Turkey

Turkey’s National Education Council, an educational advisory body, decided over the weekend before last to recommend the Ministry of Education that Ottoman-language classes should be compulsory for religious high schools and electives for others.

A surprising Russian proposal to construct a new natural gas pipeline from Russia to Europe via Turkey in order to bypass both Ukraine and Bulgaria is still one of leading issues being discussed in the relevant capitals.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Turkey and Italy have a good opportunity to boost economic cooperation at the Turkey-Italy Business Forum in Istanbul on Dec. 12, hosted by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK), with the attendance of his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi.

Turkey's recent plans to revive the Ottoman language have found a surprising new outlet, as an Istanbul-based company is now offering Ottoman-related domain names and hosting services.

"Catch the Ottoman trend," reads one advertisement, featuring a Turkish sultan sitting on a sofa telling the viewer to "Register in no time."

The Federation of the Caucasian Associations in Turkey (KAF-FED) will hold a conference on the 150th anniversary of the Circassian exile in Ankara on Dec. 13-14, within the scope of Human Rights week.

“These mist covered mountains are a home now for me”

The Ahmet Davutoğlu government’s recent attempt to change the conscription system in Turkey may be the beginning of a change in the military's culture, but it is also the end of an era in terms of equality.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has slammed Turkey’s record of violating human rights, while also blaming President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, without openly mentioning his name, for individuals killed by security forces.

Corruption is present in all G-20 countries, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said at the fifth Bosphorus Summit on Dec. 11, adding that the fight against corruption would be one of the main topics at the G-20 agenda this coming year.

Turkey’s economy experienced a “golden age” between 2002 and 2007 thanks to its robust maintenance of the independence of institutions adopting monetary policy, said Kemal Derviş, the economy minister in 2001-2002 responsible for launching Turkey’s recovery from a huge financial crisis.

Steady growth over recent decades has brought Turkey to the threshold of becoming a high-income economy, prosperity has been broadly shared across income groups, and the size of the middle-class has doubled, according to a new World Bank report, "Turkey's Transitions: Integration, Inclusion, Institutions." However, challenges remain, the report stressed.