Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 12:18 pm

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Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

Opposition politicians and rights advocates described Yonca Verdioglu Sik’s brief detention as an attempt to intimidate her husband, opposition lawmaker Ahmet Sik, over his criticism of the government.

A steel worker works in front of giant iron melting pot in Kardemir Iron and Steel Factory in Karabuk, northwestern Turkey, Aug. 26 2005. (TARIK TINAZAY/AFP via Getty Images)

Steel factory explosion in western Turkey kills at least 16

Footage from the scene showed a huge plume of thick smoke spreading into the sky as flames engulfed a tall structure within the plant.

Latest News

Analysis

Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions?

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in UNSG poll as Nusseibeh places fourth

United Arab Emirates

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

How are Turkey and Russia getting along these days?

As Moscow and Ankara work to shore up their relations, it's clear the foundation wasn't all that solid to begin with.

Activists seek to rein in horse mistreatment on unique Turkish island

Mounting criticism over mistreatment of horses could end the carriage trade on Buyukada, a picturesque island near Istanbul that remains off limits to motor vehicles.

A bus drives past concrete blocks painted with the Syrian flag near the Central Bank of Syria in Damascus, Syria May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTX2EZEA

Near Damascus, watch out for missiles, shelling and speeding tickets

In a visit to Damascus, Al-Monitor spoke with Syrian officials about the latest developments happening in Syria.

Is Erdogan's university diploma forged?

Allegations regarding the authenticity of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's diploma, and therefore his position, are gaining substance.

The battle for Hagia Sophia in Istanbul escalates

The Turkish conservative movement’s demand to turn the Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque is gaining strength.

Turkey huffs and puffs at genocide vote, but it's business as usual with Germany

Ankara is angry after Berlin adopted a nonbinding resolution recognizing the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 as genocide, but Turkey is wary of undermining important ties with Germany.

Can US-backed offensive bring back residents to Syria's Manbij?

The citizens of Manbij, which is northeast of Aleppo, have high hopes of returning to their hometown in light of the US-backed offensive against the Islamic State in their city.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) and Mohammed Siyala, foreign minister in Libya's new U.N.-backed national unity government, smile after a joint news conference in Tripoli, Libya, May 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny - RTX2ETWP

Why Turkey is making a return to Libya

Given economic troubles at home, it is no surprise that Ankara has decided to reopen its embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, which had been closed since 2014.

Massive reshuffle of judges, prosecutors is new blow to Turkish judiciary

Judicial independence in Turkey has suffered a severe blow earlier this month as thousands of judges and prosecutors were reassigned overnight.

Will Turkey sacrifice even more civil rights to battle terrorism?

Turkey is planning measures that could suspend freedoms to achieve operational effectiveness with a controversial "legal shield" for soldiers.

Erdogan scores no points at Muhammad Ali's funeral

The Turkish president fought hard to associate himself with the infamous boxer's image in the last of a long history of such attempts by Turkey, but observers were unmoved by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fancy footwork.

NUSAYBIN, TURKEY - FEBRUARY 25: Residents walk past the trenches of the armed group Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), a youth division of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, in southeastern Turkish city of Nusaybin on February 25, 2016, Turkey. Since mid-December, the Turkish security forces placed to several predominantly Kurdish cities in Turkey under 24-hour martial law and curfew on the premise of restoring public order. (Photo by Cagdas Erdogan/Getty Images)

Turkey's southeast beginning to resemble Syria

As clashes in Turkey's southeast between government forces and the PKK worsen, some cities mirror the destruction across the border in Syria.