WATER CUT ROW BETWEEN ANKARA MAYOR AND ERDOĞAN
The government and the Ankara Municipality are trading accusations over responsibility for water cuts in the capital after one of the driest years on record.
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INTELLIGENCE CHIEF KALIN DEFINES VISION FOR TERROR-FREE TURKEY
İbrahim Kalın, head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), described the goal of a Terror-Free Turkey as a comprehensive, multi-layered and multi-phase transformation.
TUNÇ SOYER TO REMAIN IN PRISON DESPITE RELEASE ORDER IN IZBETON CASE
Former İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer and former İZBETON General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya were ordered released at the fourth hearing of the case involving allegations of corruption by subcontractors at İZBETON AŞ, a subsidiary of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.
DEMIRTAS SENTENCED AGAIN DESPITE FINAL ECHR RULING
Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of the HDP, has been sentenced to one year, five months and 15 days in prison over speeches he delivered in 2015–2016 despite a final and binding European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling calling for his release.
THREE MPS JOIN AKP, SHIFTING PARLIAMENTARY BALANCE
Three lawmakers, who had resigned from their parties, joined the ruling AKP on Jan. 7, raising the party’s seat count to 275 and further shifting parliamentary arithmetic.
ANKARA PLANS SALE OF UAVS TO JAPAN
Ankara wants to sell Japan the ANKA UCAVs produced by TAI and Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 and TB3 UCAVs.
TURKEY BEGINS TRAINING SOLDIERS FOR GAZA ISF DESPITE ISRAEL’S OBJECTIONS
Even though Israel objects to Turkish soldiers serving in the Gaza International Stabilization Force (ISF), Defense Minister Yaşar Güler announced that soldiers are being trained for the task.
ANKARA FRAMES ALEPPO FIGHTING AS COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATION
Amid renewed clashes between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led militia in Aleppo, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that the Turkish army would support the operation if Damascus requested assistance.
ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK IN THE PEACE PROCESS
The “new peace process” began with convention-shattering moves such as granting the “right to hope” to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and, after 15 months, is now not even back where it started. In fact, it has probably moved backward.
FROM NEWSROOMS TO FOOTBALL CLUBS, TURKEY’S DRUG PROBE WIDENS
The drug-using operation that started with artists in October, then extended to sports, media, business and politics, continues with the unlawful sharing of private conversations and denials of drug use despite forensic reports. The names of some prosecutors, politicians and advisers appeared in the investigation early on, yet media coverage has so far remained silent about them.
CONCEPT OF THE YEAR: DIGITAL CONSCIENCE
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said, “digital conscience” was selected as the Word/Concept of the Year for 2025 following a public vote organized by the Turkish Language Association (TDK), despite the term not being widely used in daily language.
LACK OF RULING POLITICIANS ON TV FUELS DEBATE INSIDE PRO-GOVERNMENT MEDIA
A war of words broke out in the pro-government media, as prominent figures from the Demirören Group, which owns Hürriyet and CNN Türk, started questioning why they have been speaking on behalf of the ruling AKP.