Turkey's inflation eases, the death toll off northern Cyprus rises to 22, the Eyüpsultan mayor is remanded in custody, and President Erdoğan receives Hind Rajab's family.

In this episode

• Turkey's central bank reports easing inflation trend in September
• Death toll in passenger vessel sinking off northern Cyprus rises to 22
• Ankara court remands Eyüpsultan mayor and 12 others in municipal investigation
• Erdoğan receives family of six-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab

Transcript

Deniz: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Turkey Brief Daily. It's Wednesday, October 7th. I'm Deniz.

Maya: And I'm Maya. Here's what's on the show today — falling inflation in Turkey, a rising death toll off northern Cyprus, a major municipal corruption case in Istanbul, and President Erdoğan's meeting with a Palestinian family.

Deniz: Let's start with the economy. Turkey's central bank released its September Price Developments Report, and the headline is that inflation is cooling.

Maya: Okay, give me the numbers.

Deniz: Consumer prices rose 1.84% in September. Annual inflation fell to 29.73% — down almost 1.8 percentage points from August.

Maya: Hm, that's a meaningful drop.

Deniz: It is. Food prices actually fell slightly, helped by lower fresh fruit and vegetable prices. But energy prices jumped 6.25%, mostly because of fuel. Annual energy inflation is now over 46%.

Maya: Ouch. So there's progress, but it's uneven.

Deniz: Exactly. Services inflation is easing too — down to about 37.6%. But back-to-school costs pushed education prices up over 14%. So the trend is encouraging, but the central bank still has work to do.

Maya: Moving to northern Cyprus — tragic news from the search for victims of that passenger vessel that sank back on August 30th.

Deniz: Right. Search teams found another body off Kyrenia today. That brings the death toll to 22. Six people are still missing, and the search continues.

Maya: That's over five weeks now. And they're still identifying the latest body?

Deniz: Yes. The prime minister's office of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus confirmed that identification work has begun. The high-speed vessel Filo Jet was on its route from Kyrenia to Taşucu in Mersin. It started taking on water through the forward section shortly after leaving port and sank as it tried to turn back.

Maya: Just terrible. Next — a significant legal development in Istanbul.

Deniz: An Ankara court has remanded the mayor of Eyüpsultan, Mithat Bülent Özmen, and 12 other suspects in custody. Özmen is suspected of rigging public tenders, accepting bribes, and membership of a criminal organization. Four more suspects were placed under judicial supervision.

Maya: How many people were detained in total?

Deniz: 28. Prosecutors issued detention orders for all of them. The investigation is being run by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. One of the bigger municipal corruption cases in a while.

Maya: The full scope is still emerging. Finally, a quieter but meaningful story. President Erdoğan received the family of Hind Rajab at the Presidential Complex.

Deniz: Hind Rajab was the six-year-old Palestinian girl who died in Gaza after being trapped in a vehicle following an Israeli attack. Her relatives were received in a closed-door meeting. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy was also there.

Maya: Do we know what was discussed?

Deniz: No details were released. The meeting wasn't open to the press, and no statements were issued. But the reception itself is a signal of Turkey's continued engagement with the Gaza crisis.

Maya: That's it for today. You can read the full stories at turkiybrief dot com.

Deniz: Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

Voices in this episode are AI-generated. Stories are based on Turkey Brief's reporting.