Diyarbakır

A court in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on July 28 approved an indictment prepared by the province's chief public prosecutor's office, demanding a prison sentence from 9.5 to 23 years for Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü.

A total of nine outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants were killed in northern Iraq's Zap area late on July 25, the Turkish General Staff has said in a statement.

Turkish jets conducted an airstrike on PKK militant targets as the militants were preparing to attack Turkish bases, according to the statement.

The jets returned home safely, it added.

The Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has initiated "Conscience and Justice Watch" for an undetermined time in the southeast province of Diyarbakır amid police barriers.

Since the April 16 referendum that expanded the authority of the presidency, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been urging Turkey’s parliament to make drastic changes to its bylaws and internal regulations.

Turkey's opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is slated to stage "justice watches" in several provinces across the country until the anniversary of its lawmakers' arrests, starting from July 25.  

Outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants kidnapped and killed a villager early on July 23 in the southeastern province of Hakkari, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Sami Çiftçi was kidnapped from his home in the Çatalca village in Hakkari's Şemdinli district, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.      

Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has criticized the West for "staying silent" in the face of attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), especially the recent assassinations of two local officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). 

Back in the 1960's, Jack Harlan, a devoted American agronomist harvested wild wheat in southeastern Turkey as if a gatherer would do 10,000 years ago. He first tried using only his hands; hand-stripping the mature wheat ears, then he tried using a replica of an ancient sickle, a razor-sharp flint blade embedded in a wooden handle.

Two local officials from Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) were killed by outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the eastern province of Van and the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on July 1 in two separate armed assaults in one day. 

Turkey is expected to swelter in a record heatwave coming from North Africa on June 30, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.