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Turkey

June 23, 2026

Ankara 1:23 pm

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Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Kurdish players and clubs are making rare global gains on football’s biggest stage, offering a brief lift amid ongoing political setbacks across the region.

This photograph shows a Turkish national flag at the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran next to a black flag on the Iranian side, following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in eastern Turkey on March 2, 2026.

Analysis

Turkey eyes gains from US-Iran deal as Ankara balances Tehran, Washington

Turkey sees the US-Iran memorandum as a chance to reduce regional spillover risks, revive trade with Tehran and gain diplomatic breathing room.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.

Latest News

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Feature

Turkey’s World Cup return clouded by politics, dawn kickoffs

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

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

An elderly woman stands next to a graffiti showing the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in downtown Istanbul on October 28, 2015, a week ahead of the country's general elections on November 1. The election is crucial for the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP), which lost its majority in a June vote thanks to a strong performance by a pro-Kurdish party, scuppering president Erdogan's hopes of changing the constitution to expand his presidential powers. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKO

Turkish grannies to get state salaries for grandchildren’s care

The Turkish government has drawn up a program of financial support for women who assume the home care of their grandchildren in the age group of 0-3, but not everyone is happy with the program.

What will be the cost of Aleppo victory for Damascus?

Larger-than-life posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad adorn the few walls still standing in the Old City of Aleppo, alongside Syrian flags that have reappeared. What will be the political invoice for the destruction?

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C) speaks next to Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (R) and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci during a press conference after the Conference on Cyprus, on the sidelines of the Cyprus Peace Talks, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Laurent Gillieron/Pool - RTX2YO3Q

Long road ahead for renewed Cyprus reunification talks

Cypriots watched the negotiations in Geneva with skepticism. While their leaders did not agree, they did focus on the hardest nut to crack, security, and they agreed to work further on it.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the opening ceremony of Eurasia Tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2VVCI

How Erdogan is redefining who is a Turk

The Justice and Development Party is introducing drastic changes to Turkish citizenship law, uniting Kurds, Alevis and ultranationalist Turks in opposition.

Relatives react at the funeral of Ayhan Arik, a victim of an attack by a gunman at Reina nightclub, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 1, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2X4WI

'Devotees of Death' headed for Turkey

Turkey offers the ideal destination for foreign terrorist fighters to blend in after being forced out of Syria and Iraq.

A Lebanese Army soldier stand guard inside a cafe where a suicide bomb attack took place in Jabal Mohsen, Tripoli January 11, 2015. At least seven people were killed after a cafe was attacked by a suicide bomber in the Lebanese city of Tripoli on Saturday. The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the attack on a Twitter account describing it as revenge for the Sunnis in Syria and Lebanon. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4KW9O

Why Lebanon could be spared from recent terrorism bloodshed

Lebanon has been spared from the terrorism violence that has struck other neighboring countries of Syria over the past few weeks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (C) gestures during his visit in Kirkuk, Iraq, October 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RTSSANO

Abadi enlists neighbors to support unified Iraq

Iraq is shoring up political and economic relations with neighboring states to prepare for rebuilding after the defeat of the Islamic State.

A board showing the currency exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and the Euro against Turkish lira is on display at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2YFYP

Turkey faces financial disaster

Turkey's decision-makers need to step up and change their destructive policies rather than inventing an international conspiracy to blame for the country's currency crisis.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG), operating alongside with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), sits inside a vehicle as she works on a laptop in the town of Hisha after the SDF took control of the area from Islamic State militants, in the northern Raqqa countryside, Syria November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2TNGJ

Turkey, US take Syrian Kurdish battle to Twittersphere

CENTCOM retweeting Syrian Kurds' denial of affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers Party has opened a new front in the battle between Turkey and the United States over US support for Syrian Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State.

A Kurdish fighter stands with his weapons near a fluttering Kurdish flag in the Ghwairan neighborhood of Hasaka, Syria, August 23, 2016.REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MP4F

Ankara riled by US push for Kurdish seat at Syria talks

US statements that Syrian Kurds should be included in talks on Syria's future have further agitated Turkish leaders, who are already upset about Washington's coalition with the People's Protection Units.

Police detain Sebahat Tuncel, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), during a protest against the arrest of Kurdish lawmakers, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2RWQI

Is Turkey wiping out Kurdish institutions during lengthy state of emergency?

Turkey is continuing is massive purge of suspects — many of them Kurds — in the July 15 coup attempt, dismissing thousands more civil servants in the past week.

Raki bottles are displayed at a restaurant in Ankara September 27, 2011. Turkey is providing rich opportunities for merger specialists trawling for the next big deal, as the country's booming economy and improving corporate governance partially insulate it from a slowing global M&A market. The most popular M&A sectors have been energy, power generation and finance. But the biggest splash so far this year was made by the world's biggest spirits company, Diageo, which agreed in February to buy Turkish raki an

How Ankara is using taxes to target boozers

Staggering tax hikes on alcoholic beverages have made Turkey’s national drink, raki, a luxury beyond the reach of many ordinary Turks.