Breaking news: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “Traits such as solidarity, sharing, kindness and competition in charity are the basic elements of our national character, the essence and yeast of our dough.” he said.

Erdoğan attended the Turkish Red Crescent Awards Ceremony held at Beştepe Nation Congress and Culture Center.

In his speech here, President Erdoğan wished that the 158th birthday of the Turkish Red Crescent would be beneficial for the country, nation, civil society community and all humanity.

Expressing his gratitude to the volunteers, philanthropists, donors and Red Crescent employees who carry the light of the crescent, which is the symbol of the nation’s conscience and mercy, faith and patriotism, to all corners of the earth, Erdoğan wholeheartedly thanked all the citizens who gave their lives to the Red Crescent, donated their blood, and built and revitalized this institution.

“I say God bless all our friends in different parts of the world whose hearts beat with us and who protect their covenant, past, future, unity and brotherhood with their donations to the Red Crescent.” Using the expression, Erdogan said that the founders of the Turkish Red Crescent, Dr. Marko Pasha, Dr. He respectfully remembered Abdullah Bey, Crimean Aziz Bey and Serdar-ı Ekrem Ömer Pasha.

President Erdoğan prayed for God’s mercy on all the elders who had a share in turning this structure into a global goodness and solidarity movement, who contributed to this organization with their labor, effort, effort, sweat and ideas, but who have now migrated from the mortal world to the eternal world.

Erdogan, who commemorated those who were martyred while extending the helping hand of our beloved nation to the victims, the oppressed and the innocent in crisis and conflict zones, disaster and emergency relief efforts, congratulated the individuals, institutions, organizations and companies to whom they will give awards in four main categories, on behalf of himself and his nation, and wished them continued success.

“WORDS, SENTENCES OR LEGACIES ARE NOT NEEDED TO BE A CURE FOR THE PROBLEM”

Emphasizing that morality, virtue, compassion and mercy have always been encountered in every page of history where the Turkish nation has been present, Erdoğan said:

“Traits such as solidarity, sharing, kindness and competition in good deeds are the basic elements of our national character, the essence and leaven of our dough. These are the values that we, as a nation, have been the banner bearers of for centuries in the past, present and future, of which we give the best examples to humanity. In that fertile source from which we feed, in that fertile soil where our spiritual roots lie, to relieve the pain, to heal the wound, and above all, they are a panacea.” There is no need for words, sentences, or dictionaries to be present. The language, religion, or sect of the oppressed and the victim is not taken into account. The race, color, disposition, and identity of the needy are not taken into consideration. Taking the prayers of the poor, the poor, the orphan, and, in the words of the late Mehmet Akif, ‘holding up the right’ has no purpose or concern other than the consent of God. “It has manifested itself brightly in our foundations, associations and societies, as well as in states.”

THE ROLE OF THE RED CRESCENT BEHIND THE FRONT

President Erdoğan stated that the Turkish Red Crescent, which was established on June 11, 1868 under the name of the Ottoman Wounded and Sick Soldiers Aid Society, is one of these institutions.

Explaining that the Turkish Red Crescent, with its hospitals behind the front lines, patient transportation services, hospital ships it equipped, nurses and volunteer caregivers it trained, came to the aid of Turkish soldiers in all wars in which the nation struggled for existence, from the War of 1993 to the Cyprus Peace Operation, continued as follows:

“In particular, the role of the Red Crescent in the Çanakkale Victory, the First World War and the War of Independence is very, very important. In addition to its other services during the War of Independence, our Red Crescent carried 40 thousand boxes of health supplies to the front, and delivered to our soldiers the donations and aid that our long-suffering nation, with its men and women, young and old, as well as our brothers and sisters in our heartland, gave to our soldiers. See the late Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, How does he greet those heroic hearts in his poem dedicated to the ladies of the Crescent: ‘Greetings to you, O women of the crescent. Greetings to you, O pure foreheads of the land. You who bind bandages in front of the dead, you who mourn over the dead. How good, what a beautiful job this is. May God not leave the roofs better than this. ‘They are merciless, their homeland is merciless, they leave us without you and without compassion.’ “And I say, ‘May God not deprive us of the Red Crescent.'”

Breaking news | Important statements from President Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “Those who attack our geography like a shark that smells blood will eventually pay for the blood they shed, and the curse of the oppressed that makes the heavens tremble will sooner or later catch up with the oppressors.” he said.

Erdoğan attended the Turkish Red Crescent Awards Ceremony held at Beştepe Nation Congress and Culture Center.

“The Red Crescent is engraved not only in the hearts but also in the minds and memories of our brothers in our heartland, with the work it carries out in Palestine, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and many other places.” Using his expressions, President Erdoğan said that the Turkish nation approached the immigrants who had to leave their homeland due to civil wars with the consciousness of Ansar and opened their arms of compassion.

Stating that Hilal-i Ahmer is at the forefront with care, shelter and nutrition activities during periods of natural disasters and epidemics, Erdoğan said, “The Red Crescent is the pride of this nation. The Red Crescent is the pride of this country. The Red Crescent is the identity document of our civilization and the mirror reflection of our national and spiritual personality. Today, I congratulate once again our Red Crescent family, which is a source of pride for our nation with its activities at home and abroad.” he said.

Reminding that the Turkish Red Crescent continues its work successfully today, from disaster management to blood services, from international aid to health and social services, from education to shelter, nutrition and psycho-social support, President Erdoğan continued as follows:

“With its branches, representations and delegations, blood donation, hospitals, logistics and medical centers and free boutique stores for those in need, all these activities continue selflessly, without any boundaries or obstacles. Our volunteers and Red Crescent members work like bees wherever their services are needed. In Gaza, where the Zionist genocide network led by Netanyahu continues its attacks, our Red Crescent has delivered more than 26 thousand tons of humanitarian aid to the region to date. 15 million meals since October 7.” We contributed to the tables of our Gazan brothers with hot meals and distributed hot meals to 30 thousand people daily through soup kitchen services.

With the sacrifice by proxy campaign, 22 thousand 757 shares were sacrificed for Gaza. Red Crescent, which provides food services to our children in Gaza with the ‘Gaza, Cheerful Children Project’ launched after the ceasefire, also carries out psycho-social support activities for children. Red Crescent Gaza Office simultaneously meticulously carries out needs identification and improvement efforts in the field. In addition to Gaza, the Red Crescent is making our nation proud with its efforts in Lebanon, which is the target of Zionist barbarians. “As I expressed in my group speech yesterday, Israel, under the current administration, has turned into a discord production factory whose raw materials are only blood and tears, only instability and chaos.”

“THOSE WHO FOLLOW HITLER TODAY SHOULD NOT FORGET”

“Those who attack our geography like a shark that smells blood will eventually pay for the blood they shed, and the curse of the oppressed that shakes the heavens will sooner or later catch up with the oppressors.” Erdoğan said, “Those who follow Hitler’s path today should not forget that if they continue like this, they will be like other oppressors in history.” he said.

Emphasizing that Türkiye will extend a helping hand to the oppressed on the one hand, and on the other hand, will continue to do its best to ensure that the massacre network is held accountable before the law and history, President Erdoğan said, “I would also like to proudly state that our Red Crescent was the first national society to deliver the most aid to the highest number of countries last year among the Red Crescent-Red Cross Society, which has more than 190 members.” he said.

Stating that this success achieved by the Red Crescent is also the clearest indicator of the generosity, magnanimous character and solidarity awareness of the Turkish nation, Erdoğan said:

“I must also underline this: During the February 6 earthquakes, our Red Crescent carried out the largest disaster response operation in its history. With the lessons learned from the disaster of the century, the Red Crescent strengthened its disaster preparedness vision and rebuilt its capacity stronger. It distributed more than 400 million hot meals and packaged food to our disaster victims in the earthquake zone. In addition to the aid of tens of thousands of tents and blankets, it supported AFAD’s shelter services. Mobile kitchens, mobile ovens, mobile soup kitchens and catering. It has ensured that nutrition services are provided completely in the field with its vehicles.

Comprehensive projects in the fields of protection, shelter, water and sanitation were carried out with community service centers established in the 6 provinces most affected by the earthquake. Cash support was given to more than ten thousand tradesmen and farmers within the scope of Tradesmen and Farmers Support Programs. On this occasion, I once again commemorate our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake. “I would like to thank once again all our institutions, voluntary organizations and philanthropists who contributed to the recovery of our earthquake zone, from the search and rescue work with our Red Crescent and AFAD to the reconstruction of our cities.”

“WE WILL NOW PRODUCE CRITICAL DRUGS IN OUR COUNTRY”

Reminding that the Red Crescent broke a new record with blood donations of over 3 million units last year, President Erdoğan said, “Our Red Crescent continues its local and national investments in the health sector successfully. The Protürk Factory, which has an area of 130 thousand square meters in our Çubuk district, the foundation of which we will lay the foundation of soon, hopefully with a live connection, is one of them. With the Protürk Project, we will now produce critical drugs obtained from blood in our country. These drugs are used against cancer, trauma, burns, immune system diseases and hemophilia.” “We will use it in the treatment of diseases such as. In this way, we will hopefully put an end to foreign dependency on these drugs by including Türkiye in the class of countries that produce critical medicines from plasma.” he said.

Wishing that the project would be beneficial for the country and nation, Erdoğan congratulated those who contributed.

Stating that blood bags imported from abroad will be produced with Türkiye’s own resources, Erdoğan said:

“The establishment of our factory in Silivri is also ongoing. With the completion of this factory, we will reduce the import cost of 1 billion liras to zero by manufacturing approximately 3 million blood bags annually in our country and in our own facility. I hope that this investment, which we will put into service in the very near future, will be beneficial and auspicious. I would like to express my gratitude once again to every member of our Red Crescent community, to all our volunteers and donors who shoulder goodness and look after our plane of mercy.”

NOTES FROM THE CEREMONY

After her speech, Turkish Red Crescent President Fatma Meriç Yılmaz presented President Erdoğan with a painting containing the letter she wrote to the Turkish Red Crescent to find out the fate of her last son Murat, who was a volunteer of the Red Crescent Society during the War of Independence and who martyred two of her children in the Balkan War.

12-year-old Renad Attallah from Gaza, who was deemed worthy of the Palestine Special Award within the scope of the Red Crescent Awards, presented President Erdoğan with a T-shirt he designed and with the words “Free Palestine” written on it.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, President of the Constitutional Court Kadir Özkaya, President of the Council of Turkish States (TDT) Aksakallar Binali Yıldırım, Presidential Private Secretary Hasan Doğan, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, AK Party Deputy Chairman Halit Yerebakan and Hüseyin Yayman also attended.

Following the award ceremony, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Protürk plasma pharmaceutical facility to be established in Ankara Çubuk was held via live broadcast.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi completed his official contacts in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Minister Çiftçi made evaluations about his visit at the press conference he held at Ercan Airport. The Minister of Internal Affairs stated that, within the scope of the visit, he met with the President of the TRNC, the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic and the Prime Minister, and then visited the Turkish Embassy in Nicosia, and that many issues from security to migration management were discussed in the meetings between the delegations.

A STUDY AND EVALUATION MEETING WAS HELD

Çiftçi said, “As of today, I have completed my official visits and contacts in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, where I came yesterday. Hopefully, we will set out for our hometown soon. It has been an extremely busy program. First in the morning, I visited the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Speaker of the Parliament, and the Prime Minister. Then, I had the opportunity to visit our Turkish Embassy and Ambassador on this occasion. In the afternoon, my counterpart here is our Minister of Internal Affairs of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. “We came together with Mr. Dursun Oğuz and our delegations. Our delegations were quite crowded. We had a full landing, so to speak. We had a nice working and evaluation meeting with our esteemed Minister of Internal Affairs, our Gendarmerie General Command, our General Directorate of Security, our AFAD Presidency, our Coast Guard Command and all units affiliated with our Ministry of Internal Affairs.”

“WE WILL NOT GIVE AREA OF ACTIVITY TO NEW GENERATION CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS”

Stating that the main issues discussed in the meetings were the fight against new generation criminal organizations and the fight against drugs, Minister Çiftçi said, “Today, in the meeting we held with our esteemed Minister of Internal Affairs, we reached a consensus and unity of power on the issues we discussed, especially to further increase our fight against new generation criminal organizations and not to give these organizations an area of activity. We reached a full agreement on this issue. Unfortunately, new generation criminal organizations do not know borders. We will not recognize any limits in cooperation. We will continue our cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for a more effective fight on this issue.” “One of our important agenda items was the fight against drugs. Because drug trafficking feeds terrorist organizations and also provides financing to terrorist organizations. We have reached an agreement to fight effectively against drug dealers,” he said.

“WE DO NOT SEE THE SECURITY OF Türkiye AND TRNC AS SEPARATE FROM EACH OTHER”

Emphasizing that Türkiye will continue to support the TRNC with all its means, Çiftçi stated that cooperation in the field of security will be further developed. Çiftçi said, “Apart from this, we will increase the support of our Directorate of Migration Management under our Ministry of Internal Affairs, AFAD Directorate and other areas. We will share all the opportunities of our state and the opportunities of our Ministry of Internal Affairs as much as we can. We will further deepen our cooperation here in terms of sharing experience and assigning personnel. Our aim is to ensure the peace of Türkiye and to contribute positively to the security of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Because we do not see our own security and the security of our Cypriot brothers as separate. We are two friends. “We consider that the more we develop the cooperation between our brother and sister countries, the more our people will benefit from it and it will be in our common interest,” he said.

“I STATE THAT WE ARE ALWAYS BY THE SIDE OF THE TURKISH CYPRUS IN THEIR JUST AND LEGITIMATE CASE”

Stating that Türkiye-TRNC Friendship Group President and AK Party Konya Deputy Orhan Erdem was also included in the delegation, Çiftçi said that he believed that the contacts made within the scope of the visit would yield concrete results in the future. Minister Çiftçi said, “When I return to Türkiye, we will ensure the necessary coordination with our deputy ministers, Gendarmerie General Command, General Directorate of Security, and Coast Guard Command. We will revisit the contributions we can make. I believe that our cooperation will develop further.”

Minister of Internal Affairs Çiftçi stated that, within the scope of the visit, he also made contacts with Türkiye’s Embassy in Nicosia, units affiliated with the Security Forces Command and the martyrs’ cemetery. The Minister said, “We are returning to Türkiye from here with the hope of increasing our cooperation in different fields on our next visit. I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to our President, the Speaker of the Parliament, our Prime Minister and my esteemed counterpart Mr. Dursun Oğuz, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, for their hospitality today. We, as the Republic of Turkey, as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, always stand by the rightful and legitimate cause of the Turkish Cypriots and will continue to do all we can to support them.” “I express that we are ready. On this occasion, I convey my greetings and respect to all my Cypriot brothers,” he said.

TRNC Minister of Internal Affairs Dursun Oğuz, Türkiye’s Ambassador to Nicosia Ali Murat Başçeri and Turkey-TRNC Friendship Group Chairman, AK Party Konya Deputy Orhan Erdem were also present at the press conference. Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi left the Island after the meeting.

Under the coordination of the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Crimes Fighting Branch Directorate teams started an investigation into allegations of irregularities in the tenders and direct procurements held at the Ege University Revolving Fund Management Directorate. The Court of Accounts reports were also scrutinized in the examinations and evaluations made by the teams. Within the scope of the investigation, it was determined that approximately 3 billion 100 million liras of public loss occurred due to the purchasing transactions carried out by the Ege University Revolving Fund Management Directorate.

MOBBING TO OFFICIALS
It was determined that public officials working at the university, the company manager acting as a university manager, and those who did not accept to carry out the instructions given by the institution managers were suspended from the unit. It was revealed that in tenders and direct procurement, home delivery tenders were always given to the same companies without conducting real market price research. Çakıroğlu Medikal Medical Device. Const. Commitment. It was determined that the owner of the company, Şafak Çakıroğlu, was the leader of the irregularity gang at Ege University. It was determined that former General Secretary of Ege University Muhterem Adak, Former University Hospital Chief Manager Ömer Özcoşar, Ege University Purchasing Directorate Former Financial Services Manager Hatice Zeybekoğlu and Ege University Faculty of Medicine Dean Devrim Bozkurt acted together in close relationship with the leader of the organization. It was revealed that members of the organization gave home delivery tenders to companies in 26 separate incidents, and only one company was given a tender worth 253 million 74 thousand lira on different dates between 2020 and 2025. It was learned that the investigation into the scandalous robbery is continuing in a multidimensional and meticulous manner.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and the Turkish Red Crescent, social and financial support has been provided to 20 thousand 995 vulnerable group convicts and detainees in 56 penal institutions since 2020. The cooperation period was extended by 1 year after 5 years. In order not to sever family ties of child and young convicts, the KIOSK video call system was established in 26 institutions; In 5 years, 10 thousand 632 children were able to meet with their families. Child-friendly areas, playgrounds and nurseries were created in 13 institutions for children aged 0-6, and cultural and educational events were organized. Barbering and cooking workshops were opened in Tarsus Juvenile and Youth Penal Institution and Sincan Penal Institution.

TRAINING WAS ALSO GIVEN
In 2023-2025, 10 Red Crescent Corporate Clothing Assistance Areas were established and textile support was provided. In the new period, activities were expanded to include video call fee support, in-kind aid to disadvantaged convicts, dissemination of vocational workshops and Red Crescent corporate clothing support. Disaster and emergency training will be provided to prison staff by Red Crescent experts.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi, who was in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for official contacts, met with TRNC Minister of Internal Affairs Dursun Oğuz.
During the visit to the TRNC Ministry of Internal Affairs, Minister Çiftçi was accompanied by Turkey’s Ambassador to Nicosia, Ali Murat Başçeri.
During the meeting, where gifts were exchanged, TRNC Minister of Internal Affairs Oğuz presented Minister Çiftçi the jersey of the TRNC Football National Team, which came first in the CONIFA 2026 European Football Championship. Speaking during the visit, Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi stated that the purpose of their visit was to improve relations between the two countries and said, “The more we develop the cooperation between the two countries, the more we will increase and reinforce our mutual security.” TRNC Minister of Internal Affairs Dursun Oğuz also drew attention to the historical ties between the two countries and emphasized that the cooperation between the ministries of the two countries will continue to develop.
Following the visit, a delegation meeting was held between Türkiye and TRNC on security, migration, smuggling and other issues. AA

Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) showed the world in the Humanitarian Aid Exercise that it is ready to perform any task in case of disasters that may occur abroad as well as at home.

The exercise was carried out between 7-11 June 2026, under the responsibility of the Turkish Armed Forces Humanitarian Aid Brigade Command, at the Martyr Lieutenant Hasan ŞAHAN Barracks in Ankara. 5 countries, including Bulgaria, Iraq, Japan, Mexico and Pakistan, participated in the Distinguished Observer Day of the exercise, which was held yesterday. 658 personnel, 10 search dogs and 101 vehicles served in the exercise.

The aim of the exercise was to support the humanitarian aid activities of the brigade in disasters and emergencies, within the existing legislation, within its own means and to support the activities of the civil authorities, and to successfully carry out all assigned tasks. The Distinguished Observer Day of the exercise was held yesterday. There was participation from 5 countries (Bulgaria, Iraq, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan) to the Distinguished Observer Day.

In the exercise scenario, first light level search and rescue teams arrived in the area. Law enforcement took up perimeter security. An aerial exploration of the debris area was made with a helicopter. Mountain Search and Rescue (DAK) teams were sent down to search the land. Search dogs were dispatched to the area. The missing victims were found and evacuated by helicopter. Special Engineering Battalion Command opened the roads closed in the disaster area. Heavy-duty search and rescue teams arrived by road. AFAD field coordination center came into operation. HAZMAT/CBRN elements scanned for gas leaks and hazardous materials. The stranded victim was rescued. A voice search was made. Search dogs detected alive in the wreckage. Sensitive listening devices and search cameras were used, and inside debris imaging was performed with Searchcam.