What you need to know today (May 9, 2025)

Today is May 9, 2025. Medyascope editors have compiled the most important developments of the day for you. Here is what you need to know today.

The expected statement from the PKK has arrived. The PKK announced that the congress will convene on May 5-7 to decide on dissolution and disarmament. However, the organization has not yet made a decision to disband or disarm. In the statement, DEM Party MP and TBMM Deputy Speaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who recently passed away, was also remembered with respect and gratitude.

The DEM Party Central Executive Board released a statement after the 12th PKK Congress. The statement emphasized that the 50-year conflict brought one step closer to the horizon of peace. Bahçeli, Erdoğan and Özel were also thanked. The statement said, “We want Turkey’s peace to be a hope for the Middle East and an inspiration to the world. ”

DEM Party İmralı delegation member Pervin Buldan said regarding the PKK's announcement that the congress would convene on May 5-7 to decide on dissolution and disarmament, "We believe in this process and we trust it. We believe that peace will come to Turkey. "

DEM Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan said, “The PKK may announce that the congress has convened at any time. We are also waiting for this historic step, this historic decision with great seriousness. ”

President Erdoğan targeted CHP leader Özgür Özel, saying, “The scales have tipped, and there is no hope for improvement. Influencing civilian politics with poisonous rhetoric is unacceptable. ”

A “Presidential Candidate Office” account was opened on X for IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is being held in the Marmara Prison in Silivri. In the account’s first post, İmamoğlu invited citizens to the “People Stand Up for Their Will” rally that the CHP will hold in Van tomorrow.

The arrested IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, whose access to his X account was blocked, shared a post on his English account explaining the process. Emphasizing that the process that started with the cancellation of his diploma and continued until his arrest were “acts of oppression,” İmamoğlu said, “I will raise my voice against injustice and one-man rule. My voice will not be silenced. ”

Condolence programs continue in Adıyaman, hometown of deceased Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and DEM Party Istanbul Deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder. Speaking to Medyascope's Ferit Binzet, Önder's brother Ali Önder said about the assassination attempt, "I hope that those who carried out this incident will be identified as soon as possible and sentenced to the punishment they have dealt with. "

Following the rally held in Yozgat, known as the stronghold of the AKP, and which drew a lot of attention, the CHP conducted a public opinion survey in the city. According to the results of the survey, the votes of the People's Alliance are melting away in Yozgat. The people of Yozgat do not believe the accusations against the IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu and 54 percent of them want early elections.

Artists Halit Ergenç and Rıza Kocaoğlu, who face two to four years in prison on charges of giving false testimony, appeared before the judge at the 24th Criminal Court of First Instance. The hearing was adjourned until May 23 so that the prosecutor can prepare his opinion on the merits.

Ergün Güler, CEO of Vestel, which is part of Zorlu Holding, was being tried because of a message he sent to his company employees in response to a Ramadan congratulatory email that started with, “Ergün, Ramadan is not on our list of days to celebrate as a corporate entity…” Köksal appeared before the judge for the first time today. The court panel decided to acquit Köksal at the first hearing.

The United States (US) Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced that 1,000 soldiers who openly identify as transgender will be dismissed from the army, while those who have not yet declared themselves will be given a 30-day period.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has announced that he will give away 99 percent of his wealth over the next 20 years. Gates has decided to accelerate his donations through the Gates Foundation, and he announced that he plans to end the foundation's activities by 2045. In a blog post published on Thursday, he said, "People will say a lot of things when I die, but they won't say 'died rich. '"

The US and the UK have announced the first trade deal since the Donald Trump administration announced a raft of tariffs on imported goods in early April. The deal is not a free trade agreement, but merely a temporary exemption from some of the tariffs previously imposed by the Trump administration.