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Turkey

July 3, 2026

Ankara 5:37 am

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A screenshot of one of Deniz Goktas' standup routines posted to YouTube.

Culture

Turkish standup comic detained after act calling Erdogan 'dictator' goes viral

Comedian Deniz Goktas’ arrest comes as Ankara intensifies prosecutions against opposition figures, journalists, artists and critics ahead of a major NATO summit.

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 2026.

Turkish jets strike al-Shabab targets in Somalia: What to know

A Somali Defense Ministry statement initially said Turkish F-16s carried out strikes on Al-Shabab targets before a later version referred only to “international partners.”

Syrian textile employees work in a textile workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey eases job rules for 1M+ Syrians under temporary protection: What to know

The move, part of a broader easing of restrictions on Syrians living in Turkey, could allow roughly 1.1 million working-age Syrians to enter registered employment more easily as Ankara seeks to reduce informal labor and address workforce gaps.

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Azerbaijan slam Israel’s Armenian genocide recognition as Yerevan mum

Ankara accused Israel of weaponizing history as Armenia avoided public comment amid delicate regional diplomacy.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Turkey and Egypt are deepening military ties amid regional turmoil

From (L-R) Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attend a meeting in Cairo on June 21, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

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

Supporters of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan listen to his speech during the opening ceremony of a new line of the Ankara Metro in Ankara February 12, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX18NXK

Erdogan counting on elections to recoup from scandals

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is banking on the polls, not the courts, to vindicate himself from the current allegations of corruption.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan greets his supporters as he arrives for a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara February 25, 2014. Erdogan said on Tuesday voice recordings purportedly of him telling his son to dispose of large sums of money on the day news broke of a graft inquiry were a "treacherous attack" on his office. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3FP9H

Turkey’s warring personality cults

In the absence of well-grounded institutions, politics in Turkey often devolves into a battle of personalities, as we see now between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen.

A supporter of Egypt's army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi wears an image of him around her neck as she rallies outside a police academy, where the trial of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and members of the Muslim Brotherhood is due to take place, on the outskirts of Cairo, February 16, 2014. Mursi appeared in court on Sunday on charges of conspiring with foreign groups to commit terrorist acts in Egypt, in a further escalation of the crackdown against his Muslim Brotherhood. The image of

Sisi not Egypt’s civilian Messiah

Whoever becomes Egypt’s next president must do three things, including bringing all political parties together if Egypt is to be able to rebuild its economy and political institutions.

Rescuers carry a wounded boy who survived what activists said was an air strike by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood February 26, 2014. REUTERS/Malek Al Shemali (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3FQU3

Barrel bombings cause mass evacuation in east Aleppo

An exclusive first hand report on how fearful residents, along with opposition forces, have fled east Aleppo en masse as the Syrian government's barrel bombing campaign shows no sign of relenting.

A man mourns near the body of his brother, wrapped in a blanket, who was among those killed during Sunday night's suicide bomb attack at a popular coffee shop in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, 170 km (106 miles) north of Baghdad, July 17, 2006. The attack killed 21 people, mostly elderly men. REUTERS/Slahaldeen Rasheed (IRAQ) - RTR1FKIO

Turkmen caught between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Turkmen are getting pressure from the Turkish government to work more closely with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan`s wife Emine Erdogan (L), Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L), Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (C), Armenian Orthodox Archbishop Aram Atesyan (2nd R), and Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva (R) take their places during a dinner on August 28, 2011, at the Archeology Museum Garden in Istanbul. Erdogan hosted religious leaders and the heads of about 160 minority trusts at a fast-breaking dinner for Ramadan. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Imag

Turkey’s Armenians in crisis over patriarch

A rift over the spiritual leadership of Turkey’s Armenian community exposes the Turkish state’s political machinations in dealing with this minority.

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan react as he addresses the audience during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara February 25, 2014. Erdogan said on Tuesday voice recordings purportedly of him telling his son to dispose of large sums of money on the day news broke of a graft inquiry were a "treacherous attack" on his office. In a speech to his ruling AK Party deputies in parliament, Erdogan also said the recordings, which appeared on YouTube late on Monday, were a "shameless monta

Erdogan enraged

The corruption probe and alleged phone leaks between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his advisers raise grave concerns about Turkey’s political direction.

A demonstrator hold pictures of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen (R), during a protest against Turkey's ruling AK Party (AKP), demanding the resignation of Erdogan, in Istanbul December 30, 2013. Erdogan swore on Sunday he would survive a corruption crisis circling his cabinet, saying those seeking his overthrow would fail just like mass anti-government protests last summer. Gulen denies involvement in stirring up the graft case, but he regularly censures Erdogan, a

Another sensational scandal rocks Turkey

Pro-government dailies are reporting a massive wiretapping scandal.

The peril of escalation in Syria

Edward Dark writes that Aleppans will pay the price for any escalation in the war; the UN Security Council votes for humanitarian assistance and calls for greater cooperation to confront al-Qaeda in Syria; 16 female journalists cover the Middle East; and exorcism in the Gaza Strip.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara February 18, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1915M

Turkey's elections likely to increase political turmoil

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to keep the heat on his political opponents heading into the March 30 local elections.

Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks in Najaf, 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad, February 18, 2014. Sadr stuck to his decision to leave political life and dissolve his movement, saying that politics had become a way to inflict injustice. Sadr, who led revolts against U.S. forces in Iraq before their pullout and became a major influence in the government, initially announced his retirement on Saturday via a handwritten statement on his website. REUTERS/Handout/Office of Moqtada al-Sadr (IRAQ - Tag

Is Muqtada al-Sadr retiring or repositioning?

After Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr declared his intention to withdraw from politics, signs suggest that it may have been a move aimed at political repositioning before the upcoming elections.

Free Syrian Army fighters sit as a fellow fighter holds an RPG along a street in Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria February 19, 2014. Picture taken February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) CONFLICT) - RTX1964P

Military escalation will add to Syrian catastrophe

The remilitarization of the Syrian conflict as sophisticated weapons are sent to opposition forces means more violence, including the return of fighting to areas that have achieved cease-fires.