★ According to Dorian Jones of Voice of America, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is putting aside past tensions and sees the new Trump presidency as an opportunity.

  Mr. Erdoğan wants to rekindle what he calls his close working relationship with the president-elect, Dorian Jones adds.

  However, the incoming trump presidency poses risks as well as opportunities.

  Listen to the audio report of Dorian Jones >> here <<

★ Dorian Jones also had an article on Turkey's involvement in Syria. He said the ouster of Bashar Assad is the latest Turkish success in its regional rivalry with Iran.

  However, analysts say Iran still has cards to play in its intensifying rivalry with Turkey.

  Listen to the audio report of Dorian Jones >> here <<

★ According to the Associated Press, last Saturday, Turkey's Kurdish leaders from the pro-Kurdish DEM party met Selahattin Demirtaş, a jailed Kurdish politician.

  The Turkish government approved the meeting, saying that it is trying to resolve the conflict with the Kurds. The conflict started 40 years ago and caused the death of nearly 40,000 people, mostly civilians.

  The ruling Justice and Development Party jailed Selahattin Demirtaş on charges of terrorism. Most human rights organizations around the world and the European Court of Human Rights say the jailing of Demirtaş is political, and the government trumped up the charges.

★ In a report published on January 16, Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, published a report on the events of 2024 in Turkey.

  The report started with the following paragraph:

  "President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party-led parliamentary coalition government exert control over the media, courts, and most state institutions, regularly sidelining or punishing perceived government critics.

  "Political divisions and power struggles within Turkey's top courts and increasing reports of corruption within the state and judiciary have further undermined human rights and the rule of law.

  "Authorities, including courts, continued to ignore or reject binding judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, finding Turkey in violation, leading to the perpetuation of serious abuses.

  "A cost-of-living crisis continued in 2024, with the Turkish Statistical Institute reporting an annual inflation rate of 47 percent in November.

  Local elections in March saw the opposition Republican People's Party make significant gains against Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party in over two decades, securing 37.8 percent of the vote nationally against the Justice and Development Party's 35 percent and holding on to the Istanbul and Ankara municipalities."

  Then it wrote in detail about the following:

• Freedom of expression
• Freedoms of association and assembly
• Attacks on human rights defenders
• Torture and ill-treatment in custody
• Kurdish conflict and crackdown on opposition
• Refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants
• Women's rights
• Sexual orientation and gender identity
• Climate change policy and impacts

  Read more >> here <<

★ Human Rights Watch also had two additional articles.

  The first article is on the Turkish government's approval of expansion at a coal power plant in southeastern Turkey despite local community concerns the expansion will exacerbate the already dangerous health impacts of the plant.

  Read more >> here <<

  The other article quoted the following from Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch:

  "International partners shouldn't overlook Turkey's repressive human rights record at home as Erdoğan's regional influence has risen with the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

  "The Turkish government needs to stop initiating bogus criminal proceedings and detention orders against its critics, to stop removing elected local politicians, and to carry out the binding judgments of the European Court of Human Rights," added Hugh Williamson.

  Read more >> here <<

★ Human Rights Watch published a report on the removal of Turkish mayors by the ruling Justice and Development Party administration.

  The mayors removed are from the pro-Kurdish DEM party and the Republican People's Party, both in the opposition.

  In the past two weeks, the Justice and Development Party administration has removed additional mayors from office.

  They were Istanbul's Beşiktaş district mayor Rıza Akpolat from the Republican People's Party, and Nuriye Arslan and Hoşyar Sarıyıldız, co-mayors of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party's Mersin province's Akdeniz District Municipality.

  In both districts, large groups of people gathered to protest the removals.

  In the meantime, lawyers for detained and ousted Mayor Ahmet Özer from the Republican People's Party petitioned Turkey's Constitutional Court, citing violations of rights and prolonged detention without an indictment.

  Istanbul's chief public prosecutor's office alleges that the mayor is a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party, an organization of the Kurdish rebels that is on a terrorist list in the U.S., the European Union, and Turkey.

  On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested that additional judicial investigations into opposition mayors might be forthcoming.

  Some suggest that the real target of the Justice and Development Party administration is Ekrem İmamoğlu, the popular mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan area, who analysts regarded as the president's potential rival in a future presidential election.

★ On Thursday, independent news outlet Bianet reported that death due to alcohol poisoning from counterfeit liquor rose to twenty-three. Thirty-two individuals are on respirators in intensive care units.

  The office of the Istanbul governor said that there was a serious increase in the country for alcohol-related poisonings in the city since January 13, 2025.

  Some analysts attribute the increase in the sale of counterfeit liquor to the dramatic increase in liquor prices due to the Justice and Development Party's efforts to curb the consumption of alcohol in line with their Islamic ideology.

★ Isak Haleva, Chief Rabbi of the Turkish Jewry, died at age 84.

  Haleva had been Chief Rabbi since 2002, and the Şalom newspaper announced his passing.

  In a statement published on the passing of Haleva, the Turkish Chief Rabbinate Foundation stated:

  "We are deeply saddened to have lost our esteemed Leader, our Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva, who always believed in the unity of peace and love and led our Community in line with this belief for years."

★ According to Bianet, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality increased the public transportation fares by as high as 35% in Istanbul.

  Taxi fares also increased up to 49%.

  Previously, the municipality increased the fares in July 2024 to 13 to 22%.

  Last year, the inflation was nearly 90%, resulting in the cost of operating transportation systems and taxis.

  7 million people used public transportation in Istanbul in 2024.

★ The US-based Yum! Brands, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, terminated its franchise agreements with Turkish operator İş GIDA.

  Yum! Brands said it decided after İş GIDA failed to meet its standards.

  The franchise termination will affect 283 KFC and 254 Pizza Hut restaurants in Turkey, and Yum! will close them temporarily.