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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 8:00 am

15°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

Syriac Christian girls, who are members of the choir, attend a mass on Christmas at the Virgin Mary Syriac Orthodox Church in Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 25, 2017. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC1E35E59DE0

Minorities in Turkey on edge amid threats, attacks

Vulnerable groups have faced intimidation or worse in recent weeks in what both the government and the opposition warn are efforts to stoke conflict, though they disagree on who’s to blame.

Women hold food aid distributed by humanitarian institutions in Afrin, Syria March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC169F36FD00

‘An insult to women’ everywhere: Afrin kidnappings prompt calls for investigation of Turkey-backed rebels

A video reportedly showing detained women inside a secret prison in Afrin has prompted further criticism of Turkey's proxy forces operating in Syria.

Members of the Great Lakes anti-fascist organization (Antifa) fly flags during a protest against the Alt-right outside a hotel in Warren, Michigan, U.S., March 4, 2018. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith - RC1B5E31E310

Turkey looks to link Syrian Kurdish militia to ANTIFA following Trump tweet

Some foreign veterans of the People's Protection Units (YPG) disagree with the Turkish assertion that ANTIFA and the Kurdish group are connected.

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey deports 12 Islamic State-linked fighters to Finland

The move comes after European governments have largely declined to take back detained citizens with links to the terror group.

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A320-200 plane is seen on the tarmac of the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 6, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1E1602C690

Turkey’s megaprojects threaten ‘mega’ financial havoc

Turkey’s government might be forced to nationalize some megaproject investments, chief among them the new airport in Istanbul, which have hit dire straits under the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Turkey’s existing economic woes.

Reports: Children among the dead after Syrian rebels clash in Turkish-held Afrin

Clashes between Syrian rebel groups in the northern city of Afrin left at least two children dead Thursday.

Turkey's assault against Syrian Kurds leaves trail of misery and spin

Was a burn victim hit by white phosphorus during Turkey's invasion of Ras al-Ain in October? Whatever the reason, he and many others are still suffering.

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport after being attacked in Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Elumami - RC2O9F9S4FIK

What does Libya’s ‘Syrianization’ scenario mean for key actors?

Turkey may have gotten kudos for tipping the balance in Libya, but Russian countermoves raise the prospect of Turkish collaboration with Russia in the North African country, which is not to the liking of countries that have been giving plaudits to Ankara.

Four Seasons Sultanahmet Hotel staff members practice the service rules as they check the readiness of the hotel to the Healthy Tourism Certificate Program aims to convince travellers despite the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, May 21, 2020. Picture taken May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2QTG93W1FZ

Turkey readies for 'new normal' after declaring success against coronavirus

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that a raft of restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak will be lifted next week as the country’s infection and death rates fall sharply.

Abandoned military buildings are seen in the deserted Yassiada in Marmara sea off Istanbul, Turkey, May 14, 2015. Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu inaugurated the "Democracy and Freedom Islands" complex in Yassiada, where the military tribunals sentenced then-prime minister Adnan Menderes along with two of his ministers to death after the May 27, 1960 coup. The complex is expected to be completed in a year and will include a democracy martyrs' monument, a democracy museum, a hotel, conference hall, c

Erdogan dedicates Turkish island project to hanged idol

Turkey’s president says the island of Yassiada may become a Turkish Camp David, while critics slam the destruction of the landscape and archaeological heritage.

A migrant carries breads he bought in a shop in Karaagac district near Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, in Edirne, Turkey, March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica - RC21HF9CFTXY

Why is Erdogan afraid of free bread?

Turkey's main opposition party has successfully turned the pandemic into an opportunity by building a dynamic grassroots movement in the face of authoritarian rule.

Erdogan dashes hopes of Turkey-Israel reconciliation

The resumption of El Al cargo flights to Turkey does not mean that relations between Israel and Ankara have thawed.