Author: Daily Sabah

Turkish police late Thursday arrested two officials of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) for holding a so-called memorial service for a PKK terrorist at a DEM Party office in Istanbul. Abdullah Arınan and Rojda Yılmaz, district chairs of DEM Party’s Esenyurt branch, were arrested on charges of “being a member of an armed terrorist organization” and “spreading terrorist propaganda.” The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul is still investigating the so-called commemoration ceremony held for PKK terrorist Gülşen Atalmış, who was eliminated in 1995. Esenyurt, one of the country’s biggest, with some 1 million residents, was the…

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has asked Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) for help against the infiltration of terrorist groups into the party, according to its chief Özgür Özel. The CHP has asked the intelligence agency for support in combing out applications for memberships in overseas branches, Özel told a Turkish broadcaster on Thursday, a day after MIT chief Ibrahim Kalın briefed the party about Türkiye’s ongoing counterterrorism operations. At a meeting with Özel and his delegation at the CHP headquarters in the capital Ankara, Kalın shared information about the ongoing efforts against the PKK, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ)…

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hailed the recent decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their genocidal war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to the war in Gaza. Fidan said the warrant is “an extremely important step” toward holding perpetrators of genocide accountable for their crimes. Many countries and organizations welcomed the decision, calling on all countries to implement it. “The arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant announced by the International Criminal Court is hope-inspiring for the execution of justice,” Fidan said. The…

Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç welcomed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as they hailed the U.N. court for siding with justice despite pressure. ICC announced its decision, issued over war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to Israel’s attacks in Gaza and the October 2023 incursion that spurred the country’s genocidal offensive. In a statement he posted on X, Kurtulmuş called the arrest warrant a “historic step” that challenged Israel’s immunity. “This decision is a result of…

The First International Strategic Negotiations Forum opened in southern Türkiye’s Gaziantep on Thursday, under the theme of “The Search for Communication and Trust in the Islamic World.” The event is attended by Islamic scholars from Türkiye, the United States, Qatar, Malaysia, Algeria, Pakistan, India, Iran and Mauritania. Organized by Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University (GİBTÜ), the Presidency of Religious Affairs and the municipality of Şahinbey district where the venue is located, the two-day forum tackles various topics, from “unity of opinion in the Islamic world,” to the history of Muslim communities, as well as communication and trust challenges in…

Defense Ministry sources clarified that a recent debate over the fate of military graduates taking an “alternative oath” during a ceremony deviated from the issue at the core and turned into a defamation campaign for the army. Opposition parties were quick to rally behind the group of soldiers raising their swords and shouting, “We are soldiers of Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk)” during an Aug. 30 ceremony. Minutes before, they had met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who congratulated the new graduates, only to condemn the footage of graduates reciting the discontinued military oath. Sources said on Thursday that the graduates were not…

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan presented his ministry’s budget to lawmakers on Thursday at Parliament where he summed up the country’s ongoing and future foreign policies. “We have footprints in every continent through our 360-degree foreign policy approach,” the minister said. “We have the ability to counter threats at the same time weighing the opportunities we have,” he added. Türkiye raised its diplomatic profile in recent years in the international community with its ambition to elevate its status from a regional power to reckon with to an international actor. Under Fidan and his predecessor Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the country pursued a diplomatic…

Galatasaray will aim to maintain their perfect record in the Turkish Süper Lig when they face struggling Bodrumspor away on Saturday. The league leaders, with 31 points from 10 wins and one draw, are five points clear of second-place Fenerbahçe and are the only unbeaten team in the competition. The Lions are riding high after a 3-2 victory over Samsunspor in their last match, where in-form Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen scored twice to seal the win. Galatasaray has now won six straight matches across all competitions and is looking to extend their winning streak to seven, with a fifth consecutive…

Galatasaray will aim to maintain their perfect record in the Turkish Süper Lig when they face struggling Bodrumspor away on Saturday. The league leaders, with 31 points from 10 wins and one draw, are five points clear of second-place Fenerbahçe and are the only unbeaten team in the competition. The Lions are riding high after a 3-2 victory over Samsunspor in their last match, where in-form Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen scored twice to seal the win. Galatasaray has now won six straight matches across all competitions and is looking to extend their winning streak to seven, with a fifth consecutive…

A member of the PKK terrorist group, who served as a bodyguard of the group’s ringleaders and was also in charge of the group’s logistics, was eliminated by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), security sources said Thursday. The target was identified as Serhat Tagay, code-named “Mervan Hizan.” Sources said the operation took place in Iraq’s Gara region, a hotbed of the terrorist group. Tagay had an arrest warrant and was identified as the name behind the supply network for explosives and weapons used in the terrorist group’s attacks targeting Türkiye security forces. Sources said the terrorist joined the group in…