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

Turkey

Turkey

October 15, 2026

Ankara 5:46 pm

14°C

Abandoned cars piled up among debris and standing water following extremely heavy rainfall, Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 15, 2026.

Turkey: Flash floods kill 3, paralyze Istanbul after record downpour

Heavy rains stranded hundreds, blocking major roads and disrupting air and public transportation, flooding buildings and forcing school closures across Istanbul province.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) at Prague Castle on Oct. 6, 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Explainer

Why Israel, Armenia don't benefit from hijab spat between Turkey, Azerbaijan

Israel and Armenia have reasons to worry about the escalating dispute between Turkey and Azerbaijan, despite their own tensions with Ankara and Baku.

Serhan Asker, General Program Coordinator at Halk TV, makes a statement outside the Ankara branch of Turkey's most-watched news channel, Halk TV.

Live Updates

Turkey seizes opposition Halk TV as crackdown widens: What to know

Halk TV is a pro-opposition broadcaster and one of Turkey’s most-watched news channels.

A shop owner assists one of his customers at Malta bazaar in the Fatih district in Istanbul, on Dec. 6, 2024.

Iran mum as Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban, Israel ties test alliance with Turkey

Azerbaijan’s restrictions on Islamic dress in schools have sparked an unusual public spat with Turkey, exposing tensions beneath the allies’ close political and security ties.

Latest News

Explainer

PKK pulls out of Metina in northern Iraq amid Turkey peace process

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on May 14, 2013, after leaving Turkey as part of a peace drive with Ankara.

Analysis

Pragmatic politics: Why Turkey avoids blaming Russia for Black Sea attacks

A cargo ship at the Port of Trabzon, Turkey

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Rubio signals US push to ease Greece-Turkey cable tensions

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) during a visit on Oct. 7, 2026, in Athens, Greece.

Turkey to send Mecca pact to parliament, opening path to Saudi deployment

Turkish Navy infantry soldiers take part in the Denizkurdu-I/2026 Exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Aksaz, at Marmaris in Mugla, on Sept. 24, 2026.

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

US President Joe Biden (R) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to a plenary session of a NATO summit at NATO headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, June 14, 2021.

Will Erdogan’s Afghan gambit pay off in Washington?

The general impression is that Ankara’s commitment to protect Kabul airport is only aimed at winning favor with Washington.

A picture taken on April 24, 2020, shows the Blue Mosque square with the Hagia Sophia museum in the background.

Secular Turks mock government’s appropriation of care-free lifestyles in Istanbul promo video

The negative responses highlight what secular members of Turkish society perceive as the government’s interference in their lifestyle choices.

People gather at the July 15 Martyrs Bridge to commemorate the July 15, 2016, coup anniversary in Istanbul, on July 15, 2018.

License holder of coup-linked app faces 15-year jail term in Turkey

An American citizen of Turkish origin reportedly turned himself in to Turkish authorities and faces a 15-year jail sentence for his role in founding the ByLock phone app, which state officials claim was used by supporters of a failed coup in 2016.

Syrian refugees walk among tents at Karkamis' refugee camp on January 16, 2014, near the town of Gaziantep, south of Turkey.

Amid Afghan influx, Turkey’s refugee policy gets tested with fire

Turkey has done a rather good job meeting the immediate and mid-term needs of Syrian refugees, but it is now at a crossroads on whether to have a long-term integration policy, experts say.

Team Turkey celebrates after defeating Team China during the Women's Preliminary - Pool B on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Arena on July 25, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

Controversial cleric’s ‘modesty call’ to Turkish volleyball team bounces back at him

Following a victory by the Turkish women's volleyball team over China at the Tokyo Olympics, the all-too-familiar debate on women’s decency and clothes raised its head when a cleric urged the players to observe modesty in dress and behavior.

In a photo taken from the TV station of President Kais Saied, the president announces the dissolution of parliament and Prime Minister Mechichi's government on July 25, 2021.

Turkish officials condemn Tunisian 'coup' but keep it measured

While AKP officials have denounced the Tunisian president's sacking of the prime minister and suspension of parliament as a "coup," Ankara’s language was markedly less incendiary than when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew the country’s popularly elected president in 2013.

Coronavirus vaccine given in Ankara square

Turkey records highest daily virus toll since mid-May

Turkey on Friday recorded 11,094 new cases and 60 deaths from COVID-19.

JASON TAVLAS/AFP via Getty Images

Search underway after migrant boat sinks off Turkish coast

Eight migrants are still missing after their boat bound for Italy sunk southwest of the Turkish town of Kas.

Migrants from Afghanistan arrive after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey with a dinghy on the Greek Mediterranean island of Lesbos, Greece, Aug. 6, 2018.

Afghan refugee influx stokes tensions in Turkey

Fresh refugee influx from Afghanistan to Turkey has stoked political and social tensions in the country where the refugee crisis is becoming more politicized.

Activists, including supporters of Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, hold up the photos of journalists, including Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yuecel, who are currently in prison in Turkey.

Turkey plans further clampdown on independent media

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP says it won't allow "fifth column" activity from independent media organizations.

Supporters lift flags of Turkey and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Has Erdogan started a journey of no return in Cyprus?

Unless he is playing a game of brinkmanship to force the Greek Cypriots into a settlement, Erdogan’s tough moves in the Cyprus conflict are raising the specter of Turkey’s eventual annexation of Northern Cyprus.

Ukrainian tourisms in Bodrum

Turkey’s COVID-19 cases surge as restrictions relaxed during Eid

As holiday-makers flock to Turkey’s coastal areas and cast aside masks and social distancing, a surge in COVID-19 figures fans worries in the health sector of a fourth coronavirus wave, possibly as early as August.