Stories from Turkey

Kayserispor players showed a strong negative reaction to a VAR review during a match. The referee was called to the monitor to examine the situation, with the VAR officials including Gürcan Hasoba and Abdullah Bur'a Taşkın Soy involved in the review.

A bride and groom, identified as 20-year-old Ayşe Gülmaral and 34-year-old Fatih Özas, were found dead in their home in the Çavdar district of Burdur, Turkey. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of death on the morning of their wedding day.

Istanbul officials are launching a new marketing campaign to promote the city as the unique global hub connecting Europe and Asia. Positive results are now being observed, with growth in the inner region. In March, there was 8% growth, though better growth was possible if the war had not started on September 28.

Istanbul will be promoted as a unique city connecting Europe and Asia, targeting key markets in Europe, Asia, and America. This initiative will be rolled out through a phased communication plan starting immediately.

Shandong Taishan's foreign players are noted for their strong capabilities in an upcoming match against Hai Niu. Hai Niu is expected to employ a defensive counter-attack strategy, aiming to withstand pressure from Shandong Taishan's offense. Beşiktaş won their match against Gaziantep Football Club with a score of 2-0. The victory increased Beşiktaş's total to 59 points, while Gaziantep remained at 37 points. The match details included scoring in the first and second halves.

Erzurum Spor has achieved promotion to the Turkish Super Lig, securing 79 points despite facing a transfer ban and financial difficulties. The team's success is attributed to the dedication of its players, including Eren Tozlu and Mustafa Yumlu, who have performed exceptionally well. Thousands of fans filled the streets to greet the team as they rode on an open-top bus through the city. The team held a victory parade and rally before lifting the trophy at a public event. This marks the club's first Super Lig title in five years. Following the parade, the players moved to a rally and event area in Erzurum to celebrate. The championship was secured with two weeks remaining in the season. The club ended a five-year absence from the top flight by lifting the trophy in the city square.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has shared details regarding social housing projects. Specifically, the lottery for 100,000 homes to be built in Istanbul under the 500,000 social housing project has determined the beneficiaries. Erdoğan noted that TOKI has constructed 1,762,000 social housing units to date. He also highlighted existing support for urban transformation efforts. Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum announced a major housing initiative in Istanbul. Kurum described the initiative as a challenge to the 'darkened conscience' of the era. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced new social housing initiatives during a ceremony at Atatürk Airport Millet Bahçesi. The initiative will involve the construction of 15,000 rental units across both the European and Anatolian sides of the city.

The Turkish National Intelligence Organization and the Syrian Ministry of Interior conducted a joint anti-drug operation. Turkish authorities conducted 17,188 operations targeting drug manufacturing and trafficking between January 1 and April 25, 2026. These operations resulted in the seizure of 16.8 tons of narcotics. Additionally, officials seized 51.2 million drug pills and 49,000 cannabis and skunk plants. The data was shared during a panel discussing the role of media in the fight against drugs.

Turkey is introducing new requirements for social media platforms and game developers to remove prohibited content within one hour. The regulations include a digital shield application and require companies to provide parents with clear, usable control panels. These panels will allow parents to intervene in young accounts and monitor screen time and content. Turkey has tightened regulations regarding the use of dual-SIM mobile phones that have not been registered with passports. Foreign gaming platforms accessible from Turkey with over 100 million daily users must comply with new provisions. These platforms will be required to fulfill requests from BTEK, the access providers union, and judicial/administrative authorities. Following non-compliance, bandwidth throttling will be applied. Content without ratings will be shown to the highest age group. Inappropriate content will be removed.

Turkey intends to establish drone production and training centers across all 81 of its provinces. Director General Kemal Yüksek highlighted a new UAV tracking and traffic management system project intended to resolve security issues. This data was presented as part of a broader discussion on Turkey's trajectory toward becoming a leading nation in drone technology. Turkey currently has 1,612,000 individuals holding active Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) pilot licenses. Ukrainian forces continue long-range launches into Russian territory to degrade enemy morale. Ukrainian officials state that their own forces have already halted Russian advances along most of the front line. The strategy aims to defend held territory with minimal troop losses by taking the war deep into Russia. The objective is to force Russian citizens to question their own military actions.