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Turkey

Turkey

May 9, 2026

Ankara 11:58 am

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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.

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.

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

The initiative could eventually lead to joint UAV development and production as Japan looks to expand drone capabilities amid regional tensions.

Latest News

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 2026.

Turkey, Armenia agree to restore medieval bridge in normalization push

A picture taken near Kars on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the ruins of a bridge over Arpacay river, the natural border between Turkey and Armenia.

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

Massive reshuffle of judges, prosecutors is new blow to Turkish judiciary

Judicial independence in Turkey has suffered a severe blow earlier this month as thousands of judges and prosecutors were reassigned overnight.

Will Turkey sacrifice even more civil rights to battle terrorism?

Turkey is planning measures that could suspend freedoms to achieve operational effectiveness with a controversial "legal shield" for soldiers.

Erdogan scores no points at Muhammad Ali's funeral

The Turkish president fought hard to associate himself with the infamous boxer's image in the last of a long history of such attempts by Turkey, but observers were unmoved by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fancy footwork.

NUSAYBIN, TURKEY - FEBRUARY 25: Residents walk past the trenches of the armed group Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), a youth division of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, in southeastern Turkish city of Nusaybin on February 25, 2016, Turkey. Since mid-December, the Turkish security forces placed to several predominantly Kurdish cities in Turkey under 24-hour martial law and curfew on the premise of restoring public order. (Photo by Cagdas Erdogan/Getty Images)

Turkey's southeast beginning to resemble Syria

As clashes in Turkey's southeast between government forces and the PKK worsen, some cities mirror the destruction across the border in Syria.

Erdogan links Crusades with present-day terror

Turkey’s president looks to the past, rather than to his own failed policies; Aleppo offensive imminent; is Israel employing a double standard in its dealings with Turkey?

Finansbank headquarters is seen between Tekfen (2nd L) and Sapphire (R) towers in Istanbul, Turkey, June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTSGPQH

Why does Turkey suddenly need so many bankruptcy trustees?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's battle against the Gulen movement is making some people very rich — and bankrupting others.

How UN summit disappointed its Turkish hosts

Turkey refused to sign a joint statement at the end of the first World Humanitarian Summit it hosted in late May, wary of an international investigation into gross human rights abuses in its conflict-torn southeast.

Erdogan's take on terror attacks nicely fits AKP agenda

Despite the wide Western condemnation of the two latest terror attacks in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pointing the finger of blame westward in accordance with his party's narrative of persecution and defiance.

A smiling Muhammad Ali shows his fist to reporters during an impromptu press conference in Mexico City July 9, 1987. REUTERS/Jorge Nunez - RTR1N6MB

How Muhammad Ali became a hero for Turks

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s funeral arrangements reveal the deep divisions among Turks on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s international credibility.

Will Afrin be the next Kobani?

Afrin, one of the three cantons of Rojava, strives to provide refuge to its population despite the blockade by Turkey and its allies.

A woman walks along a street in the southeastern Turkish town of Silopi in Sirnak province, near the Turkish-Iraqi border crossing of Habur, Turkey, August 7, 2015. Five people were killed in eastern Turkey on Friday in a series of clashes between security forces and Kurdish militants, part of a surge in violence that has put further strain on a fragile peace process between Ankara and the rebels. Three people were killed and seven wounded during clashes between police and militants of the Kurdistan Workers

Regional Kurdish party in AKP'S crosshairs

The Kurdish Democratic Regions Party, which controls most of the local administrations in the southeast of Turkey, is under intense pressure not only over the self-rule movement in its provinces but as a staunchly democratic counterpoint to the authoritarian trend in Turkish politics.

Has Turkey given up fighting corruption?

Turkey's new government shies away from even paying lip service to fighting corruption, as allegations of graft and bribery at the higher echelons of the state reach as far as the United States.