Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
An Istanbul court formally arrested Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya early Nov. 6, making her the first former minister to face formal arrest in the AKP’s 24 years in power. Sayan Kaya, a former AKP deputy chair and Family and Social Policy Minister, is the most senior figure yet caught up in a scandal that has rattled financial markets since September.
Fresh waves of judicial probes and detentions targeting opposition-led municipalities across Turkey are reshaping the country's local political landscape.
Speculation is growing that the long-delayed crackdown on the fund crisis is tied to a power struggle in the AKP that includes Justice Minister Akın Gürlek and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek and signaled a new nuclear partnership as the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant nears operations.
Aksa Energy has signed a 20-year agreement with the Electricity Company of Ghana to build and operate a natural gas plant in Takoradi.
Turkey's tourism industry, long considered an economic powerhouse, is struggling to achieve expected revenue growth this year as inflation drives up costs and diverts customers elsewhere.
Unwilling to risk the Republicans losing their representative power, Ankara has accelerated its efforts to push the US to lift its arms embargo.
The parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee has approved an omnibus bill introducing significant tax incentives to boost nuclear energy investments.
Turkey’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant plans to launch its first reactor in autumn 2026, a major milestone for the nation's energy infrastructure.
Engineers at Turkey's first nuclear power plant have finished a critical test as part of preparations for the launch planned by the end of 2026, the Energy Ministry said. Technicians successfully loaded 163 simulated fuel assemblies into the reactor pressure vessel of the first unit at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. The operation is a major milestone in the launch of the country’s first nuclear power facility.
The Turkish Armed Forces has been testing joint operations capabilities after a rapid increase in the number of national defense industry products in its inventory, primarily electronic warfare and air defense systems, warships, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Baykar's AI-powered mini cruise missile Kemankeş-1 continues to undergo firing tests from the strategic-class Bayraktar Akıncı UCAV. “The Kemankeş smart munitions integration and testing activities carried out with the Akıncı strategic UAV platform, capable of flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet, provide serious indications of Turkey's hyper warfare capacity development,” Dr. Can Kasapoğlu, senior researcher at the Hudson Institute, said.
Friedrich Merz’s visit to Ankara marks a new phase in German-Turkish relations — the trip served domestic power dynamics in Berlin in political terms rather than through concrete agreements. The chancellor did not come because Turkey has fundamentally changed, but because Germany finds itself in deep economic and political uncertainty. By Ozan Demircan