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Turkey

July 3, 2026

Ankara 10:59 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

France's President Francois Hollande and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul (R) address the media at the Presidential Palace in Ankara January 27, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17X3C

Gul proposes Turkey-Iran cooperation in Syria

Turkish President Abdullah Gul is distancing himself from the political culture and foreign policy of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

A forensic inspector collects evidence at the site of the two suicide bombings that occurred on Tuesday near Iran's embassy compound in Beirut November 20, 2013. Two suicide bombings rocked Iran's embassy compound in Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people including an Iranian cultural attache and hurling bodies and burning wreckage across a debris-strewn street. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX15LJV

Lebanon fights back against terrorists

Despite the ongoing terrorist attacks in Lebanon, the country’s authorities have made significant arrests in their war against terror.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is pictured at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 29, 2013. The hearing was on the potential changes to the foreign intelligence surveillance act (FISA). REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX14SXL

The Syria disconnect in US terrorism policy

The US national intelligence director, James Clapper, foresees a rise in "political uncertainty and violence" in the Middle East in 2014.

Başbakan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, İran Cumhurbaşkanı Hasan Ruhani ile görüştü. Tahran'da resmi temaslarını sürdüren Başbakan Erdoğan, Sadabad Sarayı'nda gerçekleştirilen öğle yemeğinde, İran Cumhurbaşkanı Ruhani ile bir araya geldi. Başbakan Erdoğan, İran Cumhurbaşkanı Ruhani ile iki ülke arasında çeşitli alanlarda ikili işbirliği anlaşmaları imzaladı. (Kayhan Özer - Anadolu Ajansı)

Turkey, Iran seek workaround on Syria

Ankara and Tehran are attempting to normalize a relationship put off track by Syria.

Israeli soldiers ride an army jeep during a patrol along Israel's border with Lebanon near the northern village of Avivim July 3, 2013. Israel is bolstering its forces on the once-quiet frontier with Syria where it believes Lebanese Hezbollah militants are preparing for the day when they could fight Israel. Picture taken July 3, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX11IMI

Al-Qaeda now frontline threat to Israel

With gains in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, al-Qaeda and its affiliates threaten Israel more than ever.

Syrian foreign minister calls for national unity government

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Walid Moallem, Syria's minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, said that the Syrian National Coalition's rejection of a resolution condemning terrorism was "unfortunate and strange."

A man carrying a wounded woman runs from the site of explosions near the Iranian embassy in Beirut November 19, 2013. Two explosions targeting the Iranian embassy hit the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday killing at least 23 people, including Iranian cultural attache Ebrahim Ansari, and damaging buildings around the embassy compound, Lebanese sources said. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisy (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS DISASTER) - RTX15JSM

Are UN Security Council anti-al-Qaeda terror statutes properly enforced?

The UN Security Council has established a regime for a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo against the al-Qaeda network since 1999, but new circumstances bring about serious doubts if such a regime is still functioning.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) speak to reporters at the State Department in Washington November 18, 2013.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15J4I

US, Turkey try to contain chill in relations

US-Turkey relations have seen better days.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man begs for change as he sits on a sidewalk in Jerusalem March 26, 2006. A growing number of Israelis live beneath the poverty line, many of them ultra-Orthodox Jews, immigrants and elderly. Poverty is a prominent issue in Israel's campaign for a March 28 parliamentary election. Picture taken march 26, 2006. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTR17NNS

Israel faces crisis of growing poverty

Israel's new national committee on poverty has been asked to propose a comprehensive solution to the alarming increase in Israeli families living below the poverty line, most of them working poor.

A PORTER PUSHES AN ELDERLY PALESTINIAN CANCER PATIENT THROUGH THE EREZ CROSSING BETWEEN THE GAZA STRIP AND ISRAEL. A porter pushes an elderly Palestinian cancer patient through the Erez crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel March 21, 2004. Palestinian doctors complain Israel has stopped allowing ambulances to bring patients into Israel from Gaza, forcing the sick to cross unaided through the heavily guarded checkpoint. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RTRFRM5

Checkpoint hardship for sick Gazans seeking care in Israel

Some sick patients in the Gaza Strip have reported that Israeli security officers offered to exchange travel permits for information.

Gaza youth dream of jobs in Qatar

Amid increasing unemployment rates in the Gaza Strip, youth have warmly welcomed an agreement between the Palestinian and Qatari governments to employ 20,000 additional Palestinians in Qatar.

Why is Turkish writer Sevan Nisanyan in jail?

The outspoken Armenian writer is the only Turkish citizen jailed for "construction infractions."