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Authorities have issued detention orders for 18 individuals as part of a corruption probe targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), over allegations of bribery and bid rigging. Fourteen of these people have been taken into custody.
Türkiye and Libya signed an agreement Thursday focusing on cooperation in mining, energy and infrastructure.
Here are today's updates:
Türkiye’s benchmark stock index, the BIST 100, ended Friday marginally lower at 10,366.16 points, slipping 0.04% from the previous close.
The index opened at 10,381.25 and fluctuated between a low of 10,334.81 and a high of 10,407.44 throughout the session, closing 4.55 points below Thursday’s finish.
The total market value of the BIST 100 stood at approximately 9.55 trillion Turkish liras ($237.7 billion), with a daily trading volume of 91 billion liras ($2.27 billion). Of the listed stocks, 47 gained in value while 52 declined.
As of 7 p.m. local time (1600GMT), gold traded at $3,354.30 per ounce, while Brent crude oil was priced at $68.90 per barrel.
In currency markets, the US dollar traded at 40.3790 Turkish liras, the euro at 47.0750, and the British pound at 54.3110.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments, including the situation in Syria and the Ukraine war, according to a statement from Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications.
During the call, Erdogan said the recent outbreak of violence in Syria’s Suwayda province following the withdrawal of Syrian security forces threatens regional stability and urged Israel to respect Syria’s sovereignty.
He emphasized that Türkiye remains committed to ensuring stability and security in Syria and supports the country’s recovery as soon as possible.
On the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Erdogan stressed the importance of resuming direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
He said Türkiye is ready to host a third round of negotiations in Istanbul if both sides agree on a date.
Istanbul's disaster management authority AKOM warned citizens about an African-origin heat wave expected to affect the city starting Sunday, with temperatures potentially reaching 40 degrees Celsius in some areas.
According to a statement from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Disaster Management Department (AKOM), a new African-origin heat wave may become effective in western regions, particularly Istanbul, starting Sunday, in addition to the Basra-origin heat wave already affecting southern and eastern regions of Türkiye.
The current temperatures in Istanbul, which range between 30-33 degrees Celsius, may increase by 3 to 5 degrees during the new week due to the incoming heat wave.
The disaster management authority issued specific warnings for high-risk populations during the extreme heat period.
"Elderly people, pregnant women, children, heart patients, and those with chronic conditions such as asthma should not be under the sun during this period. People in these groups need to stay in cool environments and increase their fluid intake," the statement said.
AKOM also warned the combination of high temperatures, low relative humidity, and northerly winds expected to blow at speeds of 20 to 50 kilometers per hour will pose significant risks, particularly for forest fires.
Turkish airline AJet will begin flights to Aleppo, Syria's historic and cultural center, on August 2, the airline announced on Friday.
According to a statement from AJet, the airline has added another of the Middle East's cultural capitals to its flight network following the new period in Syria. The first flight between Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport and Aleppo Airport will take place on August 2, with flights operating four days per week in both directions.
Tickets for the new route went on sale with prices starting at $149, the airline said.
Tickets can be purchased through AJet.com, AJet's mobile application, authorized sales agencies, and call centers. The airline previously launched its first flight to Syria's capital Damascus on July 1 following the new period in the country.
With the addition of the Aleppo route, AJet's international destinations will reach 60, bringing the total number of destinations served to 101 when combined with 41 domestic routes.
Türkiye's defense giant Aselsan is set to help Azerbaijan build a national space ecosystem, modeled after Türkiye's.
The aim is for Azerbaijan not only to be a user but also to become a co-developer of satellite systems, thereby enhancing its national engineering capacity and establishing an independent space industry infrastructure.
Aselsan's initiative builds on Türkiye's success with Turksat-6A, which completed its first year in orbit on July 9. Equipped with Ku-Band and X-Band communication payloads developed by Aselsan, Turksat-6A is Türkiye's first indigenously produced communication satellite.
The satellite has positioned Türkiye among only 11 countries worldwide capable of producing their own GEO communication satellites.
Former President of the Yunus Emre Institute, Seref Ates, was arrested in Ankara on Friday on charges of abuse of trust and laundering assets obtained through criminal activity.
Ates, who was wanted as part of an ongoing investigation into former Yunus Emre Institute officials, was arrested at Ankara's Esenboga Airport. Authorities confirmed that he had been listed as a fugitive.
The investigation was launched by Ankara authorities and targets several former senior administrators of the Yunus Emre Institute. Details regarding the scope of the financial misconduct have not yet been publicly disclosed.
No comments have been issued by legal representatives for Ates at the time of reporting.
Türkiye saw more than 52,200 newly launched companies in the first six months of the year. This figure of 52,226 was down 0.9% on a yearly basis, from 52,676 in the same period last year, Türkiye's Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) said on Friday. Meanwhile, the number of liquidated companies in January-June totaled 13,453, up 10.5% year-on-year.
In June alone, the newly established companies amounted to 7,330, rising 11% year-on-year from 6,606 in June 2024. On a monthly basis, the number of companies established in Türkiye was down 16.4% in June from the previous month's 8,765. The number of liquidated companies in June amounted to 2,093, up 16.7% year-on-year. In June, the number of liquidated firms were down 4.7% on a monthly basis from the previous month's 2,197. Last month, 479 companies with foreign partners were established, including 300 with Turkish partners, 13 with Irani and Pakistani partners, and 12 with Chinese and German partners.
Türkiye and Libya signed an agreement Thursday focusing on cooperation in mining, energy and infrastructure.
The Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEIK), Türkiye-Libya Business Council, Libyan National Mining Corporation, Libya’s General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences and Emaar Libya Holding Company signed the memorandum of understanding, which is also aimed at increasing bilateral trade volume in the three fields.
The agreement was signed by Murtaza Karanfil, chairman of the DEIK Türkiye-Libya Business Council, and Fouad Al-Awwam, CEO of Emaar Libya Holding Company. In his speech, Karanfil said that Türkiye's relations with Libya are rooted in a long history.
Noting that the agreement was signed with Emaar Holding, which has 30 companies under its umbrella and operates in many areas, particularly in industry, he said it is a company that has made several investments and opened up business areas, especially in the eastern and southern parts of Libya.
Within the scope of the corruption investigation directed at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), detention orders were issued for 18 people alleged to have been involved in acts constituting the crimes of “giving bribes, taking bribes, and rigging a tender.” Fourteen of these people have been taken into custody.
The 14 people taken into custody are: Erdinc Karatas, Ahmet Kudu, Erdal Gunaydin, Muzaffer Hacimustafaoglu, Can Karatas, Abdullah Karatas, Metin Demirci, Oktay Nuri Celik, Ali Haydar Ozkazanc, Murat Timucin Altier, Deniz Erzincan, Ali Cuneyt Ozdemir, Gulsen Cokyigit, Taylan Cokyigit.
The investigation being conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office continues regarding the suspects, including Ekrem Imamoglu, who was removed from his post as IBB mayor after being arrested, on allegations of “being a criminal organization leader,” “being a member of a criminal organization,” “extortion,” “bribery,” “aggravated fraud,” “illegally obtaining personal data,” and “rigging a tender.”
Within the scope of this investigation, the prosecutor’s office issued detention orders for 18 suspects on the charges of “giving bribes,” “taking bribes,” and “rigging a tender.” “Search” and “seizure” orders will also be carried out for those subject to the detention order.
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