The Latest Breaking News from Kurdish

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been reelected in a runoff that experts say is the latest trend in the rise of illiberal democracies. The Kurdish heartland of Diyarbakir has been there before, but now it has spread from the periphery to the centre, and probably beyond Turkey’s borders.

Nationalism has been one of the major themes of the Turkish presidential elections, with both President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu using its rhetoric as both sides draw on nationalist parties’ support.

Three Iranian men arrested while protesting the death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini have been executed.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprised many observers yet again by nearly winning the Turkish presidential election in Sunday’s first round, defying the polls putting opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu ahead. So the stage is set for the May 28 second round – but analysts say Kilicdaroglu’s route to victory is very narrow…

In both the pro-government and opposition camps, nationalists are key and rising in popularity.

Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast voted overwhelmingly for Kilicdaroglu, but it wasn’t enough to beat Erdogan.

The prospect of Tayyip Erdogan winning another presidential term in Turkey would once have rung alarms around the Middle East, but after taking a more conciliatory stance in recent years his strong election showing on Sunday has caused few flutters.

Ogan’s out of the presidential race but may play a pivotal role in the second round – he is still to back a candidate.

The move has eased tensions building since the assassination of an intelligence officer that KDP blamed on PUK.