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Turkey

July 4, 2026

Ankara 8:17 pm

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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.

Latest News

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

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

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

A tank and helicopters that belonged to the Syrian Army are seen at the Minnig military airport after it was seized by rebels, August 11, 2013. Syrian rebels captured the main military airport near the border with Turkey on August 6, consolidating their hold on a key supply route north of the city of Aleppo, opposition activists said. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY TRANSPORT CONFLICT) - RTX12HMK

Turkey Should Shut Down Jihadists on Border

Turkey's shooting down of a Syrian helicopter that violated its airspace on Sept. 16 should provoke a clampdown on all border activity.

Members of Hamas security forces pray before a rally calling on Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah border crossing, at the crossing in the southern Gaza Strip September 17, 2013. Cairo closed the Rafah crossing, Gaza's main window to the world, completely last week after assailants crashed two explosive-laden cars into a security building adjacent to the border zone, killing six Egyptian soldiers. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, said 1,000 patients a month required med

Hamas Shuts Down Egypt Center in Gaza

The closing of the center reflects a further deterioration in Hamas-Egypt ties.

A Syrian refugee watches a television broadcast of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaking in Damascus, in their container at the Al-Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, January 6, 2013. Assad made his first public appearance in months on Sunday, calling for a "full national mobilisation" to fight against rebels he described as al Qaeda terrorists. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3C5EE

Sectarianism Dominates Mideast Media Coverage of Syria, Bahrain

A close look at Middle Eastern media reveals a sectarian bias for regional audiences and a more democratic face when broadcasting in English to the West.

A riot policeman uses a mobile phone to film protesters at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 22, 2013. Turkish riot police fired water cannon to clear thousands of protesters from Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday, the first such confrontation there in nearly a week. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10X89

Turkey’s AKP Mobilizes Twitter Army for Elections

The Justice and Development Party has acknowledged the need for a social-media strategy.

Turkish riot police are targeted with fireworks during a protest against a government project, the first ever cultural center containing an Alevi cemevi and a Sunni mosque side by side, in Tuzlucayir neighborhood of Ankara, on September 12, 2013 AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey’s Sunni-Alevi Fault Line

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s democratization package will need to dampen sectarian tensions.

Erdogan Promotes Democratization Package

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey's democratization package is a "silent revolution."

Turkey's New Prohibitions Lead To Underground Alcohol Market

Many Turks are finding ways around the new restrictions on the sale of alcohol.

A woman is attacked by water cannon during protests in Kizilay square in central Ankara, June 16, 2013. The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannon at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX10PPE

Women Protesters in Turkey Brave Sexual Harassment

The systematic sexual harassment of female Turkish protesters in custody is used as a weapon to deter them and marginalize the protest movement.

A boy wearing a Guy Fawkes mask displays his wooden sword behind a barricade at Gezi Park in central Istanbul June 12, 2013. Turkish riot police fought running battles with pockets of protesters overnight, clearing the central Istanbul square that has been the focus of nearly two weeks of protests against Turkey's prime minister. By dawn, Taksim Square, strewn with wreckage from bulldozed barricades, was largely deserted and taxis crossed it for the first time since the troubles started. Several hundred rem

How Happy Is the One Who Says 'I am a Turk'?

Turks seem to be content, but perhaps not all that happy.

Sawssan Abdelwahab, who fled Idlib in Syria, walks with her children outside the refugees camp near the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern city of Yayladagi February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR2XYH9

On Turkey-Syria Border, Despair Over War

Syrians in Antakya are pessimistic about the future.

Anti-government Alevi protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Istanbul June 23, 2013. The European Union is on the verge of scrapping a new round of membership talks with Turkey, a move that would further undermine Ankara's already slim hopes of joining the bloc and damage its relations with Brussels. Germany, the EU's biggest economic power, is blocking efforts to revive Turkey's EU membership bid, partly because of its handling of anti-government protests that have swept the country in the last

Is Syria War Additional Spark To Alevi Protests in Turkey?

The war in Syria and the fallout from the Gezi Park demonstrations may be revealing a fault line in Turkish politics.

Art Goes Indoors At Istanbul Biennial

Amid the continuing street protests in the city, the 13th Istanbul Biennial’s decision to withdraw from public spaces aims to make the demonstrations and their message more visible.