Rally in Tel Aviv calls for return of deceased hostage Ran Gvili
Hundreds of people gathered for a second consecutive week at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, on Friday (12 December), to support the family of Master Sg...
A Turkish nationalist leader has urged talks between the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to end decades of conflict.
A prominent ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for direct negotiations between Türkiye's pro-Kurdish political party and Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in a bid to resolve the decades-long Kurdish conflict.
Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), urged lawmakers in parliament to initiate face-to-face discussions with Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on Imrali Island near Istanbul for 25 years. Bahçeli’s proposal follows his earlier suggestion that Öcalan declare an end to the insurgency in exchange for the possibility of release.
Whilst Erdoğan described Bahçeli’s initial proposal as a 'historic window of opportunity', he has refrained from publicly discussing any new peace initiative.
Bahçeli has criticised the pro-Kurdish Democratic Party (DEM), Türkiye's third-largest parliamentary group, with 57 lawmakers, as being aligned with the PKK. However, he has now proposed a direct dialogue between the DEM Party and Öcalan. The DEM Party’s predecessor was involved in peace talks with Öcalan a decade ago.
Türkiye, along with its Western allies, designates the PKK as a terrorist organisation. The conflict, which has spanned 40 years, has claimed over 40,000 lives. Although primarily focused on Türkiye's Kurdish southeast in earlier years, the conflict is now centred in northern Iraq, where the PKK is based.
Ankara has not disclosed specific plans regarding a new peace process, but regional instability and shifting political dynamics may be influencing the push to resolve the conflict. The only significant development so far has been Ankara’s permission for Öcalan’s nephew to visit him—the first family visit in four and a half years.
Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday (12 December), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The JMA had earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The United States issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela on Thursday, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.
The resignation of Bulgaria's government on Thursday (11 December) puts an end to an increasingly unpopular coalition but is likely to usher in a period of prolonged political instability on the eve of the Black Sea nation's entry into the euro zone.
An extratropical cyclone has caused widespread disruption across Brazil’s São Paulo state, with powerful winds toppling trees and power lines, blocking streets and leaving large parts of the region without electricity.
Hundreds of people gathered for a second consecutive week at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, on Friday (12 December), to support the family of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining Israeli hostage whose body is believed to be held in Gaza.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a closed-door discussion on the sidelines of the International Forum for Peace and Trust in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Friday.
Kazakhstan has begun redirecting part of its crude exports, sending oil from Kashagan to China as the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) operates at reduced capacity.
Azerbaijan’s post-conflict reconstruction in Karabakh is attracting international attention. The book by British author Graeme Wilson documents this journey, combining first-hand reporting and digital storytelling to highlight both the region’s restoration and the human stories behind it.
Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, has welcomed the expansion of ties with neighbouring Azerbaijan, stating that Tehran and Baku are committed to building a ‘shared, secure and mutually respectful’ future, local media reported on Friday.
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