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Turkey

July 5, 2026

Ankara 7:46 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.

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

Heads of Arab states gather ahead of a group photo during the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. Russia criticised the Arab League on Wednesday for giving a seat formerly held by the Syrian government to a representative of the Syrian opposition at a summit in Doha. Picture taken March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CA

Will Syria War Mean End of Sykes-Picot?

There is speculation that the Syria war could signal a change in long-standing borders.

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi hold up a poster of Mursi during a protest at the Rabaa al-Adawiya square where they are camping, in Cairo, August 6, 2013. The chances for a negotiated end to Egypt's political crisis looked to have hit the rocks on Tuesday with the army-installed government reportedly ready to declare that foreign mediation efforts had failed. It would also declare that Muslim Brotherhood protests against the army's overthrow of Mursi were non-peaceful - a signal that

Morsi Is Not Arab World’s Mandela

In response to Tawakul Karman's recent article in Foreign Policy, Bassem Sabry and Hani Sabra write that Mohammed Morsi is no Nelson Mandela.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (R) and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend a delivery ceremony for the first nationally designed combat ship TCG Heybeliada at the Tuzla Naval shipyard in Istanbul September 27, 2011. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2RWLG

Are Gul, Erdogan Playing 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' With Egypt?

It appears Turkey’s president and prime minister are playing a "good cop, bad cop" routine on Egypt, but their differences are real.

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

Pardon My Turkish: Battle for 'Halal' Words

Being politically correct takes another unexpected turn in Turkey as a new vocabulary permeates the social scene, further deepening political fault lines.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) meets with Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in Ankara July 30, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1252R

Turkey’s Syrian Kurdish Gamble: A Double Edged Sword

Turkey’s efforts to contain Syrian Kurdish autonomy while pursuing peace with its own Kurds could backfire.

Fans of Besiktas (Black-White), Galatasaray (Yellow-Red) and Fenerbahce (Yellow-Blue) pose during an anti-government protest at Taksim Square in central Istanbul June 2, 2013. Days of anti-government protest in Turkey have achieved one feat that has eluded the authorities for years: uniting the fiercely rival and sometimes violent supporters of Istanbul's "Big Three" football clubs. Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce fans have come together in new-found solidarity during five days of demonstrations agains

Turkish Fans Ponder Football Without Freedom

The Turkish government fears political dissent will find its way to football games, so one major club takes controversial measures to prevent it.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu hold a joint news conference at the Russian embassy in Washington after their meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, August 9, 2013. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX12FAI

Russia’s Course in Syria Unchanged

Al-Monitor’s coverage of US and Russian policies toward Syria; the protests in Egypt; and the return of reformist and Islamic chic in Iran.

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol the road leading to Beirut international airport, following the kidnap of a Turkish airlines pilot and his colleague in Beirut, August 9, 2013. A Turkish Airlines pilot and his colleague were abducted in Lebanon on Friday by armed men who forced them from a bus driving from Beirut airport in the early hours of the morning. The Turkish foreign ministry and the airline said they were in close contact with the Lebanese authorities but had no immediate information on who was behind

Turkish Pilots Abducted At Gunpoint in Beirut

Two Turkish Airlines pilots were kidnapped in Beirut early Friday, Aug. 9, to put pressure on the Turkish government to help release nine Shiite Lebanese hostages in Syria since May 2012.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) listens to U.S. President Barack Obama during a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden in Washington, May 16, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZPB1

Erdogan Looks West

Given Ankara’s misadventures in the Middle East, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s best option to fulfill his vision of a democratic Turkey is to pivot to the West.

Control, Halt, Delete: Gulf States Crack Down on Online Critics

The Gulf states’ heavy-handed response to online criticism was entirely predictable and shows no signs of abating.

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit (R) waves beside his doctor
Professor Mehmet Haberal at the entrance of the Baskent University
Hospital, in Ankara, June 26, 2002. Officials announced that, Ecevit,
77, will have a detailed check-up. Ecevit, was hospitalized twice in
May for intestinal problems, a broken rib and vascular infection and
has been recovering at home for the past month. REUTERS/str

WS - RTR6VWK

Controversial Turkish Surgeon Odd Man Out in Ergenekon Trial

A famous surgeon’s unexpected release in the Ergenekon trial deepens Turkey’s political fault lines.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) leaves after a wreath-laying ceremony with members of the High Military Council at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara August 1, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX126OH

Erdogan Prepares to Face Post-Ramadan Challenges

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be walking on eggshells after Ramadan to balance the popular reaction to the Ergenekon verdicts and Kurdish demands to advance the negotiation process.