22.12.2025 15:51
The news analysis and reporting company Habermetre has listed the most talked-about events of 2025. At the top of the list is the Grand Kartal Hotel fire disaster, which claimed the lives of 78 people, highlighting the numerous events that deeply shook Turkey throughout the year.
News analysis and reporting company Habermetre listed the 10 most talked-about events of 2025 just days before the new year.
HOTEL FIRE TRAGEDY THAT CLAIMED 78 LIVES TAKES FIRST PLACE
At the top of the list is the hotel fire tragedy at Bolu Grand Kartal Hotel, where 78 people, including 36 children, lost their lives on January 21. The hotel's owner Halit Ergül, board members Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Elif Aras, and Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, hotel manager Zeki Yılmaz, Gazelle Hotel General Manager Ahmet Demir, hotel accounting manager Kadir Özdemir, hotel general manager Emir Aras, Bolu Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Acting Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar were each sentenced to life imprisonment for "intentional murder" against 34 children.
Additionally, 11 defendants received 24 years and 11 months in prison for "intentional murder" regarding the 44 adults who lost their lives in the fire, while they received varying prison sentences for "intentional injury" and "intentional damage to property."
The tragedy, which was the subject of 13,712 news articles throughout the year, reached a total of 35,592,043 reads.
SINDIRGI EARTHQUAKES BECAME THE SECOND MOST TALKED-ABOUT TOPIC
Daily earthquakes of various magnitudes reminded everyone that Turkey is a country prone to earthquakes this year as well. While the wounds of the February 6, 2023 earthquakes are still being healed, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Silivri, Istanbul on April 23 caused fear among citizens.
In addition to these earthquakes, the tremors that occurred in Balıkesir's Sındırgı district, which has been shaking like a cradle this year, caused it to rank second among the most talked-about events of 2025.
This year, two earthquakes of 6.1 magnitude occurred in Sındırgı on August 10 and October 27. In the tremors, 2 people lost their lives, and 55 were injured, while 733 buildings were heavily damaged or collapsed.
Throughout the year, more than 23,000 earthquakes occurred in Sındırgı. The earthquakes, which took place in an area of 20 kilometers by 30 kilometers, occurred at depths of approximately 5 to 15 kilometers. Experts described the seismic activity in the region as a "earthquake storm."
The Sındırgı earthquakes, which were the subject of 10,308 news articles throughout the year, reached a total of 12,117,422 reads.
NEWBORN GANG CASE RANKS THIRD
The cases regarding the criminal gang known as the "Newborn Gang," which caused the intentional deaths of newborn emergency patients in contracted private hospitals by collaborating with accomplices at the 112 Emergency Call Center, became the third most talked-about topic of the year.
In the Newborn Gang case, Dr. İlker Gönen, who was described as the second-in-command of the organization, committed suicide in the prison where he was held. It was reported that Gönen, who was detained in Antalya High Security Prison and held responsible for the deaths of 10 babies, cut his wrists and could not be saved.
In the case involving 47 defendants, prison sentences of up to 17,000 years are sought for the gang members, 22 of whom are being tried in custody. The defendants include doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, ambulance drivers, and call center employees. The court is seeking prison sentences of up to 582 years for the gang leader Dr. Fırat Sarı and the administrators.
The Newborn Gang case, which was the subject of 8,995 news articles throughout the year, reached a total of 22,607,718 reads.
POPE LEO XIV'S VISIT TO TURKEY RANKS FOURTH
Pope Leo XIV, the President of the Vatican, visited the İznik district of Bursa as part of his visit to Turkey. Pope Leo XIV attended the ceremony marking the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, held in the area where the ruins of the sunken basilica, believed to have been built in honor of Saint Neophytos, are located. The ceremony was also attended by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The event, which took place under heavy security measures, resonated widely in the Christian world. The Pope and the Orthodox Patriarch conducted a joint service in İznik after a thousand years. The Pope's visit to Turkey included stops in Ankara, Istanbul, and İznik.
The Pope's visit to Turkey, which was the subject of 8,105 news articles throughout the year, reached a total of 15,979,492 reads.
20 OF OUR SOLDIERS MARTYRED DUE TO THE CRASH OF A MILITARY PLANE BELONGING TO THE TSK IN GEORGIA
The announcement by the Ministry of National Defense that 20 of our soldiers on board a C-130 military cargo plane, which crashed on the Georgia-Azerbaijan border after taking off from Azerbaijan, were martyred, brought great sorrow to Turkey.
NAMES OF OUR MARTYRS:
Air Pilot Lieutenant Colonel Gökhan Korkmaz, Air Pilot Major Serdar Uslu, Air Pilot Major Nihat İlgen, Air Pilot First Lieutenant Cüneyt Kandemir, Air Aircraft Maintenance First Lieutenant Emre Mercan, Air Aircraft Maintenance Chief Master Sergeant Nuri Özcan, Air Aircraft Maintenance Chief Master Sergeant Ümit İnce, Air Aircraft Maintenance Master Sergeant Hamdi Armağan Kaplan, Air Aircraft Maintenance Master Sergeant Burak Özkan, Air Aircraft Maintenance Master Sergeant İlker Aykut, Air Aircraft Maintenance Master Sergeant Akın Karakuş, Air Aircraft Maintenance Master Sergeant Emrah Kuran, Air Aircraft Maintenance Master Sergeant Ramazan Yağız, Air Aircraft Maintenance Staff Sergeant Emre Altıok, Air Aircraft Maintenance Staff Sergeant Berkay Karaca, Air Aircraft Maintenance Staff Sergeant Burak İbbiği, Air Aircraft Maintenance Staff Sergeant İlhan Ongan, Air Supply Chief Sergeant Ahmet Yasir Kuyucu, Air Transport Specialist Sergeant Cem Dolapci, Air Transport Specialist Sergeant Emre Sayın.
The incident of the "crash of a military plane belonging to the TSK in Georgia," which was the subject of 7,022 news articles throughout the year, reached a total of 15,220,608 reads.
MATTIA AHMET MINGUZZİ MURDER CASE RANKED SIXTH
On January 24 in Kadıköy, Istanbul, 14-year-old Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi was stabbed to death by his peers while going to a flea market to buy skateboard equipment. In the case regarding Minguzzi's death, the minors B. B. and U. B. were sentenced to 24 years in prison for "intentional murder of a child," with no reduction in their sentences. M. A. D. and A. Ö., who were involved in the incident, were acquitted of the charge of "aiding in the intentional murder of a child."
The Anadolu 2nd Children's Heavy Criminal Court, where the case was heard, sentenced the minors B. B. and U. B. to 24 years in prison for "intentional murder of a child." The court did not apply any reductions in their sentences and ruled for the continuation of B. B. and U. B.'s detention.
Throughout the year, the Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi case was the subject of 6,752 news articles, reaching a total of 31 million 417 thousand 606 reads.
SIRRI SÜREYYA ÖNDER'S DEATH
Member of the DEM Party Imralı Delegation and Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) Sırrı Süreyya Önder suffered a heart attack on April 15. Önder was brought to the hospital unconscious and without a pulse, but emergency interventions restored his circulation. Upon detection of a full-thickness tear in the aorta during examinations, he was urgently taken for surgery. Bypass and aortic grafting were performed during the approximately 12-hour surgery.
Önder, who was treated in intensive care for 18 days, entered multiple organ failure due to complications that developed after the operation. Despite all interventions, Önder passed away on May 3 at the hospital where he was being treated. His funeral was held on May 4, attended by thousands. Önder's death plunged the political world into mourning.
The incident of "the crash of a military aircraft belonging to the TSK in Georgia," which was the subject of 6,633 news articles throughout the year, reached a total of 11 million 31 thousand 313 reads.
CAN HOLDING OPERATION RANKED EIGHTH
As part of an investigation initiated by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of Küçükçekmece in Istanbul, detention orders were issued for 10 people, including Can Holding executives Mehmet Şakir Can, Kemal Can, and Kenan Tekdağ, and 6 people were detained.
In the operation carried out on charges of "establishing a criminal organization," "smuggling," "fraud," and "money laundering," 121 companies, including Bilgi University, Habertürk, Bloomberg HT, and Show TV, owned by Can Holding, were seized.
Of those referred to the court by the prosecutor's office, 5 were arrested, while Kenan Tekdağ was released under judicial control in the form of house arrest. Can Holding Chairman Kemal Can and Mehmet Şakir Can are still being sought as fugitives.
In a second wave of operations against Can Holding, 26 suspects were detained.
The operation, which was the subject of 6,208 news articles throughout the year, reached a total of 24 million 12 thousand 165 reads.
ALLEGATIONS OF IRREGULARITIES AT CHP CONGRESS AND APPOINTMENT OF GÜRSEL TEKİN AS TRUSTEE
A lawsuit was filed for the annulment of the CHP's 38th Ordinary Congress held on November 4-5 and the 21st Extraordinary Congress on the grounds of "manipulation of the voting process."
In the lawsuit filed for the annulment of the CHP Istanbul 38th Ordinary Provincial Congress, the court ruled for the suspension of Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik and the current administration, and the appointment of a temporary administration in their place.
According to the decision of the Istanbul 45th Civil Court, a committee consisting of Gürsel Tekin, Zeki Şen, Hasan Babacan, Müjdat Gürbüz, and Erkan Narsap was appointed to the Istanbul Provincial Presidency.
Tekin was expelled from the party when he was appointed as a trustee to the CHP Istanbul Provincial Organization by court order on September 2, 2025.
The allegations of irregularities at the CHP Congress, which was the subject of 6,035 news articles throughout the year, reached a total of 22 million 394 thousand 812 reads. The appointment of Gürsel Tekin as a trustee to the Istanbul Provincial Presidency, which caused a backlash, was the subject of 6,011 news articles and received a total of 18 million 524 thousand 712 reads.
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