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CYPRUS: LEGENDARY DIVIDED ISLAND, COVETED BY MANY
Guest Voices Sep 5, 2025

CYPRUS: LEGENDARY DIVIDED ISLAND, COVETED BY MANY

Cyprus, the mythical land of Aphrodite, has long been in the headlines for one defining issue: its division. Since the 1960s, when Greek Cypriots pursued Enosis—union with Greece—the island has been riven by conflict. The Turkish military intervention of July 1974 cemented this division, leaving Northern Cyprus under Turkish protection and Southern Cyprus under Greek Cypriot control. For decades, this seemed to be the central challenge of the island: reunification, or lack thereof. But today, Cyprus is far more than just a frozen conflict—it is becoming one of the most militarized and geopolitically contested territories in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Editorial Team
SYRIAN CONUNDRUM AND KURDISH PROCESS
Guest Voices Sep 5, 2025

SYRIAN CONUNDRUM AND KURDISH PROCESS

Events in Syria have taken an unprecedented turn. Until the last few weeks, Turkey and the U.S., as well as a coalition of Western and Arab states, were advocating a centralised and unitary state under Ahmed Al Sharaa’s leadership. Now this basic tenet of international support seems to be in question after U.S. special representative for Syria Thomas Barrack backtracked from the idea.

Editorial Team
TURKISH ACTIVISTS JOIN GAZA FLOTILLA
Foreign Affairs Sep 5, 2025

TURKISH ACTIVISTS JOIN GAZA FLOTILLA

Around 150 Turkish activists and four opposition deputies joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Tunisia on Sept. 4 to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Saadet Party MPs Necmettin Çalışkan and Mehmet Atmaca, Hüda-Par’s Faruk Dinç, and Gelecek Party’s Sema Silkin Ün took part, while no AKP deputies joined.

Editorial Team
MAN AT THE CENTER OF ISTANBUL PROBE BREAKS HIS SILENCE
Inside Turkey Sep 5, 2025

MAN AT THE CENTER OF ISTANBUL PROBE BREAKS HIS SILENCE

Akın Gürlek, Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor known for ordering probes and detentions against the opposition CHP, spoke on camera for the first time at the opening of the new judicial year. He said indictments related to the Istanbul Municipality would be ready in September and October.

Editorial Team
ERDOĞAN VOWS RESOLVE ON PEACE PROCESS
Inside Turkey Sep 5, 2025

ERDOĞAN VOWS RESOLVE ON PEACE PROCESS

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that whoever tries to sabotage the Terror-Free Turkey process will face the consequences. Erdoğan emphasized that recent events have shown that Turkey has been most affected by the unrest in Syria.

Editorial Team
PROSECUTOR KILLED IN ISTANBUL
Inside Turkey Sep 5, 2025

PROSECUTOR KILLED IN ISTANBUL

Public Prosecutor Ercan Kayhan, who worked at the Istanbul Courthouse, was killed. Kayhan was stabbed in the throat by Mustafa Can Gül at a restaurant in Ömerli, Çekmeköy, Istanbul, at around 9:15 p.m. on Sept. 3.

Editorial Team
TEŞHİRCİ
Word of the Week Aug 28, 2025

TEŞHİRCİ

In Turkish, teşhirci (exhibitionist) is a word with two lives. In everyday use, it is an insult, hurled at women whose clothes are judged too revealing or at men who flaunt their cars and watches. In the Criminal Code, however, teşhircilik has a very precise meaning: exhibitionism. Article 225 punishes those who “publicly exhibit their sexual organs” with up to six months in prison. A word meant to describe a trench-coat flasher in a public park has, over time, swollen into a moral cudgel: used less to prosecute streakers and more to police women’s bodies.

Nazlan Ertan
TELE1 TO FACE FIVE-DAY BLACKOUT
Media, Internet and Culture Aug 28, 2025

TELE1 TO FACE FIVE-DAY BLACKOUT

A higher court has upheld a Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) penalty that will take TELE1 off the air for five days starting the night of Aug. 31, unless the broadcaster’s latest appeal succeeds.

Editorial Team
BAYKAR’S TB2T-AI UCAV BREAKS 40,000-FOOT ALTITUDE RECORD
Security and Defense Aug 28, 2025

BAYKAR’S TB2T-AI UCAV BREAKS 40,000-FOOT ALTITUDE RECORD

Baykar Aviation announced that its new-generation Bayraktar TB2T-AI unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), equipped with a turbo engine and artificial intelligence, reached an altitude of 40,023 feet (12,200 m) during a performance test on Aug. 23. The milestone marked a new altitude record in its class.

Editorial Team
TEKNOFEST OPENS WITH “BLUE HOMELAND” THEME
Security and Defense Aug 28, 2025

TEKNOFEST OPENS WITH “BLUE HOMELAND” THEME

Teknofest, Turkey’s flagship defense and technology festival organized by the T3 Foundation — whose board is chaired by Selçuk Bayraktar, son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and head of Baykar — kicked off this year with a maritime focus under the theme “Blue Homeland.”

Editorial Team