The trial of 63 defendants, 37 of whom are detained, continues, including CHP’s detained defendant Mustafa Bozbey, who was suspended from his post as Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, and CHP’s Turgay Erdem, former Mayor of Nilüfer Municipality, as part of the bribery and corruption investigation carried out in Bursa. In the third hearing of the case heard at Bursa 2nd High Criminal Court, Selda Nartop, an employee of the Eski Nilüfer Municipality Planning Directorate, was heard. Nartop said, “Ayşegül Erkol, my superior, put heavy hierarchical pressure on me. My freedom to examine the file was restricted with expressions such as ‘the president said let’s solve it’, ‘the district president’s job’, ‘sign it so I don’t have any trouble’, ‘let there be no mess’ in the message records I submitted. It can be seen in the documents that she stated the names of high-level officials and individuals and stated that I should approve it immediately, otherwise I would have a headache.”

INSTEAD OF A DEFENSE, HE SLAMMED
Another name whose defense was taken at the HEARING was Ayşegül Erkol, former Director of Zoning and Urbanization of Nilüfer Municipality, who is one of the names at the center of corruption allegations. Erkol, who was expected to defend himself before the judge, instead of defending himself, reproached the then Mayor, CHP’s Turgay Erdem. Stating that he has been a civil servant for 32 years, Erkol said, “I told Erdem that I wanted to be the deputy mayor. However, I was not appointed to this position. If I had been appointed to this position, my pension would have been higher. I am resentful. I was not involved in the bribery process.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a cooperation agreement between the two countries on the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet in November 2025. The weekly press briefing meeting of the Ministry of National Defense was held at ROKETSAN’s Lalahan Campus. Here, in response to journalists’ questions, it was stated that “Within the scope of Eurofighter procurement, flight personnel are planned to be sent to the United Kingdom in August 2026 and flight training will begin in a short time. Within the scope of the signed contract, flying and maintenance personnel will continue to be sent to the United Kingdom for a period of years.”

DELIVERIES IN 2030
The delivery of the aircraft purchased from the UK will begin in 2030 and the aircraft will be put into inventory. 20 aircraft will be delivered to Türkiye: 6 in 2030, 8 in 2031, and 6 in 2032. The project cost for 20 new production Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, mission equipment of the aircraft and various types and amounts of ammunition was announced as approximately 5.4 billion British Pounds. The fuselage production and final assembly of the aircraft will be done in the United Kingdom. Türkiye’s Typhoon fleet will be equipped with a comprehensive weapons package, including the Meteor air-to-air missile. Meteor is known as the most advanced European-made missile that strengthens Eurofighter’s “beyond visual superiority” capability with a range exceeding 200 kilometers. Ankara will also supply Eurofighters from Qatar and Oman. The delivery of all aircraft will be completed in 2032 and the Turkish Air Force will become even stronger with Eurofighter Typhoons. Türkiye’s F-4 fleet will be renewed with the deliveries. With the Eurofighter procurement, the Turkish Armed Forces will have aircraft other than US origin in their inventory for the first time.

Today is the 6th anniversary of the reopening of Hagia Sophia Mosque for worship. Hagia Sophia, which was given the status of a museum and closed to worship in 1934, was reopened to worship by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 24, 2020, after 86 years. Demirören Publications has prepared a special work for the 6th anniversary of Hagia Sophia’s reopening for worship. The distinguished work titled “The Seal of Conquest: Hagia Sophia-i Kebîr Câmi-i Şerîfi”, which deals with Hagia Sophia in all its aspects and is a collection, will be on the shelves as of today. The work, which covers the centuries-old story of Hagia Sophia from a comprehensive perspective with scientific sources and rich archive documents, and is enriched with engravings and miniatures, will also include never-published photographs. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wrote the presentation of the collection’s special work titled “Seal of Conquest: Hagia Sophia-i Kebîr Câmi-i Şerîfi”. Erdoğan stated the following in his introduction:

FOUND TO LIFE AGAIN: With the conquest of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia Mosque gained a new identity as a sacred temple that witnessed one of the greatest turning points in human history. This work, which was in a ruined and neglected state after the victorious entry of Mehmed the Conqueror to Istanbul on May 29, 1453, was revived in a short time and came to life again under the spiritual banner of Islam. Hagia Sophia, which was converted into a mosque with the conquest, has become the symbol of the great victory that opened and closed an era, the seal of conquest and one of the most magnificent symbols of our civilization.

HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY: Hagia Sophia Mosque is not just a place of worship; It is a monumental symbol of our nation’s historical consciousness, claim to civilization, power of faith and spirit of conquest. The preservation and maintenance provisions included in the endowments of the Ottoman sultans are the strongest evidence of the care shown to this sacred trust. Today, we consider it a historical responsibility to protect this precious legacy, which we inherited from our ancestors, with the same consciousness and sensitivity, to keep it alive and to pass it on to future generations in the best possible way.

IT WILL BE TRANSMITTED TO FUTURE GENERATIONS: Hagia Sophia Mosque, which is the symbol of victory of the blessed conquest that opened and closed an era, will continue to rise in all its magnificence in the silhouette of Istanbul and maintain its exceptional place in the world cultural heritage. The work in your hand; It was prepared with the aim of transferring the centuries-old story of Hagia Sophia, its architectural elegance, spiritual depth and civilizational heritage to future generations.

IT RECEIVED ITS PRINCIPAL IDENTITY: Hagia Sophia-i Kebîr Mosque, which filled the sky with the sounds of adhan for centuries and left an eternal joy in the hearts, continues to shed light on the common conscience and cultural memory of humanity, beyond being just a place of worship, as a sacred temple that regained its original identity by the will of the nation on July 24, 2020, in accordance with the spirit of conquest. I wholeheartedly believe that it will.

‘HATAY IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE BROTHERHOOD CLIMATE’
President Erdoğan published a message on the 87th anniversary of Hatay’s joining the motherland. Stating that Hatay’s reunification with the homeland on July 23, 1939 was one of the most exceptional victories of the nation’s spirit of unity and solidarity, belief in its rightful cause and strong diplomatic will, Erdoğan said, “Hatay, which has been an integral part of the same civilization, the same culture and the same climate of brotherhood for centuries, continues its rise in line with our Turkey Century goals. This ancient city of ours, where different beliefs, cultures and civilizations have lived together in peace throughout history, is a place of unity.” “And it continues to be one of the most beautiful symbols of our unity. We, as the state and nation, mobilized all our means to revive Hatay after the February 6 earthquakes. We will carry Hatay to the future as a stronger, more prosperous and more resilient city in every field, and we will revive and build our ancient city more beautifully than before.”

MESSAGE FROM ERDOĞAN TO ERZURUM CONGRESS
In his message published on the 107th anniversary of the Erzurum Congress, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “This high consciousness still inspires us today and gives us strength in our march to the future. Today, I once again remember with perfect decorum the members of the congress who said ‘The homeland is a whole within national borders’, who rejected mandates and patronage altogether, and who gave unlimited support to the national forces.”

Within the scope of the ‘Criminal organization’ investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, journalists Fatih Altaylı, Ruşen Çakır and Özlem Gürses, comedian Şahan Gökbakar, actor Hazal Kaya and social media phenomenon Fatih Koparan were invited to the prosecutor’s office after their statements were requested. These names, known as the Dude choir, glorified Dude by making propaganda to discredit public institutions during the earthquake period, and ensured that billions of liras flowed to Dude, which was chaired by gambling addict Haluk Levent.

Journalist Fatih Altaylı said, “Of course, every penny the dude has collected will be held accountable. Haluk Levent has been giving this account, penny by penny, for years without anyone asking. Why are those who say Haluk Levent should be held accountable angry with those who want the government to account for the trillions they have collected?” Fatih Altaylı, one of the influential names of the choir that made Levent an “icon”, tried to get away with Levent by confessing after the operation and saying, “We knew he was addicted to gambling.” Actress Hazal Kaya, in her post on social media during the disaster days, played a role in ensuring that donations flow to Ahbap by saying, “Your help is very important, we expect your support for Ahbap. We are also working on Babala TV.”

The corruption investigation carried out by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the CHP’s Şile Municipality and the expert report prepared revealed the huge profiteering in the tender for the 35th International Şile Cloth Culture and Art Festival. It was determined that the tender given to the “Sur Music” company, owned by Mehmet Sait Köse, for 38 million TL in official records, was actually carried out by the “Koşan Adam” management company, owned by Haluk Levent’s brother Berkant Emergency. While it was determined that Sur Music was used only as a front on paper; It has been documented that CHP Mayor Özgür Kabadayı and Private Secretary Oğuz Kaçmaz were given 4 million TL cash bribes and brand new unboxed iPhone 15 Pro Max phones in exchange for payments. Although a total of 22.79 million TL was paid to the artists by the municipality, it was determined that only 1.93 million TL was paid to the artists, and the public resource of 20.86 million TL evaporated.

In the corruption investigation carried out against Kocaeli’s Izmit Municipality, 20 suspects, including CHP Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet and her husband Murat Hürriyet, were arrested. The procedures of the suspects detained in the investigation of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office have been completed at the Istanbul Police Department. The suspects, including Izmit Mayor Hürriyet and her husband Murat Hürriyet, who were accused of “establishing an organization to commit a crime”, “bribery and tender rigging”, were sent to the courthouse. Of the suspects whose statements were completed at the prosecutor’s office, 21 were referred to the criminal judgment of peace on duty with a request for arrest and 9 for judicial control measures. The suspects are Hürriyet and Murat Hürriyet, Fatih Yaşar, Mehmet Ersoylu, Ramazan Kırıcı, Yusuf Kırıcı, Yüksel Kırıcı, Adem Ok, Ali Han Ünal, İrfan Can, Kenan Yılmaz, Nihat Önal, Seyhan Özcan, Burak Güreşen, Cemil Yılmaz, Çetin Sarıca, Gökhan Ercan, Hakan Oral, Nusret Ömürhan Yılmaz and Zekiye. Köstekli Oral was arrested. It was decided to impose judicial control measures on 10 suspects.