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Turkey

Turkey

July 16, 2026

Ankara 12:40 am

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Ozgu Ozel

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya,one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Increasing defense cooperation between Ankara and Cairo comes as Turkey seeks to offset the expanding Greek-Cypriot-Israeli alignment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Latest News

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks during a joint declaration press event with French President following their meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on April 21, 2026.

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

People react as police try to disperse a march marking International Women's Day in Istanbul, Turkey, March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1D15D67740

Outraged over mother’s murder, Turkish women demand protection

A brutal video of a mother’s last moments has reignited calls to better implement laws designed to prevent domestic violence in Turkey.

Turkey's Central Bank headquarters is seen in Ankara January 24, 2014. Turkey received a vote of confidence in its underlying economic health on Thursday, with foreign investors lapping up a $2.5 billion eurobond issue even as a corruption scandal swirled and the central bank intervened to prop up the lira. The graft investigation, one of the biggest threats to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's 11-year rule, has shaken Turkey in recent weeks, helping send the lira into a tailspin and heightening uncertainty a

Ankara’s economic measures risk scaring off foreign banks

Foreign-capital banks operating in Turkey are growing uneasy over economic measures aimed at pushing lenders to toe the line with government policies.

Turkish defense minister claims pivotal role in Syria

Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has gotten deeply involved in tactical and operational matters and anxiety is growing in the Turkish military and the ruling party that Akar is taking the reins in Syria.

Are Libyan Turks Ankara’s Trojan horse?

The descendants of Ottoman Turks represent an important foothold for Turkey in Libya, but the community is dispersed in various political and military camps, with some even resentful toward Ankara.

IDLIB, SYRIA - AUGUST 22: Turkish military armoured vehicles are deployed to the observations point in Idlib, de-escalation zone, Syria on August 22, 2019. (Photo by Izeddin Idilbi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

End game looms for Turkey in Idlib

Turkey has found itself with little room to maneuver in Idlib after its last-minute moves failed to avert the fall of Khan Sheikhoun in a Syrian army offensive that seemed to be a response to the new Turkish-US partnership to the east of the Euphrates River.

A general view of Nizip refugee camp, near the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep province, Turkey, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC137324E500

Turkey recalibrates refugee policy as Idlib fighting displaces more Syrians

Turkey’s Interior Ministry is moving to formalize refugee policies as new wave of displaced Syrians amasses in Idlib.

U.S. soldiers stand beside a U.S. Patriot missile system at a Turkish military base in Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey, October 10, 2014. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway is expected to visit U.S. patriot troops in Gaziantep later in the day. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - GM1EAAA1BJP01

Turkey’s Patriot offer dead after S-400 delivery

The Donald Trump administration automatically rescinded a $3.5 billion deal to sell Patriot missile defenses to Turkey after it took delivery of a Russian alternative in July, US officials have told Al-Monitor.

Will Turkey's oldest library sweep Aga Khan prize?

The restoration of Beyazit State Library, established by Sultan Abdulhamid II in 1884, has been short-listed for the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Members of the Civil Defence, also known as the 'White Helmets', are seen inspecting the damage at a Roman ruin site in Daraa, Syria December 23, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa al-Faqir - RC1DDC3A3F50

Young Syrians flee Daraa, Quneitra in droves

Young people have been taking flight from Daraa and Quneitra in bids to find decent jobs and to avoid having to serve in the Syrian army.

Turkey faces losses in Syria east, west of the Euphrates River

Ankara’s attempts to play Russia and the United States off against each other may be gaining it very little and could leave it losing more than it expected.

Police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against the replacement of Kurdish mayors with state officials in three cities, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, August 20, 2019. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC13B9CF81F0

Turkey attacks Kurdish protesters as world shrugs

Police brutality has reared its head as demonstrations continue in Diyarbakir over the replacement of three Kurdish mayors in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast by state appointees.

IDLIB, SYRIA - AUGUST 19: Turkish military convoy is seen on August 19, 2019 in Syria's northern province of Idlib. Syrian regime launches airstrikes on Maarat Al-Numan town as a convoy of Turkish military vehicles passes through the town. An airstrike killed three civilians and injured 12 others during a transfer to Turkeys observation point in Syrias Idlib.
(Photo by Izzettin Idilbi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Turkey questions why Russia didn't prevent Idlib attack

The Syrian airstrike this week against a Turkish military convoy in Idlib has prompted speculation that Russia and Syria are cooperating at Turkey's expense.