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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 12:35 am

14°C

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkey reopened the Akcakale-Tell Abyad crossing on Monday, ending an 11-year closure along the Syria border.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 06: A man poses for a photograph in front of the newly unveiled, Turkish made intercontinental ballistic missile Yildirimhan at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. The International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition, showcased Turkish and foreign companies new products and technology. The expo was dominated by UAV products as modern warfare increasingly shifts to drone and unmanned technologies. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

From drones to deterrence: Turkey's ICBM missile signals bigger ambitions

Turkey’s planned test of a 6,000-kilometer missile could boost Ankara’s defense industry prestige, strengthen its deterrence messaging and feed a powerful domestic narrative of technological self-reliance, but it also raises questions about cost, timing and NATO protection.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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.

Latest News

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

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.

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

Lawyers, members of Ankara's Bar Association, clap as they protest against a bill examined by parliament upon the initiative of the ruling party AKP in order to change the system of bar associations that opponents say will dent lawyers' independence and influence on July 7, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkish lawyers protest as parliament debates bar association bill

As Turkey’s parliament debates a controversial proposal to weaken the influence of established bar associations, lawyers are protesting in the nation’s major cities.

Second fireworks explosion in a week kills police in Turkey

Thursday's blast followed a massive fireworks explosion at the same factory last week in the northwest.

Freed American pastor Andrew Brunson (L) prays for US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, October 13, 2018. - Brunson, held for two years in Turkey, returned to the US earlier Saturday after a court freed him in a case that sparked a crisis in Ankara's ties with Washington and trouble for its economy. The court in the western town of Aliaga convicted Brunson on terror-related charges and sentenced him to three years, one month and 15 days in jail. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (P

Turkey expels Protestant missionaries for 'threatening public order'

The Turkish Protestant community is witnessing a purge as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government turns up pressure against the church.

BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 19: French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) are pictured during a family picture at the Chancellery on January 19, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. Leaders of nations and organizations linked to the current conflict are meeting to discuss measures towards reaching a consensus between the warring sides and ending hostilities. (Photo by Emmanuele Contini/Getty Images)

Why is France a useful adversary for Turkey?

Although France has the means to hamper Turkey, both in the European Union and Africa, its current strategy often plays into Turkey’s hands, as evidenced by its recent failure to squeeze Turkey through a NATO probe.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 02: Tourists visit Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia on July 02, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's Council of State will begin a review today of the building's status and the possibility of changing it from a museum, back into a mosque upon the request of nationalist and religious groups. Throughout it's history the UNESCO World Heritage site has served as a Byzantine Cathedral, a mosque under Ottoman rule and now a museum, after a 1934 decision led by modern Turkey's founder Mustafa K

Britain extends lifeline to Turkish tourism by lifting quarantine rule

Turkey hopes visitors from the United Kingdom will help offset the deep losses its coronavirus-hit tourism industry is expected to suffer this summer season and is pushing the European Union to reconsider its "safe list" that excluded the Mediterranean destination.

US President Donald Trump (L) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) pose for the family photo at the NATO summit at the Grove hotel in Watford, northeast of London on December 4, 2019. (Photo by PETER NICHOLLS / various sources / AFP) (Photo by PETER NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

A way forward for the United States and Turkey

Turkish-US relations, while fraught with tension, must also align with a mutual interest in stability in the Middle East and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a media conference after a meeting, Supporting the future of Syria and the Region, in videoconference format at the European Council building in Brussels on June 30, 2020. (Photo by Virginia Mayo / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VIRGINIA MAYO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Rising EU-Turkey tensions take center stage with Borrell visit to Ankara

With EU accession talks frozen, the bloc’s foreign policy chief faces the tough task of creating a new negotiation table for the bloc and Ankara to address rising tensions.

Iraqi kurds, some of them wearing protective masks due to COVID-19, march during a demonstration to denounce the Turkish assault in northern Iraq, in Sulaimaniyah city, in the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq, on June 18, 2020. - Turkey launched a rare ground assault into northern Iraq on June 17, deploying special forces against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is blacklisted by Ankara as a "terrorist" group. Baghdad demanded Ankara immediately halt its assault in northern Ira

Baghdad's row with Ankara could benefit each side

Turkey’s latest military operation against Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq has triggered harsh reactions from Baghdad but also opened room for dialogue between the militaries of the two sides.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (L) performs a swearing-in ceremony to re-enlist four troops during his visit to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, on December 14, 2012. The United States will deploy two Patriot missile batteries to Turkey along with 400 troops to help defend its ally against potential threats from neighbouring Syria, US officials said on December 14. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Susan Walsh (Photo credit should read SUSAN WALSH/AFP via Getty Images)

US soldier accused of planning neo-Nazi attack on unit in Turkey pleads not guilty

The soldier allegedly sought to help recruit local jihadists in Turkey carry out an attack on a US military facility.

Israeli F-35 fighter jets roll on the tarmac during the "Blue Flag" multinational aerial exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 11, 2019. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Senators berate Pentagon failure to sever F-35 cooperation with Turkey

The Pentagon is still allowing Turkey to produce components for US F-35 fighter jets, violating a defense law that President Donald Trump signed in December.

People wave flags of Libya (R) and Turkey (L) during a demonstration in the Martyrs' Square in the centre of the Libyan capital Tripoli, currently held by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), on June 21, 2020. - The GNA on June 21 denounced Egypt's warning of military intervention in Libya, labelling it a "declaration of war", after the Egyptian President warned that if pro-GNA forces advanced on the strategic city of Sirte -- some 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli -- it could pro

Turkey entrenches further into Libya as rivals strike back

Ankara is set to deepen its military intervention on the side of Libya’s Government of National Accord as it asserts dominance in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean and drums up domestic support for the ruling party.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 01: Groom Okan Barut and bride Oya Kulaksiz wear face masks as they take part in their wedding ceremony at the Kadikoy Municipality marriage office on July 01, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Restrictions on Turkish wedding halls were lifted on July 01, 2020 after being closed for months due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Turkey continues to slowly ease restrictions after recently reopening, cafes, restaurants, parks and inter-city travel. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

No more Big Fat Wedding: Turks struggle to be wed in times of the coronavirus

From bejeweled masks to dummy brides, Turks struggle to combine tradition with new social distancing rules.