TURKEY

ADANA, Turkey — Ismail Abdo, born in 1990 to a Turkish mother and Lebanese father, was arrested in a joint police operation involving Sweden, Norway, and Turkey. Abdo, who grew up in Uppsala, Sweden, is notorious for his involvement in violent criminal activities. After breaking away from the Foxtrot network…

QANDIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — In an interview with Medya Haber TV, Mustafa Karasu, a member of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (Koma Civakên Kurdistanê, KCK), discussed the current state of the peace process between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, PKK) and the Turkish…

ANKARA — Turkey’s opposition Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, DEM Party) submitted its anticipated draft proposal to Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş (Justice and Development Party, AKP) as part of efforts to advance peace and democracy in Turkey. The draft was delivered by Deputy Group Chair…

MEDYAD, Turkey — Three sisters from Medyad (Midyat), in the historic region of Tur Abdin in southeastern Turkey, turned their shared dream into reality by opening Izla Café, a Syriac coffee shop celebrating the rich culinary heritage of their ancestors. Mariam, Songul, and Nahrin combined thousands of years of Syriac…

TURKEY — Following Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s call for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself, and amid negotiations about real and inclusive democracy in Turkey, Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik confirmed that the PKK may begin…

SPRINGFIELD (IL), United States — The state of Illinois has officially included the 1915 Sayfo Genocide—committed by Turks and Kurds against the Syriacs (Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans), Armenians, and Greeks during the final years of the Ottoman Empire —in its high school curriculum for 2025-2026 as part of a dedicated broader instructional unit on…

MERDE, Turkey — The Syriac Orthodox Saffron Monastery, Dayro d’Zahfaran in Syriac, one of the most ancient monastic sites in the world, has been made an honorary member of the Iter Vitis Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. This recognition celebrates the monastery’s profound cultural, religious, and agricultural contributions…

ISTANBUL — The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, DEM Party) issued its final statement following the conclusion of a major social initiative titled Paving the Way to Peace, held in the EYÜP SULTAN district of Istanbul. The event was attended by senior party leaders and…

ISTANBUL — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met in Istanbul on Friday evening. The visit follows an official invitation from Erdogan and is intended to smooth relations between Turkey and Armenia. Erdoğan officially welcomed Pashinyan at the Dolmabahçe Presidential Palace. The official ceremony was…

ANKARA — Amid ongoing discussions about peace efforts in Turkey, Bar Associations from 16 provinces in Turkey’s east-southeastern provinces – where the Syriac Tur Abdin is located within a majority Kurdish area – presented a detailed roadmap to Turkish Parliament. The Bar associations call on the government to adopt a 17-point…