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Turkey

Turkey

August 26, 2026

Ankara 1:10 am

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Top EU court says Kavala case exposes erosion of judicial independence in Turkey

Europe's top human rights court has renewed its call for Turkey to immediately release jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, saying his imprisonment reflects a broader “systemic problem” over independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

Equality and Democracy Party lawmakers

Explainer

Turkey’s Kurdish peace process moves to implementation: What to know and what’s next

Turkey’s peace process with Kurdish militants has entered the implementation phase this week, with authorities setting up working groups to verify the Kurdistan Workers Party’s disarmament.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Israel is rethinking its hard-line Syria policy and seeking to repair ties with US envoy and Donald Trump's confidant Tom Barrack amid a push for a security agreement with Damascus.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

Turkey/Syria border

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

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

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan leave after a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch - RC1176EAE300

Is the Turkish-German spring illusive?

Turkey and Germany are demonstrating willingness to set aside political rows and focus on economic ties, but the thaw in the relationship guarantees neither the investments Turkey expects nor the solution of accumulated problems.

Jailed businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala's lawyers attend a press conference on October 31, 2018 to ask Osman Kavala's release, - Osman Kavala was arrested a year ago by Turkish authorities and has still to be charged with an offence. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Lawyers demand freedom for Turkey's Osman Kavala after year in prison

Turkey’s best-known public intellectual Osman Kavala has been held in pre-trial detention without even an indictment in what his lawyers believe constitutes “torture” and observers say is an attempt to stifle dissent.

A crane is seen at the construction site of a new building in Zeytinburnu, a middle-class residential neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey September 24, 2018. Picture taken September 24, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1742CAB9D0

Turkey’s crisis-hit construction sector threatens big fallout

Once a driving force of economic growth, Turkey’s construction sector is among the first victims of the country’s economic turmoil, threatening a contagion effect on an array of other sectors.

The U.S. flag flutters on a military vehicle in Manbej countryside, Syria May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Aboud Hamam - RC1B2D4114E0

Northern Syria heats up as next likely US-Turkey flashpoint

Despite speculation that Turkey and the United States might repair their tense relations now that one key issue is settled, an Erdogan adviser called Turkey's shelling east of the Euphrates River “a friendly message to the US.”

Saudi public prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb arrives at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC1ECBB267E0

Intel: Why Turkey refuses to share Khashoggi evidence with Saudis

Turkey holds evidence back from Saudi investigators as it tries to get Riyadh to extradite suspects and reveal the location of Khashoggi's body.

One vote, three corpses

How a referendum in Turkey tore apart a village and a family

A picture taken on April 30, 2018 shows an electoral banner for the Iraqi Turkmen Front hanging beneath the flags of Iraq (L) and the Iraqi Turkmen (C, white crescent and stars on a blue background) above a pedestrian crossing in the oil-rich and multi-ethnic northern city of Kirkuk. - The past seven months have seen a dramatic turn of events in Kirkuk, the "Jerusalem of Kurdistan", where hopes of independence for Iraqi Kurdistan were dashed after Baghdad retaliated against a referendum held in September. (

Why Iraqi Turkmens are excluded from the new government

Iraqi Turkmens say they have been excluded from the new Iraqi government because they refuse to follow a sectarian approach to politics.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, his wife Emine Erdogan and officials make a virtual plane take off during the official opening ceremony of Istanbul's new airport, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 29, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC189236A290

Erdogan inaugurates Istanbul’s new airport as 'monument to victory'

The airport is set to eventually become the world’s biggest, making Turkey a global transportation hub, but critics lament the environmental and economic costs as well as the plight of the laborers who built it.

Turkey, Russia seek European input on Syria settlement

The heads of four nations gathered in Istanbul last week, all seeking to promote their countries' own national interests in Syria. But it's unclear if they'll eventually be able to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis that Damascus will accept.

A Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter fires from a tank in Rajo, Syria March 3, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC140AB204D0

Turkey raises stakes in Syria with shelling of Kurdish targets

The Turkish military has fired on Syrian Kurdish positions east of the Euphrates River for the first time in a move that could heighten tensions with the United States.

A Syrian shop owner, Mustafa Turkmen, poses during an interview on May 1, 2018 in Gaziantep, southwestern Turkey. - In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, home to around half a million Syrians who fled the civil war south of the border, hundreds of Syrian businesses are thriving in a boost both for the displaced community and their host country. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian businessmen succeed in Turkey

Syrian businessmen continue to partner with Turks in Turkish enterprises, even though such Turkish sponsorship is no longer required by law.

What's behind Russia’s 'wait and see' approach on Khashoggi killing?

Russia has been keeping a rather low profile on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, but this stance is driven by profound considerations of Moscow's own role in the Middle East