STRICT MEASURES TAKEN AT MILITARY ACADEMY GRADUATION CEREMONY
Following last year's oath-taking crisis at the Army War College graduation ceremony, this year's ceremonies were held under very strict security measures.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
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MOON MISSION POSTPONED TO 2027
Turkey has postponed its moon landing project, which it had aimed to carry out in 2023 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic but later delayed to 2026, this time to 2027. The government established the Turkish Space Agency in 2018 to coordinate space activities.
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.
FIDAN AND PUTIN ENGAGE IN CORDIAL CONVERSATION
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Sept. 3, having what appeared to be a cordial conversation, with Putin doing most of the talking and gesturing.
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.
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.
ERDOĞAN AND BAHÇELİ MEET AS SECOND CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF BAHÇELİ ARRESTED
İsmet Sayhan, the former head of the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) and a close associate of MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, was arrested in Ankara. Amid speculation that the detention was a sign of cracks in the ruling alliance, Bahçeli and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met in Bitlis’s Ahlat and Malazgirt on Aug. 25–26, posing for cameras to signal the strength of their alliance in their first meeting since July 10. They even listened to folk songs together.
SLEEVES ADDED TO DRESS FOR THE PRESIDENCY
Anna Kviloriya, the TV anchor wife of Belarusian Ambassador to Ankara Anatoliy Glaz, said that her husband warned her not to wear a low-cut dress for their credentials ceremony at the presidential complex.
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.
ARBITRATION BOARD IMPOSES BELOW-INFLATION RAISES ON 6.5 MILLION PUBLIC SERVANTS
The Public Servants Arbitration Board has finalized wage hikes for 6.5 million civil servants and retirees, setting raises far below inflation and poverty thresholds after collective bargaining collapsed.
TURKEY’S MEDIATION EFFORTS: DIPLOMACY OR DOMESTIC PR?
As soon as talk emerged about a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Turkish press began speculating about the potential venue—expressing wishful hopes that Turkey might serve as the host for the highly anticipated summit.
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.