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Turkey

Turkey

July 16, 2026

Ankara 9:06 pm

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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.

Latest News

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

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.

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

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

Supporters of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) celebrate municipal elections results in Diyarbakir, Turkey, March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC19430E56D0

Turkish election board disqualifies pro-Kurdish mayors in southeast

While Turkey awaits an official decision in the Istanbul mayor's race, electoral authorities void HDP victories in Diyarbakir and elsewhere in the southeast.

Turkish army tanks are seen near the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province, Turkey, January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC112A8BB900

US to ask Syrian Kurds to let Turkish forces through the door

The United States is requesting numerous concessions from its Kurdish allies in Syria, but the Kurds are pushing back.

Sudanís President Omar al-Bashir welcomes Turkey's†President†Tayyip Erdogan at Khartoum Airport, Sudan December 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1F19ED0F80

Turkey's Erdogan loses ally with Bashir's ouster in Sudan

The overthrow of Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir after 30 years in power should be making other autocrats such as Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan nervous.

Turkish folk costumes reflect roots from the Balkans, Central Asia

The folk costumes of Anatolia show great variety, but most have two things in common: they consist of layers and they open at the front.

Sudanese demonstrators wave their national flags and chants slogans as they protest against the army's announcement that President Omar al-Bashir would be replaced by a military-led transitional council, near Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 12, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer - RC11244C6310

Intel: What ouster of Sudan’s Bashir means for Mideast leaders

The ouster of Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir by the country’s military yesterday following months of unrest has received a mixed reception in the Arab world.

Turkey exerts its own leverage in F-35 jet standoff with US

The latest meeting between Russian and Turkish leaders in Moscow indicates Ankara is poised to escalate tensions by rebuffing US threats over F-35 jets.

Putin exploits crisis in US-Turkish relations

The Russian president has suggested more defense cooperation with Turkey and says Turkey's president may be willing to coordinate with Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags wave next to a drilling tower 25 km (16 miles) from Famagusta April 26, 2012. Turkish Cypriot Leader Dervis Eroglu and Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz attended a ceremony marking the start of joint gas and oil exploration works in northern Cyprus between Turkey's state-owned energy company TPAO and the Turkish-Cypriot administration. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (CYPRUS - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - GM1E84Q1HIQ01

Congress adds new irritant in US-Turkey relations with pro-Cyprus push

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee want to lift the arms sale ban on the disputed island.

Supporters of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) celebrate municipal elections results in Diyarbakir, Turkey, March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC174F6B2F50

How the Kurdish factor had a boomerang effect in Erdogan's election defeat

Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party played a key role in Erdogan’s defeats in big cities in the local polls, managing to get its voters to back mayoral candidates from the main opposition bloc while sitting out the races.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a rally for the upcoming local elections in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC19DC901700

Police raid homes in Istanbul as AKP demands new vote

As the Justice and Development Party calls for an election rerun in Istanbul, police have been raiding dozens of homes in one of the city's districts on the hunt for more than 20,000 voters the ruling party claims the main opposition falsely registered or unlawfully removed from the lists.

Men rest in Vakifli village, which is located in Hatay province, June 13, 2007. In sleepy Vakifli, Turkey's last surviving ethnic Armenian village, perched high among orange groves overlooking the east Mediterranean, elderly farmers say they will probably vote for the Islamist-rooted AK Party in July 22 elections. Picture taken June 13, 2006. To match feature TURKEY-ELECTION/CHRISTIANS REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY) - GM1DVNFQSPAA

Some elderly Turks face silent, slow killers: Abuse and neglect

By 2050, 20% of Turkey's population will be over the age of 65, but social taboos prevent people from publicly addressing elder abuse and the specific needs of the elderly.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan walks past a guard of honour as he attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 8, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC139E354840

Erdogan flirts with fire as sparks fly over missile deal

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to almost revel in the controversy over Turkey's planned purchase of a Russian missile system even as pressure mounts to scrap it and stakes continue to rise.