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Turkey

Turkey

May 9, 2026

Ankara 8:06 pm

15°C

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

The initiative could eventually lead to joint UAV development and production as Japan looks to expand drone capabilities amid regional tensions.

Latest News

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 2026.

Turkey, Armenia agree to restore medieval bridge in normalization push

A picture taken near Kars on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the ruins of a bridge over Arpacay river, the natural border between Turkey and Armenia.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Is Turkey’s opposition losing Istanbul to Erdogan?

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is employing a panoply of unfathomable methods to peremptorily take over city municipalities he lost in the last election.

Erdogan converts another historic church into a mosque

The centuries-old Chora church, which has served as a museum since 1945, will soon be open to Muslim worship.

A fight plane of the type F-16 (L) of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) starts from the airbase in N√∂rvenich, western Germany, on August 20, 2020, during the first joint German-Israeli military air exercise "Blue Wings 2020". (Photo by SASCHA SCHUERMANN / AFP) (Photo by SASCHA SCHUERMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE to send F-16s to Crete for training with Greek military amid tensions with Turkey

The UAE is the latest country to show support for Greece amid a tense maritime dispute with Turkey

United Arab Emirates

People watch as Scarabeo 9, a 115-meter-long and 78-meter-high Frigstad D90-type semi-submersible drilling rig, passes on the Bosphorus Strait en route to the Black Sea in Istanbul on August 29, 2019. - The semi-submersible drilling rig is owned and operated by Italian oil and gas industry contractor Saipem and registered in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey announces major natural gas discovery in Black Sea

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the discovery of 320 billion cubic meters of natural gas will help Turkey reduce its reliance on foreign energy supplies.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - AUGUST 29: People walk past a currency exchange office on August 29, 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's lira extended its slump to a third day to 6.45 against the dollar after the central bank announced it would alter Turkish banks borrowing limits on overnight transactions, the move failed to reassure investors and combined with the decision by ratings agency Moody's to downgrade the credit rating of twenty Turkish financial institutions saw the lira continue to slide. (Photo by Chris

Family silver next in line in Turkey’s debt crunch

The hefty external debt of Turkey’s public and private sectors is increasingly imposing the option to offer asset swaps to creditors, including company shares and valuable real estate.

Turkish Central Bank Governor Murat Uysal speaks at the "Briefing on 2020-3 Inflation Report" meeting in Ankara, Turkey on July 29, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Opting for backdoor measures, Turkey’s Central Bank holds interest rate steady

Turkey’s Central Bank left a key interest rate unchanged in favor of liquidity measures Thursday in what analysts described as a “missed opportunity” to send a positive signal to the markets.

A woman wearing a face mask raises her fist in Ankara, on August 5, 2020, during a demonstration to demand the government does not withdraw from the Istanbul Conventio, a landmark treaty, on preventing domestic violence. - The protests were the biggest in recent weeks as anger grows over the rising number of women killed by men in the past decade since the Istanbul Convention. The treaty's official title is the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic viol

Turkey's 'hedonist' singles become new target of AKP heavyweight

Numan Kurtulmus, deputy chair of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party who opened a Pandora’s box on the Istanbul Convention, has come under fire once more for remarks on “over hedonist singles.”

Turkey banks on military drones to extend power, regional clout

The “dronization” of Turkey’s power projection abroad continues with a new unmanned aerial vehicle that Ankara plans to use against PKK militants in Iraq and Syria as well as in brewing regional conflicts.

Turkish foreign minister visits Venezuela

Mevlut Cavusoglu's trip is notable given US sanctions on Venezuela. Turkey previously sent medical aid to the South American country.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - AUGUST 05: Women chant slogans and wave signs during a demonstration for the prevention of violence against women on August 05, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Women's rights groups staged simultaneous protests in various Turkish cities in support of the Istanbul Convention on domestic violence against women. The Istanbul Convention is an international agreement for the prevention of violence against women. Forty six countries signed the agreement started by the European Council in 2011. Turk

Outrage at violence unites women across Turkey's ideological divide

Turkish women across political and ideological divides are united in anger over news that an abduction and rape victim has died.

Turkish police officers and paramedics inspect a restaurant as new measures are enforced to fight against the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), in Ankara on August 6, 2020. - Following the "Coronavirus Inspections" orders sent by Interior Ministry to governorships, inspections were carried out in marketplaces, workplaces, markets, public transportation vehicles, shopping areas, restaurants, cafeterias and taxis. Turkey has expressed concern over the rising number of coronavirus cases as the daily infection toll

Doctors warn Turkish outbreak 'out of control' as COVID-19 cases pass 250,000

The government says inspections of businesses will be increased to ensure enforcement rules on masks and physical distancing as the country battles more than 1,000 new cases a day.

Turkish President and the leader of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli stand on stage during a joint election rally of People's Alliance for the upcoming local elections in Ankara, Turkey, on March 23, 2019. - Turkish will cast their ballots for local elections on March 31, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Why Erdogan must expand his ultranationalist alliances

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s growing dependency on Gray Wolves may mean more trouble for the Kurds and political dissidents in Europe, while increasing risks for Syrian refugees inside Turkey.