Kamîran: Yesterday we told you that Kurdish politician Mahdi Zana lost his life. Today he was buried.

Ronahî: Yes. Zana, the former mayor of Diyarbakir, had been receiving treatment for a long time at a private hospital in Diyarbakir due to COPD and lost his life yesterday evening.

Ronahî: Today a ceremony was first held in front of the Greater City Municipality building in Diyarbakir, after which the coffin was buried with flowers and prayers at Yenikoy Cemetery.

Kamîran: And several Kurdish organisations also issued messages of condolence, did they not?

Ronahî: Yes. The Co-Presidency of the KCK Executive Council said that Zana’s longing for the freedom of the Kurdish people and a democratic Turkey will surely be realised. The Executive Council of the KNK also said to him: ‘We will walk in your footsteps, we will fulfil your will.’

Kamîran: Today protests took place in many areas of Rojava, Western Kurdistan. The issue is an education decision.

Ronahî: Correct. On the twenty-seventh of August, Syria’s transitional government made a change to the regulations of the Ministry of Education. This decision recognises Kurdish as a ‘national language’, but critics say it limits the language to three or four hours a week or turns it into an elective course.

Kamîran: And this comes right before the start of the new school year.

Ronahî: Yes. In Amuda, hundreds of students, teachers and families marched, carrying banners such as ‘Our language is our existence’. In Hasakah, teachers also held an action in front of the Directorate of Education building.

Ronahî: Rojava University in Qamishli issued a statement saying mother-tongue education is an academic and human right protected by international conventions. Kongra Star also said the restriction is ‘never acceptable’ and that the Kurdish language is not a matter for negotiation.

Kamîran: In the other areas under Turkish control and groups linked to it, such as Afrin, what is the situation of the teachers?

Ronahî: It is also unclear there. In the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah in Aleppo and in the Afrin region, despite promises that no staff would be dismissed, the future of Kurdish-programme teachers has so far remained unanswered.

Ronahî: In Syria, the western neighbourhoods of Suwayda city were shelled.

Ronahî: According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a mortar shell fired from areas under the control of the transitional government forces landed in agricultural fields. Two people lost their lives — a woman displaced from the Jazira region named Asya, and a tractor driver. Two others were injured.

Kamîran: This information comes from one source, and we are still hearing only one side of this incident.

Ronahî: True, this is the observer’s tally and we do not know the reaction of the other parties.

Kamîran: And in the same region, there is also an Israeli military movement — in two separate areas.

Ronahî: Yes. Israeli forces entered the Qasarat area of Jubata al-Khashab village in northern Quneitra. There, workers were searched and their identity documents were photographed for registration.

Ronahî: The same day, an Israeli bulldozer entered Wadi al-Raqad in western Daraa with three military vehicles, accompanied by low-altitude helicopter flights. These movements near the border line continue.

Kamîran: Let us move to Iran. Once again there is news of a long sentence against an activist.

Ronahî: Yes. Twenty-three-year-old student Najmeh Amini has been sentenced to more than twelve years in prison. The court also summoned five Azerbaijani activists. Pressures on students and activists continue.

Kamîran: And on the maritime-security side there is also something new.

Ronahî: Yes. According to an official source, Iran has tightened transit conditions through the Strait of Hormuz and last week prevented thirty ships from passing. It is said that maritime traffic and trade there have almost come to a standstill.

Ronahî: And a final piece of news from Northern Cyprus: a ferry carrying nearly one hundred and seventy passengers sank this morning off the coast of Kyrenia.

Kamîran: One hundred and seventy people — that is a large number. Is there any information about loss of life?

Ronahî: Not yet. The Ministry of Health of Northern Cyprus said the incident occurred on Sunday morning and search and medical teams responded quickly, but have not yet released any tally.