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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 6:59 am

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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

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan adressess his supporters in front of a mosque after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Turkey, May 29, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the launch of Ziraat Bank's Islamic business should help to attract new funds to Turkey and urged other state lenders to help to triple Islamic banking's share of the market by 2023. Islamic finance has developed slowly in Turkey, the world's eighth most populous Muslim nation, partly because of political sensitivities and the secular n

The Islamization of Turkey

Two remarkable developments in Turkey on May 29 have increased concern of growing Islamization in the economy and society.

Turkish soldiers salute during a ceremony marking the 91st anniversary of Victory Day at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara August 30, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX131DP

What are Turkish troops going to do in Qatar?

Per a security cooperation agreement between Turkey and Qatar, Turkey will set up a permanent military facility in Qatar.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara March 2, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RQ92

Could AKP's negative campaign strategy backfire?

Is the AKP’s negative election campaign alienating too many social groups in Turkey and creating a united front against it?

Mehmet Gormez, head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, addresses the media in Ankara January 8, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4KMRF

Turkish cleric U-turns on million dollar Mercedes

Turkey’s top official Islamic cleric has found himself in a tight spot after his decision to give up a flashy Mercedes under public criticism prompted a defiant Erdogan to send him an even more expensive car, complete with a pledge for a private jet.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine Erdogan (L), greets his supporters as he arrives at the a ceremony to mark the 562nd anniversary of the conquest of the city by the Ottoman Turks, in Istanbul, Turkey, May 30, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTR4Y59A

Will elections change Turkey’s foreign policy?

Many believe that if Erdogan is further empowered, Ankara’s foreign policy will remain turbulent.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during an opening ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, May 26, 2015. Turkey's general election looks likely to push Tayyip Erdogan's dream of an all-powerful presidency further from his reach, and usher in a period of turbulence as its most divisive modern leader jockeys to maintain his dominance. Barred by the constitution from party politics as head of state, Erdogan has nonetheless campaigned across Turkey before the June 7 parliamentary vote in a sign of how much he has

Erdogan: Journalist will pay 'heavy price'

The Turkish president is furious with the editor of Cumhuriyet for publishing photos of the contents of the infamous MIT trucks stopped en route to Syria, but even more outraged that his policy of intimidation is failing to silence media criticism.

Bride Mutlu and groom Ihsan Baran pose for their photographer in front of the New mosque at Eminonu square in Istanbul September 11, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR45W6X

Turkish court stirs marriage debate

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a civil marriage is no longer compulsory for religiously married citizens, worrying civil groups about the implications for women's rights.

Nezahat Eleftos (R) chats with her daughter Leyla at her home in Diyarbakir, in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey, April 20, 2015. For nearly four decades, Eleftos tried to guard her grandmother Zarife's secret that she too had been born a Christian Armenian - and not a Muslim Kurd like all her neighbors in Onbasilar, a village set in the rocky hills of Turkey's Diyarbakir province. A century after the killing of Zarife's brothers and hundreds of thousands of other Armenians in Ottoman Turkish lands

How some Armenians are reclaiming their Christian faith

Armenians in Turkey, who for a century have been forced to conceal their identities, are trying to return to their roots.

A convoy of Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters enter the village of Tel Khanzir, after they took control of the area from Islamic State fighters, in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain May 28, 2015. The YPG, supported by U.S.-led air strikes, have been making steady gains this month against Islamic State in the northeast, which is important in the battle against the jihadists due to its location bordering territory held by the group in Iraq. Picture taken May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said

Turkey plays down death toll of Kurdish youths

The steady stream of Turkey's Kurdish youths killed while fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have failed to make the news, further fueling tensions between the Turkish government and its Kurdish population.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan greets his supporters in front of a mosque after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Turkey, May 29, 2015. Erdogan said the launch of Ziraat Bank's Islamic business should help to attract new funds to Turkey and urged other state lenders to help to triple Islamic banking's share of the market by 2023. Islamic finance has developed slowly in Turkey, the world's eighth most populous Muslim nation, partly because of political sensitivities and the secular nature of its laws. However,

Erdogan tries to rewrite history

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent decision to change the date commemorating the conquest of Istanbul from May 29 to May 30 seems to fall into a pattern of altering dates of public holidays to correspond with important political dates — in this case, the June 7 elections.

Supporters of pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) dance near an election campaign point in Istanbul, Turkey, May 28, 2015. Turkey's Pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) said on Wednesday June elections would lack legitimacy if a threshold for parliamentary representation deprived it of representation, but it would remain a partner in peace talks with militants. The fate of the HDP, which hopes to cross the 10 percent national vote threshold to enter parliament on June 7, will be critical not

Why is AKP losing the Kurds?

As Erdogan fatigue intensifies, the AKP’s political, economic and campaign failures have cost them loyal Kurdish support.

A supporter of pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) stands on an election campaign minibus with a picture of the party's co-chair Selahattin Demirtas on it, in Istanbul, Turkey, May 28, 2015. Turkey's Pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) said on Wednesday June elections would lack legitimacy if a threshold for parliamentary representation deprived it of representation, but it would remain a partner in peace talks with militants. The fate of the HDP, which hopes to cross the 10 percent national

Turkish civic society mobilizes against election fraud

Turkish civic groups such as Vote and Beyond prepare for stringent monitoring of the June 7 elections, given that even minuscule vote-rigging could have a huge impact on the country’s future.