CHINESE TRAVEL PLATFORM PREPARES TURKEY ENTRY
Fliggy, Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s travel platform, is preparing to enter the Turkish market as parliament considers new legislation to regulate foreign digital booking platforms.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
LGBTQ+ OPERATION: ELECTION CAMPAIGN LOADING
Before me is the “LGBTQ+ Rights Monitoring Report” on the 2023 elections, prepared by University Queer Research and LGBT+ Solidarity Association (ÜniKuir) whose website was blocked as part of the “My Family Is Safe” operation.
ZÜLFÜ LİVANELİ'S WISE DECISION
Zülfü Livaneli made a clear decision this week. The musician and novelist put an end to the playing of his celebrated composition at opposition rallies protesting the operations that have targeted Ekrem İmamoğlu — and subsequently numerous other mayors and municipal officials — since March 19, 2025.
ROKETSAN AND STM TESTED NEW WEAPON SYSTEMS
UAV-300 missile test marked a milestone as the longest-range munition produced in Turkey and fired from an airborne platform.
TURKEY SEEKS NATO ACCREDITATION FOR ISTANBUL MJWC
Turkey is working to have the MJWC in Istanbul fully accredited by NATO and hosted an activity of the Alliance to advance the project.
IZMIR: A CITY WITH NO PARTY, AND CEMİL TUGAY
Cemil Tugay has been mayor of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality since 2024. When he resigned from the CHP, he said he would join the new party Özgür Özel was forming. Özel said similar things. But around the same time, reports surfaced that Tugay’s communications with Özel were breaking down.
AKP'S TRANSFER POLICY: SOME GAINS MAY BE GREAT LOSSES
In football, the transfer window closed Sept. 4. But in politics, it remains wide open as the AKP presses on with a campaign of seduction and coercion unprecedented in Turkish political history.
ERDOĞAN'S MEETING WITH YAVAŞ IS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE IN AKP'S MUNICIPAL PLAYBOOK
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş for the first time since the opposition took control of the capital amid rumors the mayor could be the next target of the judicial assault on opposition municipalities.
CRITICS QUESTION TURKEY'S RECORD PISA RESULTS
The Education Ministry hailed the latest educational achievement results as a 'historic success,' reporting that the nation became the fastest-climbing OECD country across all subjects, surpassing average scores in the 2025 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) assessment of science and reading.
JOURNALIST AMONG NINE DETAINED AS KOZINOĞLU DEATH CASE REOPENS
Turkish prosecutors have detained nine more people, including journalist Selahattin Günday, as part of a reopened investigation into the 2011 prison death of former National Intelligence Organization (MİT) official Kaşif Kozinoğlu.
BAN FOR ACADEMICS ON ONLINE MONETIZATION
The Higher Education Council (YÖK) has effectively barred academics at public universities from monetizing content on YouTube and digital platforms, classifying online revenue as commercial trade, which is illegal for civil servants.
PRO-GOVERNMENT YENİ ŞAFAK DEVOTES FULL FRONT PAGE TO BLASTING MEHMET ŞİMŞEK
The pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak devoted its entire front page on Sept. 9 to a scathing critique of Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and his policies, urging immediate shifts including tax overhauls and fuel subsidies.