Author: Daily Sabah

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the informal NATO foreign ministers meeting in Türkiye, the State Department announced on Sunday. It will be Rubio’s first visit to Türkiye since he took office. “Looking toward the NATO Summit in The Hague this June, the Secretary will advance President Trump’s agenda of ensuring that our Allies contribute their fair share to making NATO stronger and more effective,” the State Department said in a statement regarding the meeting, which will be held in the southern Turkish province of Antalya. Turkish media outlets had reported in February that Rubio omitted Türkiye from…

The “It’s Time” coalition of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) based in Israel convened a two-day People’s Peace Summit in Jerusalem last week. Activists from some 60 organizations criticized the Netanyahu administration’s attacks on Gaza and called for an end to Israeli occupation. Activists also highlighted Türkiye’s role in efforts to stop the conflict and urged Ankara to work more for a two-state solution and build bridges between Palestinians and Israelis. Türkiye was among the very few countries to host Jews fleeing persecution in the Middle Ages, and under the Ottoman Empire, a large number of Jews fleeing Spain took shelter in…

Four more suspects were detained on Sunday as authorities dig deeper into an attempt by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) seeking revival. Meanwhile, investigations and testimonies exposed how the group sought to brainwash students, their potential recruits, through trips to the Balkan countries, from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro to North Macedonia and Albania, Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported on Sunday. In three days of operations in 47 provinces earlier this month, police detained 225 suspects linked to the terrorist group, which was behind the July 15, 2016, coup attempt in Türkiye. Operations centered in the southern province of Gaziantep and expanded…

Four more suspects were detained on Sunday as authorities dig deeper into an attempt by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) seeking revival. Meanwhile, investigations and testimonies exposed how the group sought to brainwash students, their potential recruits, through trips to the Balkan countries, from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro to North Macedonia and Albania, Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported on Sunday. In three days of operations in 47 provinces earlier this month, police detained 225 suspects linked to the terrorist group, which was behind the July 15, 2016, coup attempt in Türkiye. Operations centered in the southern province of Gaziantep and expanded…

Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has dismantled a cyber espionage network that sought to steal personal and financial data from citizens by imitating corporate identities through fake cell towers, security sources said Saturday. After months of investigations and surveillance, seven foreign nationals were caught red-handed in a joint operation with Istanbul police and prosecutors, sources said, adding that the suspects were arrested by an Istanbul court. The suspects were operating three different groups within the same network and receiving their orders from another suspect code-named “Patron” (Boss). MIT launched an investigation following numerous complains from mobile network subscribers that they…

In a letter to the new Pope Leo, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday expressed his wish for joint efforts to end humanitarian tragedies, especially in the Gaza Strip. Erdoğan sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV congratulating the first U.S.-born pontiff on the occasion of his election to the office on behalf of the Turkish people, according to a statement from the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications. Erdoğan marked the late Pope Francis as a “valuable statesman who earned the appreciation of the entire world for his efforts to establish peace and tolerance at a time when regional and international…

The former chair of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) refused on Friday to testify as a “victim” in an ongoing trial against the party over alleged vote buying in a 2023 ordinary congress. “I am watching with sadness and concern as the party that has founded the Republic is discussed in the halls of courthouses,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said in a post on X. He said he had been previously invited to be consulted on the case but refused to go. “Today, I was summoned to court as a victim but my stance remains unchanged and that is why I will…

Türkiye is worried about Israel’s attacks in Syria in the post-Assad era, with Defense Ministry sources stressing yesterday that the airstrikes aim only to harm the country’s stability. The sources did not openly respond to questions about tensions with Israel in Syria, where Turkish troops are still stationed in northern parts, saying they were in coordination with Syria’s new government for the safe conduct of military activities in the country. Over the past week, Israel has struck deep inside Syria, with unconfirmed reports suggesting Turkish and Israeli warplanes had a close encounter over the weekend. The reports, officially denied by…

A month before his passing, the late Sırrı Süreyya Önder, the deputy parliament speaker and a lawmaker of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), was the target of a likely assassination plot, according to the DEM Party. There is a need to make a statement regarding claims in news organs that an assassination attempt was made on the late Önder, the party said in a statement on Thursday. The party said that in early April, a parking attendant became suspicious of a noise coming from the tires of Önder’s vehicle. When the car was taken to the service,…

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul announced that a court approved a request to block access to the official X account of former Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was arrested in March on corruption charges. Imamoğlu’s account was in use after the mayor was imprisoned, often relaying his messages from prison. The office said the decision to block the account was related to the charge of “inciting people to commit crimes” and content amounting to propaganda of a criminal organization. The account has openly called on the public to take to the streets to protest the arrest of Imamoğlu. Officials said…