Ankara

Turks dealt President Tayyip Erdogan and his party their biggest electoral blow on Sunday in a nationwide local vote that reasserted the opposition as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the president's chief rival.

Trendyol, one of Türkiye's largest e-commerce platforms, has opened its first pop-up store in the Gulf region at a shopping mall in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh.

The online shopping giant has been expanding its operations abroad, including Germany, Azerbaijan and Central and Eastern Europe.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hailed the democratic process in Türkiye after local elections, saying that the winner of the local elections was the country's democratic system.

Turkey's main opposition party retained its control over key cities and made huge gains elsewhere in Sunday's local elections, preliminary results showed, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas.

Following significant gains in local elections, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel has asserted that voters have mandated a "new politics" in Türkiye, aimed at balancing the country's political landscape.

Türkiye elected 30 metropolitan municipality and 51 district mayors, neighborhood heads and provincial and district councils for a five-year, mandate following last year's presidential and parliamentary elections.

Turkey's main opposition party appeared set to retain its control over key cities in Sunday's local elections, preliminary results showed, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas. 

Turkish security forces have captured 51 suspects having links to the ISIL terrorist organization over the past four days in operations in 21 cities, including the capital Ankara and Istanbul, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

Turkey holds municipal elections across 81 provinces on Sunday March 31, with President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) aiming to reclaim cities it lost in 2019, including the country's largest city of Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

The 38th International Ankara Music Festival, organized by the Sevda-Cenap And Music Foundation, will be held between April 4 and 30.