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Turkey

Latest news and updates on the country which straddles both Europe and Asia.

Capital

Ankara

Head of State

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Head of Government

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

last updated:

6 January, 2025

The aftermath of the hotel fire. Photo: Reuters

Turkey detains 11, including hotel owner, over ski resort fire that killed dozens

Turkey declared Wednesday a national day of mourning after a fire ripped through the Grand Kartal Hotel.

22 Jan 2025 - 11:44PMvideocam

Thailand

UN warns Thailand Uygur detainees face torture if deported to China

22 Jan 2025 - 3:47PMvideocam

Fire Rescue

Turkish ski resort fire kills at least 76

22 Jan 2025 - 3:44PM

Turkish ski resort fire kills 76, forces guests to jump from windows

Wooden cladding on the exterior of the hotel may have accelerated the spread of the fire.

22 Jan 2025 - 4:24AM

Firefighters try to extinguish the fire. Photo: IHA via AP

Malaysia

From Malaysia with love: France seizes tonnes of ‘aphrodisiac honey’

The packets of honey and gels, often tainted with erectile dysfunction drugs, also entered France by ship from Thailand, Turkey and Tunisia.

21 Jan 2025 - 10:07AM

Greater Bay Area

Editorial | Hong Kong should market Greater Bay Area to the world

As the region’s superconnector, city is best placed to explain the incredible opportunities available in the development zone.

17 Jan 2025 - 6:15AM

China-EU relations

Turkish railway, with Chinese upgrades, could bypass Russia on route to Europe

Improvements to Turkey’s railway network – which a Turkish official says China could provide – would create a new, quicker path for Europe-bound freight.

14 Jan 2025 - 5:00PMvideocam

A railway path through Turkey would make for a faster freight route between China and Europe. Photo: Xinhua

Ukraine war

US imposes new Russia sanctions, hoping to reduce oil sales to China, India

Sweeping measures target every stage of Russian energy production and distribution chain but will they deter Moscow’s biggest customers?

11 Jan 2025 - 1:25AMvideocam

War and conflict

Opinion | China can help Syria transform from conflict corridor to bridge of commerce

An inclusive, tolerant Syria and a China-led grand coalition to rebuild and revive the economy could see regional strife give way to prosperity.

7 Jan 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Middle East

Opinion | Syria a chance for Middle East to shape its own, better future

The stability of Syria, at the heart of the Middle East, is in the interests of all. It is time for regional actors, not external ones, to lead the change.

7 Jan 2025 - 5:32AMvideocam

Syrian leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani waits to welcome a Ukrainian delegation in Damascus, Syria, on December 30. The world has been beating a path to his door. Photo: Reuters

Global South

Opinion | As West cuts global aid, emerging powers must step up and contribute

Emerging donors from developing nations with significant economic growth should play a bigger role. Kazakhstan is doing so in Central Asia.

5 Jan 2025 - 5:30AM

Afghan people carry food rations distributed by an Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority programme to support families impacted by natural disasters, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 1. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 22.9 million people in Afghanistan will require humanitarian aid in 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE

Israel-Gaza war

Israel targets Gaza City hospital with missile, killing 7: Palestinian officials

Israeli said Al-Wafaa Hospital was not being used at the time of the attack and was instead functioning as a Hamas command centre.

30 Dec 2024 - 4:36AMvideocam

Middle East

Turkey announces US$14 billion regional development plan for Kurdish southeast

The plan aims to reduce the economic gap between the southeast and the rest of the country, amid new hopes of ending a 40-year insurgency.

29 Dec 2024 - 9:19PM

Middle East

Jailed Kurdish leader says ‘ready’ to support Turkey peace drive

Abdullah Ocalan is the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party and has been serving a life sentence since 1999.

29 Dec 2024 - 7:44PM

Kurds wave flags and pictures of Kurdistan Workers’ Party leader Abdullah Ocalan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Middle East

Turkey’s pro-Kurd party to meet jailed PKK leader on Saturday

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul.

28 Dec 2024 - 7:30PM

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) display flags with a portrait of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 17. Photo: Reuters

US-China relations

Opinion | 2024 shows US-China tensions no longer the biggest story

Unrestrained regional powers jostling for control, building weapons and taking bolder risks are influencing trajectory of world politics.

26 Dec 2024 - 8:35AMvideocam

12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant, echoing past incidents

Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, ruling out sabotage and focusing on ‘technical reasons’.

24 Dec 2024 - 10:53PM

Indonesia

What Erdogan’s summit walkout could mean for Prabowo, Indonesia-Turkey ties

Officials deny speculation of a rift even as analysts note Prabowo’s ‘diplomatic gaffe’ could indicate possible missteps in foreign policy.

24 Dec 2024 - 4:27PM

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Photo: Reuters

Middle East

Turkey says it will take action on Kurdish militias if Syria doesn’t

Turkey’s stance may put it at loggerheads with the United States, which has relied on the Kurds in its fight against ISIS.

22 Dec 2024 - 9:32AM

Middle East

Opinion | Fall of Syria’s Assad narrows China’s diplomatic space in the Middle East

There is too much power in the hands of the US and regional actors like Turkey for China to play a key role.

22 Dec 2024 - 5:30AMvideocam

Middle East

Israel and Turkey seize the chance to shape Syria’s future post-Assad

While Turkey backs the HTS regime, Israel is destroying its military capacity and claiming territory – fuelling fears of fragmentation.

21 Dec 2024 - 5:30PM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) walks with soldiers at the seized Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, on Tuesday. Photo: Government Press Office / AFP

European Union

8 dead off Greek island of Rhodes as speedboat carrying migrants capsizes

The boat was carrying out ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ to try to evade a patrol vessel, the coastguard said.

20 Dec 2024 - 10:45PM

Coastguard officers cover bodies after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized near the island of Rhodes, Greece, on Friday. Photo: AP

Middle East

Nations work to build ties with Syria’s post-Assad rulers

Qatar and Turkey reopen embassies and Western powers engage with rebel group as Russia withdraws some diplomatic staff.

16 Dec 2024 - 4:08PM

Middle East

Turkey will offer military training to Syria if new administration requests

Nato member Turkey backed the Syrian rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad last weekend, ending a 13-year civil war.

15 Dec 2024 - 5:48PM

Middle East

Opinion | How Syria’s new chapter changes the game for the entire region

After Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow, uncertainties remain about the agenda of Syria’s new government and the interests of foreign powers.

15 Dec 2024 - 9:20AMvideocam

Smoke billows in the distance as people arrive to celebrate the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, on December 8. Photo: AP

Middle East

‘Friday of victory’: mass rallies across Syria celebrate fall of Assad

Fireworks and waving flags mark the first Friday prayers since a lightning rebel offensive ended over half a century of brutal rule.

14 Dec 2024 - 6:14AMvideocam

People gather with independence-era Syrian flags to celebrate the fall of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad at the Umayyad Square in central Damascus on Friday. Photo: AFP

War and conflict

Opinion | World watches and waits as Islamist group HTS leads a post-Assad Syria

From Russia and the Middle East to the EU and US, the rise of Islamist group HTS is cause for caution over optimism.

12 Dec 2024 - 1:07AMvideocam

Middle East

Fall of Syria’s Assad catches Middle East powers and the West off guard

Several foreign governments have put out cautious feelers to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham after it toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

9 Dec 2024 - 9:08PMvideocam

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