16TH CHP MAYOR ARRESTED IN CORRUPTION PROBE TARGETING OPPOSITION CITIES
Istanbul’s Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney has become the 16th CHP mayor sent to prison as part of a widening corruption probe targeting opposition-run municipalities.
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İMAMOĞLU: MY DETENTION IS BIGGEST SABOTAGE AGAINST PROCESS
Jailed Istanbul Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu said his arrest was designed to undermine the government’s “Terror-Free Turkey” initiative, which foresees the PKK’s disarmament.
THE LAST DANCE OF THE EFE IN HIGH HEELS
Özlem Çerçioğlu has been elected mayor of Aydın from the CHP for four consecutive terms. She also previously served two terms as a CHP lawmaker. Before delving into the political dimension, it’s worth examining the nickname she’s been given—“Topuklu Efe” (Efe in High Heels).
INTERVIEW BETWEEN CELLMATES IN SILIVRI
Journalist Fatih Altaylı, imprisoned in Silivri, conducted an interview through lawyers with CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is also held in the same prison in a different cell.The interview's high point was when İmamoğlu disclosed that he has been learning Kurdish.
ATTACK ON EVRENSEL'S IZMIR OFFICE
An attack was carried out on the Izmir office of the leftist newspaper Evrensel at around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 14.
İŞ BANK SEES 29% INFLATION, 35% INTEREST RATES AT END-2025
Hakan Aran, head of İş Bank, the country’s largest private lender, said they expect Turkey’s annual inflation to drop to 29% by the end of 2025, with interest rates falling to 35%. Aran shared his predictions regarding the economic normalization process at a press conference. According to Aran, “we may see monthly inflation rates drop below 1% as the normalization process begins in May 2026.”
NETHERLANDS, KAZAKHSTAN TOP TURKEY’S FIRST-HALF FDI SOURCES
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey rose 27% year-on-year to $6.3 billion in the first half of 2025, led by inflows from the Netherlands and Kazakhstan, according to the International Investors Association (YASED).
GOVERNMENT PAY RISE PROPOSAL SPARKS UNION OUTRAGE
The government’s first pay offer in collective bargaining—10% for the first half of 2026, 6% for the second half, and 4% for each half of 2027—was rejected by public sector unions representing about four million civil servants and more than two million retirees.
CENTRAL BANK UPS INFLATION TARGETS FOR 2026, 2027
Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan said inflation is expected to stand between 25% and 29% at the end of 2025, and between 13% and 19% in 2026.
ERDOĞAN EMPTIED DIPLOMATIC TOOLBOX TOO QUICKLY ON ISRAEL
“Turkish newspapers should do more than the Washington Post,” wrote Fatih Selek in pro-government daily Türkiye, recalling that the American newspaper published the names of nearly 20,000 children murdered in Gaza.
BAYKAR TO BOOST HIGH-TECH JOBS WITH SAMSUN FACTORY
Baykar, the unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer owned by the Bayraktar family, announced plans to build a factory on 400 acres in Tekkeköy, Samsun. The facility is expected to boost high-tech production and create high-quality jobs in the Black Sea region, the company said Aug. 8.
AFTER ERDOĞAN–KAVELASHVILI TALKS, GEORGIA DETAINS 14 SUSPECTS
Hours after Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili’s visit to Ankara for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Georgian police detained 12 people wanted on Interpol red notices and two sought at the national level in a joint operation with Turkish authorities.