★ Turkish Parliament reconvened on October 1, and the largest oposition party Republican People's Party boycotted the opening.

  In the parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he told President Donald Trump, "We paid, yet you still have not delivered the F-35s," and added that the mandate from the 2023 elections will run its five-year course.

  Erdoğan later apologized to leaders of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party after initially skipping their handshake on the floor.

  Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said proposals and reports are being prepared for the "Turkey without Terror" process, with legislative steps to follow.

★ According to BBC's Turkish service, at least 50 Turkish nationals from the Global Sumud flotilla are in custody after Israeli naval interventions; nine returned to Turkey and three more are en route, while another group was on the last ship before a further boarding on October 3.

  The delegation said 62 people from Turkey joined the flotilla.

★ A court ruled to keep journalist Fatih Altaylı in pre-trial detention on the charge of "threatening the president," setting the next hearing for November 26.

  He has been jailed for 106 days and denies the accusation, saying he has been the one threatened for years.

★ The Greek Prime Minister said Greece will veto Turkey's participation in the European Union's SAFE defense-financing mechanism—described as a 150-billion-euro pool for joint defense projects—so long as Ankara keeps the casus belli stance and questions sovereignty over Greek islands.

★ Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the United States Congress blocked export licenses for the engines of Turkey's fifth-generation fighter program KAAN, citing sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

  Independent analyst Arda Mevlütoğlu said KAAN prototypes fly with paired F-16 engines and ten engines were procured, but the first twenty aircraft for the Air Force need new engines, which would require lifting the sanctions.

★ Two major labor confederations said they will boycott the 2026 minimum wage talks, arguing the government dominates the commission and that bargaining should be between workers and employers.

  The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey is left-leaning, while the Hak-İş Confederation is generally conservative and government-aligned.

★ Deutsche Welle's Turkish service reported that 289 textile companies sought bankruptcy protection in 2025 and that 322,000 jobs have been lost, as producers shift mass production to Egypt amid high costs at home.

  Industry leaders called for a more competitive exchange-rate policy, targeted incentives, and a move toward higher value-added, design-driven output to restore export share.

★ The Treasury and Finance Ministry said Turkey's gross external debt stock was 547.7 billion dollars and net external debt 295 billion dollars as of June 30, 2025.

★ The Turkish Confederation of Trade Unions said September's poverty threshold in Ankara rose to 91,109 lira and the hunger threshold to 27,970 lira, with the poverty line topping four monthly minimum wages for the first time.

  The unemployment rate rose to 8.5 percent in August, with 3.04 million unemployed and a 29.7 percent composite underutilization rate, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.

★ Turkish Airlines and Gulf Air signed a strategic partnership to align networks and develop new commercial opportunities.

★ Oba Makarna signed an Asset Transfer Agreement to sell the noodle factory and equipment in Hendek, Sakarya, to Japan-based Nissin Foods; the board approved the decision on September 30 and the contract was signed October 1.

★ According to BBC's Turkish service, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported September consumer inflation at 33.29 percent annually and 3.23 percent monthly, noting that inflation has risen for the first time in 16 months.

  The independent Inflation Research Group put the annual rate at 63.23 percent.

★ Google's President of Global Affairs told Oksijen that artificial intelligence could add 96 billion dollars to Turkey's economy over ten years and potentially lift annual gross domestic product growth by up to 7.4 percent by 2035, while warning that the biggest risk is missing the wave.

 

★ BGNES, headquartered in Bulgaria, reported the Venice Simplon-Orient Express made its second 2025 Istanbul run, entering via Kapıkule and continuing to Edirne for checks before Istanbul.

  Staff said 71 guests and 40 crew traveled across 16 carriages, with organizers hoping to increase Istanbul trips.

 

★ Arts and culture highlights:

  İş Sanat opens its 26th season with Pablo Ferrández and Tekfen Philharmonic;

  Filmekimi 2025 brings prize winners and new films from Jafar Panahi, Jim Jarmusch, Richard Linklater, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino, and others;

  Can Dündar's "Silivri. Prison of Thought" installation is on view outside Berlin's Rotes Rathaus; and Cevdet Erek's modular sound structure "Amfibio" is free to visit at Artİstanbul Feshane October 2–5.

  The Culture and Tourism Minister announced "Cinema Day" pricing on Wednesdays through year-end: participating theaters will price tickets at 120 lira, roughly 3.70 dollars at recent rates.

 

★ News on Archeology: - A Hittite stone-carving workshop at Karakız, Yozgat—home to a rare basalt lion statue—has been damaged by illegal digs, prompting calls for urgent protection.

  Scholars say the workshop extends the imperial tradition seen at Hattusa's Lion Gate and Alacahöyük's Sphinx Gate into the provinces.

  - At Attouda in Denizli, archaeologists uncovered a 2,600–2,800-year- old sanctuary of the Phrygian Mother Goddess Matar, including a rock-cut complex, a sacred cave, and a twin rock idol.

  The work is led under the supervision of Hulusi Ünsal.

  - In İzmir's Metropolis, a 1,800-year-old Roman agora with Doric colonnades and second-century mosaics has emerged; evidence points to earthquake damage and use into the fifth or sixth century.

  The project is directed by Prof. Serdar Aybek with deputy Dr. Burak Arslan.

  - In Antalya's Sillyon, excavations identified the tomb of Menodora, a Roman-era benefactor who funded civic works and a children's endowment; her 26-line inscription has been re-erected near the grave.

  Another Sillyon dig has cleared a "time-tunnel" main street showing layers from Hellenistic shops to Seljuk and Ottoman structures.

  - At Sayburç in Şanlıurfa, more than 50 Neolithic buildings—houses and special public structures with "T"-shaped pillars—were exposed, documenting the shift from round to rectangular plans over about 300 years.

  The site enriches understanding of Göbeklitepe-era social and ritual life.

  - In Alanya's Syedra, an 1,800-year-old stadium roughly 200 by 16 meters was unearthed, tied by inscriptions to wrestling, boxing, athletics, and festivals, underscoring the city's high status.

  - In Van's Çavuştepe Castle, archaeologists found stockpiles of sling-stones—some shaped from clay—shedding light on Urartian military logistics and ranged defense tactics.

  - In Tokat's Komana Pontika, a rare Seljuk-period iron stirrup and an equine-headed ceramic handle point to mounted life and animal husbandry in the 13th century.

  - In Antalya's Olympos, a Late Antique bath of about 200 square meters likely attached to a bishop's residence was revealed, with features suggesting periodic free public access; two shattered sarcophagi were also restored in situ.

★ Popular Mechanics reported that Turkish researchers say they have pinpointed the Battle of the Granicus site near the city of Biga on the Granicus River, identifying the plains and nearby villages where Alexander the Great won his first major victory over Persia.

  Led by historian Revhan Körpe of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, the team combined a close reading of ancient sources with geomorphological tests that reconstructed marshes and highlighted a still distinct hill described by the texts.

  Local farmers' reports of graves with weapons on that hill, an unmarked adult grave found in 2024, and the discovery of a third ancient city, Hermaion—Alexander's last stop—plus a mapped route from Ozbek through Umurbey and Lapseki into the Biga Plain, all bolstered the identification.

  Scholars say fixing the battlefield's location anchors a turning point in world history, as Alexander personally led the cavalry, was saved by a bodyguard during the fighting, and launched the Persian campaign that helped earn him the epithet the Great.

★ According to BBC's Turkish service, Galatasaray beat Liverpool 1–0 in the UEFA Champions League with a Victor Osimhen penalty; the report credited intense pressing and crowd pressure for unsettling the English side.

  The choice to bench Mohamed Salah did not change the outcome, BBC noted.

★ Fenerbahçe beat Nice 2–1 in Istanbul in Europe, with new signing Kerem Aktürkoğlu scoring twice to make it 2–0 before a late penalty for the visitors; his second was Fenerbahçe's 400th goal in European competition.

★ Samsunspor opened its UEFA Europa Conference League campaign with a 1–0 away win at Legia Warsaw.

★ In EuroLeague basketball, Fenerbahçe Beko opened the season by beating Paris Basketball 96–77 at home.

 

★ Istanbul is positioning itself as a European hub for esports, with the national federation and Terminal Kadıköy hosting federation leagues, national-team events, and the Türkiye Cup.

  Esports is the English term for organized, competitive video gaming across titles and platforms.