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Türkiye Releases Youth Activist in Case Drawing European Criticism

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Releases Youth Activist in Case Drawing European Criticism

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

A Turkish court on Monday ordered the release of youth activist Enes Hocaogullari pending trial on charges including "inciting hatred", in a case that has drawn sharp criticism from European institutions and rights groups.

Hocaogullari, 23, has been in custody since his arrest on August 5 after returning from Strasbourg where he represented Türkiye as a youth delegate at the Council of Europe. In a speech there in March he had condemned the dismissal of opposition mayors and police violence in Türkiye, Reuters reported.

Prosecutors accuse him of "spreading false information to mislead the public" and "inciting hatred and enmity", charges that could carry several years in prison.

Hocaogullari appeared in court in handcuffs and wearing a black suit, escorted by two gendarmes. Diplomats from Western and European embassies, civil society groups and opposition Members of Parliament watched from the packed courtroom's gallery.

"I exercised my right to freedom of expression. I am innocent. In this hearing I request my release and, at the end of the trial, my acquittal," he told the court, saying his March speech had been in a closed session and had been distorted.

A delegation from the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities visited Ankara last week and met Hocaogullari in prison. In a statement, it said there was no justification for his prosecution or detention and warned that silencing him would also silence young people and democracy.

Amnesty International and other rights groups have also called his arrest arbitrary and urged his immediate release.

The court ruled that Hocaogullari be freed, subject to judicial control measures, while the trial continues. The next hearing is set for February 23.

The case has underscored tensions between Ankara and European institutions at a time when Türkiye is seeking to improve relations with its Western allies.

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World

Leftist Mamdani to Take Over as New York Mayor Under Trump Shadow

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, center, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appear on stage during a rally, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP)
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, center, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appear on stage during a rally, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP)
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Leftist Mamdani to Take Over as New York Mayor Under Trump Shadow

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, center, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appear on stage during a rally, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP)
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, center, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appear on stage during a rally, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP)

Zohran Mamdani, young upstart of the US left, was readying Wednesday to take over as New York mayor for a term sure to see him cross swords with President Donald Trump.

After the clocks strike midnight, bringing in 2026, Mamdani will take his oath of office at an abandoned subway stop, taking the helm of the United States' largest city. He will be New York's first Muslim mayor.

His office says the understated venue for the oath-taking reflects his commitment to working people, after the 34-year-old Democrat campaigned on promises to address the soaring cost of living.

But it remains to be seen if Mamdani -- virtually unknown a year ago -- can deliver on his ambitious agenda, which envisions rent freezes, universal childcare and free public buses.

Once an election is over, "symbolism only goes so far with voters. Results begin to matter a whole lot more," New York University lecturer John Kane said.

What Trump does could be a decisive factor.

The Republican, himself a New Yorker, has repeatedly criticized Mamdani, but the pair held surprisingly cordial talks at the White House in November.

Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst and professor at Columbia University, said that meeting "couldn't have gone better from Mamdani's perspective."

But he warned their relationship could quickly sour.

One flashpoint might be immigration raids as Trump wages an expanding crackdown on migrants across the United States.

Mamdani has vowed to protect immigrant communities.

Before the November vote, the president also threatened to slash federal funding for New York if it picked Mamdani, whom he called a "communist lunatic."

The mayor-elect has said he believes Trump is a fascist.

- Block party -

Mamdani's private swearing-in at midnight to start his four-year term will be performed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully prosecuted Trump for fraud.

A larger, ceremonial inauguration is scheduled for Thursday with speeches from left-wing allies Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Around 4,000 ticketed guests are expected to attend the event outside City Hall.

Mamdani's team has also organized a block party that it says will enable tens of thousands of New Yorkers to watch the ceremony at streetside viewing areas along Broadway.

The new job comes with a change of address for Mamdani as he swaps his rent-controlled apartment in the borough of Queens for the luxurious mayor's residence in Manhattan.

Some had wondered if he would move to the official mansion given his campaigning on affordability issues. Mamdani said he is doing so mainly for security reasons.

Born in Uganda to a family of Indian origin, Mamdani moved to New York at age seven and enjoyed an elite upbringing with only a relatively brief stint in politics, becoming a member of the New York State Assembly before being elected mayor.

Compensating for his inexperience, he is surrounding himself with seasoned aides recruited from past mayors' offices and former US president Joe Biden's administration.

Mamdani has also opened dialogue with business leaders, some of whom predicted a massive exodus of wealthy New Yorkers if he won. Real estate leaders have debunked those claims.

World

Thailand Releases 18 Cambodian Prisoners of War as Part of Ceasefire Agreement

This handout photo taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on December 31, 2025 shows Cambodian soldiers, who had been captured by Thai soldiers in July, being escorting by Cambodian soldiers after their release, as they walk at a checkpoint along the border with Thailand in Cambodia's Pailin province. (Ja Dina / Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on December 31, 2025 shows Cambodian soldiers, who had been captured by Thai soldiers in July, being escorting by Cambodian soldiers after their release, as they walk at a checkpoint along the border with Thailand in Cambodia's Pailin province. (Ja Dina / Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
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Thailand Releases 18 Cambodian Prisoners of War as Part of Ceasefire Agreement

This handout photo taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on December 31, 2025 shows Cambodian soldiers, who had been captured by Thai soldiers in July, being escorting by Cambodian soldiers after their release, as they walk at a checkpoint along the border with Thailand in Cambodia's Pailin province. (Ja Dina / Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on December 31, 2025 shows Cambodian soldiers, who had been captured by Thai soldiers in July, being escorting by Cambodian soldiers after their release, as they walk at a checkpoint along the border with Thailand in Cambodia's Pailin province. (Ja Dina / Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)

Thailand on Wednesday released 18 Cambodian prisoners of war held for five months, fulfilling the terms of a ceasefire agreement the two countries signed to end bitter fighting along their border.

The release was stipulated in the ceasefire agreement signed Saturday by the defense ministers of the two countries at the same border checkpoint between Thailand’s Chanthaburi province and Cambodia's Pailin province where the soldiers were released.

“The repatriation of the 18 Cambodian soldiers was undertaken as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building, as well as in adherence to international humanitarian principles,” Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said the release “creates an environment conducive to peace, stability, and the full normalization of relations for the benefit of both nations and their people in the near future.”

The soldiers’ release removes a major impediment toward that goal after two rounds of destructive combat over competing territorial claims.

Thailand had insisted it was allowed to hold the men under provisions of the Geneva Conventions governing the rules of war, which said they could be detained until the end of hostilities. The prisoners were allowed visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other rights covered under international humanitarian law, Thai authorities said.

Their continued detention was used effectively by Cambodia’s government to rally nationalist sentiment in the conflict against Thailand.

Wednesday’s statement from Cambodia’s defense ministry said the government “has remained steadfast in the promise made to the families of the 18 soldiers and the Cambodian people: that no soldier would be left behind.”

Video distributed by Cambodia's Information Ministry showed crowds along the road from the border checkpoint to the city of Pailin cheering and waving small flags as a bus carrying the freed men drove by in a motorcade. They were expected to be flown Wednesday to the capital Phnom Penh.

The ceasefire agreement said the soldiers would be freed if the end of combat was sustained for 72 hours after it came into effect at noon on Saturday. The 72 hours passed on Tuesday, but Thai authorities said they needed to evaluate the situation, claiming that 250 Cambodian drones had been active along the border.

The two countries had given differing accounts of the circumstances of the men’s capture, which took place on the same day the initial ceasefire came into effect at the end of July.

Cambodian officials say their soldiers approached the Thai position with friendly intentions to offer post-fighting greetings, while Thai officials said the Cambodians appeared to have hostile intent and entered what Thailand considers its territory and subsequently were taken prisoner.

There were originally 20 Cambodia soldiers taken captive, but two were repatriated within days for what were said to be medical reasons.

The original July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

Despite those deals, the countries carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued, escalating in early December to widespread heavy fighting.

Thailand lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the combat since Dec. 7, according to officials. Thailand also reported 44 civilian deaths.

World

Israel Grants Special Status to Soldiers Who Died by Suicide During War on Gaza

Israeli soldiers mourn reservist Master sergeant Asaf Cafri, 26, who was killed in Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, during his funeral. (AP)
Israeli soldiers mourn reservist Master sergeant Asaf Cafri, 26, who was killed in Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, during his funeral. (AP)
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Israel Grants Special Status to Soldiers Who Died by Suicide During War on Gaza

Israeli soldiers mourn reservist Master sergeant Asaf Cafri, 26, who was killed in Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, during his funeral. (AP)
Israeli soldiers mourn reservist Master sergeant Asaf Cafri, 26, who was killed in Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, during his funeral. (AP)

The Israeli army and the Defense Ministry announced that they will grant the special status of “died after service” to soldiers who served in the war on Gaza and other fronts and died by suicide within up to two years after their discharge.

The designation aims at expanding support for families and make them eligible for a monthly stipend from the Defense Ministry for two years, according to a report Tuesday by Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

The army said the approach to recognition would be “broad and compassionate,” and that officials may later consider extending the two-year period.

The policy follows the work of a special committee, which examined how the military and state respond to the families of regular and reserve service members who took their own lives after completing service, in circumstances that may be linked to their military duty.

The committee recommended that such individuals be buried in civilian cemeteries with civilian headstones, but with military accompaniment, including a commander’s eulogy, the presence of soldiers and initial family support.

According to the Israeli army, personnel officials would verify within hours of a death that the individual had served in its forces within the previous two years, either as a combat or noncombat soldier.

Military support would continue for seven days through the mourning period, the newspaper said.

Afterward, the Defense Ministry’s standard recognition committee, together with the Israeli army, would examine the circumstances to determine whether there was a connection between the apparent causes of the suicide and the individual’s military service during the war.

The review would include consultations with commanders and assessments of the soldier’s service record.

“If a link is established, the individual would not be recognized as an Israeli army fallen soldier or as a disabled veteran who died of service-related injuries,” the committee said.

Instead, it noted, “they would receive the designation of having ‘died after service,’ entitling their family to a monthly allowance and long-term support from the Defense Ministry.”

The committee included mental health professionals, legal advisers and senior officials from the Defense Ministry’s Families and Commemoration Department. Its recommendations focus on systemic policy rather than individual cases.

The Israeli army said the decision to grant the new status reflects an effort to preserve the formal designation of fallen soldiers while still providing assistance to families whose loved ones died after service.

It said factors considered in each case will include length and nature of service, exposure to unusual or traumatic events, proximity between discharge and death and other personal circumstances.

According to the army, 15 former soldiers who served in the war on Gaza have died by suicide to date, though officials say the number could rise.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said 16 soldiers committed suicide in 2025 until August due to harsh combat conditions related to the war in the Gaza Strip.

A senior military official told the Israeli Broadcasting Authority that the army fears the phenomenon will spread, as seven reservists took their own lives in July.

In 2024, 21 Israeli soldiers committed suicide, including 12 reservists, whereas in 2023, the year that saw the launch of the Gaza war in October, 17 Israeli soldiers took their own lives.

A report by the Knesset Research and Information Center released last October showed that for every Israeli soldier who died by suicide between January 2024 and July 2025, there were an additional seven documented suicide attempts.