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Erdogan Rejects Ally's Call for Release of Philanthropist and Kurdish Leader

Selahattin Demirtas. (AFP file photo)
Selahattin Demirtas. (AFP file photo)
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Erdogan Rejects Ally's Call for Release of Philanthropist and Kurdish Leader

Selahattin Demirtas. (AFP file photo)
Selahattin Demirtas. (AFP file photo)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday dismissed calls from a close ally for the release of a leading Kurdish opposition politician and a philanthropist from jail.

Rights activists, Western powers and some opposition parties have all urged the release of Selahattin Demirtas and Osman Kavala, both arrested in the wake of an attempted coup in 2016.

They were joined on Thursday by former deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc, now on the presidency's High Advisory Board.

"Even though we have worked together in the past, no one's personal comments can be linked to the president, our government or the party," Erdogan said in a speech to party members.

Demirtas, former head of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and one of Turkey's best-known politicians, faces several charges, including one of terrorism relating to violent protests against the Turkish army's inaction during a siege by ISIS of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani in 2014/15.

He denies all the charges.

Kavala was acquitted in February of charges related to street protests in 2013 that threatened then-premier Erdogan's grip on power, but was re-arrested the same day on charges related to a failed coup in 2016, in which he denies any role.

In his remarks, Erdogan said that "the people who are currently at the disposal of the judiciary, who caused the deaths of thousands of our people, the people who are responsible for Kobani, cannot be defended by Tayyip Erdogan or his allies".

He also said he would never defend Kavala, whom he called the sponsor of the 2013 protests.

Erdogan promised this month that parliament would prioritize judicial reform next year.

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World

China Says Will Take 'Forceful Measures' after US Arms Sales Package to Taiwan Announced

The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
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China Says Will Take 'Forceful Measures' after US Arms Sales Package to Taiwan Announced

The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)

China's military will step up training and "take forceful measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," its defense ministry said ‌on Friday ‌in ‌response ⁠to a ‌planned $11.1 billion US arms sales package to Taiwan.

The ministry urges the US to "immediately ⁠cease arms ‌sales to Taiwan" and "concretely ‍abide ‍by its ‍commitment not to support 'Taiwan independence' forces," according to a statement the ministry released on its Chinese ⁠social media account.

"Taiwan separatist forces... are using the hard-earned money of ordinary people to fatten US arms dealers," the ‌statement added.

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever US weapons package for the island.

The Taiwan arms sale announcement is the second under US President Donald Trump's current administration, and comes as Beijing ramps up its military and diplomatic pressure against Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

The proposed arms sales cover eight items, including HIMARS rocket systems, howitzers, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Altius loitering munition drones and parts for other equipment, Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement.

"The United States continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defense capabilities and in rapidly building strong deterrent power and leveraging asymmetric warfare advantages, which form the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability," it added.

The package must be approved by the US Congress, where Taiwan has widespread cross-party support.

In a series of separate statements announcing details of the weapons deal, the Pentagon said the arms sales serve US national, economic and security interests by supporting Taiwan's continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a "credible defensive capability."

Pushed by the United States, Taiwan has been working to transform its armed forces to be able to wage "asymmetric warfare," using mobile, smaller and often cheaper weapons which still pack a targeted punch, like drones.

"Our country will continue to promote defence reforms, strengthen whole-of-society defence resilience, demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves, and safeguard peace through strength," Taiwan presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement, thanking the United States for the sales.

World

Pakistan Arrests Senior Official from ISIS Offshoot

File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
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Pakistan Arrests Senior Official from ISIS Offshoot

File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Pakistan has captured a leader from an offshoot of the ISIS extremist group, a senior intelligence official said Friday, after the arrest was reported by a UN sanctions monitoring group.

Sultan Aziz Azam, who also acted as a spokesman for ISIS Khorasan, (ISIS-K) was arrested on May 16, according to a UN committee's sanctions monitoring report submitted to the Security Council in November.

"He was not just a spokesman but regarded as one of the top leaders for the group in the region," the Pakistani intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media.

"The arrest was not made public as it could have affected counterterrorism operations" initiated after Azam's questioning, the official added.

ISIS-K, the local branch of the ISIS group, has claimed responsibility for some of the most horrific attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond in recent years, many targeting civilians.

In March 2024 its gunmen killed more than 140 people at a Moscow concert hall, and the group has carried out a series of deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

The intelligence official and the UN report did not specify which country Azam was captured in.

Taliban authorities have repeatedly said security is their top priority and vowed to crack down on ISIS-K and other militant groups operating in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has accused the Taliban of allowing Afghan soil to be used to harbor militants and the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated sharply with deadly border clashes in recent months.

Islamabad has carried out intensive border operations against militant groups, including airstrikes in October on Afghan territory that security sources say were aimed at targeting another group, the Pakistani Taliban.

The UN report said both countries' efforts were making a dent against ISIS-K.

"Overall, the capability of ISIS in Iraq and the Levant-K has been degraded as a result of counter-terrorism operations by the de facto authorities and Pakistan," said the UN report, referring to the Taliban's government which is not formally recognized by any country except Russia.

However, "the group remains resilient" and Afghan authorities have not completely eliminated its hideouts in the north and east, the report said, estimating that is has around 2,000 fighters.

Its leaders have also stepped up a recruitment drive "to establish a network of sleeper cells to further enhance their capabilities, as well as their ability to conduct attacks outside Afghan territory."

According to the Jamestown Foundation, a US-based think-tank, Azam hails from Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province which borders Pakistan and is considered an ISIS-K stronghold.

He is described as a poet and writer whose work often appeared on social media platforms such as Facebook before joining ISIS-K in 2015.

World

Russia's Dmitriev Welcomes EU Summit Decision Not to Use Russia's Frozen Assets

Archive- Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation. (Reuters)
Archive- Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation. (Reuters)
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Russia's Dmitriev Welcomes EU Summit Decision Not to Use Russia's Frozen Assets

Archive- Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation. (Reuters)
Archive- Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation. (Reuters)

Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said on Friday ‌that "law and ‌sanity" ‌won, after ⁠European Union ‌leaders decided to borrow cash to fund Ukraine rather than use ⁠Russia's frozen assets.

"Major BLOW ‌to EU ‍warmongers ‍led by ‍failed Ursula — voices of reason in the EU BLOCKED the ILLEGAL use of ⁠Russian reserves to fund Ukraine," Dmitriev said on X, mentioning European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.