Hürriyet

Experts and officials are concerned that the public's changing perception of the coronavirus outbreak may lead to a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Health Ministry officials and experts at the Science Board had predicted that the daily confirmed cases would decline to around 500 in the weeks following the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which took place at the end of May.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on late May 15 demoted the Chief of Staff of the Turkish Navy Rear Admiral Cihat Yaycı, who is known as the architect of Ankara's naval policy regarding Libya.
Daily Hürriyet columnist Nedim Şener said on May 18 that Yaycı resigned after he was assigned to the Turkish General Staff last week.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) mulls making an arrangement in the election system for professional chambers, primarily for bar associations.

The government considers easing curfew restrictions for elderly people at the age of 65 and over, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said on May 2.

"Our president may have some good news on [May 4]. The opinion of the Science Board is to ensure that the group of 65 and older is going outside on certain days and hours," he said, speaking to the TV 24 broadcaster.

The Turkish government is working on a "normalization plan" to gradually open the country's industries without "losing gains made," Vice President Fuat Oktay has told daily Hürriyet.

Oktay said that even though Turkey is showing a downward trend, it is still early to give good news ahead of Eid al-Fitr holiday, which follows the holy month of Ramadan.

At a recent central executive committee meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP), President Recep Tayyip shared plans as to how the normalization process will play out in the period ahead, which foresees the gradual easing of measures that have been introduced to curb the spread of the virus.

The taxi drivers in Istanbul, who forced the banning of ride-share application Uber, now target Martı, a Turkish rental scooter application.

Some taxi drivers claim on the social media that the electric scooters are extremely dangerous and occupy the roads, while others complain that the owners of Martı application do not make a similar payment while the cab owners paid license fees.

A manager at Turkish jet operator MNG Jet has told authorities that he assisted unwittingly in the escape of ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn from Japan because he had been threatened by a former acquaintance, daily Hürriyet reported on Jan. 4.

The Turkish government is set to reevaluate the recently imposed "valuable house tax" for one year, following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's instructions, his spokesperson has said.

The Turkish government is committed to moving forward with the construction of the multibillion-dollar giant Kanal Istanbul project, the transportation minister has said, informing that companies from Benelux countries have shown a big interest in the project whose planning stage is about to be concluded.