More than 700,000 Turks and foreign nationals left Turkey last year, an increase of 53 percent compared to 2022, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday, citing the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). According to TurkStat, 55.2 percent of the 714,579 people who moved from Turkey to other countries in 2023 were men, while 44.8...
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Turkey detains 74 over Gülen links on anniversary of coup attempt: minister
Turkish police on Monday detained 74 people across 27 provinces over their alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Monday. Yerlikaya said the detainees included people who were involved in the movement’s alleged infiltration of the police and military, those who were identified as users...
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Turkey’s inflation falls to 71.6 percent in June: official data
Turkey’s annual inflation rate fell to 71.6 percent in June, Agence France-Presse reported, citing official data on Wednesday. Consumer prices began slowing after reaching a peak of 75.45 percent in May. Turkey has been battling a cost-of-living crisis that prompted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to drop his opposition to interest-rate hikes to combat inflation. The...
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Turkish gov’t wants to unleash ‘tax tsunami’ for economic recovery
Details of a comprehensive tax reform package proposed by the Turkish government aimed at addressing the country’s budget deficit and stabilizing the economy after last year’s devastating earthquakes were revealed by a Turkish news agency on Friday. Labeled by observers as a “tax tsunami,” the package includes significant changes to the value-added tax (VAT), special...
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Romania clears way for Dutch PM Rutte to become NATO chief
Romania is endorsing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to become NATO secretary general, clearing the final hurdle on Rutte’s path to the top job, according to a press release published by the office of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday. Iohannis had put himself forward for the role, but “informed his NATO allies at the...
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Bulgaria holds national elections, sixth in three years
Voting is under way for a new parliament in Bulgaria, making it the sixth parliamentary election in just over three years. The vote is taking place parallel to the European elections. The government crisis that triggered the latest elections was the break-up of the pro-Western liberal-conservative coalition government led by Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov. There...
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Turkey detained over 8,000 people on Gülen links in past 11 months: minister
Turkish police have detained 8️,1️5️3 people across the country in the past 11 months over their alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, announced on X on Friday. According to the minister, the police carried out a total of 5️,19️1 operations against people with alleged ties to the movement between...
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Turkey detains 44 people on alleged Gülen links
Turkish police have detained 44 people across the country over their alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported. Operations were carried out in 28 provinces upon warrants issued by Ankara prosecutors for 46 public sector workers, the report said. The detainees are accused of organizing the movement’s “infiltration” of the police....
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Ankara court issues lengthy sentences for Kurdish politicians in Kobani trial
An Ankara court on Thursday issued a verdict in the long-running Kobani trial and handed down lengthy prison sentences for dozens of Kurdish politicians, including imprisoned leaders Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, the Birgün daily reported. Demirtaş is among 108 former pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) politicians who stood trial. The HDP is the predecessor...