Turkey's government

There are more than 35 000 people in detention in Turkey more than three months after this year's attempted coup, says Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ, noting that a further 4,000 remain under investigation.

Turkey's government has released what it calls a "growth-friendly budget" that aims to stimulate the economy over the next few years, according to Finance Minister Naci Ağbal.

"The 2017 budget will be a growth-friendly one, underlining the main characteristics of it. Our fiscal policy will focus on stimulating the economic growth during the 2017-2019 period," Ağbal said Oct. 17. 

It was about midnight on Friday when I found myself unable to resist wondering what the latest news was and switched the TV on.  Why one should resist learning the latest news would have been a good question if one didn't live in the country.

Turkey's government is expected to extend the state of emergency it implemented in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt after the country's security council called for its prolongation in a move that received President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's enthusiastic backing.

Turkey's government ran a budget surplus of 3.6 billion Turkish Liras ($1.2 billion) in August and 4.9 billion liras ($1.64 billion) in January-August, said Finance Minister Naci Ağbal on Sept. 19.

"Public finance is the main anchor that the foundation of the solid Turkish economy rests on," he said in a statement.

About 40 prominent academics and authors from around the world are urging Turkey's government to end what they say is the persecution of the country's own writers and professors voicing a differing point of view.

Gazprom has received through diplomatic channels the first permits for the Turkish Stream project from the Turkish authorities after the decision to resume the project this year, it said in a written statement on Sept. 7.

Dutch police on Sept. 5 detained a 42-year-old Dutchman of Turkish descent for alleged death threats and hate speech after the failed Turkish coup in July, which has ratcheted up tension among Turks in the Netherlands. 

U.S. State Department Spokesperson John Kirby has urged Turkey's government to respect the "independent professional judgment" of journalists, commenting on an April 28 decision by an Istanbul court that sentenced two Turkish journalists to two years in prison for republishing a cover of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo featuring an image of the Prophet Muhammad in their columns. 

A total of 26 former police officers, including former police chiefs, went on trial on April 19 on charges of negligence in the 2007 assassination of prominent Armenian-Turkish journalistHrant Dink that sent shockwaves around the country.