President Tayyip Erdogan declared on Saturday that an historic turning point had been reached in Türkiye’s four-decade conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after 30 fighters burned their weapons in northern Iraq.
Thirty PKK fighters torched rifles and explosives at the mouth of a cave in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains on Friday, the first formal surrender of arms since the insurgency began in 1984.
“As of yesterday, the scourge of terrorism has entered the process of ending,” President Erdogan told party supporters in Istanbul. “Today is a new day; a new page has opened in history.”
The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Türkiye, the European Union and the U.S., has waged an on-off guerrilla campaign that Ankara says has cost more than 40,000 lives. Previous ceasefire efforts collapsed in 2015, and the group’s top leadership remains outside Türkiye’s jurisdiction in the rugged Iraq–Iran border region.
Friday’s symbolic disarmament involves only a fraction of the estimated 5,000 to 10,000 PKK combatants still active across Iraq, Syria and south-east Türkiye, analysts note. No timetable has been announced for further hand-overs or for political talks.
Turkish media reported that government officials had verified the fighters identities before the ceremony, but the interior ministry did not immediately comment on whether amnesties would be offered.
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The UN's International Maritime Organization has paused escort operations through the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship was reportedly attacked near Oman, with two U.S. officials accusing Iran of the attack.
The United Nations' top human rights official has called for independent investigations into deaths in U.S. immigration detention facilities, citing a rise in fatalities among people held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. At least 589 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds are believed to be trapped under rubble, as emergency crews and international rescue teams race to respond.
An aircraft roughly the size of a car crashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper on Friday evening, triggering a major emergency response and a heavy police presence as authorities sealed off the area and gave no immediate explanation for the incident.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck Japan's northeast coast on Thursday, but no tsunami warning was issued, no injuries were immediately reported and no irregularities were found at nuclear facilities, the authorities said.
As Western Europe battles a deadly heatwave that has shattered temperature records, disrupted transport and power supplies, and forced the closure of schools and cultural landmarks, attention is turning to whether El Niño is playing a role in the extreme conditions.
The U.S. Senate rejected a resolution on Wednesday that would have directed President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress formally authorised military action.
The Kremlin has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming Moscow is pressuring Belarus to support an expanded Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. At least 589 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds are believed to be trapped under rubble, as emergency crews and international rescue teams race to respond.
The UN's International Maritime Organization has paused escort operations through the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship was reportedly attacked near Oman, with two U.S. officials accusing Iran of the attack.
Kazakhstan has not received an official request from Russia for petrol supplies, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said, as fuel shortages and sales restrictions in Russia raise concerns over fuel supplies across Central Asia.
Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday (26 June) condemned as "interventionist, irresponsible and provocative" a statement issued following a joint meeting of foreign ministers from the U.S. and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Manama, Bahrain.
Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, marking another milestone in the carrier's long-term fleet modernisation programme aimed at improving efficiency, expanding capacity and enhancing the passenger experience.
Pakistan is seeking to revive economic ties with Iran by reopening transport links and reassessing imports of discounted Iranian crude oil, as recent regional de-escalation raises hopes of broader economic cooperation.
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