14 year old Ümit Kurt killed by fire opened from armoured police vehicle entering the Cudi neighbourhood of Cizre District, Şırnak

In the suicide bombing that took place in Sultanahmet, Istanbul, last night, police officer Kenan Kumaş was killed. While the suicide bomber also died, another police officer was wounded.

Secret electronic correspondence related to the ‘Genocide Law’ that was cancelled by the Constitutional Council of France after being accepted by the Parliament of France has been published. The correspondence between former AKP Member of Parliament Yaşar Yakış and member of the Constitutional Council of France Hubert Haenel have fanned the flames about the debate over the activities of the Turkish lobby in France.

Frederike Geerdink, the only foreign journalist based in Diyarbakır and known for her comprehensive research and articles on the Kurdish issue, was detained today by an Anti-Terror Squad that raided her home. Geerdink was later released after providing a statement.

Yetvart Danzikyan on the official dinner Prime Minister Davutoğlu held for religious leaders: “This is, of course, a positive meeting, and the messages that have come out of the dinner are also positive. However, regarding the issue of representation, one must accept that there is something strange about the other side of the dinner table. It is part of the job of the Prime Minister to hold such meetings, but once you describe it as a “family” dinner, we have to ask what kind of family we are talking about here, and about those who have been left out.”

Prime Minister came together with representatives of minority communities at an official dinner held in Istanbul: “Our main watchword will continue to be the principle of equal citizenship”

Mehmet Uluışık’s story clearly disproves the official claim that ‘archives in Turkey are open to everyone’. According to Uluışık, who has been banned from entering Turkey because of his research on the Armenian and Circassian Genocides in archives, even if this ban were to be lifted, he still would not be able to carry out research since a letter from MİT, the National Intelligence Organization, prevents his entry into archives.

Zuart Sudjian wages formidable legal battle for the return of land that belongs to her family, unlawfully seized by the State and site of Diyarbakır Airport today

Following Murat Bardakçı’s claim that dispatch registers kept following the decision of forced displacement in 1915 had been hidden by a Turkish Historical Society (TTK) officer, a response is expected from former high-ranking administrators of the institution.

HDP Mersin Member of Parliament Ertuğrul Kürkçü, at a press meeting he held at Parliament today, commented on President Erdoğan’s decision to head the Cabinet at its meeting on January 19: “This meeting will be against procedure, and even against the spirit of the 1982 Constitution, it displays a vulgar use of authority which even junta leader Kenan Evren did not take the liberty to.”

In Greece, the third and final parliamentary vote to elect a President failed, leading to the dissolution of the Parliament. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has announced early general elections on January 25.

Facebook might have bid farewell to 2014 with its message “It’s been a great year. Thanks for being a part of it!”, but it was a year with a lot of negatives, and very few positives for Turkey.