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TOPIC

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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

Search and rescue teams next to a collapsed building in Sindirgi, Turkey. Photo: Reuters

Earthquakes

Northwestern Turkey hit by magnitude 6.1 quake, 1 dead

Quake causes buildings to collapse; rescue efforts under way for those trapped.

5 hours ago

Italy

World’s longest suspension bridge to link Italy to Sicily

6 Aug 2025 - 9:37PM

Ukraine war

Zelensky confirms 1,200 POWs being prepared for exchange with Russia

4 Aug 2025 - 3:57PM

Syria

Syria’s elections: a path to inclusion or continued conflict?

A deepening humanitarian crisis and minority grievances complicate Syria’s bid for a centralised state, 14 years after its civil war began.

2 Aug 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

Bedouin and tribal fighters deploy as a car burns at the western entrance of Syria’s Druze heartland of Sweida on July 18. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Climate change

Study estimates 2,300 died in Europe’s first summer heatwave

Of these deaths, around 1,500 can be linked to global warming, scientists say.

31 Jul 2025 - 3:06PMvideocam

Defence

How Turkey re-emerged as the West’s ‘indispensable’ defence partner

Europe and the US are recalibrating their security priorities, with renewed respect for Turkey’s strategic importance and defence industry.

29 Jul 2025 - 6:00PM

Japan

Passport puzzle: what is keeping Japanese from overseas travel?

Weak yen, rising flight costs and heightened safety concerns among reasons for only 17.5 per cent of Japanese holding a passport, study finds.

25 Jul 2025 - 1:26PM

Mount Fuji pictured in the background as people walk along a bridge connecting stores at a popular shopping centre in the city of Gotemba, Shizuoka prefecture, some 100km southwest of Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Ukraine war

Ukraine demands Zelensky-Putin talks, Russia proposes brief truces

Fresh talks in Istanbul have yielded agreements for new prisoner swaps, but both sides’ positions remain ‘quite distant’.

24 Jul 2025 - 1:42PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Russian troops returned by Ukraine for medical care ahead of talks

Soldiers taken to Belarus as Ukraine and Russia prepare for new talks in Turkey on Wednesday.

23 Jul 2025 - 12:47PM

Ukraine war

New Ukraine-Russia talks set for Wednesday in Istanbul, Zelensky says

Announcement follows two previous rounds that yielded little progress, as pressure mounts from the US for a deal.

22 Jul 2025 - 7:42PM

The aftermath of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo: EPA

Middle East

Iran blames Europe for nuclear deal failure ahead of first talks since US strikes

Iran has accused European powers of non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, contributing to its collapse ahead of talks in Istanbul on Friday.

21 Jul 2025 - 7:29PMvideocam

Pictures of Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, at a cemetery in southern Iran. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

Middle East

Syria’s future tied to Israel peace deal as billions in investment set to arrive

Gulf Arab, Turkish and Western firms have pledged to invest in Syria to rebuild the war-torn country.

17 Jul 2025 - 5:33PM

Middle East

Syrian president warns Israel against attempts to drag it into war

Syria roiled by more sectarian violence that left hundreds dead and heightened the threat of bigger Israeli intervention.

17 Jul 2025 - 4:03PM

Hong Kong politics

New US diplomat to Hong Kong expected to be in place by autumn

United States signals desire for ‘greater engagement’ with the local administration as sole candidate prepares to take up the role.

16 Jul 2025 - 1:23AM

Acting US consul general David Schlaefer attends the Legco reception. Photo: Eugene Lee

100 Top Tables: Cities of Gastronomy

What makes Hatay, in southern Turkey, Unesco City of Gastronomy worthy?

A Unesco City of Gastronomy, Hatay is famed for its rich culinary heritage blending Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Anatolian flavours.

Supported by

Macau Government Tourism Office

Uzun Carsi, a traditional market district in Antakya, capital of Hatay, where many stalls sell spices and other ingredients used in regional recipes. Photo: Shutterstock

Azerbaijan

From colony to kingmaker: Azerbaijan redraws Eurasia’s balance of power

The ex-Soviet republic aims to play a bigger role in the Caucasus and is willing to upset Moscow and Tehran in the process, analysts say.

13 Jul 2025 - 5:00PM

US-China relations

Exclusive | US career diplomat Julie Eadeh tipped to be next consul general in Hong Kong

Photos published of Eadeh meeting opposition activists in 2019 were held up as evidence of ‘foreign forces’ at work in the city.

11 Jul 2025 - 2:00PMvideocam

Artificial intelligence

Elon Musk unveils xAI’s updated chatbot, Grok 4, after antisemitism controversy

The world’s wealthiest person says Grok 4 is ‘smarter than almost all graduate students, in all disciplines, simultaneously’.

10 Jul 2025 - 4:21PM

“At times it may lack common sense,” Elon Musk says of Grok 4, the latest iteration of start-up xAI’s chatbot. Photo: Vincent Feuray/Hans Lucas/AFP

United States

Musk’s AI company scrubs posts after Grok chatbot makes antisemitic remarks

The incident, which included praise for Hitler, adds to a string of controversies for Grok, developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI.

10 Jul 2025 - 1:14PMvideocam

United States

In global survey, US cited more often than China as greatest ally and threat

Pew Research worldwide poll of nearly 32,000 respondents finds 15 of 24 nations citing US as top ally while China is named by four.

9 Jul 2025 - 6:03AM

Syria

US revoking ‘terrorist’ designation for Syria’s HTS

Syria’s new leadership has sought to rebuild ties with the international community.

8 Jul 2025 - 12:15PM

Members of the new armed forces, former rebels who overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s government and now serve in the new Syrian government. File photo: AP

Middle East

3 mayors arrested in opposition crackdown in southern Turkey

Opposition presidential candidate and Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu was previously arrested in March over allegations of corruption.

5 Jul 2025 - 7:42PM

A supporter holds a flag of Istanbul’s detained Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and the First President of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during a rally protesting the 100th day of his detention, in Sarachane Square, Istanbul, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Climate change

‘Unsustainable’: winter snow and ice in Swiss Alps melts away weeks early

The early arrival – again – of ‘glacier loss day’ is a huge blow for Switzerland’s 1,400 glaciers, which have been shrinking at an alarming rate.

4 Jul 2025 - 5:44PMvideocam

Brics

Rio mounts major security operation for Brics summit

About 20,000 military personnel to guard leaders, fighter jets to patrol skies.

4 Jul 2025 - 6:20AM

Diplomacy

Exclusive | Armenia looks to deepen ties with China for foreign policy beyond Russia

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan says his country’s Crossroads of Peace and China’s belt and road project are interdependent.

3 Jul 2025 - 3:37PMvideocam

Armenia’s top diplomat Ararat Mirzoyan says of relations with China: “Not only is there no impediment and any obstacle on the way of deepening our relations, but also there is openness and readiness to deepen these relations without any limitations.” Photo: Handout

Central Asia

Opinion | Why Central Asia plays a growing role in China’s strategic calculus

Cooperation on trade, infrastructure, energy and more shows that China sees Central Asia as an important trade partner and geopolitical buffer.

3 Jul 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev before flying back to Beijing after the completion of the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on June 18. Photo: Xinhua

Extreme weather

8 dead in Europe heatwave, as early summer temperatures hit records

The sweltering heat has triggered health alerts and forest fires and forced the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant.

3 Jul 2025 - 5:16AM

France

50,000 evacuated from wildfires in Turkey as Europe battles heatwave: ‘it’s awful’

Meanwhile, Spain was on course for the hottest June on record, as health alerts were issued across the continent.

1 Jul 2025 - 12:01AM

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