★ The United States has announced that it continues to oppose Turkey's reentry into the F-35 fighter jet program.

  In a statement released Wednesday, the State Department said there has been no change in Washington's position on the issue.

★ According to the Ukranian news outlet mezha.net, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Turkey has expressed its willingness to join Ukraine's security guarantees by taking responsibility for the maritime dimension, stressing its professionalism and capacity in the Black Sea.

  He made the remarks in Kyiv on August 22 alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, noting that the Coalition of the Willing is coordinating with the U.S. and European partners to finalize a model for security guarantees within 7 to 10 days.

  Analysts highlight that Turkey's involvement could significantly strengthen the Black Sea's security architecture, though balancing regional interests will be crucial for sustainable peace and accountability.

★ Accoding to Bianet, a new forestry regulation published by Turkey's Agriculture and Forestry Ministry eases rules for mining in forested areas by removing the obligation for companies to reforest and return land before applying for new permits.

  Instead, firms can continue operations if they obtain a letter from the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs confirming that reserves are not depleted. This effectively allows indefinite mining in forests without rehabilitation.

  Lawyer Mehmet Horuş criticized the measure as part of a broader pro-corporate policy trend that accelerates mining activities while bypassing public oversight and environmental protections introduced under a recent omnibus law.

  He argued that mining licenses now function as "guarantee certificates," overriding environmental review and the Environmental Impact Assessment process.

  Although the regulation maintains some rehabilitation requirements for certain minerals when operations exceed 10 or 150 hectares, the exemption undermines these safeguards, giving companies wide leeway to keep exploiting forest land.

  Details are Read more at >> here <<

★ İstanbul will close several major roads on August 24 and August 30 for rehearsals and ceremonies marking the 103rd Victory Day celebrations.

  Adnan Menderes Boulevard (Vatan Street) and all connecting roads will be shut from 5:45 A.M. until the end of the programs, with entrances from key routes such as the D100 highway, Atatürk Boulevard, and multiple neighborhood streets blocked.

  Authorities urged residents to plan ahead and use alternative routes, including Turgut Özal Millet Street, Fevzipaşa Street, Atatürk Boulevard, the D100, and O-3 Hal Yolu.

★ A lawsuit has been filed against 16 municipal employees over the collapse of the Ebrar Site Güvenç Apartment building in Kahramanmaraş during the February 6, 2023, earthquakes, which resulted in the deaths of 96 people.

  The defendants are charged with "causing the death and injury of multiple people through conscious negligence" and face up to 22 years and 6 months in prison each

  Additionally, a new indictment has been prepared regarding the collapse of Penta Park Site in Kahramanmaraş, where 115 people died during the February 6 earthquakes.

  Seven individuals who carried out renovations in the shops located beneath the building face up to 22 years and 6 months in prison, while five others risk being barred from their professions.

  The case has been merged with the ongoing trial of contractors and public officials accused over the same building's collapse.

★ Collective bargaining talks for public employees in Turkey have broken down, with the final decision on 2026–2027 wages now set to be made by the government-dominated Public Officials Arbitration Board.

  Civil servant unions, led by Memur-Sen, staged nationwide protests and work stoppages yesterday before rejecting the government's revised offer of an 11% wage hike in the first half of 2026 and 7% in the second half, followed by 4% in each half of 2027.

  The dispute affects around 6.5 million civil servants and retirees, with union leader Ali Yalçın warning that wage imbalances have "collapsed" and insisting that responsibility for the crisis does not lie with the unions.

★ According to Oksijen newspaper, Turkey's Competition Authority has launched an investigation into allegations that Google forced developers to use its own payment system, Google Play Billing, in the Play Store and blocked them from informing users about alternative payment methods.

  The board stated that these practices could restrict competition.

★ According to the consumer tendency survey conducted jointly by the Turkish Statistical Institute and the Central Bank of Turkey, the consumer confidence index rose by 0.9% from 83.5 in July to 84.3 in August.

★ According to Oksijen newspaper, in the first half of 2025, the company with the largest loss on İstanbul stock exchage was Vestel Elektronik, posting a loss of 307 million dollars.

  It was followed by Sasa Polyester with 214 million dollars, Mogan Enerji with 103 million dollars, and Arçelik with 98 million dollars.

★ Volkan Akkaş, CEO of Akko Restaurant Group and Aziz Ebay Holding, which operates 14 brands including Köşebaşı, told Elif Ergu that soaring costs in Turkey have pushed restaurant prices above European levels.

  "Energy, raw materials, rent, and personnel expenses have all increased. Prices have surpassed Europe," he said, noting that a menu offered for 60 euros in Europe now costs 80–90 euros in Turkey.

  Akkaş added that the cost-of-living crisis is hurting the restaurant business: people who once dined out three times a month now go only once, alcohol consumption has declined, customers are shifting from luxury to mid-range restaurants, and there has been a noticeable drop in business-related foreign guests.

★ According to Turkish Statistical Institute data for the second quarter of 2025, employment increased by only 1.9% year-on-year, while the industrial sector saw a decline.

  The number of hours worked decreased, but gross wages and labor costs rose by more than 40% annually, with the largest increases recorded in the trade-services and construction sectors.

★ Turkish port authorities have begun informally asking shipping agencies to provide written guarantees stating that vessels have no links to Israel and are not carrying military or hazardous cargo destined for the country.

  According to sources who spoke to Reuters, harbor master offices issued verbal instructions for such letters, although no official circular has been published. One source said the directive applies to ports nationwide.

  The guarantee must confirm that ship owners, operators, and managers have no ties to Israel and that the vessel is not transporting items such as explosives, radioactive materials, or military equipment bound for Israel. The Ministry of Transport has not yet responded to Reuters' request for comment.

★ According to BBC, a baby gorilla named "Zeytin/Olive," rescued from wildlife traffickers at İstanbul Airport last year, will be returned to Nigeria for rehabilitation.

  Olive, a critically endangered Gorilla gorilla, has been under the care of Turkey's Nature Conservation and National Parks Directorate for eight months and is monitored by the UN and CITES, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

  Authorities plan to transfer the gorilla to Drill Ranch in Nigeria, a primate sanctuary that is part of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance and specializes in rehabilitating trafficked animals.

★ The Zeytinli Rock Festival, planned for August 21–24 in İstanbul's Kilyos district, was canceled after local authorities revoked its permit citing wildfire risks.

  Originally launched in Balıkesir in the 1990s, the festival has faced repeated cancellations in recent years, including a ban in Marmaris earlier this summer over environmental concerns.

  This year's lineup featured major Turkish artists, but organizers have not announced an alternative date or location, reflecting a broader trend of music and film festival cancellations across the country.

★ From September 16 to January 18, Istanbul's Pera Museum will host Feelings in Common, featuring 29 artists from the British Council Collection, and A Poem Written with Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, the first Turkish solo show of Swedish artist Åsa Jungnelius. The exhibitions explore social dynamics, materiality, and history through works ranging from British contemporary art to Jungnelius's glass and marble sculptures.

★ Şahika Tekand's play Corrosion (Aşınma), performed solo by Yiğit Özşener, will premiere in the UK at London's Battersea Arts Center on October 3–4.

  Reimagined from Tekand's 2008 work Erosion, the production applies her Performative Staging and Acting Method, earning Özşener and Tekand major theatre awards in Turkey.

★ Starting in 2026, the İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts will broaden its Turkey Workshop at Paris's Cité Internationale des Arts to include writers alongside visual artists and musicians.

  Each year, two visual artists, one musician, and one writer will receive three-month fellowships, with applications open until October 2, 2025.

  Since 2009, 55 artists have benefited from the program, which provides studios, exhibition halls, and performance spaces in one of Paris's leading international art centers.

★ The 18th Istanbul Biennial, curated by Christine Tohmé and titled The Three-Legged Cat, will run from September 20 to November 23, 2025, marking the first phase of a three-part program extending through 2027.

  Nearly 50 artists from over 30 countries, including six from Turkey, will exhibit works across eight venues in Beyoğlu and Karaköy. Themes of the first phase focus on "self-preservation" and "possible futures," with events including performances, screenings, and DJ sets.

  Organized by İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and sponsored by Koç Holding, the biennial is free to the public. Future phases will expand with an academy (2026) and a concluding exhibition and workshops (2027).

★ SALT Research has made the professional archive of architect Erdoğan Elmas (1938–2005) available online, providing digital access to documents covering his career from the 1960s to the 2000s.

  The collection, supported by Kalebodur, includes Elmas's architectural competition projects with Zafer Gülçur and Ertur Yener, as well as designs for major institutions such as the Central Bank İzmir Branch, Turkish Radio and Television General Directorate Complex, and Süleyman Demirel University.

  Part of SALT Research's Architecture Archive, which holds 180,000 items among its 2 million total documents, the Elmas archive offers drawings, reports, photos, and correspondence that illuminate Turkey's architectural history in the 20th century.

★ Arter will open its new season on September 11 with two major exhibitions: Velvet Stare, the first comprehensive solo show in Türkiye by Nilbar Güreş, curated by Emre Baykal, and I Need a Little More Time, a group exhibition of photo-based works by 21 artists, curated by Oğuz Karakütük.

  Velvet Stare spans 25 years of Güreş's multidisciplinary practice, exploring themes of coexistence, hybridity, and gender norms through painting, collage, photography, sculpture, and video.

  I Need More Time highlights the evolving possibilities of photography, presenting conceptual and process-driven works that challenge fixed representation and rapid production practices.

  Ongoing exhibitions include Franz Erhard Walther's Attempt to Become a Sculpture and the group show Under Pressure Above Water.

★ The Fourth International Bursa Gastronomy Festival will take place at Merinos Park on September 26–28 under the theme "Recreating the Route."

  The program features international chef performances, panels, a summit on geographically indicated products, UNESCO collaborations, women's cooperative workshops, open-air cinema, and concerts.

★ The Turkish Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, supported by the Sabancı Foundation and conducted by Cem Mansur, will tour Europe after a training camp at Sabancı University.

  With 80 young musicians, the orchestra will perform in Istanbul, Bursa, Denizli, Hamburg, Prague, Vienna, and Bratislava, featuring pianist İlyun Bürkev.

  The repertoire includes Britten, Grieg, Cem Esen, and Beethoven.

★ Istanbul Modern has expanded its International Advisory Board with figures from MoMA, Centre Pompidou, Sharjah Art Foundation, M+ Hong Kong, and Frieze Masters.

  The museum also renewed its Photography Advisory Board with curators from GAPO, LE BAL, and MoMA, and launched a new Collection Advisory Board led by Çelenk Bafra, with members including Esra Aliçavuşoğlu and Fatoş Üstek.

★ Fatih Birol, head of the 32-member International Energy Agency (IEA) and one of the world's most influential energy experts, warned that pushing climate change efforts down the agenda of world leaders could disrupt nature's balance.

  Speaking to Oksijen, Birol said he was not optimistic about meeting the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, but stressed that stepping back from the fight against climate change would bring disaster.

  He underlined that maintaining determination in the climate struggle is of vital importance.

  Born in 1958 in Ankara, Birol is an economist and energy policy expert. He earned his BS in power engineering from Istanbul Technical University and a MS and PhD in energy economics from the Technical University of Vienna.

  Before joining the International Energy Agency in 1995, he worked at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. He became IEA's chief economist in 1995 and was appointed executive director in 2015, a position he continues to hold.

  Birol has been recognized internationally for his leadership on clean energy transitions and is regularly listed among the world's most influential figures in energy and climate policy.

★ Five people in İzmir's Bornova district are facing up to 18 years in prison after allegedly causing a forest fire while illegally searching for treasure.

  Prosecutors say the suspects dug a large pit and used a homemade explosive device, which triggered a fire that destroyed 7,011 square meters of forest and 3,630 red pine trees on May 10.

  The indictment, accepted by the İzmir 23rd Heavy Penal Court, charges them with unlawful possession of hazardous materials and causing a forest fire with probable intent.