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Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 4:22 am

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

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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

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks as he hosts a bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during the NATO Summit at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales September 5, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED KINGDOM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR453HP

Turkey faces dilemma in fight against Islamic State

Turkey is not keen to have the Kurds, Shiites and the Damascus regime be bolstered in the fight against the Islamic State.

Peshmerga fighters inspect the remains of a car, bearing an image of the trademark jihadist flag, which belonged to Islamic State (IS) militants after it was targeted by an American air strike in the village of Baqufa, north of Mosul, on August 18,2014. Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by federal forces and US warplanes pressed a counter-offensive Monday against jihadists after retaking Iraq's largest dam, as the United States and Britain stepped up their military involvement. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

Islamic State becoming ‘dominant voice’ among global jihadists

The United States intensifies military planning against the Islamic State; Syria’s new Cabinet; Israel faces "highly complex reality" in Syria; IS-linked group threatens more terror, beheadings in the Sinai Peninsula; what Egypt lost in the Al Jazeera trial.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu addresses his party MPs during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara April 8, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY) - RTR3KEBT

Will Turkey’s CHP reconcile with Islam?

Turkey’s main opposition leader is seeking to reconcile his party with the pious masses, but faces both their deep-rooted suspicions and the resistance of his own hard-core secularists.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan inspects the honour guard during a visit to Northern Cyprus September 1, 2014. Erdogan paid his first visit abroad as head of state to Northern Cyprus on Monday and said the window of opportunity will not remain open forever for a "two state solution" in the country. REUTERS/Andreas Manolis (CYPRUS - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR44JWG

Is the Islamic State holding Turkey hostage?

Prolonged hostage negotiations with the Islamic State are creating serious headaches for the Turkish leadership.

A poster depicting U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen as a pope, is seen as supporters of the ruling AK Party attend an election rally in Konya, central Turkey, March 28, 2014. Erdogan pulled out of election rallies in central Turkey on Friday in order to rest his voice after weeks of campaigning around the country, his office said. Erdogan had difficulty speaking at rallies in southeast Turkey on Thursday ahead of Sunday's local elections. Turkey will hold municipal elections on March 30. REUTERS/Umi

AKP pursues scorched-earth tactics against Gulenists

Turkish prosecutors have dropped a corruption probe against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son and businessmen close to the government, marking the latest move in the government’s all-out war against the Gulen community.

Peshmerga fighters inspect the remains of a car, bearing an image of the trademark jihadist flag, which belonged to Islamic State (IS) militants after it was targeted by an American air strike in the village of Baqufa, north of Mosul, on August 18,2014. Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by federal forces and US warplanes pressed a counter-offensive Monday against jihadists after retaking Iraq's largest dam, as the United States and Britain stepped up their military involvement. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

Europe blind to Islamic State's true threat

With the Islamic State drawing recruits from across Europe, the continent must act against the movement in Syria and Iraq before it's too late.

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

The next battle for the Turkish judiciary

No matter who wins the race for seats in the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors, the result will still be far from an “independent and impartial judiciary.”

Turkey's new President Tayyip Erdogan (front C) attends a swearing in ceremony at the parliament in Ankara August 28, 2014. Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey's 12th president at a ceremony in parliament on Thursday, cementing his position as the country's most powerful modern leader, in what his opponents fear will herald an increasingly authoritarian rule. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4437V

Israel, Turkey exchange diplomatic cold shoulders

The absence of an Israeli representative at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's inauguration points to the frosty relationship between the two countries.

Market pressure keeps Babacan in new Turkish Cabinet

Turkey’s much-respected economy chief, Ali Babacan, retains his post in Turkey’s new Cabinet despite in-house tensions, in a sign that the ruling party cannot afford unnerving international investors.

Residents of Tabqa city and Islamic State militants tour the streets in celebration after Islamic State militants took over Tabqa air base in northeast Syria August 24, 2014. Islamic State militants stormed the air base in northeast Syria on Sunday, capturing most of it from government forces after days of fighting over the strategic location, a witness and a monitoring group said. Fighting raged inside the walls of the Tabqa air base, the Syrian army's last foothold in an area otherwise controlled by IS, w

US gives new priority to foreign fighters in Syria

US regional allies, including Turkey, may finally be forced to crack down on extremists in Syria.

A Iraqi Turkmen Shiite fighter, who volunteered to join the government forces, runs for cover on August 4, 2014 in Amerli, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Baghdad, as the city has been completely surrounded by Islamic State (IS) Sunni militants for more than six weeks. Residents say a humanitarian disaster is imminent in the town, which has been without power and drinking water for days. IS fighters, who run large swathes of neighbouring Syria, launched a blistering offensive on June 9 that saw the

Iraq's Sunni, Shiite Turkmens fall out over IS

The six-week Islamic State siege of the Shiite Turkmen town of Amerli has exposed the little-discussed rift between Iraqi Shiites and Sunni Turkmens.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu greets his supporters as he leaves Kocatepe Mosque after Friday prayers in Ankara August 29, 2014. Davutoglu announced a new cabinet on Friday keeping key members of the economic management team in place and appointing the man who has managed Ankara's affairs with Europe as foreign minister. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR448EI

Good news from Davutoglu: a rational economy

Is the new AKP government abandoning anti-Western and anti-liberal economic tendencies?