TREASURY PAYS RECORD RATES IN BACK-TO-BACK BOND AUCTIONS
Turkey has become the world's most expensive borrower in local currency, agreeing to pay interest rates exceeding 41% during back-to-back domestic bond auctions this week.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
NEW BILL TO CLEAR PATH FOR BOOKING.COM RETURN AFTER 9-YEAR BAN
A new legislative proposal submitted by ruling party AKP lawmakers aims to allow foreign online travel agencies, including Booking.com, to return to the Turkish market under a structured legal framework after nearly nine years of suspension.
GOVERNMENT CUTS DIESEL TAXES TO LOWER FUEL PRICES AND COMBAT INFLATION
The Turkish government has temporarily eliminated the special consumption tax on diesel fuel for the remainder of August in an effort to curb inflation. Pump prices fell by more than 13 percent a day after the government’s decision on Aug. 12.
CENTRAL BANK RAISES YEAR-END INFLATION FORECAST TO 28 PERCENT
The central bank has raised its year-end inflation forecast for 2026 to 28 percent from 26 percent.
FIDAN MEETS TRIPOLI AND BENGHAZI LEADERS ALIKE
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan traveled to Libya on Aug. 11 and 12, visiting both Tripoli and Benghazi, in what appears to be the first time a Turkish foreign minister has made a simultaneous visit to meet competing sides in the Libyan conflict.
YRP AND SAADET PARTY TALKS GAIN MOMENTUM
Two parties that once stood as rivals, both claiming the legacy of Necmettin Erbakan — the founding leader of political Islam in Turkey under the name of National View— are continuing merger talks.
ERDOĞAN EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE NEW AKP MEMBERS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to welcome new members into the AKP at the party's 25th anniversary event in Ankara on Aug. 14, with two sitting deputies from the İYİ Party set to join.
ETIMESGUT VOTE MARKS FIRST CHP-PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE COOPERATION
The first cooperation between members of the CHP and the People's Alliance took place in Ankara's Etimesgut municipal elections.
İMAMOĞLU FINALLY RESIGNS FROM CHP
Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s jailed mayor, announced his resignation from the CHP and his decision to support the Yeni Party three weeks after its founding.
AKP AND DEM PARTY EXCHANGE BARBS OVER NETANYAHU
A reference to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks was enough to increase the tension between the AKP and DEM soon after the two’s cooperation on the framework law.
A NEW SUNNI AXIS?
On Friday — a day of particular symbolic weight for the Islamic world — President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif put their signatures to a trilateral defense agreement in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.
467 VOTES: A DRESS REHEARSAL FOR A NEW CONSTITUTION?
Debate is underway over how the political balance will shift after the “Framework Law,” which establishes the legal basis for the PKK’s disarmament process, passed the 600-seat parliament with a record 467 votes. The overwhelming support for the law is expected to whet the government’s long-standing appetite for a “new constitution.” But is that possible before the general election, now 20 months away if held on schedule?