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Turkey

Turkey

July 16, 2026

Ankara 8:44 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

Helicopter crash kills 10 Turkish soldiers, including general

The crash killed the commander of Turkey's 8th Army Corps in the eastern Bingol province.

Turkish inflation rises, raising expectations of further rate hikes

Turkey’s inflation rate rose to 15.61% in February, marking the fifth month of consecutive increases and raising expectations for the central bank to introduce further rate hikes.

Erdogan unveils human rights reforms, raising skepticism among advocates

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday announced an 11-point human rights action plan, pledging to fortify freedoms and legal protections after years of democratic backsliding under his government.

Elusive figure of Syrian war dies with secrets in Turkey

Heysem Topalca, a fugitive whose name was implicated in some of the most controversial chapters of Ankara’s Syria policy due to his alleged role in the Turkish intelligence operations in Syria, has died, taking all his secrets to the grave.

Turkey silent as US Khashoggi report emerges

Ankara's silence following the declassification of a US intelligence report implicating the Saudi crown prince in journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing speaks to its own contradictions on the issue.

Turkey emerges with ‘Pyrrhic growth’ from pandemic-hit 2020

Turkey’s economy grew 1.8% last year despite the pandemic, but not without major risks and downsides, including a smaller GDP in terms of dollars.

An illustration photo taken on January 25, 2021 shows the application Clubhouse on a smartphone in Berlin, after Thuringia's state premier Bodo Ramelow admitted on the chat app to playing Candy Crush on his phone during online pandemic response meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. - Bodo Ramelow, head of the eastern Thuringia state, made the confession during what he thought was a closed meeting on the invitation-only audio chatroom app Clubhouse at the weekend. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Phot

Turkish politics has entered Clubhouse

Clubhouse, an invite-only chat app, is connecting people around the world and providing a platform for muffled voices in Turkey.

Iraqis, one with a national flag, stand in front of a banner bearing a portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a demonstration to demand the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the Bashiqa camp, located in the Mosul province, on October 8, 2016 outside the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad.
Turkey said on October 6, 2016 that its troops will remain in Iraq despite Baghdad's growing anger ahead of a planned operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State group jihadists. Turkey ha

Turkish-Iranian rivalry heats up over Mosul

Turkey’s increasing focus on Iraq’s Sinjar region is linked to a broader rivalry with Iran for influence over Mosul.

Students wearing protective face masks attend a lesson at a private school in Ankara, on February 15, 2021, amid the crisis linked with the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

With Turkey set to reopen schools, educators and health experts urge caution amid pandemic

Turkey will resume widescale face-to-face education March 1 as some educators and health experts warn premature normalization measures could spur a rise in coronavirus cases.

In this picture taken on September 30, 2020 shows logos of social networking websites displayed on a mobile phone's screen in Istanbul. - Turkey on Thursday starts life under a new social media law that threatens to erase the local presence of Facebook and Twitter should they fail to take down contentious posts.The new legislation was pushed through by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party and follows the government's crackdown on opposition newspapers and television channels. (Photo by Ozan KOS

Turkish government's fact-checking app brings concern, ridicule

Turkey’s information tsar Fahrettin Altun’s announcement of a “next-generation application” to combat “false facts” raised fears of further control over social media.

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a meeting of members of the AK Party at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, on February 24, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Takeaway: US-Turkey strains worsening over Syrian Kurds amid fresh Erdogan complaints

Turkish president questions US-Turkey NATO alliance, while Iran expands influence in eastern Syria; US still partner of choice for GCC countries, but China may be gaining; kingdom offers inducements to businesses; more!

Customers stand by the desk at a currency exchange office, in Ankara, Turkey on February 5, 2021. - Turkey's central bank is to decide interest rate on February 18, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Where is the money? Erdogan feels the heat over foreign reserves drain

Turkey’s government goes on the defensive as the main opposition presses for answers on how the central bank ended up with negative reserves.