International

The Kurdish PKK guerrilla announces its dissolution and the end of the armed struggle after 40 years

The Kurdish guerrilla of the PKK announced on Monday its dissolution and the end of its “armed fight” that began against the Turkish state 40 years ago and that has left about 45,000 dead, thus responding to the call made at the end of February from prison by the founder and leader of the organization Abdullah Öcalan.

“The 12º Congress of the PKK has decided to dissolve the organizational structure of the PKK and put an end to the method of armed struggle, whose implementation process will be directed and carried out by the APO leader (Öcalan), thus ending the activities carried out under the name of the PKK,” the guerrilla said in a statement released by the Turkish media.

Öcalan, who has been serving a life sentence for 25 years, asked the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), considered a terrorist by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, on February 27 to abandon his weapons.

The PKK held a congress between May 5 and 7 to discuss Öcalan’s request.

“The 12º Extraordinary Congress of the PKK evaluated that the struggle of the PKK has broken the policy of denial and annihilation imposed on our people, has brought the Kurdish question to the point of being resolved through democratic politics and has thus fulfilled its historical mission” justified today this proscribed organization its decision to lay up arms.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

On the 8th, the Turkish president, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced at a meeting of his party, the AKP, that the disarmament of the PKK would be announced soon.

Initially, the PKK, which operates mainly from its bases in northern Iraq, had demanded that Öcalan himself lead in freedom an eventual peace process with the Turkish state.

Already in 2013, Öcalan had announced the end of the PKK’s independence aspirations, the intention to integrate the Kurds into a democratic Turkey and the abandonment of weapons, but the process was aborted in 2015 and the fighting and attacks intensified.

The Turkish government has described it as an advance to end the “scourge of terrorism” that the Kurdish guerrilla of the PKK has announced that it will dissolve.

The president of the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, celebrated this dissolution and considered it a step to promote “coexistence and stability” in Turkey and the rest of the Middle East.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”