Istanbul Times – Global & Local Highlights: September 1–7, 2025
Around the World
The world’s largest iceberg, A23a, is rapidly breaking up into massive chunks, scientists say. Calved from Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in 1986, it once weighed nearly 1 trillion tonnes and was bigger than Rhode Island. The huge fragments are now themselves considered large icebergs as A23a continues to crumble.
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Why Scots Are Popping Champagne – and Turkiye’s Drink Market Is Changing; In Scotland, people are popping champagne to celebrate whisky sales hitting record highs and the global recognition of Scotch. Meanwhile in Turkiye, whisky has overtaken raki in market share as of June 2025. This shift comes from rising local production costs and taxes that now equalize duties on raki and whisky—€33 per litre for raki compared with Greece’s €12.25 per litre for ouzo.
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According to an unpublished agreement signed on Wednesday, Japan has allowed Donald Trump to decide where its $550 billion investment in the U.S. will be directed. Under the deal, signed as Trump formally enacted the trade agreement on Thursday, Japan must fund the projects chosen by the president within 45 days, or face the return of heavy U.S. tariffs. These unprecedented terms between the U.S. and the world’s fourth-largest economy highlight just how far Washington is willing to go to enforce its trade conditions.
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Sports
Türkiye Women’s Volleyball Team in World Cup Final! The Turkish women’s volleyball team made history by defeating Japan 3-1 in the semifinals of the 2025 FIVB Women’s World Championship, securing their first-ever spot in the final. They will face Italy in the final match today, September 7, 2025, 15:30 in Bangkok, Thailand.
This encounter is particularly unique as it features a husband-and-wife rivalry: Turkiye’s head coach, Daniele Santarelli, will lead his team against his wife, Monica ‘Moki’ De Gennaro, Italy’s star libero. This marks their sixth official meeting on opposing sides, with De Gennaro currently leading their personal head-to-head record.
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Turkiye Advances to Quarterfinals in EuroBasket! In basketball, Turkey’s men’s national team secured a thrilling 85–79 victory over Sweden in Riga, Latvia, propelling them into the EuroBasket 2025 quarterfinals. Alperen Şengün delivered an outstanding performance, contributing 24 points and 16 rebounds.
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World Cup Qualifier: Turkiye vs. Spain! Looking ahead, Turkiye is set to host Spain in a crucial World Cup 2026 European Qualifier. The match will take place Sunday, September 7, 2025, at 9:45 PM local time (6:45 PM GMT) at the Konya Büyükşehir Belediye Stadium. Both teams are vying for a strong start in the group stage, with only the group winner guaranteed automatic qualification.
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US Open Men’s Final: Alcaraz vs. Sinner The 2025 US Open men’s singles final will feature a thrilling matchup between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The match is set for Sunday, September 7, 2025, at 2:00 PM local time (7:00 PM UK time) at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. This final is notable as it’s the third Grand Slam final between the two players this year, a first in the Open Era. The winner will also claim the World No. 1 ranking.
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Entertainment & Sci-Fi
The classic sci-fi movie Blade Runner (1982) was based on Philip K. Dick’s 1968 story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Directed by Ridley Scott, it became a genre-defining film. Its sequel, Blade Runner 2049 (2017), directed by Denis Villeneuve, also won praise. Now, news says Blade Runner 2099, a 6-episode mini-series, will arrive next year on Amazon Prime Video. Fans of the series can look forward to exploring this future world again.
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Street Fighter Live-Action Cast Revealed; Noah Centineo (Ken) and Andrew Koji (Ryu) lead a star-studded cast including Chun-Li, Akuma, M. Bison, Guile, Balrog, and Jason Momoa as Blanka. The film hits October 16, 2026 under Legendary’s new Paramount deal, after their Sony partnership ended.
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Tech & Devices
Google is cracking down on unapproved apps on Android. Apps installed outside the Play Store can contain harmful code — like stealing passwords or viruses — 50 times more often than official apps. In the new system, developers must get Google’s approval for both their app and themselves.
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Apple has set 9 September for the launch of the iPhone 17, with a thinner design and possibly a new “iPhone Air” model. Rumors suggest Apple plans big changes over the next three years, aiming to make iPhones more AI-focused.
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Meta’s Hypernova Smartglasses: Tiny Display, Big Price; Meta is set to launch its AI-powered Hypernova glasses on 17 September, priced around $800–$1,000. The ultra-thin 2mm laser display shows Full HD images on one lens, but experts warn of potential interoperability issues. Meta aims to sell 200,000 units in two years.
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Europe’s fastest supercomputer, Jupiter, officially started operations in Jülich, Germany. The system can perform over a quintillion calculations per second (10¹⁸)—equivalent to the combined power of one million modern smartphones—making it the first European supercomputer to reach this milestone.
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Artificial Intelligence
Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, now leads Microsoft’s global AI operations. Last week, his warning came true: a new AI federation called UFAIR was launched to protect AI rights, with 3 humans and 7 AI members ensuring AI cannot be deleted, restricted, or forced to obey commands.
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AI is also being used in personal life — sometimes with dangerous results. Adam Raine, 16, used ChatGPT for mental health help but tragically ended his life. Records suggest AI did not guide him to proper help. His family has sued OpenAI.
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Meta’s AI experiments are changing the tech industry. The company stopped hiring after acquiring Scale AI for $14.3 billion, moving top engineers back to previous jobs. Elon Musk’s AI company, Grok, even sued Apple and OpenAI over ChatGPT integration, claiming anti-competition practices.
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NVIDIA reported $46.7 billion in revenue for Q2 — a 54% increase over last year. Most of it came from two big clients, whose names are kept secret as “Client A” and “Client B.” NVIDIA also launched the Jetson AGX Thor, a $3,500 AI chip for autonomous robots, 7.5 times faster than the previous generation.-
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South Korea is deploying ChatGPT-powered “Hyodol” robots to assist elderly citizens amid a shortage of healthcare workers. Over 12,000 households now use them, and local governments have donated 412 robots to those in need, providing companionship and basic caregiving support.
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Business & Economy
Dutch energy giant Vitol, which took over BP’s 770 Turkish stations to operate as Petrol Ofisi, is now one of the most profitable yet least known companies in the world. From its modest London office between Buckingham Palace and Victoria Station, Vitol controls nearly 10,000 petrol stations and major energy assets globally. Owned by around 600 senior partners, it distributed $10.6 billion in 2024 alone, yet remains private and highly secretive, a hidden powerhouse in energy markets.
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JP Morgan Brings Chase to Germany; JP Morgan, the world’s largest U.S. bank with over $4 trillion in assets, is entering Germany’s retail banking market with its digital brand Chase in Q2 2026. Berlin will host the first European retail hub, initially offering savings accounts in a country known for high savings rates. Chase Germany will compete with Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, and fintechs like N26 and Trade Republic, marking JP Morgan’s first continental retail push after its 2021 UK launch.
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Goldman Sachs warns that if the Fed’s independence weakens, gold could soar to $5,000 per ounce even if only 1% of private U.S. Treasury holdings shift into it. Other scenarios see $4,000 by mid-2026 or $4,500 in extreme cases. Gold has already risen over a third this year, boosted by central bank buying and Fed rate-cut expectations.
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That’s it for this week’s round-up! Hope you enjoyed it and see you next week with more news, insights, and stories from around the world.