content tagged with weekly roundup

Seeking green light for operation against Kurds, Türkiye faces backlash from allies in Syria

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Seeking green light for operation against Kurds, Türkiye faces backlash from allies in Syria

Widespread protests against Türkiye in northwestern Syria • Another music festival is banned after pressure from Islamic groups • Threats, lawsuits against journalists • Top court admits Tuğluk's condition may worsen, but refuses to order her release

15 August 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

'Mr. Kemal's counter-attack

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

'Mr. Kemal's counter-attack

Kılıçdaroğlu takes on Erdoğan as 'Mr. Kemal' • Clouds remain over Zakho strike • Türkiye-Armenia normalization raises hopes in border regions • Aircraft carrier containing tons of asbestos to set off for Türkiye • Şırnak loses huge chunk of forests due to mass tree felling

31 July 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Returning to the scene

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Returning to the scene

MBS pays a “not too kind” visit to Turkey after years-long rift • Every single LGBTI+ event gets banned in Pride Month • Journalists continue protesting arrests, new bill • Wildfire season starts in the Aegean Region

27 June 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Turkey's ruling alliance further clamps down on press as its support falls below critical threshold

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Turkey's ruling alliance further clamps down on press as its support falls below critical threshold

AKP, MHP advance with the "disinformation bill" • Sixteen Kurdish journalists remanded in custody after eight days in detention • LGBTI+ group cancels event after threats by Islamic groups • Refugee waste workers attacked in İstanbul

20 June 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

'False memories' of Gezi, rage of women

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

'False memories' of Gezi, rage of women

Erdoğan attacks Gezi Park protesters with profanities • Turkey insists it will launch a new military offensive in Syria despite objections by US, Russia • Sweden signals it may resume arms sales to Turkey • Under pressure from religious groups, Eskişehir's LGBTI+ activists speak out

5 June 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Kılıçdaroğlu's wild claims, Erdoğan's wild card

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Kılıçdaroğlu's wild claims, Erdoğan's wild card

Main opposition leader takes on Erdoğan • A new Syria offensive in exchange for approving NATO bids of Sweden and Finland? • Concert bans continue apace • New bill seeking prison sentences for "disinformation"

28 May 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Turkey insists on blocking NATO expansion as Western leaders remain calm

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Turkey insists on blocking NATO expansion as Western leaders remain calm

President Erdoğan reiterates his opposition to Sweden and Finland's NATO bid every day • Islamic groups are gaining influence in a city considered a safe space by the LGBTI+ community • Bans on Kurdish cultural events continue

21 May 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Political ban on leading opposition figure, festival ban for the youth

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Political ban on leading opposition figure, festival ban for the youth

Top appeals court upholds Kaftancıoğlu's sentences • Yet another "immoral" festival is banned • Businesspeople close to Erdoğan are happy with refugee workers

15 May 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Higher inflation for the poor, controversy in politics

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Higher inflation for the poor, controversy in politics

Inflation rate at two-decade high • Police officer threatened to shoot HDP deputy • İmamoğlu draws ire after photo with formerly pro-Erdoğan journalists • Far-right leader takes on interior minister

7 May 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Life sentence for Gezi protests, a new hope for İstanbul Convention

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Life sentence for Gezi protests, a new hope for İstanbul Convention

Gezi verdict draws international criticism while Erdoğan is confident that "it is over now" • Council of State prosecutor says Turkey's withdrawal from İstanbul Convention was "unlawful" • The president visits Saudi Arabia after handing over the Khashoggi case

30 April 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Erdoğan once again changes tune on refugees

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Erdoğan once again changes tune on refugees

Anti-refugee sentiment is growing in Turkey amid the economic crisis • New military offensive into Iraq's Kurdistan Region • Gezi Trial is coming to an end • MP threatened with legal action after bill for genocide recognition

24 April 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Mass torture in prison, villas on mass grave

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Mass torture in prison, villas on mass grave

Suspicious killing of a prisoner reveals mass torture in İstanbul prison • Housing estate project on a site of mass graves • Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee appeals verdict passing case to Saudi Arabia • Prominent feminist group faces closure

16 April 2022 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Erdoğan has a new success story as small investors 'conned'

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #14

Erdoğan has a new success story as small investors 'conned'

Ordinary people paid the price for a week of massive fluctuations in the Turkish lira • Political implications of the government's "forex-indexed deposit" tool • Burning of three refugees to death remained covered up for weeks

26 December 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

'Minimum wage for all'

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #13

'Minimum wage for all'

Government raises minimum wage sharply but lira is sinking faster • Is the main reason for drought in Turkey the climate crisis or wrong water policies? • Four deaths in a week put spotlight on ill prisoners’ situation

18 December 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Opposition worried Erdoğan may resort to violence; Erdoğan's supporters fear vengeance

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #12

Opposition worried Erdoğan may resort to violence; Erdoğan's supporters fear vengeance

The political violence debate • TÜGVA papers reveal “systematic favoritism” • Journalists discuss trust in the media • The government's apetite for armament • Turkey becomes a leading country in organized crime

19 October 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Agent-provocateur students, anti-camera shields, outlawed waste pickers and more

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #11

Agent-provocateur students, anti-camera shields, outlawed waste pickers and more

Erdoğan and Bahçeli take on students • Hundreds of waste pickers detained in İstanbul • 460 prisoners with a PhD degree • Gezi trial resumes • Turkey once again accused of child recruitment

12 October 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Students defy Erdoğan to continue housing protests

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #10

Students defy Erdoğan to continue housing protests

University students continue night protests • Construction magnate close to government in Pandora Papers • An unfruitful meeting between Erdoğan and Putin • Marmara's "sea snot" problem is not over

4 October 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

HDP wants solution to Kurdish question for supporting opposition against Erdoğan

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #9

HDP wants solution to Kurdish question for supporting opposition against Erdoğan

Kurdish question is becoming a key issue in the next election • Student housing protests spread across the country • Erdoğan voices discontent over relations with Biden administration • Two refugees went missing after being pushed into river

27 September 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Fake court orders, 'non-existent' criminal evidence, a million 'terror' suspects

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #8

Fake court orders, 'non-existent' criminal evidence, a million 'terror' suspects

Court orders for removal of news articles turn out to be fake • Expert report says the digital evidence in the ÇHD lawyers' trial doesn't qualify as legal evidence • More than a million "terrorism" investigations were opened in five years

19 September 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Why has the AKP-MHP bloc decided to lower the election threshold?

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #7

Why has the AKP-MHP bloc decided to lower the election threshold?

The ruling alliance seeks to maximize its seats in the parliament • Anti-vaxxers hold mass rally in İstanbul • Another Kurdish child killed by armored vehicles • Turkey confirms the first cases of the Mu variant

12 September 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

A week of crises in Turkey: Raging wildfires, a massacre and 'execution lists'

WEEKLY ROUNDUP #6

A week of crises in Turkey: Raging wildfires, a massacre and 'execution lists'

Massive forest fires blaze across Turkey • Seven members of a Kurdish family were killed at home • Refugee wave from Afghanistan triggers "foreign-funded media" debate • "Execution lists" of Erdoğan critics in Europe

1 August 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

Canal İstanbul: What if the opposition takes over before it's completed?

PAST WEEK IN TURKEY

Canal İstanbul: What if the opposition takes over before it's completed?

Opposition tries to dissuade potential financiers of Canal İstanbul • Turkey is officially out of İstanbul Convention • Erdoğan makes false claims on Covid vaccination • Covid reopening with "silence after midnight"

4 July 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

A not-so-full lockdown with an alcohol ban and vaccine shortage

PAST WEEK IN TURKEY

A not-so-full lockdown with an alcohol ban and vaccine shortage

Eighty percent of the employed to continue working during "full lockdown" • Ankara's response to Biden's genocide recognition • Turkey becomes Europe's plastic waste dump • AKP hinders İstanbul Municipality's cheap bread buffets

28 April 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

128 billion dollars and the picture of unhappiness

128 billion dollars and the picture of unhappiness

AKP struggles to explain the "disappeared" Central Bank reserves • Human smuggling with service stamped passports • The case of the killing of a teacher starts after 10 years • Daily coronavirus deaths have quadrupled

21 April 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu

The 'new Boğaziçi University': Censorship, surveillance and LGBTI+phobia

PAST WEEK IN TURKEY

The 'new Boğaziçi University': Censorship, surveillance and LGBTI+phobia

Boğaziçi protests mark 100 days • The Montreux declaration: "It was a trap" • Covid Cases and deaths reach unprecedented levels in the third wave • Journalists non grata

14 April 2021 Volga Kuşçuoğlu