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Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 10:01 am

5°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

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas addresses members of the parliament from his party and audience members during a meeting at theTurkish parliament in Ankara January 8, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3C7GS

Kurdish movement worries crisis in Turkey might undo the 'peace process'

The Kurdish movement is giving conditional support to Erdogan and his party, which are experiencing a serious legitimacy crisis as a result of corruption and bribery allegations.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan greets his supporters as he arrives for a meeting at the parliament in Ankara January 14, 2014. Erdogan looks to have the upper hand in a civil war rocking Turkey's political establishment, but his bid to break the influence of a potent Islamic cleric could roll back reforms and undermine hard-won business confidence. What erupted a month ago as a damaging inquiry into alleged government corruption has spiralled into a battle over the judiciary with potentially much fu

Erdogan vs. Gulen: Who has God on his side?

Political secularism may be the best path to moderation.

Russia, Iran set stage for Geneva II; Turkey’s slow turnaround on Syria

Russian and Iranian diplomacy have helped shape the Geneva II agenda to include a cease-fire, humanitarian relief and counterterrorism in Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) helps Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to stand during a news conference in Ankara November 1, 2013. Turkey and Iran said on Friday they had common concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of Syria's civil war, signalling a thaw in a key Middle Eastern relationship strained by stark differences over the conflict. Davutoglu expressed his appreciation to Zarif at the start of the news conference for travelling to Turkey despite suffering from b

Turkey shifts toward Iran on Syria

Turkey is resetting its relations with Iran, including over Syria.

A tourist visits the the Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat near Susa, in Khuzestan province, southwestern Iran September 29, 2011. Picture taken September 29, 2011. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL) - RTR2S198

Iran’s tourism industry struggles to meet growing demand

While Iranian officials have stated they plan to grow Iran's tourism industry, challenges such as investment, visa requirements and cultural issues must be addressed.

Syrian Kurds practise reading the Kurdish language at a school in Derik, Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani warned Kurds in Syria against being sucked into the "fires of discord," urging them to preserve Kurdish unity as tensions between rival factions threaten to spillover into violence. Syria's Kurds see the war ravaging their country as an unprecedented opportunity to gain the kind of freedoms enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq, where they live autonomously

Syrian government introduces Kurdish in universities

The Syrian regime has offered another carrot to the Kurdish minority: the Kurdish language as a university course.

Turkey's historical Maiden's Tower is seen on the Bosphorus with the city's skyscrapers in the background, in Istanbul August 28, 2013. Along the picturesque Bosphorus Straits dividing Europe and Asia, Istanbul is undergoing a transformation which should fill Turkey with confidence in its bid to become the first Muslim country to stage the Olympics in 2020. Overlooking the waterway, mechanical diggers are tearing down Besiktas' Inonu Stadium to make way for a state-of-the-art facility earmarked to stage rug

Istanbul's skyline betrayed

A generation that professes to worship the Ottomans betrayed Istanbul by destroying its silhouette with high-rises.

US Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns listens during a press conference at the US Department of the Treasury July 11, 2013 in Washington, DC. Officials from the United States and China are meeting to discus the two world powers' relationships during the 5th United States and China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Burns to Al-Monitor: 'No illusions' about nuclear diplomacy with Iran

In an exclusive interview, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns discusses leading the US back channel to Iran, the upcoming Geneva II conference on Syria, the role of secret diplomacy and 32 years in the US foreign service.

Members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) walk together in Al-Rmelan, Qamshli province November 11, 2013. With a string of military gains across northeastern Syria, a Kurdish militia is solidifying a geographic and political presence in the war-torn country, posing a dilemma for regional powers. Long oppressed under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, Kurds view the civil war as an opportunity to gain the kind of autonomy enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq.

Syrian Kurds aim to benefit from Islamist infighting

Syrian Kurdish forces navigate the fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham to gain ground in northern Syria.

Turkish Islamist protesters shout slogans against Noel celebrations as they hold an inflatable Santa Claus toy during a demonstration at Beyazit Square in Istanbul December 26, 2013. The sign (front, 2nd) reads: "Christmas is a blow to our Islamism". REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST) - RTX16UF4

Turkey's Christians fear possible hate campaign

An aggressive campaign against Christmas and New Year’s festivities in Turkey last month, including the circumcision of Santa Claus, has sparked fears that deadly attacks on Christians may begin anew.

A policeman wears a ring showing the Islamic symbol of the star and crescent, as the barrel of a rifle is seen in the background, in the Chechen village of Itum-Kale April 29, 2013. The naming of two Chechens, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings has put Chechnya - the former site of a bloody separatist insurgency - back on the world's front pages. Chechnya appears almost miraculously reborn. The streets have been rebuilt. Walls riddled with bullet holes are long gone.

Chechnya's silent diplomacy in the Middle East

Russia is working to turn domestic challenges into opportunity.

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

Gul calls for reset of Turkey’s Syria policy

Turkish President Abdullah Gul's call for a "recalibration" of the Syria policy is a thinly veiled rebuke to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.