Recep Tayyip Erdogan

At first sight it seems that Turkey has turned into a great play of political vaudeville theater. Most recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that he will chair Cabinet meetings after he was elected head of state. After a period of speculation, the president finally said the last word as usual and declared that he would chair a Cabinet meeting in the Presidential Palace on Jan. 19.

From Turkey's ‘laughing women' to the elections, here are the most popular stories of 2014 as published by Hürriyet Daily News. 1) Women should not laugh out loud in public

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç's July 28 complaint about "moral corruption" in Turkey triggered a massive social media protest. (Click here to read more about this story)

A long and stressful 2014 brought with it a new president, a new prime minister and a new political balance with the undefeated ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) consolidating its power in local and presidential elections against opposition parties and its erstwhile ally, the Fethullah Gülen community.

As discussion heats up over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's upcoming chairmanship of the Turkish Cabinet later this month, a pro-government newspaper has reported that 12 new desks will be founded at the presidency, adding to former rumors that a "shadow cabinet" would begin to take charge.

‘If it happened in the world, it happened on Twitter.' That's how Twitter announced its annual moments, the most tweets, retweets and hashtags.

Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas' political bureau, has made a surprise appearance at an event of Turkey's ruling party, endorsing the Turkish leaders and voicing his hope to "liberate Palestine and Jerusalem" together with them in the future.

There are very grave claims suggesting that the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) has handed over information to inappropriate individuals or groups, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said.

The government has indicated that a reconstruction or a purge at the TİB was imminent.

Turkey's Central Bank on Dec. 24 kept its main interest rates unchanged, again despite pressure from the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a cut to stimulate growth.

Members of the Council of Ministers and top military officials will get new anti-wiretapping phones before the end of the year, Industry Minister Fikri Işık said, while arguing that the "parallel structure" - a phrase used to describe the Gülenist movement - was deeply rooted in the strategic boards of the country's top science body.

EU Affairs Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkır has joined the chorus of critics against EU officials who made comments directed at Turkey over mass media detentions on a day of rest.