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

Turkey

Turkey

November 10, 2026

Ankara 10:33 pm

4°C

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.

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

Democratic control of Congress complicates Turkey’s push for F-35s and sanctions relief, but Ankara remains hopeful Trump can still broker a deal.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

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.

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

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

Ford Tourneo Courier light commercial vehicles are seen at the Ford Otosan Yenikoy car plant in Kocaeli May 22, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS) - RTR3QFUD

Turkey missed its key economic targets in 2014

Turkey failed to attain most of its key economic targets last year, but was likely to receive a boost from falling oil prices in 2015.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks during an interview with Reuters in Istanbul January 16, 2015. Davutoglu said on Friday the Syrian city of Aleppo must be protected from bombardment by President Bashar al-Assad's forces before Turkey would consider stepping up its role in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4LQJ6

Will Davutoglu say anything new at Davos?

All ears will be on Ahmet Davutoglu at the World Economic Forum, as he will be the first Turkish prime minister to address it in six years.

Chinese paramilitary police in riot gear guard the entrance of the Dong Kuruk Bridge mosque in the centre of the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region July 10, 2009. The passionate anger of the weekend riots, that killed around 150 people, gave way to cold bitterness on both sides of the ethnic divide in China's strife-torn Muslim region of Xinjiang on Thursday, and was likely to last long after the troops go. REUTERS/David Gray (CHINA CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) - R

Oppressed by China, Uighurs drawn to Salafist ideas

China’s oppressive policies and the increasing influence of extreme Salafist currents are inflating radicalization among the Uighur population.

Did Nasrallah blur red line on Assad?

Hezbollah’s leader says a political solution could include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure “after the end of his term”; Kerry supports Russia, UN diplomacy on Syria; Who does Israel back in Syria?; Did Turkey arm Jabhat al-Nusra?; Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen.

A demonstrator holds a banner as others wave Turkish and Islamic flags during a protest against Cumhuriyet, a staunchly secular opposition newspaper, in Istanbul January 15, 2015. Pro-Islamist demonstrators protested against Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet which published a four-page spread of French satirical Charlie Hebdo articles and cartoons on Wednesday. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW MEDIA) - RTR4LJ1Q

Charlie Hebdo's humor upsets Turkish Islamists

Turks have taken to social media to criticize or applaud their government's reaction to the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, though some individuals have threatened a Turkish newspaper with violence after its publication of Charlie Hebdo cartoons.

(From L) Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu take part in a Unity rally Marc

Turkish-Israeli ties worse than ever

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s irritation over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's presence at the Paris rally has contributed to rekindled tensions between Turkey and Israel.

Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan (L-R), Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev attend a news conference after a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union at the Kremlin in Moscow, December 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov (RUSSIA - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR4J3ML

Turkey aims to mend ties with Armenia

Armenia’s entry in the Euroasian Economic Union has encouraged Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to implement his formal apology and open the border with Armenia before April 24, 2015, the 100th anniversary of the genocide.

Turkish military says MIT shipped weapons to al-Qaeda

New documents have been leaked online, prompting the government to immediately ban reporting on the scandal and order the content deleted.

Chairman U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) (C) listens to testimony at the House Intelligence Committee on "Worldwide Threats", in Washington February 4, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX187U2

Former House Intel chair: Turkey can't have it both ways in NATO

Mike Rogers, former chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, also sees economic pressure on Russia as presenting a “unique opportunity” for Moscow’s help in Syria.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Ankara January 12, 2015. REUTERS/Adem Altan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4L43Z

Is Erdogan losing touch with reality?

Ankara’s welcoming ceremony for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Jan. 12 featured 16 ancient warriors, rekindling the Ottomanism debate.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the HDP, Turkey's leading Kurdish party, addresses his supporters in Diyarbakir October 9, 2014. Islamic State fighters launched a renewed assault on the Syrian city of Kobani on Wednesday night, and at least 21 people were killed in riots in neighbouring Turkey where Kurds rose up against the government for doing nothing to protect their win. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR49I8X

Turkish Kurds' electoral strategy is a high-wire act

Rumors of electoral collusion between the government and the Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) gain momentum.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan walks down the stairs in between soldiers, wearing traditional army uniforms from the Ottoman Empire, as he arrives for a welcoming ceremony for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara January 12, 2015. REUTERS/Adem Altan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4L487

Erdogan, inadvertently, brings humor to Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comically dressed warriors help Turks regain their sense of humor.