Turkey

Bangladesh open to join Saudi Arabia-Pakistan-Turkiye defence alliance

Bangladesh is open to joining the recently formed defence alliance between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, two junior ministers have said, while stressing that any decision would be guided by the country's national interests. Signed in Makkah on August 7, the pact establishes a framework for collective deterrence and stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three. "Bangladesh maintains a positive approach towards the possibility of joining an economic or defence framework involving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, taking into account its own interests and the changing dynamics of the global economy and trade," newly appointed state minister for foreign affairs Humayun Kobir said. In an interview with the Bangla service of state-run BSS on Friday, Kobir said the government was pursuing a "Bangladesh First" policy and a balanced foreign policy with national interests at its core, which might lead Dhaka to join the ..

Bangladesh may join Saudi-Pakistan-Turkiye pact if national interests align

Bangladesh is open to joining the recently formed defence alliance between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, two junior ministers have said, while stressing that any decision would be guided by the country's national interests. Signed in Makkah on August 7, the pact establishes a framework for collective deterrence and stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three. "Bangladesh maintains a positive approach towards the possibility of joining an economic or defence framework involving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, taking into account its own interests and the changing dynamics of the global economy and trade," newly appointed state minister for foreign affairs Humayun Kobir said. In an interview with the Bangla service of state-run BSS on Friday, Kobir said the government was pursuing a "Bangladesh First" policy and a balanced foreign policy with national interests at its core, which might lead Dhaka to join the ..

Best of BS Opinion: Asim Munir, power, and paranoia

Today's opinions examine the Saudi-Turkiye-Pakistan defence pact, leadership challenges at the Tata group, Asim Munir's growing powers and the political potency of negative branding

Israel strikes Syria air base to block possible Turkish troops deployment

Israel struck an air base in northwest Syria early Tuesday, saying it aimed to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there. Turkey, which has close ties with the Syrian government and has been providing assistance to Syria's military, has tense relations with Israel. The rival countries have sought to curb each other's influence in neighboring Syria. Eight strikes hit the runway of the Abu Duhur air base in the northwestern province of Idlib, causing damage but no casualties, state TV said. Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani told reporters in Damascus that Syria condemns the "Israeli aggression," adding that the strikes were "an unjustified provocation, a violation of Syria's sovereignty, and a direct threat to regional and global stability." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel had attacked the base because Syria had been "on the verge of breaching" an agreed-upon "status quo in security matters" by allowing Turkish troops to ...

Big, bold step: Trump welcomes Saudi-Turkey-Pak defence pact amid Iran war

US President Donald Trump has termed the Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan defence agreement a "big, bold and important first step" towards defending themselves in a "more meaningful way". Trump's remarks on Sunday came days after the three nations signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement -- holding any armed offensive against any of the three countries an attack against all of them. "Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Congratulations to the Great Leadership of the three Nations mentioned. THIS IS A BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP - WOW," Trump wrote. The agreement was signed August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. India said

Turkey lays out plans for defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

The three Sunni Muslim US allies, ​alarmed by a regional conflagration that ​has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters, signed the "Mecca Joint Defence ​Agreement" on August 7.

Trump says his plane faced 'greater risk' in secret flight change

Following a Nato summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat

With Trump secretly evacuated, imperiled Air Force One became flying decoy

In response to a threat against the jet last month, the president was clandestinely removed in a catering container. But the plane was sent into the skies anyway with government employees and reporter

Catering container to military jet: How Trump is said to have left Turkiye

US officials say Trump was secretly moved from a decoy Air Force One to a military jet after a credible Iran threat during the Nato summit in Turkiye.

Trump secretly flew from Turkey on smaller aircraft due to Iranian threat

Trump had taken the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet to Ankara for the Nato summit but he unexpectedly used an older Air Force One when departing the country

Explained: The Mecca Joint Deterrence Agreement and its key provisions

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a defence pact that treats an attack on one as an attack on all, with Egypt and other countries seen as possible future members

Saudi, Turkey and Pakistan sign joint defence deal amid regional turmoil

Iran and its allies have been firing on Saudi and other Gulf states, and blockading their energy shipments, since US and Israel attacked it on Feb 28 in major escalation of years of regional tumult

Iraq and Turkiye ink 1-year oil pipeline deal amid Hormuz tensions

Iraq and Turkiye signed a deal Saturday to increase oil exports through a pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, as Baghdad seeks to diversify its oil export routes and reduce reliance on Gulf shipping lanes. Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair al-Abadi said in a statement that the agreement will remain in effect for one year while the two countries finalise a broader framework agreement covering cooperation in the oil, electricity and water resources sectors. The agreement comes as Iraq moves to strengthen the resilience of its oil export infrastructure following disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Iran war began in February. Al-Abadi said the deal provides for a minimum export volume of 750,000 barrels of Iraqi crude per day through the pipeline, which runs from Kirkuk in northern Iraq to Ceyhan. The Iraq-Turkiye pipeline has been largely idle since 2023 after exports from Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region were halted followi

Ankara's ambiguous outcomes: Trump overwhelms Nato's best intentions

The NATO summit reaffirmed collective defence and support for Ukraine, but Donald Trump's remarks on Spain, Greenland and Iran exposed deep alliance tensions

Trump says he will lift Turkey sanctions, decide on selling F-35s

Trump said the US would lift sanctions on Turkey and consider an F-35 fighter jet sale, signalling a shift in defence ties with Ankara

Nato Summit 2026: Defence spending, Ukraine, Iran conflict dominate agenda

Trump's frequent criticism of Nato, along with announced troop withdrawals from Europe and a six-month review of the US military presence on the continent, has fuelled uncertainty within the alliance

Fifa WC 2026: Turkey stun US 3-2 with late goal as Americans eye knockouts

Kaan Ayhan scored on the final kick of the match, and Turkey beat the United States 3-2 Thursday night for its only win of the World Cup. Auston Trusty scored in the third minute and Sebastian Berhalter got a tying goal early in the second half for the Americans, who had already won Group D with victories over Paraguay and Australia. Coach Mauricio Pochettino's team will meet Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday. Pochettino fielded nine new starters for this low-stakes game, but Christian Pulisic entered in the 58th minute. He hadn't played since the first half of the Americans' opener due to a calf injury. Arda Guler and Orkun Kokcu scored in the first half of a resilient performance by Turkey, which had already been eliminated. Turkey won in the eighth minute of stoppage time when Can Uzun got the ball in space on the back post and pushed it past sprawling goalkeeper Matt Turner to Ayhan, who slid to knock it home.

Erdogan wants Turkey to have more babies; few parents are listening

Demographers attribute the decline to factors common in countries around the world: urbanisation, changing lifestyles and the spread of higher education, especially among women

Turkiye passes bill restricting social media access for children under 15

Turkish lawmakers passed a bill late Wednesday that includes restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15, state media reported. The legislation is the latest in a global trend to protect young people from dangerous online activity. Its passage comes a week after a 14-year-old boy killed nine students and a teacher at a middle school in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkiye, in a gun attack. Police are investigating the online activity of the perpetrator, who also died, in a bid to uncover his motivation for the attack. The bill will force social media platforms to install age-verification systems, provide parental control tools and require companies to rapidly respond to content deemed harmful, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan must now accept the bill within 15 days for it to pass into law. He spoke in the wake of the Kahramanmaras killings of the need for to mitigate the online risks to children's safety and privacy.