Social Security Institution

Health care workers continued to deliver testimonies on the second day of a landmark trial closely followed across Türkiye, with their statements lying bare the harrowing extent of a social security fraud scheme that allegedly led to the deaths of 10 newborns.

The prosecutor has sought over 500 years in prison for the ringleaders of a criminal syndicate in Istanbul, accused of unnecessarily placing newborns in intensive care units for financial gain, resulting in several infant deaths.

The investigation into the gang, first revealed in May, has concluded, and the Büyükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has finalized the indictment.

Authorities have arrested 18 suspects, including three doctors and pharmacists in Istanbul, responsible for a staggering 5 million Turkish Liras ($160,700) worth of public loss to the Social Security Institution (SGK) wtih the issuance of counterfeit prescriptions.

As applications are now open for Youth and Sports Ministry-affiliated university dormitories, a digital assessment by 12 public institutions will take precedence, with special consideration granted to students affected by recent earthquakes.

Famed actress Tamer Karadağlı assumes the role of general manager at the Turkish State Theaters (DT), while Okay Memiş, the governor of Erzurum, steps into the chairmanship of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), according to the announcement in the Official Gazette.

In a lawsuit regarding the fee of the HPV vaccine, which has been campaigned to be free for a while as it provides essential protection against cervical cancer, a court has decided that the cost of the vaccine should be covered by the Social Security Institution (SGK), marking a landmark decision.

The government is working on a draft bill for a comprehensive tax amnesty, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced.

Accordingly, the penalties for tax and premium debts will be deleted and the opportunity to be paid in installments will be introduced.

The government has submitted a proposal seeking a supplementary budget to allocate some additional 880 billion Turkish Liras for spending.

The draft bill, which was signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on the additional budget has been forwarded to the parliament speaker's office.

More than 9 million retirees live in Turkey, making up 11 percent of the country's total population.

Turkey marks June 30 as Retirees' Day as on June 30, 1927, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, retired.

The number of people aged 65 and older increased from 6.5 million in 2005 to nearly 8 million in 2020, rising 22.5 percent in five years.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader has questioned the capacity of the government in rolling out reforms and said it will fail to accomplish them.