Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy hosted young artists at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on the occasion of 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. Çankırı Selahattin İnal Fine Arts High School students, who came to the Ministry within the framework of the “Living Heritage Youth Festival” held within the scope of the “Living Heritage School” activities carried out by the General Directorate of Living Heritage and Cultural Activities, presented the glass mosaic Turkish flag they prepared to Minister Ersoy.

Minister Ersoy received information about the production process of the work prepared by the students under the guidance of Glass Artist Sertaç Bayraktar, Bearer of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Ersoy, who carefully examined the application of the glass mosaic technique, asked what stages the work went through and how the students contributed to the project. Minister Ersoy chatted with the young people for a while; He exchanged views about the students’ school lives, their interest in art and their future goals. Asking the students whether they would work on new projects in the future, Ersoy also received information about whether the work was carried out individually or as a team.

During the visit, which took place in a friendly atmosphere, attention was drawn to the importance of keeping traditional arts alive through young generations; It was emphasized that efforts to preserve cultural heritage and transfer it to future generations will continue to grow stronger with the contribution of young people. To the program; Living Heritage and Cultural Activities General Manager Selim Terzi, Çankırı Selahattin İnal Fine Arts High School Principal İbrahim Gökmen, Glass Artist Sertaç Bayraktar and students Şerifenur Ceyhan, Aylin Coşkun, Hikmet Emin Demirci and Yasin Yalçın attended.

There has been a new development regarding the money traffic that Gökhan Böcek, the son of former Metropolitan Mayor Muhittin Böcek, who was arrested in the corruption investigation carried out in Antalya, benefited from effective repentance and gave to CHP Deputy Veli Ağbaba on the instructions of CHP Chairman Özgür Özel before the local elections. Gökhan Böcek, who stated that he delivered 200 thousand dollars in a bag to Özgür Özel’s team in the municipal vehicle at the mayoral candidate promotion meeting in Antalya under the guidance of CHP’s Veli Ağbaba, and the stage manager Batuhan Ülker, who said that he witnessed the incident, was taken as a witness. Ülker said that on the day of the candidate promotion launch, he saw Gökhan Böcek give a package he took from the vehicle to a male person he did not know.

Entry Date: 19.05.2026 12:47

Update Date: 19.05.2026 12:48

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he condemned in the harshest terms Israel’s attack on the Global Sumud Fleet, which carries humanitarian aid to Gaza, in international waters. The Cabinet Meeting held at the Presidential Complex under the chairmanship of Erdoğan lasted 2 hours. Making a statement after the meeting, President Erdoğan briefly said:

I DAMN THE ATTACK: (SUMUD FLEET) Despite the ceasefire reached on October 11 with our efforts, Israel unfortunately continues its legal, immoral and inhumane policies towards Gaza. They display all kinds of barbarism, from blocking humanitarian aid entries to air strikes targeting Gaza civilians. Today, we witnessed once again how Israel is governed by a fascist mentality. The Global Sumud Flotilla, which carries humanitarian aid to Gaza, was attacked by Israeli forces and in international waters. I condemn in the strongest terms this piracy and banditry against the hopeful passengers of the Sumut Fleet, which consists of citizens of 40 different countries. We are taking the necessary initiatives to ensure that our citizens in the fleet return to our country safely. We invite the international community to take action now against Israel’s unlawful and unruly actions.

AFTERSHOCKS OF THE CRISIS CONTINUES: The aftershocks of the crisis, which started with the attacks on Iran on February 28, continue in many areas. We are faced with a multi-layered uncertainty where the balance in fuel prices is still not achieved… Inflation is on the rise in many countries of the world… Breaks in supply chains have not yet been repaired… The blockage in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be overcome. The extent of the destruction caused by this shock wave, which hit the world like a tsunami, cannot be fully estimated. The more serious aspect of the issue is that this atmosphere produces a “cluff economy” at the global level, creating a rent system based mostly on speculation and market manipulation. A handful of wild capitalists who control hot money are growing stronger and adding to their wealth by literally usurping the throat of billions of people from Africa to Asia, from America to Latin America.

PASSWORDS ARE BUILDING EVERY DAY: While the bread on the table of the middle and lower income groups is getting smaller and smaller, their passbooks are swelling every day. It is a fact that every war produces its own economy; So every war has winners and losers. However, with the Iran war, this issue has exceeded the limits of tolerance and reached destructive dimensions in terms of global economic welfare. Behind the unresolved crises and conflicts that cannot be ended in many parts of the world is the irreconcilable attitude of the parties, as well as the great role, influence and sabotage attempts of the tufeylis who benefit from the crisis. Unfortunately, we observe that there are people in our country who are in a hurry to grab logs from the flood. They are trying to gain political and material benefit from this extraordinary process by injecting demoralization, pessimism and hopelessness into society.

THE SMOKE OF THE FIRE IN OUR REGION REACHES US TOO: While our world is globalizing; Problems, crises and opportunities are also gaining a global dimension, and everyone is faced with the reality called the “butterfly effect”. In this new world where distances have lost their meaning, no one has the luxury of remaining indifferent to what is happening in another part of the world. So to speak, today, when a country in the Middle East sneezes, a country in Latin America or Asia can easily catch a cold. The days when every sheep was hanged by its own legs are now over. Like every country integrated with the global economy, we are somehow affected by every positive or negative event outside. Especially, even if there is no flame from the fire in our region, its smoke reaches us and spreads to us.

WE MAINTAINED OUR COOL BLOOD: We maintained our composure against the traps of drawing Türkiye into war from the first day. In addition, we made efforts to reduce tension and restore tranquility with our peaceful policy that prioritizes negotiation, dialogue and diplomacy. By further increasing our dialogue with our Turkish and Kurdish brothers in the region, we contributed to disrupting the games that would deepen instability. Türkiye’s ability to manage regional conflicts and crises was once again demonstrated in this process. Despite the instability that surrounds us, Türkiye has stood out as the island of stability in its region. Although it will take some time to return to the pre-war period, our country will continue on its way much stronger than before. We can already see signs of this. The interest of international investors in our country is increasing day by day.

OPPOSITION PURSUES CRISIS OPPORTUNITY
Instead of making constructive criticisms and adopting a tone that prioritizes Türkiye in the Iran war and its aftermath, which brought our region to the edge of the abyss, the opposition unfortunately chose to turn the process into a tool of exploitation for its political interests and resorted to crisis opportunism. Even in such a period, they could not save themselves from acting with the logic of “let the government wear down and if necessary, let Türkiye lose”. We regret to see that they insist on maintaining this attitude. Instead of strengthening the capacity of the political institution to produce solutions by saying “right is right and wrong is wrong”, unfortunately, they cannot go beyond calling what the government says is “white” “black” and what the government says is “right” as “wrong”. What’s worse is that this is done in an extremely ugly, hurtful and destructive manner that has rarely been seen in our political history.

EVERYONE MUST BE SENSITIVE
However, opposition does not mean distorting, manipulating, or being so despicable as to set the country on fire for one’s political gain. The opposition’s duty is not to provoke, to incite, or to try to benefit from this by acting as an economic hitman. Embracing rhetoric with high levels of threat and provocation, especially in order to conceal the corruption agenda, is an extremely cheap and stale policy. In democracies, the opposition is at least as responsible as the government; It has to act responsibly when it comes to the interests of the country and nation. I would like to remind you that; Our region is going through a ring of fire… Where no one, including the developed countries, can foresee the future… At a time when a new equation is being established in the global system, the opposition has to act at least as sensitively as we do and take a local and national stance.

THERE IS NO OTHER Türkiye
The words spoken on the podiums, the messages given on the screens, and the judgments made on social media should be carefully calculated to whom they serve, and whether they are in the interest of the country or not should be carefully evaluated. There is no other Türkiye. As 86 million of us, we have no homeland other than this heavenly country. No one has the right to harm this, cast a shadow on the environment of stability and trust in Türkiye, or deal a blow to our country’s interests by hiding behind the excuse of “I am in opposition.” No matter which wing of the political spectrum we are on, we all have to act with the principle of “my nation first, my country first”.

President Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the TOBB Service Certificate of Honor and Plaque Presentation Ceremony at the Twin Towers of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye in Çankaya, Ankara:

Since the first day we took over the responsibility of governing Türkiye, we have acted and continue to act with the awareness that we carry the responsibility of every member of our nation on our shoulders. In the last 23.5 years, with the support of you and our beloved nation, we have carried Türkiye to the next level in every field, from education to health, from transportation to trade, from agriculture to security. We have established a solid structure for our economy, which we have built on four pillars. We have made the Turkish economy resistant to shocks in a period when protectionist tendencies are on the rise on a global scale, commercial competition is becoming increasingly harsh, and wars and conflicts are followed by water, climate, food and energy crises.

OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HAS CONTINUED ITS SINGLE-DIGITAL COURSE FOR EXACTLY 35 MONTHS: Our defense and aerospace exports exceeded 10 billion dollars last year. We further reinforce the momentum we have achieved in exports with tourism and employment figures. While our labor force participation rate has increased to 52.8 percent, our unemployment rate has remained in single digits for 35 months. Investors from abroad established 89 thousand companies in our country in 23 years and invested 290 billion dollars.

THERE IS OPPORTUNITY IN PRICING

While Türkiye today has the lowest input costs in Europe in many areas, especially energy, it is obvious that if there are disproportionate increases in the prices of some products, this cannot be explained by market conditions. We resolutely continue our inspections against those who make exorbitant pricing a habit, citing fluctuations in input costs.

OUR FOREIGN TRADE VOLUME IS 820 BILLION $

Despite the conflicts in our region, we grew our economy by 3.6 percent last year, reaching 1.6 trillion dollars and national income per capita to 18 thousand 40 dollars. We increased our foreign trade volume to 820 billion dollars and our exports of goods and services to 396 billion dollars. We will exceed 400 billion dollars in the very near future, God willing. The 4.6 billion dollar increase recorded in April was the highest export increase in the last 53 months.

WE DO NOT GIVE BONUSES TO WEDGE DRIVERS

While we are trying to break down the walls of learned helplessness that have been imposed on Türkiye for decades, some people are constantly putting obstacles in our way in this process. So far, we have not taken into account those who use every opportunity they have to preach goodness. We will not give them bonuses from now on. We will continue to achieve new successes in the same way that we responded to those who asked “What do they know about producing automobiles?” by producing them. We are about to leave behind almost a quarter of a century on the path of serving the nation and the country.

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN RECEIVED EBU CEZER AND HIS FAMILY FROM GAZA
President Erdoğan received 11-year-old Gazan Ramazan Abu Cezer, known for his videos describing the Gaza tragedy on social media, and his family. Erdoğan met with Cezer at the Presidential Dolmabahçe Working Office. Cezer’s father and aunt were also present at the reception. Ramazan Ebu Cezer gifted the book he wrote to Erdoğan.

The little phenomenon, which announced the human rights violations in Gaza, the blockade and the most basic human rights taken away from its peers in an impressive language filtered from the children’s world, raised public awareness thanks to these efforts and became known as the “ambassador of Gaza children”. During the meeting, Erdogan expressed his appreciation for the brave struggle of little Ramadan in the digital field, who reached millions of people globally and became the voice of the people and children of Gaza. Cezer moved millions to tears by saying, “They wrapped two of my friends in shrouds in front of my eyes” in his interview with CNN Turk. Muhammed UZUN / SABAH

AK Party Istanbul Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir introduced the new organizational work for living spaces that have become housing estates in the “Every Site is an Organization” program. AK Party Istanbul deputies, district heads, mayors and organization members attended the program held at the Provincial Directorate. Speaking in the program, Provincial Mayor Özdemir stated that Istanbul is not only a physically growing city and drew attention to the social transformation in city life. Özdemir said, “Today, Istanbul has also become the center of a new urban sociology.”

THE NEED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD CULTURE
Stating that the neighborhood culture has been replaced by safe but distant living spaces today, Özdemir stated that they were not insensitive to the change and said, “The ‘Every Site is an Organization’ work was born precisely from this need.” Stating that the AK Party has adopted an understanding of politics that establishes direct contact with citizens since its establishment, Özdemir said, “Our work on Every Site One Organization is a new generation organizational reflex that accurately reads the changing city life of Istanbul and aims to transform the social distance caused by modern urbanization into a strong social bond. Today, we are establishing a strong field network in Istanbul, touching every point of the city with our neighborhood patrons, street volunteers and now with our site representatives. On the path we set out by saying ‘Istanbul with Every Neighbourhood, Every Story’; “We are building a new contact model in line with Istanbul’s changing rhythm of life,” he said.

Breaking news: Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office reported that 5 suspects were detained for “taking bribes” and “laundering property values” within the scope of the investigation carried out against Beşiktaş Municipality.

In the statement made by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was stated that an investigation was carried out against Beşiktaş Municipality by the Financial Crimes Branch Directorate of the Istanbul Provincial Police Department under the coordination of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In the statement, it was stated that within the scope of the investigation, 5 suspects, including the former Beşiktaş Deputy Mayor and Beşiktaş Municipality Council Member, were detained on charges of “taking bribes” and “laundering assets”.

It was stated that during the searches carried out in the residences and office rooms of the suspects, a large number of digital materials and 90 thousand dollars and 5 thousand euros, which were considered to be obtained from crime, were seized.

In the statement, the names of the suspects were listed as follows:

“Former Beşiktaş Deputy Mayor Cevdet Çalı, Beşiktaş Municipality Personnel Services Manager Bülent Karakaş, Sarbel Organization Office Worker Özlem Demir Karakaş, Former Beşiktaş Municipality CHP Council Member Oylum Işık, Beşiktaş Municipality CHP Council Member İlker Uluer.”