★ Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that Tayfun Kahraman, a convicted defendant in the Gezi Park trial, was denied his right to a fair trial and must be retried. The court found that lower courts failed to properly assess his defense and did not establish a legal link between his actions and the conviction.

  Kahraman was sentenced to 18 years in prison for allegedly aiding an attempt to overthrow the government during the 2013 Gezi Park protests.

  His conviction had previously been upheld by both regional and high-level courts, and he has remained imprisoned since.

★ According to BBC Turkish Service, five of the 25 people detained in the latest wave of arrests targeting Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality employees by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office have been formally arrested.

  Judicial control measures were imposed on 20 others who were referred to the courthouse on August 1.

  A judicial control decision was also issued for İrfan Demet, the General Manager of Istanbul Electric Tram and Tunnel Company.

  The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into corruption that began in May 2024. Since then, a total of 86 municipal employees have been detained in several waves, as part of a broader probe into alleged irregularities and misconduct within the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

  However, opposition parties and many citizens argue that the operation lacks a genuine corruption basis and is instead a politically motivated move by the ruling Justice and Development Party to target municipalities governed by the opposition.

  Critics also point out that there are over 100 documented corruption cases involving Justice and Development Party-run municipalities—some backed by the government's own audit reports—yet none of these cases have gone to trial.

★ Writing in the Turkish daily Oksijen, Bekir Ağırdır said a study by the Data Institute reveals that fear has become a collective state of mind in Turkey and introduces a previously nonexistent fear: uncertainty about the future.

  According to a July survey, 60% of participants said their greatest fear is "uncertainty about the future," and 37% reported an increase in fear levels compared to last year—a figure that rises to 42% among those over 50.

  Additionally, 61% of respondents said they fear "the division of Turkey along ethnic or religious lines," 55% fear "contracting deadly diseases like cancer," 53% fear "being imprisoned due to a false accusation," and 48% fear "growing old and falling into poverty and dependency."

★ A UN Conference on "Finding a Peaceful Solution to the Palestinian Issue and Implementing the Two-State Solution," led by France and Saudi Arabia, was held in New York on July 29–30.

  The declaration demands that, parallel to the end of the war in Gaza, Hamas hand over its governance and weapons to the Palestinian Authority.

  Turkey, however, added a reservation stating that Hamas and other Palestinian groups can only be expected to disarm if a sovereign and independent Palestinian state is established based on the 1967 borders.

★ On Tuesday, Journalists gathered outside Israel's consulate in İstanbul to protest its ongoing attacks against media professionals in Gaza, including its reported use of starvation as a tactic targeting Palestinian reporters.

  The demonstration was organized by the Turkish Journalists' Association, Reporters Without Borders, the Journalists' Union of Turkey, and DİSK Press Workers Union.

  Participants condemned Israel's violations of press freedom and human rights in Gaza.

★ Last week, a street in İstanbul's Beyoğlu district where trans women live was placed under police blockade, and several homes were raided following drone surveillance.

  Trans women working as sex workers say the violence they have faced in recent days is not coincidental. They describe systematic efforts to displace them from their homes and authorities pressure their landlords not to rent to transvestites.

★ The automotive and aviation website Autoevolution published an article titled "Why Turkey's New Stealth Fighter Looks Awfully Familiar," focusing on the TF Kaan fighter jet currently under development in Turkey.

  In the article, author Benny Kirk explains that, to some extent, all stealth jets share a similar appearance. The sharp, deliberate design lines that give stealth aircraft their distinctive look are essential for deflecting radar beams away from detection stations, helping to keep them hidden during combat.

  The article also opens with a brief overview of Turkey's aviation history.

★ Defense News reported that Turkey and Indonesia, signed a multi billion-dollar contract for 48 Turkish KAAN fighter aircraft and two İstif-class frigates.

  Turkey will deliver the planes over 10 years.

  The contract also covers long-term industrial collaboration, engineering support, and joint technology development, with Indonesian partners.

★ According to BBC Turkish Service, President Donald Trump has announced additional tariffs on imports from several countries, including Turkey. Products exported from Turkey to the United States will now be subject to a 15% additional customs duty, up from the previously announced 10%.

  The new tariffs will take effect starting August 8. Trump had initially declared these tariffs upon taking office but postponed their implementation to allow time for trade agreement negotiations.

★ President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan postponed a planned strike by mine workers for 60 days, citing national security.

  The decision, made under Article 63 of the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements, affects four sites operated by the state-owned Eti Maden Enterprises.

  This marks the 22nd strike postponement under Erdoğan's government, with labor expert Aziz Çelik noting that nearly 200,000 workers have been affected.

  Çelik criticized the practice, saying that the constitutional right to strike has effectively become subject to presidential discretion.

  According to a statement by the Turkish Mine Workers' Union, the postponement was described as "the de facto usurpation of our right to strike, which is guaranteed by the Constitution."

  The head of the confederation to which the union belongs stated that the Constitutional Court had ruled the government cannot postpone a strike.

★ According to Turkish paper Ege Alternatif, the impact of Turkey's high-interest rate policy on the industrial sector has deepened.

  On July 25, the capacity utilization rate fell to 74.1%, the lowest level since August 2020.

  Additionally, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry Turkey Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dropped for the third consecutive month in July to 45.9, marking the sharpest slowdown since October 2020.

  The sector has now seen uninterrupted deterioration in operating conditions for 16 straight months.

  A sustained decline in customer demand has caused new orders to slow for the 25th consecutive month, forcing manufacturers to scale back production.

  According to the July 2025 Turkey Sectoral Purchasing Managers' Index Report by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, all 10 monitored sectors experienced a slowdown in new orders. Production cuts intensified in July, reaching the highest rate of decline in 10 months.

  Only the electrical and electronics sector saw a moderate increase after 17 months, while the sharpest contraction occurred in the food products sector. Employment and purchasing activity also declined overall. Due to sharp increases in input costs, prices rose in all sectors except textiles, with the highest inflation recorded in the electrical and electronics sector.

  Erdal Bahçıvan, Chairman of the Board of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, voiced serious concerns about the industrial outlook.

★ 1 USD = 40.64 Turkish Liras

★ Bodrum-based artist Gülşah İkbal Cesur opened her 19th solo exhibition, titled From Tradition to the Future, at the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce Art Gallery to mark her 25th year in art.

  Bodrum is a resort town in southwestern Turkey.

  The exhibition features 45 works blending traditional Turkish arts - such as miniature, illumination, tiles, and marbling - with modern painting techniques, and will remain open on weekdays until August 15.

  A graduate of Dokuz Eylül University's Traditional Turkish Handicrafts Department and a certified intangible cultural heritage bearer by the Ministry of Culture, Cesur continues her ceramic, tile, and miniature work in her İzmir studio, where she also teaches.

★ The percussion group Catch the Rhythm of Life, made up of students from Balıkesir Kepsut Boarding Middle School and ranked first in Turkey, gave their 1000th performance with street shows in Kuşadası during their summer holiday.

  Founded in 2012 by music teachers Ayşe Oral, her brother Nuri Dağdelen, and his wife, the group has performed in many countries including France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, aiming to inspire rural students through music.

  During their stay, the all-girls group also delivered a powerful message against violence toward women through their instruments and are preparing to publish a two-volume book series recounting their musical journey.

★ The exhibition Teachers and Students, featuring works from Türkiye İş Bankası's Art Collection, was held on July 26–27 at the bank's Milas branch, highlighting the generational continuity of Turkish art.

  As part of İş Sanat's Art for Everyone: Anatolian Exhibitions project, the show brought together works by renowned Milas-born artist Turan Erol, his mentor Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, and his student Yalçın Gökçebağ, reflecting their unique perspectives on Anatolia.

  The event also included a talk by art historian Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Köksal and children's workshops, with İş Sanat General Manager Zuhal Üreten announcing the next exhibition will take place in Gelibolu on August 9–10, marking the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Anafartalar.

★ The 9th Çalı Village Film Festival took place in Bursa's Çalı village from July 26 to July 28, 2025, beginning with the screening of Aysel, the Girl from the Swampy Roof, considered the first village-themed film in Turkish cinema. The festival was organized by Nilüfer Municipality and the Çalı Environment and Culture Association, and was known as Turkey's first camping-style open-air film festival.

  Nilüfer Mayor Şadi Özdemir emphasized the cultural value of the film, which was directed by Muhsin Ertuğrul, written by Nazım Hikmet in Bursa Prison, and featured music by Cemal Reşit Rey. He noted that many residents of Çalı had appeared as extras. Due to wildfires in nearby provinces, concerts were canceled, but the first-ever National Interdisciplinary Cinema Symposium was successfully completed.

  The restored version of the film was followed by a panel on its historical significance and restoration. The three-day festival included film and documentary screenings, director talks, workshops, and a short film competition featuring 131 entries, concluding with an awards ceremony on July 28.

★ As part of its World Cinema program, the Odunpazarı Modern Museum in Eskişehir is hosting a summer screening series in collaboration with Bir Film, featuring prominent international films every Wednesday and Saturday from July 30 to August 30, 2025. The lineup included diverse titles such as The Sorrows of Young Werther, Frances Ha, Maria, Inside Llewyn Davis, and animated classics like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, offering local audiences a rich exploration of global cinema.

  Held in the museum's open-air venue at 9:00 P. M., 8:30 P. M. for later dates, the screenings explored themes of love, identity, aging, and imagination through a curated mix of drama, biography, and animation. The program offered a cultural gathering point that blended cinematic storytelling with Eskişehir's contemporary art scene.

★ The 19th International Folk Dance Festival was held with great enthusiasm in the Tavas district of Denizli, drawing thousands of spectators. Folk dance groups from Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, and Georgia joined local Tavas efe folk dancers for a colorful celebration of cultural heritage.

  The festival, held at the Tavas District Stadium, featured vibrant dances and traditional costumes that captivated the audience. Tavas Mayor Kadir Tatık and Denizli Metropolitan Deputy Mayor Ali Marım attended the event and expressed their appreciation for the performances and international participation.

  Beyond entertainment, the festival aimed to foster cultural unity and strengthen bonds of friendship among different nations. Organizers emphasized the event's importance for promoting Tavas and contributing to the cultural richness of the Denizli region. Mayor Tatık extended his thanks to all participating groups and the audience for their support.

★ The photography exhibition New York Diary by Sinan Koçaslan opened at the Nilüfer Photography Museum in Nilüfer, a district of Bursa in northwestern Turkey, featuring scenes captured during his 13 years living in New York. The collection includes photographs from various iconic locations such as Times Square and Central Park, offering a personal and artistic perspective on the city's dynamic life.

  Curated by Engin Özendes, the exhibition not only reflected Koçaslan's personal experiences but also illuminated the multicultural and ever-changing spirit of urban life in New York. The opening was attended by Koçaslan, Nilüfer Deputy Mayor Bukle Erman, and numerous art lovers.

  In her speech, Erman emphasized the value of artworks that document and reflect urban life, especially in the digital age, as a cultural record for future generations. The exhibition features 45 photographs in 12 different sizes and remains open until October 26, 2025.

★ Cypriot artist Mehveş Beyidoğlu, a graduate of Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design, opened her solo exhibition Permeable at Art Rooms Gallery in Girne, Cyprus, on view until September 5, 2025.

  The show features works created with rust, stains, and body imprints, exploring emotional and physical permeability and the beauty of imperfection.

  Beyidoğlu is known for embracing natural marks and traces in her art, challenging societal ideals of flawlessness and highlighting the authenticity of lived experience.

★ British artist Anousha Payne, based in London, held her first solo exhibition in Turkey, titled Murmurations, at the Zeyrek Çinili Hammam in Istanbul, on view until August 15, 2025. Inspired by the site's 500-year-old Byzantine Cistern, Payne created ceramic and mixed-media works that respond to the space's historical texture by transforming water stains, stone hollows, and worn surfaces into imaginary mythological figures.

  Curated by Anlam de Coster, the exhibition explored themes of memory, collective movement, and invisible histories, using materials like hammered brass, textiles, and found objects. Payne's work invited visitors to reimagine Istanbul's layered past through poetic, site-specific narratives woven into the architecture of the ancient bathhouse.

★ The exhibition Dark World, on view at Salt Galata in Istanbul, explores the troubled production and censorship history of the 1953 film directed by Metin Erksan and written by Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, originally intended to portray the life of folk poet Âşık Veysel. Artists Mike Bode and Caner Yalçın present the project as an interdisciplinary inquiry, using archival findings, video installations, and scripts to examine how political pressures, censorship, and commercial interests reshaped the film into a propaganda piece that sidelined its original narrative.

  Through newly unearthed 35mm footage and fragmented film copies, the exhibition reveals a broader critique of state intervention in cultural production in 1950s Turkey, positioning the film as a historical artifact shaped by shifting ideologies and unresolved memory. Rather than reconstructing a "true" version of the film, Dark World opens up questions about authorship, erasure, and the cultural forces that define what stories are allowed to be told.

★ The 22nd International Bodrum Ballet Festival will be held in the enchanting atmosphere of Bodrum Fortress from August 1 to 25. The festival oped on August 1 and 2 with Tchaikovsky's timeless masterpiece, Swan Lake, performed by the İzmir State Opera and Ballet.

  The ballet will be presented in a modern interpretation by G. Armağan Davran and A. Volkan Ersoy, based on the classic choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov.

  On August 5 and 6, the Moscow Classical Ballet Theatre will present Sleeping Beauty. Fuad Mamedov, principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, will appear as Prince Désiré, while original choreography by Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilöv will transport audiences into a magical fairytale realm.

★ Elif Naz Ertuğrul has achieved significant success at just 12 years old, earning second place in the entrance exams and admission to the Pre-College Program at Salzburg Mozarteum University.

  She is now the youngest Turkish student ever accepted into the program. Professor Andreas Weber, Head of the Piano Pre-College Department and coordinator for gifted students, has also recognized her as the first Turkish pianist in the program's history.

★ The İbrahim Çeçen Foundation has published Timeless Flavors on a Peninsula Journey, which received a Special Award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, one of the world's most prestigious honors in gastronomy.

  Held in Lisbon, Portugal, the 30th edition of the Gourmand Awards featured hundreds of cookbooks from 83 countries. Celebrated for its cultural and artistic depth, the book highlights the rich culinary traditions of the Çeşme Peninsula.

★ Gault&Millau, one of the world's two most renowned gastronomy guides, came to life at Karma Bodrum, the second stop of the Signature Dining Experience series on the Turkey Tour.

  Chefs from three different cultures presented a culinary journey stretching from Anatolia's fertile lands to the refined cuisine of Georgia and the vibrant flavors of Lebanon. Each dish told a story; each plate was a living expression of culture.

★ Excavation and restoration efforts at the Seljuk Cemetery in Gevaş, Van—one of Turkey's largest Turkish-Islamic cemeteries—have uncovered six more graves this year, bringing the total number of identified tombstones to nearly 1,000, many dating back to the late 14th century.

  The project, carried out under the "Legacy for the Future Project" with the support of the Presidency and led by the Van Museum and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ercan Çalış, has stabilized 180 tombstones and cleaned or restored many others.

  The inscriptions and decorative elements on the tombstones offer valuable insights into the region's historical and cultural heritage, with the 1335-built Halime Hatun Tomb highlighting the Seljuk architectural style and the prominence of women in that era.

★ Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey stated that two separate wildfires affected an area the size of 10,000 football fields, resulting in the loss of approximately 3 million trees.

  Remarkably, a 12-acre nectarine orchard in the burned zone survived unharmed due to timely clearing of dry grass and regular irrigation, according to one of the owners.

★ On July 25th, two conscripts in Turkey's southern province of Hatay died from dehydration during basic training, Turkey's National Defense Ministry announced the next day. Five others were hospitalized with high fevers.

  The ministry launched an investigation into the incident.

★ Turkey experienced its highest-ever recorded temperature in July, with Silopi in Şırnak province reaching 123°F, while 132 monitoring stations also logged record highs for the month.

  Temperatures across the country remained 11°F to 22°F above seasonal norms, particularly affecting the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions.

★ Water levels in the Meriç River in Turkey's northwestern province of Edirne Dropped significantly, driven by extreme heat and increased evaporation.

  The receding waters exposed the stone supports of a centuries-old wooden bridge that had long remained hidden beneath the riverbed, according to the Anatolia News Agency.

  Data from the State Hydraulic Works show that the river's flow at the Kirişhane Station has fallen to just 37 cubic meters per second.

  Meriç forms a natural border between Turkey and Greece.