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Turkey

Turkey

July 16, 2026

Ankara 8:03 pm

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Ozgu Ozel

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya, one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

Latest News

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Why Turkey's brides are doing disappearing act

In the process of increasing visibility of Islamization, wedding invitations become contested territory in Turkey.

Ankara must go through US, Russia to get to YPG

Recent developments on the ground suggest that any new Syria incursion by Turkey could encounter unexpected obstacles.

Erdogan goes after Morocco’s Gulenists

Several Turks affiliated with the Gulen movement have been arrested in Morocco, raising questions about the kingdom’s independence in its decisions.

Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers hold a sit-in to protest against detention of lawmakers, outside the Constitutional Court in Ankara, Turkey June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC16564D3C40

Ankara sit-in demands justice for pro-Kurdish bloc

Kurdish politicians are staging peaceful sit-in outside Ankara's Constitutional Court to protest the rampant jailing of pro-Kurdish lawmakers and politicians.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - FEBRUARY 15: A man walks past a billboard promoting medical treatments at the luxury Esteworld Clinic on February 15, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. Esteworld clinic is one of many Turkish run health clinics tailoring vacation packages to tourists wishing to undergo specific medical surgeries, generally offering a three day hotel deal with airport transfers, sightseeing, meals and the surgery. The company provides health tourism to clients in more than 100 countries and has seen business boom

Turkey, the new address for Brazilian butts, thick hair and shiny teeth

At a time when many economic sectors in Turkey are struggling, the health tourism sector has boomed, attracting hundreds of thousands of foreigners eager to get medical treatment and plastic surgeries for cheap.

Middle East's painter-princess finally gets her due

The artistic legacy of Fahrelnissa Zeid, an interesting figure of early Turkish modern art, gets spotlight back on the international art stage through a series of exhibitions in Istanbul, London, Berlin and Beirut.

Developing PKK kidnapping story concerns KRG officials

As new details paint a much more intricate picture of the Turkish spy incident in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)'s operations there threaten to complicate the job of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, Mohammad Bagheri (R) salutes the honor guards as he is welcomed by Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Hulusi Akar (L) during his official visit at the Turkish General Staff headquarters in Ankara, on August 15, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran keeping watchful eye on Iraqi Kurdistan, Israel

Tehran openly opposes Iraqi Kurdistan's upcoming independence referendum, but many observers feel Iran is actually taking measures to counter Israeli actions in the Kurdish region.

A Turkish air force patroller flies by as people watch the ceremony celebrating the 99th anniversary of Anzac Day in Canakkale on April 24, 2014. A dawn ceremony on April 25 marks the time of the first landings of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at the Gallipoli peninsula in the ill-fated Allied campaign to take the Dardanelles Strait from the Ottoman Empire. In the ensuing eight months of fighting, about 11,500 ANZAC troops were killed, fighting alongside British, Indian and French soldie

Turkey adds to its critical deficit of military pilots

As Turkey's military pilot shortage worsens, the government is ordering former pilots back into service on short notice.

The son of senior Hamas militant Mazen Fuqaha sits on the shoulders of Hamas Gaza Chief Yehya Al-Sinwar during a memorial service for Fuqaha, in Gaza City March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1570813F60

Iran plays Hamas card

Iran's improved relations with Turkey, Qatar and Hamas send a message to the region.

Foreigners take hold of Turkey’s food sector

Amid a series of high-profile foreign takeovers in Turkey’s food industry led by Japanese investors, many are worried that the country is losing its self-sufficiency in food.

Rebel fighters ride a military vehicle on the outskirts of Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) controlled Tell Rifaat town, northern Aleppo province, Syria October 22, 2016. Picture taken October 22, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - S1AEUIPWQCAB

Turkish-backed rebels exchange daily fire with SDF in Aleppo

In the northern countryside of Aleppo, the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, retaliates to the shelling from Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, pushing civilians to leave their homes.