Latest News from Turkey
Marmaris wildfire completely under control: Minister
A wind-stoked wildfire that has been raging near a popular resort in southwestern Turkey has been completely brought under control, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirişçi said on June 25.
How Turkey’s opposition to Sweden, Finland joining NATO could backfire
Turkey will continue to block Finland & Sweden’s memberships as Ankara is signaling its lack of interest in strengthening the alliance
Pamuk praises change of country’s official name to ‘Türkiye’
Nobel-prize winner Orhan Pamuk has praised the country's decision to change its name from "Turkey" to "Türkiye" on international platforms.
"Now, after this decision, when English speakers say Türkiye, they will not think about that bird that is eaten on Christmas," the Turkish author said while talking to the U.K. daily Financial Times.
Week in Review: Tensions and Promises
Escalating Tensions
(L-R) The Greek, Turkish and European Union (EU) flags wave outside the Foreign Ministry building before a meeting between Greek Foreign Minister Dendias and his Turkish counterpart Cavusoglu, in Athens, Greece, 31 May 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
Presidential adviser, US securty adviser discuss NATO, Ukraine
Turkish presidential spokesperson and chief presidential foreign policy adviser İbrahim Kalın and U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke over the phone on June 23 and mainly discussed Sweden and Finland's NATO bid and Ukrainian grain export plans.
Turkey Has Abandoned the Struggle to Tame Inflation
That policy also envisaged that goods and services produced in the country would become cheaper abroad because of the fall in wages. China entered its development process with a similar policy.
‘Examholic’ man enters 41st university exam in 59 years
A man from the northern province of Samsun, who is called by his friends "examholic," entered the annual university qualification exams on June 18 and 19, appearing for the 41st time.
"Rather than entering a university, I love sitting in exams," 59-year-old Adem Topçuoğlu said.
Justice minister criticizes court ruling in high-profile femicide case
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has joined the public anger by criticizing the "unjust provocation discount" a court has given in the case of Cemal Metin Avcı, the murderer of university student Pınar Gültekin.
Speaking at a conference on the law on June 23, Bozdağ highlighted that the issue of "unjust provocation discount" should be discussed.
Turkish VP demands swift demilitarisation of Greek islands
Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay, speaking on a visit to Turkish-occupied Cyprus, threatened that Ankara will dispute sovereignty over Greece's Aegean islands if Athens does not swiftly demilitarise them, removing all defences.
İsmailağa jamia leader Ustaosmanoğlu dead at 93
Mahmut Ustaosmanoğlu, a Turkish Sufi sheikh and the leader of the influential İsmailağa Jamia of the Naqshbandi-Khalidiyya Tariqah, died on June 23 at the age of 93.
According to a statement by the tariqah, his funeral service will be held on June 24, in Istanbul's Fatih district where the movement is centered.
Türkiye and Israel launch work to exchange ambassadors
Türkiye and Israel have decided to start works for upgrading the level of mutual diplomatic representation by appointing ambassadors in a most concrete step of the joint efforts to normalize the bilateral ties.
Turkey-NATO 1: 0 or "total turnaround", Stoltenberg cannot guarantee
According to him, the reason is that he is not sure whether this military alliance will succeed in convincing Turkey, which opposes the membership of Finland and Sweden, to change its mind.
Central Bank keeps interest rate stable
In a widely expected move, the Central Bank decided to keep its policy rate, the one-week repo rate, unchanged at 14 percent on June 23.
For the last time, the bank cut the key rate by 100 basis points from 15 percent in December last year.
Turkish, Economy, Interest Rates,
Council of Europe Rates Turkey’s Progress on Reforms ‘Unsatisfactory’
Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers Meeting, November 30, 2021. Photo: Council of Europe
"GRECO concluded that the very low level of compliance with the recommendations was 'globally unsatisfactory'," the report said.
Desperate appeal: "Help, the number of the dead is unknown"; Reply: "Sorry, we can't"
The quake had a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale, and the final number of victims and injured is still unknown because it is not known how many people were buried in the rubble. Therefore, it is feared that the total number of victims could be significantly higher, reports the BBC.