Author: Daily Sabah

Istanbul’s former Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, arrested and ousted on charges of corruption, was found to have plunged the municipality into TL 264 billion ($6.94 billion) debt in the six years he helmed the city, according to a report in Turkish newspaper Sabah. Imamoğlu’s policies have brought the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) into a state where the city, for the first time in its history, cannot borrow any more funds, Sabah’s report said. The IBB’s debts went up ninefold from TL 31 billion in 2019 – when Imamoğlu was first elected – to TL 264,916,101,000 liras as of the end of…

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy chair and spokesperson Ömer Çelik hit out at Özgür Özel over the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader’s remarks targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Özel has reiterated his description of Erdoğan as ‘junta leader’ in a rally on Sunday in the northern province of Samsun, the latest in a series of demonstrations by CHP after the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu in March on charges of corruption. Çelik said in a social media post on Monday that Özel lacked the knowledge of political terms and more frighteningly, “has a political…

The landmark initiative to end PKK terrorism in Türkiye is set to be the top item on the agenda for the presidential Cabinet when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan assembles it on Tuesday. The Cabinet will discuss the Antalya Diplomacy Forum held over the weekend, as well as talks with the Imrali Delegation, a group of lawmakers who served as messengers for the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is imprisoned on the island of Imralı near Istanbul. Erdoğan received the delegation, two deputies from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan, last week for…

Barcelona head to Germany on Tuesday night with momentum, muscle and memory firmly on their side, ready to slam the Champions League quarter-final door shut on Borussia Dortmund. After a 4-0 demolition job in the first leg at Montjuïc, La Blaugrana step into Signal Iduna Park needing only to avoid a historical collapse. But this isn’t a team clinging to the past – they’re rewriting the present. Hansi Flick’s red-hot squad has their foot on the accelerator and eyes on a stunning quadruple. Barcelona’s ruthless trio – Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski – carved Dortmund apart last week. Lewandowski…

Delegations from Türkiye and Iraq held talks on Sunday on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the eponymous Turkish city. It was the fifth meeting of the High-Level Security Mechanism of the two countries, focusing on the terrorism threat in particular. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan joined his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein at the meeting. Iraq and Türkiye agreed upon strengthening military and security cooperation during the Iraqi prime minister’s visit to Türkiye in May 2019, and the first meeting of the mechanism was held in 2019 by the foreign, defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of the two neighboring…

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the closing ceremony of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the eponymous Turkish city on Sunday that genocide and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian lands perpetrated by Israel will not end unless European countries and the U.S. cut off their support to the Netanyahu administration. Fidan was answering questions about what more Muslim countries should do to stop Israel, which violated a recent cease-fire and launched all-out attacks in Gaza. “Every country objects to Israel’s genocide. The world is unanimous. But here, we see how fair President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ‘world is bigger than five’…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the closing ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in eponymous Turkish city on Sunday that the global diplomacy needed brave steps as the world went through a multi-polar transformation. Fidan also spoke about Israel’s incursion into Syria and stated that they were holding talks with sides for de-escalation of conflict in Türkiye’s southern neighbor. Answering a question on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s anticipated visit to Syria, Fidan said they were working on ensuring appropriate conditions and date for the visit. On a question what Muslim countries can do more to stop Israel’s crimes against humanity…

At least 21 people, including two children, were injured after a Metrobus crashed into another at a bus stop in Istanbul, Turkish media reported Saturday. The Metrobus rammed into another metrobus while it was boarding passengers at a stop in the Avcılar district on the direction of Anatolia. No casualties were reported. Some of the injured were treated on-site while others were taken to nearby hospitals. “Most of the injured are in good condition. They are being treated at the hospital,” Istanbul Provincial Health Director Abdullah Emre Güner said on social media platform X. Reports said the accident caused disruptions…

At least 21 people, including two children, were injured after a Metrobus crashed into another at a bus stop in Istanbul, Turkish media reported Saturday. The Metrobus rammed into another metrobus while it was boarding passengers at a stop in the Avcılar district on the direction of Anatolia. No casualties were reported. Some of the injured were treated on-site while others were taken to nearby hospitals. “Most of the injured are in good condition. They are being treated at the hospital,” Istanbul Provincial Health Director Abdullah Emre Güner said on social media platform X. Reports said the accident caused disruptions…

At least 21 people, including two children, were injured after a Metrobus crashed into another at a bus stop in Istanbul, Turkish media reported Saturday. The Metrobus rammed into another metrobus while it was boarding passengers at a stop in the Avcılar district on the direction of Anatolia. No casualties were reported. Some of the injured were treated on-site while others were taken to nearby hospitals. “Most of the injured are in good condition. They are being treated at the hospital,” Istanbul Provincial Health Director Abdullah Emre Güner said on social media platform X. Reports said the accident caused disruptions…