Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
A check allegation pits Medya A.Ş. executives against each other, while Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is expected to deliver his main defense next week, by the end of the second session of the Istanbul municipality corruption trial.
At the beginning, he was not so sure whether having a co-chairmanship for COP31 would work well, confessed Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Saudi Aramco executives have inspected fuel facilities across Turkey owned by military pension fund OYAK, signaling advanced partnership talks to enter the retail fuel market.
Authorities have launched a judicial operation against major produce distributors, detaining scores of executive-level figures for artificially inflating wholesale fruit and vegetable prices amid high food inflation.
Maritime trade in the Black Sea has come to a near halt due to Russian and Ukrainian strikes, creating a major economic threat for Turkey, according to a shipping executive.
"This political case will collapse," Istanbul Mayor and the CHP's presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu declared repeatedly while delivering the last remarks on the 15th session of the corruption hearing. The courtroom was again full like the first days of the hearing as many were expecting a court ruling on release of several defendants. Only 18 of those under pre-trial detention were released, according to the midnight interim ruling. As expected, İmamoğlu’s executive assistant Kadriye Kasapoğlu and low profile figures like the drivers or workers were released but former CHP MP Aykut Erdoğdu was not on the list.
CHP Chair Özgür Özel sparked a political storm by accusing a senior AKP figure of bribing a businessperson to testify against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The CHP leader also suggested that the AKP had used dirty tricks to push CHP Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu to transfer to the AKP on the 24th anniversary of the ruling party. Just two hours before the AKP’s celebrations, Özel said that former AKP Central Decision and Executive Board member and lawyer Mücahit Birinci asked imprisoned businessperson Murat Kapki to pay $2 million and promised his release in return for signing a false statement.
A sweeping operation targeting illegal online gambling and money laundering networks led to the detention of 128 people across 21 provinces on May 14, including polarizing media figure Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı and two senior executives from İş Bank, one of Turkey's largest private banks.
The CHP has unveiled its new shadow cabinet, touting it as the team that would govern Turkey if elected. However, the lineup has sparked backlash from left-wing critics over the dominance of business figures and center-right politicians occupying key posts. Despite advocating a return to the parliamentary system — where the executive is known as the Council of Ministers and members are elected, not appointed — the CHP has mirrored the presidential model by labeling its team a “cabinet” and appointing shadow cabinet members who are business figures active in the very sectors they oversee.
The first Altay tank was delivered to the army on Oct. 28, crowning a three-decade push to develop and produce a domestic main battle tank. The project, launched by a 1996 decision of the Defense Industry Executive Committee, aimed to build an indigenous tank using locally developed technologies. However, the finalized model relies on South Korean-made engines and transmission systems.
After eight AKP provincial heads stepped down from duty, all members of the Elazığ Provincial Executive Committee, including the newly appointed acting head, İbrahim Sencer Selmanoğlu, resigned.
New executives for Can Media—recently seized by Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) amid a money laundering investigation—have now been officially appointed.