Author: Aslan Cem

AUKUS leaders prefer posturing and provocation to dialogue as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin insisted on belligerence and doublespeak at the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, reported the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English-language daily. Noting that the conference provided an opportunity for negotiation, Alex Lo, a columnist of the daily, wrote that just as it was taking place, the United States and Canada staged a highly provocative joint naval exercise sailing through the Taiwan Strait. When it comes to China, the Joe Biden administration has become a one-trick pony — pretend to be ready for dialogue, then…

Russia’s seaborne crude exports fell back sharply from the previous weeks’ highs, with Moscow unable to maintain record flows from the country’s Pacific ports. Overall seaborne shipments shrank to 3.11 million barrels a day in the seven days through Friday, a 14% week-on-week decline. The less-volatile four-week average also retreated. Though of a similar size, the decline is unlikely to be related to a 500,000-barrel-a-day production cut for this month that the Kremlin announced in response to Western embargoes and price caps. Any imposed reduction in flows is most likely to be seen at the country’s western ports, where cargoes are being sold at a 25% discount to those shipped from the Pacific. But flows from Baltic and…

The İpsala border gate, which has been closed for crossings due to an ongoing forest firethat has raged for three days in the city of Alexandroupoli in northeastern Greece near the Turkish border, has been reopened. İpsala in the northwestern Turkish province of Edirne and the Kipi border gate on the Greek side, both temporarily closed due to the fires, have now resumed operations, providing a controlled entry and exit from the area. However, the fires, which have been burning out of control for the past three days, have prompted the closure of the highway connected to the İpsala gate, as stated by the district…

Following deliberations by the Supreme Military Council, handover ceremonies have been conducted at the land and air forces commands to formalize the new assignments within the command structure. The Defense Ministry unveiled that Gen. Musa Avsever, the retired Land Forces commander, transferred his responsibilities to Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu. A statement issued by the ministry’s social media account conveyed the sentiments of Defense Minister Güler, who was in attendance at the ceremony. Güler extended his well-wishes to Avsever, hoping for his prosperity and contentment in the new phase of life, and wished Bayraktaroğlu success in his new post. Güler further participated in another handover event, which…

The submerged foundations of the historic bridge on the Meriç (Evros) River have been brought to light as the waterway’s flow dwindled to a mere 48 cubic meters per hour. This revelation follows a concerning decline in the river’s water levels, attributed in part to scorching summer temperatures exceeding seasonal norms across Türkiye. The unprecedented drop in the river’s flow, a lifeline for irrigating agricultural plots in the northwestern province of Edirne, has left local business owners and visitors astonished by the exposed bridge supports. “It is not a pleasant sight. It is not just here, but almost everywhere in Türkiye. This is…

With the start of the new academic year just around the corner, Education Minister Yusuf Tekin has announced a series of new regulations, including the reintroduction of grade retention in high schools, tightening the transition to distance education and measures on students’ school attendance. Speaking at a press conference in the capital Ankara on Aug. 16, Tekin stated that as a result of regular meetings with teachers since assuming his office in June, some critical changes have been made, especially at the high school level, based on the feedback received from these meetings. Addressing the rise in preference for distance learning among…

Türkiye warned Moscow to avoid further escalations after a Turkish-owned cargo vessel was attacked by the Russian navy last weekend, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s office said on Aug. 17. “After the (Russian) intervention, our interlocutors in the Russian Federation were warned appropriately to avoid such attempts, which escalate tensions in the Black Sea,” the Turkish presidency said. The Şükrü Okan vessel was flying the flag of Palau when it was fired on by the Russian navy last Sunday. Russian military personnel then boarded the ship to conduct an inspection, before letting it sail on toward the Ukrainian port of Izmail – the main export…

Within the framework of an Adana-based investigation into the activities and sabotage linked to the terrorist organization PKK/KCK in forest fires, authorities have detained five individuals suspected of financing the organization, with one of them subsequently arrested. The investigation, led by the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, focused on uncovering the extent of sabotage activities during previous years’ forest fires, particularly in key tourist regions. Preliminary findings of the anti-terrorism and intelligence units of the police revealed that the suspects were allegedly receiving financial support from overseas sources. The previous round of operations had resulted in the arrest of five individuals, with a subsequent…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, engaged in a telephone conversation to discuss the Turkish Cypriot government’s Pile-Yiğitler Road project and the critical grain deal. According to a statement issued by the Turkish ministry, Fidan apprised Colonna of the road project, which is designed to facilitate seamless access from Turkish Cyprus to Pile Village, located on the Green Line under the purview of the United Nations. Turkish Cyprus’ Foreign Ministry previously emphasized that the project was devised for “purely humanitarian reasons.” In an official communication, the ministry highlighted that the expansion and enhancement of the Pile-Yiğitler Road aimed to grant…

The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is the U.S. government’s development finance institution, and a Turkish bank have executed a finance agreement for a $100 million loan for the development of the provinces affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes. Türkiye’s Şekerbank will also allocate $33 million from its own resources to increase the total amount to $133 million. The seven-year loan will be used primarily to support the development of the region affected by the Feb. 6 quakes, as well as for the financing of women’s businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises. With the DFC loan, Şekerbank aims to…