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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 1:26 am

14°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

Weapons are seen in the sand near Adra, east of Damascus, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA August 7, 2013. Sixty-two rebel fighters were killed in a Syrian army ambush at dawn on Wednesday near the town of Adra, east of Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group opposed to President Bashar al-Assad. The state news agency SANA did not give a death toll for the ambush but said the rebels were from the al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front. It

Turkey recasts approach to armed groups in Syria

Intelligence reports of al-Qaeda threats against Turkey are causing concern.

Baghdad-Erbil oil dispute: Agreeing to disagree, for now

As the Erbil-Baghdad oil controversy drags on, it remains unclear how ties will be affected between Ankara, Erbil and Baghdad.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan delivers his speech during an international conference on the Arab awakening and peace in the Middle East in Istanbul September 7, 2012. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR37O1J

Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum remains in limbo

Although not officially canceled, the fifth Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum may not be held this year.

Residents and tourists watch as smoke raises near a state security building after a blast in South Sinai October 7, 2013. Medical sources said three were killed and 48 injured in the blast near the state security building in South Sinai. A witness said it was caused by a car bomb. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX142T0

Al-Qaeda emerges amid Egypt’s turmoil

Information is emerging that al-Qaeda’s growth in the region is extending into the Sinai Peninsula and across Egypt.

American Express and MasterCard credit cards are shown in Washington June 25, 2008. MasterCard Inc, the world's second-largest credit-card network, said on Wednesday it will pay American Express Co up to $1.8 billion to settle a lawsuit that said MasterCard and Visa blocked banks from issuing cards from their rival. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES) - RTX7BSI

Turkey’s credit card issue could become explosive

Debt in Turkey is becoming a social crisis.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ANTONIO PAMPLIEGA
Syrian Turkmen rebels run across a street controlled by regime forces to dodge sniper fire in the Hanano district of the northern city of Aleppo on January 28, 2013. Members of Syria's Turkmen minority have joined forces with rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime in a struggle they say is for democracy and revenge for years of oppression. AFP PHOTO/JM LOPEZ (Photo credit should read JM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Al-Qaeda in Syria targets Turkmen minority

Syrian Turkmen feel Turkey has abandoned them.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses reporters during a news conference at the Government Banquet Hall in Helsinki, November 6, 2013. REUTERS/Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva (FINLAND - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. FINLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN FINLAND - RTX152EZ

Erdogan tries to shake Sisi comparison as elections near

The legacy of the Gezi Park protests, the Kurdish opening and tensions with the Gulen movement are generating a disparate opposition to Turkey's prime minister.

Leak deepens AKP-Gulen rift

The leaked National Security Council advisory ruling in 2004 about the state aiming to weaken the Gulen movement is another headache for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

An elderly Syrian Alawite man sleeps in a tent at the courtyard of Pirsultan Abdal Cemevi in Istanbul October 11, 2013. As Syria's conflict takes on an increasingly sectarian dimension, a growing number of those fleeing to Turkey are shunning the refugee camps on its southern border and venturing instead to its major cities, as far from the war as possible. Picture taken October 11, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX14L6V

Syrian refugees in Istanbul sent from pillar to post

Over 200,000 Syrian refugees, most of them without legal papers, struggle to find shelter and work in Istanbul as winter sets in.

Turkish culture popular among Gaza Palestinians

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for Palestine, in particular Gaza, has prompted strong interest in Turkish culture among Gazans.

Demonstrators shout slogans as they hold up banners while staging a protest in central Istanbul December 11, 2004. Hundreds of protesters formed a human chain through the busy shopping street of Istiklal on Saturday to protest the recent killing of a 12-year-old boy and his father by security forces in Kiziltepe in the southeast Turkish province of Mardin which is now under investigation. Banner at left reads in Turkish "I am Turkish, Kurdish, Circassian and Laz from Turkey" and the banner at top right read

Turkey’s Laz awakening

Turkey’s Laz people are awakening to their language and culture, though it is still premature to speak of a “Laz Renaissance.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after a ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva November 24, 2013. Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough agreement early on Sunday to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief, in a first step towards resolving a dangerous decade-old standoff. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTX15QM8

Iran deal recasts regional politics

The consequences of the agreement are already extending beyond Iran’s nuclear program.