Mustafa Kemal

The life of Eşref Kuşçubaşı is of enduring controversy. A secret service operative who worked from the Balkans to North Africa to Arabia in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, he turned his back on the resistance forces of Mustafa Kemal during the War of Independence and ended up in exile for almost 30 years.

The government-supported constitutional amendments will be presented to the public "despite opposition efforts to delay the process," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed, claiming that the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) "guards the status quo" by protesting against the draft during parliamentary debates.

Turkey's parliament will formally launch debates on a constitutional amendment package that will usher in a powerful presidential system after lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) passed a motion through parliament.

Deniz Baykal, the former chair and deputy of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is "making a mistake" with his push for a new constitution that would shift Turkey to a presidential system. 

Yesterday, Dec. 27, was the anniversary of the loss of a prominent figure in Turkish history: Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the poet who wrote the national anthem. Naturally, many remembered him, especially Islamists and religious conservatives who sympathize with Ersoy for his Islamic credentials. Little did they know, however, the historical irony this put them in. 

Turkey's President has once again urged Albania to fight against so-called "Gulenists", known in Turkey as the FETO organization, during the Albanian President's visit to Ankara.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has derided the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), saying the latter had made such a mistake with a contentious child abuse bill that it was "beaten up by women for four days and knocked out." 

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesperson Selin Sayek Böke recently drew attention to the rapid devaluation of the Turkish Lira, suggesting that it weakened Turkey's economy and left it unprotected against global developments. According to Böke, companies will lose out and bankruptcies will rise for as long as foreign exchange rates increase. 

UNESCO declared 2016 as the anniversary year of ancient Greek philosopher scientist, considered by many to be the father of reasoning and logic. Many symposia and events were held in honour of the great man and his legacy to human thought. But unperturbed by volumes of historical evidence pointing to Aristotle’s identity, Turkey says he was one of their forefathers!

Turkish tourists formed long queues outside a house in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, where the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal, is believed to have been born. The large tourist groups, mainly from Andrianopolis, Marmara and Constantinople, are visiting the house-shrine commemorating the day of Kemal’s death on November 10.