Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Garanti BBVA, the high-street bank majority-owned by Spain’s BBVA, has agreed to pay a fine of 1.55 billion liras ($31.8 million) after settling an antitrust investigation into labor market practices, the lender disclosed on the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).
Fliggy, Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s travel platform, is preparing to enter the Turkish market as parliament considers new legislation to regulate foreign digital booking platforms.
UAV-300 missile test marked a milestone as the longest-range munition produced in Turkey and fired from an airborne platform.
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.
Parliament approved the first six articles of a landmark bill that includes a ban on children under the age of 15 from using social media platforms. Under the new rules expected to pass as a whole on April 14, social network providers will be prohibited from offering services to children who have not reached the age of 15.
Turkey is considering generating cash flow by exporting newly built naval platforms originally designed to meet domestic requirements. The first of 10 light corvette-class vessels planned for the Turkish Navy, the TCG Akhisar (P-1220), was sold straight to Romania without entering the Turkish inventory after its completion in December 2025. Ankara is now in talks to sell two newly built I-class (Istanbul/İstif-class) frigates to Indonesia.
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.
For me, this year, Nov. 26, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, arrived as a photograph. A staged one in which the woman’s face was hidden, but the hair defied all attempts at concealment. Sümeyye Akyol’s Domination, shown this week at young artists’ platform BASE at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, is built on fictional photographs using real women; mostly her friends and family.
Turkish defense and software company HAVELSAN said its Flight Training Device Level 2 simulator for Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft has received FNPT II MCC and FTD Level 2 certification, making it the first platform produced and certified at this level in Turkey.
Turkey is close to finalizing a major expansion of its fighter jet fleet with the acquisition of Eurofighter Typhoons, marking a significant step toward diversifying its air power away from U.S.-supplied platforms.
After opposition media outlets closed one after another amid economic hardship, driven by changing policies of digital platforms — especially Google — prominent figures in pro-government media began voicing similar concerns.
A large crowd gathered on Galata Bridge early Jan. 1 for a march in support of Palestinians, organized under the Humanity Alliance and the National Will Platform, chaired by Bilal Erdoğan, son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.