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Turkey

Turkey

May 13, 2026

Ankara 3:03 am

14°C

The helicopter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands on Abdulhamid Han drill ship, the fourth built by Turkey, in Mersin on Aug. 9, 2022, before being sent for gas exploration to an undisputed area in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Gazipasa.

New Turkey maritime draft bill fuels EastMed tensions with Greece, Cyprus

Turkey’s draft maritime bill seeks to formalize Ankara’s claims in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Black seas, raising tensions with Greece and Cyprus over contested maritime boundaries and offshore energy rights.

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

Latest News

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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

Van, TURKEY: Van cat is seen at the Cat House Center in the eastern city of Van, Turkey, 19 January 2006. The bird-flu virus supposedly spreads to humans only if they come into contact with infected birds and poses no known threat to cats. But veterinarians, which is at the centre of the outbreak, are not taking any chances with the famous cats of Van, a protected species with white fur, auburn markings and different-coloured eyes. AFP PHOTO MUSTAFA OZER (Photo credit should read MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty I

Turkey saves cats from extinction

After two decades of arduous work, a university research center in eastern Turkey has saved the precious Van cats from extinction.

Supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood wave Turkish and Egyptian flags during a rally in protest against the recent violence in Egypt, outside of the Eminonu New mosque in Istanbul August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12P99

Turkey accused of escalating violence in Egypt

Egyptians suspect Turkey of allowing Muslim Brotherhood affiliates to provoke violence in their country.

Syrian ethnic Kurds demonstrate after Friday prayers in the Syrian town of Qamishli May 6, 2011. The banner reads "We call for a new constitution in which all sects and nationalities in the country can participate". REUTERS/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR2M2TY

Will 'Kurdish Spring' redraw Middle East map?

A critic looks at “Kurdish Spring: A New Map for the Middle East,” a new book by David Phillips that could become a main reference on the Kurdish struggle.

Turkish army special force members stand guard during the EFES-2010 military exercise in Izmir May 25, 2010. REUTERS/ Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY) - RTR2ECRB

Are Turkish troops guardians or accidental hostages at Syrian tomb?

Delayed rotation of Turkish troops guarding the Tomb of Suleiman Shah in Syria is causing frustration.

Anti-Charlie Hebdo protesters wave flags and boards and chant slogans as they are gathered in Diyarbakir on January 24, 2015 during a demonstration against the depiction of the Prophet Mohammed by the French satirical weekly and mourning two Islamist gunmen who killed 12 people in an attack on Charlie Hebdo, two weeks ago in Paris. AFP PHOTO/ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Conspiracies, victimhood cloud Turks' views of Hebdo killings

A survey reveals that conspiratorial theories prevent Turks from seeing the "real victims" in the Charlie Hebdo killings, but also that the majority of Turks oppose such violence in the name of Islam.

Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) speaks with her daughter Sumeyye Erdogan, during the 125th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Buenos Aires, on September 7, 2013. The host of the 2020 Olympic Games will be contested between Tokyo and Istanbul in a second round of voting after Madrid was eliminated in dramatic fashion from the race after the first round of voting by International Olympic Committee (IOC) members. AFP PHOTO / DANIEL GARCIA (Photo credit should re

Is Erdogan's daughter running for office?

Critics say an effort to shield Turkey's first family from corruption investigations lies behind the expected move to win President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's daughter a seat in Ankara.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media at the Presidential Palace in Ankara January 12, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4L5BP

Erdogan aims to create stronger presidential system

The ruling Justice and Development Party needs sufficient votes in June to draft a constitution that fulfills President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s dream of becoming Turkey’s sole leader.

Kurdish peshmerga fighters ride their vehicles along a road on Mount Sinjar December 22, 2014. On Sunday, Kurdish and Yazidi fighters battled to take the Sinjar back from Islamic State after breaking a months-long siege of the mountain above it. Seizing the town would restore the majority of territory Iraq's Kurds lost in Islamic State's surprise offensive in August. Picture taken December 22, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4J2WC

Kurdish rivalry delays victory in Sinjar

Kurdish forces celebrated a joint victory at Kobani, but they have become rivals in the fight against the Islamic State in the Mount Sinjar area.

Supporters hold up a portrait of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan while waving Turkish and AK Party (AKP) flags during an election rally in Istanbul March 23, 2014. Erdogan, rallying hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters in Istanbul, said on Sunday that political enemies accusing him of corruption would be crushed by their own immorality. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3I96X

What turned Erdogan against the West?

The Turkish ruling party’s fast-rising anti-Western rhetoric may be a reaction to Western “meddling in our domestic affairs” rather than opposition to the West’s “imperialist” foreign policy.

Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos leaves the Syriza offices after a meeting with Syriza's leader on January 26, 2015. The small Greek nationalist Independent Greeks party will join a coalition government under anti-austerity party Syriza, their leader said on January 26, 2015. "From this moment on there is a government, we will give a vote of confidence to the new prime minister," Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos said after meeting Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras, the winner of Sunday's general

Ankara turns wary eye on Greece's new defense minister

Greece's new Defense Minister Kammenos led the Turkish and Greek navies and air forces into an unfriendly confrontation on Jan. 30, in what Ankara hopes was a one-time provocation.

Syrian refugees who live in the streets stand in a public garden in central Ankara on November 23, 2014. There are about 2 million Syrian refugees who fled the civil war in their country living in Turkey . AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Beating exposes brutal realities for Turkey's street children

Turkey has made tremendous progress in lowing child mortality, but poverty leaves Kurdish and Syrian refugee children vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse.

Israeli soldiers stand on concrete blocks near the border with Lebanon January 29, 2015. Israel and Hezbollah signalled on Thursday their rare flare-up in fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border was over, after the Lebanese guerrillas killed two Israeli troops in retaliation for a deadly air strike in Syria last week. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4NHGX

Hezbollah, Israel claim victory, reset deterrence

Nasrallah steps back from confrontation with Israel after attack; Iran sanctions in perspective; Netanyahu plan may backfire; Kurdish victory in Kobani a setback for Turkey; Are Iraqi Kurdish land grabs sowing future conflict?