TURKEY SEEKS NATO ACCREDITATION FOR ISTANBUL MJWC
Turkey is working to have the MJWC in Istanbul fully accredited by NATO and hosted an activity of the Alliance to advance the project.
Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Turkey is working to have the MJWC in Istanbul fully accredited by NATO and hosted an activity of the Alliance to advance the project.
Cemil Tugay has been mayor of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality since 2024. When he resigned from the CHP, he said he would join the new party Özgür Özel was forming. Özel said similar things. But around the same time, reports surfaced that Tugay’s communications with Özel were breaking down.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş for the first time since the opposition took control of the capital amid rumors the mayor could be the next target of the judicial assault on opposition municipalities.
Turkish prosecutors have detained nine more people, including journalist Selahattin Günday, as part of a reopened investigation into the 2011 prison death of former National Intelligence Organization (MİT) official Kaşif Kozinoğlu.
The Higher Education Council (YÖK) has effectively barred academics at public universities from monetizing content on YouTube and digital platforms, classifying online revenue as commercial trade, which is illegal for civil servants.
The pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak devoted its entire front page on Sept. 9 to a scathing critique of Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and his policies, urging immediate shifts including tax overhauls and fuel subsidies.
Binali Yıldırım, Turkey's last prime minister who has long been sidelined by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has also entered the agenda alongside the Gökçek case.
For the first time in Turkish history, a former prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, was summoned for criticizing the president and then he invited President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to his son’s wedding ceremony.
The government has put the lucrative Bosphorus bridges and major state highways back on sale 14 years after cancelling a similar tender. The move comes as medium-term plans include significantly higher privatization revenue in the coming years.
The government revealed its new Medium-Term Program (OVP) covering 2027–2029, outlining macroeconomic targets that analysts view as unusually realistic while hinting at election preparations for 2027.
Turkey's central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady on Sept. 10, matching market expectations as energy cost pressures continue to pose risks to the inflation outlook.
The Mecca Joint defense Agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan at the beginning of last month came as a surprise to many, although Turkey was interested in joining the defense agreement signed by the latter two a year ago. The new agreement goes further than defense cooperation due to a collective security pledge modelled on NATO’s famous Article 5.