Turkey

Committee to Protect Journalists – (Istanbul)– Turkish authorities should immediately release journalist Sedef Kabaş, drop the charge of “insulting the president,” and cancel the fine and ban imposed on TELE1 TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On January 22, 2022, an Istanbul court charged Turkish freelance journalist Sedef Kabaş with insulting President Recep […]

Banking

Uproar In Turkey over Gov’t Prioritizing a Name change for the Country over Sinking Economy #helloTürkiye

Arzu Geybullayeva

( Globalvoices.org ) – Turkey’s Communications Directorate launched a new campaign #helloTürkiye on January 14, in an attempt to “raise global awareness about using the country’s original name.” In a statement issued by the Presidency’s Director of Communications, Fahrettin Altun said, “We believe that it is significant to use the phrase ‘Türkiye’ in the international […]

Russia

Is Turkey’s Erdogan looking for leverage over Putin in Ukraine?

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – In case of war between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey – Moscow’s strategic frenemy – would undoubtedly side with Kiev. Even though a wide-scale conflict has not yet started, Ankara is already trying to strengthen its political positions in the Black Sea region. Rumors are flying that Turkey plans to […]

Banking

Is the Turkish Finance Minister wrecking Economy ‘with a twinkle in his eye’?

Global Voices

By Arzu Geybullayeva ( Globalvoices.org) – Turkish Twitter-sphere was full of memes and jokes after the country’s new Minister of Treasure and Finance, Nureddin Nebati, exclaimed in a TV interview that the economy was about the “twinkle” in his eyes. The twinkle was the minister’s response to a question on economic indicators as the country […]

Afghanistan

After America: The Russo-Turkish Tango in Afghanistan

Nikola Mikovic

The Kremlin is making overtures to the new Taliban government in Afghanistan. On October 21, at a meeting of the Valdai Club, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is close to removing the Taliban from the list of terrorists, which could be interpreted as part of the Kremlin’s hot and cold game with the Taliban. […]

Featured

For First Time, Wind generated more Electricity in Turkey than any other Source

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Daily Sabah reports that on Sunday November 28, Turkey got 22.6% of its electricity from wind power, a first in the country’s history. Turkey has an installed capacity of 10.5 gigawatts of wind. Of course, this result is a little bit of a fluke, and just requires heavy winds […]

Feminism

In Turkey women faced rubber bullets, tear gas from police as they marched to end gender-based violence

Global Voices

By Arzu Geybullayeva | – ( Globalvoices.org) – Hundreds of women took the streets in Istanbul to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25. However, protestors were met with police violence, including tear gas and rubber bullets, as they tried to break through barricades to march on a […]

Banking

Turkey’s currency crisis is a textbook example of what not to do with interest rates

The Conversation

By Gulcin Ozkan | – Central banks around the globe are currently staring at inflation rates unseen in more than 20 years. Supply chain problems and labour shortages arising from the pandemic, combined with sharply rising food and energy prices, have pushed prices up by as much as 6.2% in the US, 4.2% in the […]

Banking

The Collapse of Turkey’s Currency fuels Power Struggle

Middle East Monitor

By Bakr Sidqi | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – On what was called “Black Tuesday” in the media this week, the value of the Turkish lira against foreign currencies declined sharply, bringing the exchange rate to 13.5 Turkish liras to the US dollar. While experts on the matter in Turkey and elsewhere are […]