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Turkey’s first astronaut brandishes Erdogan’s ambitions

By Anne CHAON © Agence France-Presse When Turkey’s first astronaut blasts off for the International Space Station (ISS) this week, he will embody his country’s pride and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s outsized geopolitical ambitions. Alper Gezeravci, a 43-year-old fighter pilot and colonel in Turkey’s air force, is due to take off on Wednesday from the […]

Brawl mars Turkish football’s return from suspension

© Agence France-Presse A violent fight involving flying kicks marred Turkish football’s return from a week-long suspension caused by a club president punching a referee. Tuesday’s altercation between players from Bursaspor and Diyarbakirspor involved two third-division teams with a history of ethnically fuelled tensions. Viral images showed Bursaspor players rushing at their visitors from Diyarbakir — […]

Erdoğan: “Even if we halt all our other payments, we will not be able to provide our retirees with the pension hikes they have been promised”

Following a cabinet meeting on Monday (March 4), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized opposition promises to significantly hike pension payments, saying that such a hike would not be feasible even if other cuts are made. Referring to an opposition proposal to significantly hike pension payments, Erdoğan said “In recent days I have explained how opposition promises to […]

Economist Daron Acemoğlu criticizes Turkish Central Bank inflation numbers as ‘unrealistic’

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economics professor Daron Acemoğlu spoke to Reuters last week regarding inflation figures announced by Turkey’s Central Bank (TCMB) for February, as well as their projections for the remainder of 2024, describing the numbers as ‘unrealistic’. The numbers released by Turkey’s central Bank at the end of February forecast inflation peaking at […]

Turkey issues condemnation of Israel at ICJ hearing

Today (February 26) marked the final day of a week of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague that saw numerous countries speak out against Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestine.  In a presentation on the final day of the event, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yıldız articulated Turkey’s criticisms, saying “Israel is […]

Turkish lawyer detained over anti-Sharia social media posts

Turkish lawyer Feyza Altun was detained Monday (February 19) following several anti-Sharia social media posts. Refuting charges that she had attacked anyone’s religion or lifestyle, Altun doubled down on her criticism of Sharia, referencing Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Altun, who has frequently received attention for her provocative social media posts, landed in hot water this week following […]

Wife of imprisoned Kurdish leader announces she will not run as candidate in Istanbul’s upcoming mayoral election

Başak Demirtaş, wife of imprisoned Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtaş, announced Wednesday (February 7) that she will not stand as a candidate in İstanbul’s upcoming mayoral election on March 31. Demirtaş’s potential candidacy for the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, rumored since December, had been seen as a major threat to the reelection chances of incumbent opposition mayor […]

Exclusive: Turkish government-linked lobby groups spent $10 million in the United States in a single year

In 2023, Turkey spent nearly $18 million on lobbying activities in the United States. While Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spent approximately $4.5 million dollars, the majority of lobbying dollars were spent by two government-linked organizations: TÜRGEV and Ensar Foundation. Together, the two foundations spent more than $10 million (approximately 306 million Turkish Liras) […]

Incarcerated representative-elect Can Atalay stripped of parliamentary status

Incarcerated parliamentary member Can Atalay, whose case threw Turkey’s judiciary into a constitutional crisis following competing decisions released in November, has officially been stripped of parliamentary status. Parliamentary member Leyla Şahin Usta, a member of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), announced the decision Today (Tuesday, January 30th). Can Atalay from the […]

The ECHR 2023 report: Turkey has the highest number of applications, totaling 23,400

According to the ECHR 2023 report, Turkey leads in pending cases, with 23,400 applications out of a total of 68,450. This accounts for over a third of all applications to the court, highlighting a significant number of Turkish nationals seeking judgment from the continent’s highest court amidst repeated accusations of eroding the rule of law […]

Fighters for favors: Turkish Parliament approves Sweden NATO bid

After months of stonewalling, the Turkish Parliament finally approved a directive issued by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for Sweden’s NATO bid on Tuesday, January 23rd, leaving Hungary as the last holdout. Just a day after the resolution, President Joe Biden issued a letter to Congress, announcing his intention to initiate the sale of F-16 […]

Instagram account reported as belonging to Turkish astronaut revealed to be fake

An instagram account thought to belong to Alper Gezeravcı, a Turkish astronaut who last week became the country’s first citizen to reach outer space, has been revealed to be a fake account belonging to a fan.  Since Gezeravcı entered the International Space Station last Friday (January 19), an Instagram account with the handle alpergezeravci had been sharing posts related to life […]