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Turkey

Turkey

May 11, 2026

Ankara 9:13 pm

17°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

Demonstrators run away from riot police during protests against Monday's bomb attack in Suruc, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 24, 2015. REUTERS/Yagiz Karahan - RTX1LPYT

Turkey's culture of fear

A panic-stricken media generates public and financial insecurity in Turkey.

Perilous journey for Syrians fleeing to Turkey

With official border crossings between Syria and Turkey closed, smugglers have begun assisting Syrians wanting to cross into Turkey to safety and to work.

Turkey riles Kurds over bodies of dead fighters

Turkey’s refusal to allow entry to the bodies of Kurdish fighters killed in Syria and Iraq has added to already simmering tensions between Ankara and the Kurds.

Members of Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) are seen on a military truck that belonged to the Islamist rebels after capturing it near Ras al-Ain, in the province of Hasakah November 6, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern Syria, a Kurdish militant group said on

US support of Syrian Kurds ruffles Turkey's feathers

Analysts say Ankara may have no choice but to come to terms with the emerging Kurdish reality along its border with Syria.

The leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas answers a question during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, Turkey, July 30, 2015. The main aim of Turkey's recent military operations in northern Syria is to prevent Kurdish territorial unity and not to combat Islamic State, the leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition HDP said on Thursday. Demirtas told Reuters in an interview that the ruling AK Party was dragging the country into conflict in revenge for

Who killed Turkey-PKK peace process?

The peace process between Turkey and the Kurdish group is on hold now, thanks to a perfect storm blown by the Kurdistan Workers Party's militancy, the toxic impact of the Syrian civil war and grand political ambitions in Ankara.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L), flanked by Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel (2nd R) and Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz (L), leaves after a wreath-laying ceremony with members of the High Military Council at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, ahead of a High Military Council meeting in Ankara August 4, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR415KJ

Shakeup expected for Turkish military leadership

Major changes are expected at the August meetings of Turkey's High Military Council, and the positions adopted by the new military command will affect Turkish policies, including the course of current military operations.

US, Turkey diverge on role of Kurds in Syria

Turkey reportedly targets Syrian Kurdish militias as it escalates attacks on the PKK; Egyptian journalists alarmed by proposed anti-terror law.

Turkish media digs deeper into gold mogul corruption scandal

New media reports on Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-born Turkish businessman accused in Turkey’s infamous December 2013 corruption probe, could have serious repercussions for Ankara and Tehran.

Are Turkish courts delaying trials of IS militants?

Although the latest wave of detentions of Islamic State militants and sympathizers have pleased the Turkish public, lawyer Ali Cil questions the handling of the Turkish judiciary in the Nigde case so far.

Lobbying 2015: Turkey resents America’s love story with the Kurds

The United States and Turkey are finding ways to work together in Syria and Iraq despite Washington’s growing concerns with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s authoritarian streak.

A Turkish Kurd plays the citar as smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province October 26, 2014. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR4BMFX

Few dengbejs remain to sing Kurdish stories

In the old city of Diyarbakir, a dengbej house was established for the few remaining Kurdish storytellers to gather and try to keep their tradition alive, although younger generations are resorting to pop culture to convey the people’s suffering.

Men smoke water pipes at a traditional cafe in Istanbul August 6, 2014. Turkey holds its first direct presidential election on Sunday, with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan aiming to become head of state after dominating Turkish politics for more than a decade. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS SOCIETY) - RTR41GA7

Depressed in Istanbul: Why are Turkey's young Islamist men feeling so blue?

Senior Islamist pundits have highlighted painful challenges young Islamist men face in Turkey.