eliminated,” Yerlikaya said on X. With no shelter in urban locations, the PKK takes advantage of mountainous territories in Türkiye’s southeast, where its members spend winter in remote caves.…