Author: Daily Sabah
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…
The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kalın informed the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) about Türkiye’s ongoing counterterrorism operations, security sources said Wednesday. Kalın met with CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and his delegation at the party headquarters in the capital Ankara. He shared information about the ongoing efforts against the PKK, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and Daesh terrorists and explained MIT’s strategies against the aforementioned terrorist groups. He told the CHP delegation that Türkiye has been striving to obstruct the PKK terrorist group and its offshoot YPG’s efforts to create a “terror corridor” along the Türkiye-Syria border,…
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) decried the violent harassment of Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who was pushed and shoved by opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmakers Wednesday. Yerlikaya was trying to enter a chamber of Parliament in the capital Ankara to attend budget talks on his ministry when CHP officials confronted him. In moments captured on camera, Yerlikaya is seen being pushed away by CHP members and in one moment, almost put in a chokehold. Minutes later, he managed to make it into the venue, barely escaping the unfolding stampede. AK Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik described the…
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday said Türkiye opposed the United States’ decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles, warning that President Joe Biden’s decision will further escalate the conflict and prompt a reaction by Russia. “We do not find this decision correct, nor do we approve of it,” Erdoğan told reporters on his return flight from Brazil, where he attended the G-20 leaders’ summit. Such developments might bring the region and world to the brink of larger war, he warned, saying that both Russia and Ukraine should focus on peace and maintain restraint. “Even the smallest misstep would…