"Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day. I really look with commiseration over the great body of my fellow citizens, who, reading newspapers, live and die in the belief that they have known something of what has been passing in the world." -- Thomas Jefferson
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected for a third presidential term on Sunday, prompting his supporters to take to the streets in jubilation.
With his win secure, Erdogan addressed some of the things he plans to do in the near future. Yet, amid the celebrations, he nonetheless faces significant challenges, including: addressing the economic crisis, finding solutions for the refugee crisis, and securing victory in the upcoming municipal elections in 10 months' time.
One week ago, when the Turkish Lira first tumbled below 20 against the USD, we warned that much more pain was in stock based on a rather dire analysis by Goldman of the central bank's reserve position, a much more ominous factor for the coming currency collapse then Erdogan's reelection.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has another five years in power after defeating opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday’s runoff election.
Kilicdaroglu was in the impossible position of trying to make up ground by simultaneously keeping the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party voters on board and attracting the voters of nationalist candidates from the first round.
It didn’t work.
The dreams of Turkey's opposition gave way to crushing disappointment on Sunday as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan narrowly won a historic runoff election to extend his two-decade rule to 2028.
Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu entered the country's first ever runoff as the clear underdog after Erdogan came within a whisker of winning outright in the first round on May 14.
Yet his supporters harboured hopes that the secular CHP party leader could oust the Islamic-rooted conservative president against all the odds.
An under-the-radar Army missile defense mission in southern Turkey got a boost this month when a new operational headquarters that was seven years in the making finally came to fruition.
The so-called Ready Building, where soldiers are responsible for surveillance and early warning of tactical ballistic missile threats, also [services forces] operating at one of the Army’s more austere and secretive locations.
In the aftermath of the first round of elections in Turkiye, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a speech on 23 May where he vowed that the opposition will be “erased from politics,” in what was seen as a threat to his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
“We will attack the polls on May 28 … opposition leaders will be erased from politics,” Erdogan said at a rally of his supporters in Malatya ahead of the runoff election scheduled for this coming Sunday.
On the morning of May 24, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to attack Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs of the Black Sea Fleet. The ship was ensuring the safety of the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines in the economic zone of Turkey.
Three unmanned boats targeted the ship at about 5.30 am local time. The incident took place 140 kilometers northeast of the Bosphorus.
As a result of response fire, the attack failed. All Ukrainian boats were destroyed by fire from the standard armament of the Russian ship:
Turkish intelligence (MIT) says it has uncovered a spy network linked to the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, according to Turkish media reports on Tuesday. The network allegedly operated within Turkey and consisted of 15 individuals.
The investigation led to the arrest of 11 members, who reportedly were trained in Israel and sent to Turkey with the aim of establishing a company involved in trading with Iran.
