Published December 24,2025

Subscribe

Türkiye’s exports to Syria rose 54.1% year-on-year to more than $3 billion in 2025, driven by improving bilateral ties and political developments in Syria following the overthrow of the Assad regime, Türkiye’s deputy trade minister said.

Özgür Volkan Ağar told Anadolu that Turkish exports to Syria totaled $1.95 billion last year, highlighting the sharp increase in shipments to the neighboring country.

Ağar said Türkiye’s total goods exports reached $270.6 billion in the January-November period, adding that the final figures for the year would be announced at an export evaluation ceremony in January 2026.

The ceremony will be attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is expected to outline export targets for the coming year, he said.

Ağar said Türkiye posted a foreign trade surplus in services of $122.5 billion on an annualized basis in the January-November period. Total goods and services exports reached $393.1 billion in November.

“We hope to successfully complete 2026 by exceeding these figures by a wide margin,” he said.

He said Türkiye continued to play a key role in exports to neighboring countries, noting that trade with Syria has expanded since the Assad regime was overthrown in December last year.

“We recorded an increase of over 54% versus previous years, so we can say that, as Syria develops further and strengthens its political stability, the relations between the two countries will be further developed, and we will achieve much better trade figures,” Ağar added.

Published December 24,2025

Subscribe

Turkish National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler paid a condolence visit to officials who arrived in Ankara to receive the remains of the Libyan military delegation that was aboard the aircraft that crashed on Tuesday.

In a post shared on Turkish social media NSosyal, the ministry said that the Libyan military officials and the families of those who lost their lives came to Türkiye to receive the remains.

The statement said Chief of the General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu also paid a condolence visit to the Libyan officials and families. Both Güler and Bayraktaroğlu expressed sorrow over the accident and extended condolences to the families and the Libyan people.

On Tuesday, the Falcon 50-type business jet crashed after taking off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport en route to Tripoli, the Libyan capital.

The plane was found about 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) south of Kesikkavak in the Turkish capital Ankara’s Haymana district.

Search operations continued through the night despite heavy rain and fog, and officials are monitoring efforts from a mobile coordination center set up by Türkiye’s disaster management agency AFAD.

Published December 25,2025

Subscribe

Some 115 alleged members of the Islamic State group suspected of planning attacks during the end of year holidays have been arrested in Türkiye , Istanbul’s prosecutor general said Thursday.
“Following intelligence indicating that the IS terrorist organisation was planning attacks during Christmas and New Year celebrations,” the prosecutor’s office ordered the detention of 137 people, 115 of whom have been arrested, the Istanbul prosecutor general’s office said in a statement.

Türkiye shares a 900-kilometre (559-mile) border with Syria, where jihadist groups are still active and where the IS was accused of an attack in mid-December that killed two US soldiers and one civilian.

Published December 25,2025

Subscribe

Cold weather will affect Istanbul in the coming days. Temperatures are expected to drop to 0°C, and mixed rain and snow are forecast for the Anatolian side on Saturday. Next week, falling temperatures across the city may bring further snowfall.

According to the Istanbul Regional Forecast and Early Warning Center of the 1st Regional Directorate of Meteorology, from Friday, Dec. 26, the Marmara region will be under cold and rainy conditions.

In the eastern part of the region—Kocaeli, Sakarya, and Yalova—rain is expected on Friday, Dec. 26, followed by mixed rain and snow and localized snowfall starting Saturday, Dec. 27.

In Istanbul, precipitation will mostly be rain but will turn to mixed rain and snow in the higher areas of the Anatolian side on Saturday. Across the province, mixed rain and snow, and snow at higher elevations, is expected on Monday, Dec. 29.

Precipitation is also expected during the first days of the new year, with rain or mixed rain in low areas and snow in higher areas.

Temperatures, which have been around seasonal averages, are expected to drop by 5–8°C across the region, with cold weather continuing throughout next week.

Between Dec. 26, 2025, and Jan. 2, 2026, the lowest temperatures are forecast as follows: Istanbul 0°C, Edirne -3°C, Kırklareli -3°C, Tekirdağ -1°C, Kocaeli -1°C, Sakarya -2°C, and Yalova 1°C. Frost and ice warnings have been issued, especially for nighttime and early morning hours.

Cold and frost conditions may increase the risk of agricultural damage in farming areas.