President Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan chatted with the children and paid close attention to them at the program at Vahdettin Mansion. In the program attended by the Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, children experienced the happiness of coming together at the iftar table. After the iftar, a child recited the meal prayer.

23 children, aged between 7 and 12, watched the Hacivat-Karagöz play specially prepared for them on the occasion of the program. Popcorn, cotton candy and chocolate were offered to the children.

Children also celebrated the birthday of President Erdoğan, who turned 72 last week. A girl read the poem she wrote to draw attention to Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the drama in Gaza.

President Erdoğan said to the child reading the poem, “How beautiful you are, how beautiful your poem is.” he congratulated.

Erdogan said to the children who sang the hymn “Pilgrims in the Kaaba”, “Mashallah.” he replied.

A LETTER OF THANK YOU FROM THE CHILDREN TO PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN AND HIS WIFE EMINE ERDOĞAN

While President Erdoğan answered the children’s questions about Togg, First Lady Erdoğan also answered the questions that the children were curious about during her conversation.

In response to a child’s question about “Zero Waste”, First Lady Erdoğan said, “Let’s use the resources in the world in a way that is sufficient for all of us. We obtain fertilizer by composting our garbage and fallen leaves. In this way, we move away from chemical fertilizer.” he said.

First Lady Erdoğan stated that research has revealed that plastic is found even in fish, and said, “We will be protected from plastic. In this way, we will live more naturally.” he said.

The children presented to First Lady Erdoğan the first domestic car Togg, the first domestic and national unmanned warplane developed in the defense industry, Bayraktar Kızılelma, which are among the successes achieved in Türkiye under the leadership of President Erdoğan, and a painting of the Zero Waste Project initiated and successfully carried out by First Lady Erdoğan. “We would like to express that we, as children raised by our state, will also contribute to these achievements in science and science, and that we are working determinedly for this cause.” shared his views.

The children then said to President Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan, “Uncle Tayyip, Aunt Emine, it is very nice to break the fast with you. Thanks to you, we stay in warm homes and grow up with love.” He presented his letters of gratitude with the following statements.

At the end of the program, President Erdoğan gave packages of clothes and stationery to the children as gifts.

The best guests of our iftar dinner in Istanbul this evening were our children under state protection. It was a great pleasure for us to share the same table with our children who warmed our hearts with their smiles and touched our hearts with their conversations. Wishing each of them good luck, protector… pic.twitter.com/VRPOycJ5Zm

— Emine Erdoğan (@EmineErdogan) March 6, 2026

Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi made a series of visits to his hometown, Konya. Minister Çiftçi performed the Friday prayer at Kapu Mosque and then visited tradesmen.

Minister Çiftçi prayed at the Mevlana Tomb and then visited the Governorship, Metropolitan Municipality, AK Party and MHP Provincial Presidencies. Minister Mustafa Çiftçi met with guest families from Gaza at the iftar program at Selçuklu Congress Center. Minister Çiftçi: The recent escalation of events in our region and the rapidly changing balances in the world better show the value of the point Türkiye has reached. There is no longer a Türkiye that cannot foresee its future, whose goals are determined by others, and whose direction is determined from outside. There is a Türkiye that charts its own route and expands its own horizons. Türkiye is a groundbreaking country in many areas, from the defense industry to domestic and national technology, from the healthcare system to the security infrastructure. Today, under the leadership of our President, we are moving forward with the goals of the Türkiye Century, which is the strong vision of our second century. “From now on, we need to spend all our energy on growth, development, improving our unity and solidarity, and further strengthening our brotherhood,” he said.

‘WE WILL WORK TO MAKE TURKEY’S CENTURY THE CENTURY OF PEACE’

Stating that they have increased the cyber security capacity as the Ministry, Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said, “We, as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will work day and night, under the leadership of our President, to make the Turkish Century the century of peace. We will strive to carry the responsibility entrusted to us further. We are always on the alert with our police, gendarmerie and coast guard in the fight against crime and criminals. By acting with an understanding based on prevention, we will make it a basic principle to take precautions before crimes occur. The rapid development of technology will cause crime to spread faster in the digital area. We are also expanding our field of struggle. We are increasing our cyber security capacity with domestic and national software systems, especially artificial intelligence, and establishing a strong security shield against digital threats. We are working hard to reduce the risks of the virtual world, which sometimes operates like a parallel world, and to dismantle addiction and criminal networks. With God’s help, we will never allow our youth to be poisoned or encouraged to commit crimes by strengthening the correct use of technology. “Under the leadership of our President, this blessed homeland will become more peaceful and safer every day,” he said.

With the appointment decisions published in the Official Gazette dated March 7, 2026, many high-level bureaucrats were appointed to their new positions, while some were dismissed.

CHANGE OF DUTIES IN THE MINISTRIES OF NATIONAL EDUCATION AND CULTURE

While two general managers in the Ministry of National Education were dismissed, new names were determined:

Erdal Kılınç was appointed as the General Directorate of Measurement, Evaluation and Examination Services instead of Kemal Bülbül.

Aynur Gökalp Durna was appointed as the General Directorate of Construction and Real Estate instead of Özcan Duman.

While Seda Şentürk and Cem’i Can Deliorman were appointed as Deputy General Directors of Fine Arts in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Fatih Mehmet Özveren was appointed as the Head of Strategy Development.

NEW NAMES IN RELIGIOUS AND PROVINCIAL MUFTI OFFICES

Hamza Gökçe, Salih Akyüz, Sedat Aydınlı and Ferruh Şen were appointed as members of the Mushaf Examination and Reading Board within the Presidency of Religious Affairs. In addition, the previous mufti appointments to Hatay, Bilecik and Adıyaman provinces were canceled and new mufti appointments were made to these provinces and Ağrı and Edirne.

OTHER IMPORTANT APPOINTMENTS

Abdulhadi Turus was appointed as the President of Turks Abroad and Related Communities.

Halil İbrahim Güray was appointed as the President of the Eastern Anatolia Project (EAP) Regional Development Administration.

Yıldıray Korkmaz was appointed as the 1st Legal Advisor of the General Directorate of Foundations.

Nebi Çelik and Uğur Erdem were appointed as Board Members of Soil Products Office (TMO).

APPOINTMENTS IN EMBASSIES

Mustafa Kibaroğlu was appointed as Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vienna Office.

Mustafa Türker Arı was appointed as the Georgian Embassy, ​​Barış Ceyhun Erciyes was appointed as the Albanian Embassy, ​​and Fahrettin Altun was appointed as the Vatican Ambassador.

AK Party Kocaeli Deputy and Chairman of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Security and Intelligence Commission, Veysel Tipioğlu, made evaluations about the increasing tension in the Middle East in his speech at the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Tipioğlu stated that the attacks of Israel and the USA against Iran created a dangerous tension in the region, and that the developments directly affected Türkiye’s security environment.

Türkiye IS FOLLOWING THE PROCESS CLOSELY

Emphasizing that Türkiye follows the developments closely with all its institutions, Tipioğlu said that necessary work is continuing in the field of security and diplomacy. Tipioğlu stated that the Turkish Armed Forces, security and intelligence units and the diplomacy mechanism are working on possible scenarios and the necessary measures are being planned meticulously.

EMPHASIS ON DEFENSE INDUSTRY

Stating that Türkiye has made significant progress in the field of defense industry in recent years, Tipioğlu stated that the country’s security capacity has been significantly strengthened thanks to the projects developed.

“Türkiye CAN MANAGE ALL KINDS OF RISKS”

At the end of his speech, Tipioğlu emphasized Türkiye’s state tradition and institutional power and said: “With our deep-rooted state tradition, strong institutions and developing defense industry, Turkey has the power to manage any security risk it may encounter.”

📍TBMM The military power of the states is not an issue that can be explained in numbers on television screens. Defense capacity; It is measured not only by the number of weapons, but also by technological capability, operational power and deterrence. Türkiye today; its own UAV, SİHA, missile and defense… pic.twitter.com/Q4i75cgqts

— Veysel TİPİOĞLU🇹🇷 (@VeyselTipioglu) March 5, 2026

Minister of Transport Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced on his social media account that the cancellation of flights in 5 countries has been extended. Minister Uraloğlu used the following statements in his statement:

IT WAS STOPPED UNTIL MARCH 6… MINISTER URALOĞLU ANNOUNCED THE NEW DECISION

We are closely following the developments regarding the airspaces affected by the war between Iran and the USA-Israel. Airspace closures continue in Iran, Israel, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria (except Aleppo). While partial flights continue in Oman, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, air traffic is controlled and limited in the United Arab Emirates. Our airline carriers had stopped flights to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan until March 6, 2026 due to security risks.

FLIGHTS TO QATAR, KUWAIT AND UAE WILL NOT BE OPERATED TODAY

As of today, flights to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan by THY, AJet, Pegasus and SunExpress have been suspended until the end of March 9. In addition, within the scope of flights to Iran, Pegasus Airlines has removed its flights to this country from its schedule until March 12, and Turkish Airlines has removed its flights to this country from its schedule until March 20. As part of the daily evaluations regarding the developments in the airspace, flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE will not be operated today. Additionally, there are 4 Iraqi Airlines planes at Istanbul Airport, 2 at Muğla Dalaman Airport, and 1 at Ankara Esenboğa Airport.

There is a docking situation for a total of 7 aircraft and the process is being followed in coordination with the relevant units. On the other hand, as of today, we have 2 aircraft belonging to Turkish Airlines and Pegasus at Tehran Airport, and 1 aircraft rented by Tailwind Airlines in Iraq. On the other hand; After the UAV crashed into Nakhchivan International Airport, two separate passenger planes belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines landed at Iğdır Şehit Bülent Aydın Airport in a planned manner; The passengers on the plane were safely transported to Nakhchivan by road. While the developments in the region are closely followed by our relevant units, we continue to work in coordination with our relevant units in line with any changes that may occur in the airspace and airports.

ISRAEL WANTS TO HIDE THE TRUTH

Stating that Israel is trying to hide the developments in the region from the world public opinion, Kavasoğlu said, “According to a circular published by Israel, it is forbidden to take aerial images of Iranian missiles and defense systems, as well as to broadcast their siren sounds. If the authorities give permission, shooting is allowed only days after the crime scenes are collected and made suitable for viewing.” he said.

A Haber team, which was released without any explanation after being held for about three hours, continues to report the developments in the region.

THANKS FROM AK PARTY SPOKESPERSON ÇELİK TO A NEWS TEAM

AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik reacted harshly to Israel’s attitude that disregards press freedom.

Çelik stated that it was not a coincidence that the A News team was targeted and said:

“Israeli police’s unlawful detention of the A Haber team is a new phase of their effort to obscure the facts. We thank the A Haber family, Emine Kavasoğlu and Niyazi Kurt for their efforts to announce the facts.”

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS DURAN: ISRAEL MUST STOP THIS UNLAWFULNESS

Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran said:

A Haber strongly condemns the detention of Programs Manager Emine Kavasoğlu and her team in Israel; I send my best wishes for getting well soon. It is never acceptable for journalists to be targeted and deprived of their freedom while performing their profession. The security of members of the press and the public’s right to access accurate and impartial information are fundamental rights guaranteed by universal legal norms. Israel must immediately put an end to these unlawful practices that clearly violate freedom of the press. We will always continue to oppose such initiatives targeting journalists.