Category: 2. Middle East

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Monday announced its dissolution, saying it was ending its armed struggle against the Turkish state and drawing a line under its bloody four-decade insurgency.

Founded in the late 1970s by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK carried out attacks aimed at defending Kurdish autonomy in Turkey that cost more than 40,000 lives.

“The 12th PKK Congress has decided to dissolve the PKK’s organisational structure and end its method of armed struggle,” the group said in a…

Israeli President Issac Herzog will visit Germany on Monday to mark 60 years of relations with the country that perpetrated the Holocaust, at a time when ties are complicated by the Gaza war.

His German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier will then visit Israel with Herzog, to emphasise Germany’s historic responsibility as one of its staunchest supporters.

Together with their wives, they will tour Israel for two days to highlight a friendship that a grateful Berlin often labels “a miracle”…

The Israeli and German presidents hailed the enduring friendship between their countries on Monday, 60 years after the launch of bilateral relations, but also acknowledged differences over the war in Gaza.

Israel’s president, Issac Herzog, was visiting Berlin before he and the German head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, were due to tour Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday along with their wives.

Steinmeier, receiving Herzog with full honours at Bellevue Palace, said that the establishment of…

Donald Trump on Sunday defended plans to receive a new Air Force One as a gift, after reports he will accept a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar despite strict rules on presents for US presidents.

Calling the plane a “flying palace,” ABC News, which first reported the story, said the Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet gifted from the Qatari royal family would possibly be the most expensive gift ever received by the American government.

The controversy around the jet — and Trump’s boast that it was coming…

Hamas said it would release a US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza as the group revealed it was engaged in direct talks with the United States towards a ceasefire in the war-battered territory.

“Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, a dual US national, will be released as part of efforts towards a ceasefire” and the reopening of aid crossings, the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear when 21-year-old Alexander would be released.

Earlier, two Hamas officials told AFP…

The Eurovision Song Contest burst into Basel on Sunday, but a parade launching a week of build-up to the grand final was marked by protests over Israel’s participation.

The Swiss city is hosting the 69th edition of the world’s biggest annual live televised music event, reaching around 160 million viewers.

Organisers said tens of thousands of spectators took to the streets to welcome the 37 artists representing the competing countries.

Europop beats, dramatic staging and earworm choruses…

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be no ceasefire in exchange for Hamas’s release of a US-Israeli hostage, who a source close to the group said could be freed Monday.

Hamas on Sunday said it would release Edan Alexander, a US-Israeli soldier held in Gaza, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump to the region, and as the group revealed it was engaged in direct talks with Washington towards a ceasefire.

No date was given, but a source close to Hamas told AFP…

Hamas’s armed wing said it would release on Monday a US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza since October 2023, even as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of an “intensification” of fighting in the war-ravaged territory.

The Palestinian militant group on Sunday said it would release US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump to the region, and as the group revealed it was engaged in direct talks with Washington towards a ceasefire.

On Monday…

Donald Trump intends to accept a luxury Boeing jet from the Qatari royal family for use as Air Force One then continue flying in it after his tenure, despite strict rules on US presidential gifts, media reported Sunday.

Calling the plane a “flying palace,” ABC News, which first reported the story, said the Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet would possibly be the most expensive gift ever received by the US government.

The US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts “from any King,…