A pro-Kurdish demonstration in central London, complete with flags of Abdullah Öcalan, the YPG, the federated Iraqi region of Kurdistan – but not, as was so often the case in previous years, the PKK.

Utterly shocked to learn of @ceren-iskit.bsky.social’s sudden and untimely death aged just 38. I knew her on the London Turkish beat: she was a good journalist with a good heart, taken far, far too young. t24.com.tr/haber/gazete...

You don't really need subtitles to see how well presenter Meltem Bozbeyoğlu handles the moment a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in Istanbul struck live on CNN Türk, but here they are in any case.

In Turkish North Cyprus, an education ministry official is turned away from a school barricaded by parents who don’t want to admit a pupil who wears a headscarf. It appears they’re fighting Turkey’s battles of the 1990s, but in the social media age. Via HaberKKTC

“The terrorism charge is particularly serious because it could allow him to be removed from office. It means that by the end of the day Ekrem İmamoğlu may no longer be mayor of Istanbul.” Me on the BBC World Service a little earlier.

A new page in a long-running row: Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's university diploma has been annulled. It means that if a presidential election were called now, İmamoğlu – who is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's foremost challenger – would not be able to stand as a candidate.

Where should I go with the family in Turkey this summer? Got two small children, so our demands are fairly sedate: a nice house, no pool, but next to a sandy beach. My go-to is glorious Gökova — that's where I spent my childhood holidays — but help me break old habits: what does BlueSky think?

Abdullah Öcalan has called to abolish the PKK, but that’s just the first step in making it happen – me in @thenationalnews.com on today’s momentous news www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/2025...

History in the making in Turkey, where a message from PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan – apparently calling for peace and an end to an armed conflict lasting nearly half a century – is being read out live. But it’s in Kurdish first, so most of the country doesn’t know what’s in it yet.

New from @reuters.com: Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party delegation to visit jailed PKK militant leader Ocalan for a second time, party sources say

Erm, how long have I been asleep

So. Six of the seven suspects arrested in last month’s anti-PKK raid in north London last month have been charged with terrorism offences and will make their first court appearance today. news.met.police.uk/news/six-peo...

Police in London impose sweeping conditions ahead of tomorrow’s Kurdish demonstration in central London and make a point of warning anyone displaying their support for the PKK risks committing a criminal offence. news.met.police.uk/news/met-set...

Today is one of those days I remember quite how many Americans I follow on Bluesky. Thanks for all your various exotic Thanksgiving dishes lovingly crafted from recipes handed down through the generations. My dinner was pasta with a dollop of supermarket pesto. Quite clearly, I win.

This is huge: six PKK-related arrests in north London, including searches at places linked to the group. It’s not just a counter terror operation that directly concerns Turkey – it’s also the first time I’ve seen an arrest of this kind in a while. news.met.police.uk/news/six-arr...

There certainly won't be any public show of grief in Turkey today over Fethullah Gülen, whose death was announced overnight. The 83-year-old's name is toxic, and not just because the government blames him for the 2016 coup attempt. That notoriety makes him a pivotal figure. 🧵

#Türkilizce in action ok the streets of London

It’s official. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has become the first major Turkish political party leader this century to be defeated in a leadership contest. Is this a seminal moment in Turkish politics, or merely the final whimper of the movement defeated by President Erdoğan in May?

“A Future Searching For Its Story” or “The One Looking For His Story Will Arrive”. Bekir Ağırdır’s book is just confusing.