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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

A Gazprom Neft oil refinery in Omsk, Russia. Photo: Reuters

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

7 Jan 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Middle East

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

7 Jan 2025 - 5:32AMvideocam

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

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

A powerful blast on December 24, 2024, ripped through an explosives plant in northwest Turkey killing several people. Photo: Demiroren News Agency/AFP

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

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

An image of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, riddled with bullets, on the facade of a government office after the opposition’s takeover of Hama, Syria. Photo: AP

Middle East

Israel calls Syria its fourth front after rushing troops to the Golan

Israel’s Netanyahu says ‘central link in Iran’s axis of evil’ has fallen in Syria.

9 Dec 2024 - 7:06PMvideocam

Israeli soldiers near armoured vehicles parked along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria. Photo: AP

Middle East

Syrian rebels topple President Assad, prime minister calls for free elections

The rebel forces declared Assad ousted after taking control of Damascus, following 13 years of civil war and 50 years of Assad family rule.

8 Dec 2024 - 8:40PM

Middle East

Syria rebels say they control Homs, are advancing on capital Damascus

President Assad’s 24-year rule is dangling by a thread, with one US official saying he could be ousted in the coming week.

8 Dec 2024 - 7:52AM

Middle East

Goal is to overthrow Assad with ‘all available means’: Syria’s rebel leader

Islamist-led rebels were at the gates of Syria’s Homs after wresting other key cities from government control.

6 Dec 2024 - 7:01PM

Syria

Syrian rebels capture city of Hama in fresh blow to President Assad

Hama is critical to the control of major towns as Syrian rebels stage rapid advances.

6 Dec 2024 - 11:59AM

A multi-barrel rocket launcher fires against regime forces, in the northern outskirts of Syria’s west-central city of Hama. Photo: AFP

Middle East

Iraqi fighters head to Syria to battle rebels but Hezbollah stays out: sources

Iran also said it will provide ‘any support needed’ after rebels seized Aleppo last week in a lightning assault.

3 Dec 2024 - 10:08AM

Middle East

‘More of this can come’: what Syria attack means for Middle East power balance

Turkey and Israel’s ‘uncoordinated battle’ has raised questions about Iran and Russia’s ability to rescue Assad and his regime, analysts say.

2 Dec 2024 - 10:35PMvideocam

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