Turkey

14 April 2022; MEMO: Turkish economic researchers may face up to three years in prison if they publish unofficial data on indicators without first seeking approval from the country's statistics agency, Bloomberg reports.

According to the report, the Turkish government had planned to submit the proposed legislation to parliament this week but has held off while officials do further work on it, two party officials said on condition of anonymity.

14 April 2022; MEMO: A chef in Turkey launched a kebab into the stratosphere on Tuesday, to coincide with the International Day of Human Flight marking the 61st anniversary of the first human space flight made by Soviet Yuri Gagarin.

According to the Daily Sabah, Yasar Aydin – who owns a kebab restaurant, and local entrepreneur and space engineering student Idris Albayrak launched the eponymous Adana kebab into the stratosphere, becoming Turkey's "first export to space".

14 April 2022; MEMO: The normalisation and improvement of ties between Turkey and Egypt are vital for the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has stated.

Speaking on the Turkish news channel NTV, Cavusoglu said "Relations with Egypt must be improved. The two countries' ties are significant for many regions. Reciprocal reappointment of ambassadors is possible."

13 April 2022; MEMO: Turkey's Central Bank shared a plan to increase the rate at which exporters must convert their hard currency revenue into lira to 40 per cent, from 25 per cent, to tackle high inflation in the country, Bloomberg reports.

The Governor of the Central Bank, Sahap Kavcioglu, discussed the plan with members of the Turkish Exporters Assembly yesterday. The proposal still requires Treasury and Finance Ministry approval.

13 April 2022; MEMO: Panic buying and selling of houses in Turkey's largest populated city, Istanbul, creates sharp increase in house prices in the second-hand market, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the report, Turkish Statistical Institute's report shows that the increase has been lingering at around 60 per cent.

10 April 2022; MEMO: Canada may move to lift its ban on arms exports to Turkey after the UK's decision to do so, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said, as the war in Ukraine continues and Turkey's role in representing the NATO alliance in the region grows more prominent.

07 April 2022; MEMO: Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said on Thursday his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, invited him for talks on 18 May, which would mark the first in three years between the NATO members that have taken steps to improve long-strained ties, Reuters reports.

Ankara and Washington have jousted over several issues, including Turkiye's purchase of Russian S-400 defences, which triggered US sanctions and Ankara's removal from a F-35 fighter jet programme where it was a buyer and manufacturer.

ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court ruled Thursday to suspend the trial in absentia of 26 Saudis accused in the gruesome killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and for the case to be transferred to Saudi Arabia.

Kaghoggi, a United States resident who wrote critically about Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed on Oct. 2, 2018, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. He had gone into the consulate for an appointment to collect documents required for him to marry his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. He never emerged from the building.

06 April 2022; MEMO: Turkiye detected a third floating naval mine in its waters in the Black Sea and military diving teams were working on defusing it, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday, amid the war in Ukraine and Reuters reports.

NATO member, Turkiye, borders the Black Sea, as do Russia and Ukraine, which Moscow invaded on 24 February.

06 April 2022; MEMO: Ukraine received almost 30 times as much defence industry equipment from Turkey in the first quarter as it did a year earlier, while it prepared for and fought against Russian invasion, official data showed, and Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the report, Turkey exported $59.1 million of such products to Ukraine in the period, compared with $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, data published by the Turkish Exporters' Assembly showed.