Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
As millions of retirees await a long-promised pension hike, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek appeared to downplay the pressure caused by rising rents. Speaking at the ruling AKP’s Kızılcahamam retreat, Şimşek said: “72% of the population owns their home, 28% rent, and only 14% of retirees are renters,” according to pro-government columnist Abdulkadir Selvi.
After 47 years, the PKK has decided to disband and lay down arms. According to the group’s founder, Abdullah Öcalan, this marks a paradigm shift: the struggle will now continue through strengthened political engagement. Following what both the government and opposition have called a “historic” decision, change is now expected within the DEM Party—the Kurdish political movement’s representative in Turkish Parliament. As one MP who recently visited Öcalan on İmralı Island put it: “Even the PKK is changing—why wouldn’t the DEM Party?”
The former head of Turkey’s media watchdog RTÜK, Zahid Akman, who served as editor-in-chief of pro-government broadcaster Kanal 7 for many years, has been replaced by Kanal 7 Ankara bureau chief Mehmet Acet.
A joint Turkish-UAE-Chinese venture is set to launch a comprehensive digital banking and payments platform in Turkey, marking an unusual cross-border collaboration that includes players from both the Gulf and China.
A Turkish ambassador serving in a Central Asian country before 2016 was criticized for not showing enough interest in the Gülenists schools. The envoy received several phone calls from AKP officials complaining he was not, for instance, visiting the schools frequently enough.
Despite strained ties with Israel following the October 7 attacks, Turkey has emphasized its key role in brokering a ceasefire in Syria’s Suweida province, where fighting between Israel-backed Druze groups and Bedouin Arab tribes had escalated to involve regime forces.
On the ninth anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt, Turkish authorities launched a new wave of raids targeting the Gülenist movement, which Turkey officially labels as the terrorist group “FETÖ.”
Jailed Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was acquitted of charges of “targeting public officials involved in counterterrorism” but was convicted of “publicly insulting a public official due to his duty” and “making threats” in the case concerning Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. The court sentenced İmamoğlu to one year and five months in prison for the insult charge and an additional two months and 15 days for the threat charge, totaling one year and eight months. If upheld by the appeals court, the ruling could result in a political ban.
The United States has imposed sanctions on 22 entities linked to a shadow banking network accused of facilitating illicit oil trade on behalf of the Iranian regime. The network operates through front companies based in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, funneling revenue to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), the U.S. State Department announced on July 9.
The word of the week is Grok — not a Turkish word by birth, but one that, thanks to recent events, has become a household name from Izmir to Iğdır.
Can Media Group, which acquired Habertürk TV and Show TV late last year, has announced a major leadership reshuffle as part of its strategic realignment.
An Ankara court has suspended a 10-day broadcasting blackout imposed on Halk TV, but SZC TV, which received the same penalty, has gone off air after a separate court upheld the sanction.