NATO REINFORCES TURKEY'S AIR DEFENSE DESPITE IRAN-U.S. CEASEFIRE
NATO has further reinforced the air defense it provides for Turkey, despite the agreement between the US and Iran to end the war.
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GOVERNMENT AIMS TO SPEED UP COURTS AND STREAMLINE APPEALS
The government is planning legislation to accelerate court cases, ease access to justice and possibly make radical changes to the appeals system.
DEM PARTY STEPS UP CAMPAIGN FOR FRAMEWORK LAW AS GOVERNMENT STAYS SILENT
The DEM Party is once again pushing the government to take legislative steps advancing the Kurdish peace process, while the government instead asks for concrete steps from the PKK first.
ASELSAN TAKES FIRST STEP INTO A NEW SECTOR
Aselsan will establish a new factory in Eskişehir to start manufacturing ceramic radomes used in missile systems.
FINAL STEPS UNDERWAY TO DROP US CHARGES AGAINST HALKBANK
Halkbank, the state lender and fourth-largest bank in Turkey by assets, announced that a nine-year-old US criminal case against the bank is getting closer to a complete end. The bank and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York submitted a joint plea to the court on June 10, 2026, requesting the dismissal of all charges.
CENTRAL BANK HOLDS MAIN INTEREST RATE AT 37 PERCENT
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% for the third consecutive meeting on June 11, matching the consensus forecast of economists. The Monetary Policy Committee also held its overnight lending rate at 40% and its borrowing rate at 35.5%. The central bank last altered its policy rate in January with a 100-basis-point cut.
MILLIONS OF RETIREES WATCH INFLATION DATA AS PENSION TALKS NEAR
Millions of retirees in Turkey are waiting for official inflation data due on July 3 to learn how much their pensions could increase in the second half of the year. TurkStat will announce June inflation figures on July 3, revealing the inflation rate for the first six months of 2026. The data will determine the basis for pension adjustments. The parliament previously set the minimum pension for workers and self-employed retirees at 20,000 Turkish lira ($434) as of Jan. 1, 2026. Any increase to that minimum pension level will require a new legal regulation.
AKKUYU NUCLEAR PLANT CLOSER TO LAUNCH AFTER CRITICAL TEST
Engineers at Turkey's first nuclear power plant have finished a critical test as part of preparations for the launch planned by the end of 2026, the Energy Ministry said. Technicians successfully loaded 163 simulated fuel assemblies into the reactor pressure vessel of the first unit at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. The operation is a major milestone in the launch of the country’s first nuclear power facility.
ÖZEL AT A CROSSROADS: THE CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR A NEW PARTY
No sooner had Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu settled into the party leadership — declaring 'first purification, then a congress' in the immediate wake of the absolute nullity ruling — than he did exactly what everyone expected: signed off on expulsions.
RAHMİ KOÇ: THE KURDISH WOMAN JOKE THAT BROKE KOÇ'S CENTURY-LONG SPELL
Everything was going smoothly, as it had for a hundred years. Koç Holding, Turkey's largest industrial conglomerate, was marking its centennial.
ARMENIAN ELECTIONS AND TURKEY’S EXPECTED STEPS FOR PEACE
Nikol Pashinyan’s election victory on June 7, his third in a row since 2018, confirmed the strong desire of the Armenian people to live in peace and prosperity in a functioning democracy as part of the Western World.
ISTANBUL SANG BEFORE ANKARA SPOKE
A few weeks before NATO leaders gather in Ankara, Istanbul hosted a more strange kind of summit. It unfolded not in conference halls, but across ferry terminals, concert queues and crowded streets.