Published December 29,2025

Subscribe

At least six ISIS (Daesh) terrorists were killed during a counterterrorism operation in Türkiye’s northwestern province of Yalova, the Turkish interior minister said on Monday.

Ali Yerlikaya said that three police officers were also killed after the terrorists opened fire on them.

He added that eight police officers and one security guard were wounded in the clash.

Speaking at the Interior Ministry’s Security and Emergency Coordination Center, Yerlikaya said the operation targeted ISIS terrorists in Yalova and was carried out by Turkish security forces as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts.

The operation, he added, was part of a broader nationwide campaign against ISIS and simultaneous operations were carried out at 108 separate addresses across 15 provinces early Monday.

Yerlikaya noted that the operation was conducted with extreme caution due to the presence of civilians inside the house. Five women and six children were safely evacuated from the residence before the clash intensified.

“In the ensuing clash, six terrorists were neutralized and found dead. These terrorists were Turkish citizens,” Yerlikaya said, adding that the operation concluded at 9.40 am local time (0640GMT).

According to the interior minister, in the last month, 138 suspects were arrested in operations conducted against the ISIS terrorist organization, and 97 suspects were prosecuted.

Separately, Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that five suspects have been taken into custody and five public prosecutors have been assigned for investigation.

‘WE WILL CONTINUE OUR FIGHT’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also extended condolences to the families of the security personnel killed during the operation and vowed that Türkiye would continue to fight against terrorism.

“We will continue our fight in a determined, multi-dimensional and uncompromising manner against bloodstained terrorists who target the peace of our nation and the security of our state,” he said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

Erdoğan said he prayed for mercy for the “heroic members of the security forces” and extended condolences to their families, the Turkish police, and the nation.

He also wished a speedy recovery for police officers wounded during the raid.

Published December 29,2025

Subscribe

The Turkish Language Association (TDK) has selected “digital conscience” as its word of the year for 2025.

According to the TDK, the word conscience is defined as the feeling that compels a person to judge their own actions and reflect on moral values, which has taken on a different dimension in the digital age.

“People often tend to ‘ease their conscience’ by sharing or liking posts on social media regarding issues for which they do not, or do not want to, take responsibility in real life. This situation passivizes individual sensitivity and reduces conscience to a ‘clickable action,'” the TDK said in a statement.

The association noted that internet users may feel they have fulfilled their “humanitarian duty” through likes, shares, and comments, limiting feelings of compassion and fairness to symbolic visibility.

“Therefore, the concept of ‘digital conscience’ should take its place in our language as a necessary concept that describes this new, often misleading function that conscience has taken on in the digital environment in our time,” the statement said.

Digital conscience prevents people from producing concrete solutions in the face of reality, thus causing the problem area to expand and deepen, said the TDK.

Türkiye’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said Monday on the US social media company X that the word was chosen through public participation, with approximately 300,000 votes cast.

“‘Digital conscience’ stands out as a powerful concept that mirrors our individual and societal sensitivities,” he underlined, adding that conscience in the digital age is being reduced to a mere “click.”

Published December 29,2025

Subscribe

Net profits of Türkiye’s banking sector in November totaled 842.84 billion Turkish liras ($19.92 billion), the country’s banking watchdog said Monday.

The sector’s net profits surged 17.3% compared to the same month last year, according to data from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).

Total assets of the sector reached 44.97 trillion liras ($1.06 trillion) at the end of November. Loans, the biggest sub-category of assets, totaled 22.17 trillion liras ($524.2 billion).

Deposits, the largest liabilities item, amounted to 26.06 trillion Turkish liras ($616.5 billion) last month.

Pointing to lenders’ minimum capital requirements, the banking sector’s regulatory capital-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio-the higher the better-rose to 19.2% by the end of November.

The ratio of non-performing loans to total cash loans, the lower the better, stood at 2.43%.

As of the end of November, 67 state/private/foreign lenders, including deposit banks, participation banks and development and investment banks, operated in the Turkish banking sector.

The sector had 211,244 employees serving at 10,747 branches in Türkiye and overseas in November.

Published December 29,2025

Subscribe

Türkiye’s benchmark stock opened at 11,311.39 points on Monday, increasing 0.15% or 17.02 points.

On Friday, the BIST 100 was down 0.37% and closed at 11,294.37 points, with a daily transaction volume of 112.3 billion liras ($2.61 billion).

As of 09.50 am local time (0650GMT), exchange rates stood at 42.9335 Turkish liras to the US dollar, 50.5495 to the euro, and 57.9760 to the British pound.

The price of an ounce of gold was $4,478.40, while Brent crude oil traded at $60.8 per barrel.