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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 9:05 am

18°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

Kurdish demonstrators gesture as Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the HDP, Turkey's leading Kurdish party, addresses a crowd in Diyarbakir October 9, 2014. A three-week battle for the Syrian border town of Kobani has also led to the worst streets clashes in years between police and Kurdish protesters across the frontier in southeast Turkey. In Diyarbakir, Turkey's biggest Kurdish city, five people were killed in clashes on Monday and Tuesday between Islamist groups and PKK supporters, a senior police office

Kurds abandon AKP

Thousands of pious Kurds, including entire tribes, have parted ways with the AKP, convinced that it has no real intention of reconciling with the Kurds.

A Syrian refugee family is seen in front of their house in Ankara November 21, 2014. Syrian refugees across the Middle East, some in exile for a fourth winter, face freezing temperatures, hunger and increasing hostility from locals as governments struggle to cope with the humanitarian crisis. Lebanon and Jordan are tightening their borders to stem the flow of those trying to escape whilst in Turkey, widely praised for hosting around half Syria's estimated 3.2 million refugees, the influx threatens to upset

Attacks on Syrians in Turkey increasing

Increasing numbers of Turks are angered over the social and economic consequence of Turkey hosting some 2 million Syrian refugees.

Supporters of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) shout slogans during a protest against attacks on their party offices, in central Istanbul, Turkey, May 18, 2015. Simultaneous bomb blasts hit the offices of the pro-Kurdish party in two cities in southern Turkey on Monday, three weeks before a parliamentary election, attacks which a party leader blamed on President Tayyip Erdogan. HDP officials said the blasts were the latest in a string of some 60 assaults against the party in the run-up to polling

What do attacks on Turkey's pro-Kurdish party mean?

Simultaneous bombing attacks against the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party show that Turkey may be heading toward a wild finish in key June 7 parliamentary elections.

A vendor sells potatoes and other vegetables to a customer in an open market in central Ankara February 5, 2014. The humble potato has become a factor in Turkey's political and economic turmoil as prices of the staple soar, hurting the living standards of poorer Turks just before the ruling AK Party's toughest election test in a decade. At a market in the lower-income Istanbul suburb of Kucukcekmece, potatoes sell for between 3 and 4 lira ($1.33 and $1.77) a kilogramme, up from slightly more than 1 lira at

Is there a potato conspiracy in Turkey?

A fall in potato crops, increased exports to Syria and Iraq and hoarding have led to an unprecedented potato shortage in Turkey.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to deliver a statement to the media in Jerusalem April 1, 2015. Netanyahu said on Wednesday it was not too late for world powers still locked in nuclear negotiations with Iran to demand a "better deal". REUTERS/Debbie Hill/Pool - RTR4VQNP

Will Israel join Turkey-Saudi coalition?

The common geostrategic interests of Israel and Turkey are greater than ever before.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a news conference at the NATO Foreign Minister's Meeting in Antalya, Turkey, May 13, 2015. NATO and Ukraine voiced concern on Wednesday about Russian statements on the possible future stationing of nuclear weapons in Ukraine's Crimea region, which has been annexed by Moscow. REUTERS/Kaan Soyturk - RTX1CTH1

NATO taps Turkey to counter Russian threat

Turkey recently hosted a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, who discussed efforts to transform the organization into a highly maneuverable body that can rapidly intervene in crises with the support of regional alliances.

Workers prepare helva, a traditional Turkish sweet prepared with sesame oil, at Konya Seker Sugar Factory in Cumra, a small town about 50km (31 miles) south of the central Anatolian city of Konya January 27, 2012. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS FOOD) - RTR2WYOL

Semolina halva unites Turks in times of joy, sorrow

Semolina halva, a centuries-old dessert of the Levant, serves a social function that brings together families, friends and neighbors in Turkey.

Pro-Islamist demonstrators hold a banner that reads "Coup leaders can't trial Mursi" during a protest in support former President Mohamed Mursi at the courtyard of Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, May 17, 2015. An Egyptian court on Saturday sought the death penalty for former president Mohamed Mursi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood in connection with a mass jail break in 2011. Mursi and his fellow defendants, including top Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, were convicted for killing and kidnapp

How Morsi matters in Turkish politics

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is convinced that the forces that toppled former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi would have toppled him as well, had he not stood his ground against them.

Rakel Dink (C), widow of slain Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink, walks toward the Agos newspaper office during a demonstration to mark the eighth anniversary of his death, in Istanbul January 19, 2015. Editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and Turkey's best known Armenian voice abroad, Dink was shot in broad daylight in a busy Istanbul street as he left his office. Dink had angered Turkish nationalists with articles on Armenian identity and references to a Turkish "genocide" of Christian A

First street protest by Turkey's Armenians

Armenians in Turkey are becoming increasingly politicized, as shown in recent protests over the demolition of Armenian orphanage Camp Armen, which housed slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

A woman holds a child as she begs for money near Taksim Square in Istanbul June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY POVERTY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX10SP4

Turkey's poverty figures look bad for ruling AKP

Turkey’s ruling party, under opposition fire for failing to combat poverty, took a fresh blow in the run-up to elections as official statistics put 22.4% of Turkish households below the poverty line.

Pro-AKP TV shows face dwindling audiences

Pro-AKP dramas are failing miserably in cinemas and on TV.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (front row, 4th L) poses with his AK Party Istanbul candidates for the upcoming general elections, during a presentation in Istanbul April 17, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTR4XRJT

Turkey's election system becomes graveyard for political parties

More than 90 political parties are currently active in Turkey, but the 10% electoral threshold means that the upcoming parliamentary polls will be a race between four of them.