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

Turkey

Turkey

October 27, 2026

Ankara 6:16 pm

14°C

Kepez

Tornado kills 4 in Turkey’s Mediterranean tourism hub Antalya

The province was hit by a tornado that killed four construction workers and injured another less than two weeks before the city hosts the UN climate summit.

GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia’s KBS, top Turkish and Pakistani officials hold rare meeting in Iran: What to know

In first such gathering, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman will join Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin for talks with Iranian officials amid fears of renewed US and Israeli attacks against Iran.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York, on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

What’s at stake for Turkey as Israel heads to the polls?

Israel’s Oct. 27 election could offer a chance to ease tensions with Ankara, but competing ambitions in Syria and beyond threaten to push the two US allies toward a dangerous confrontation.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, UN Headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2026.

Analysis

How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria

The next Israeli government could have an opportunity to secure several diplomatic wins involving the United States and Iran by improving relations with Syria.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Analysis

As US ties fray, Canada turns to Turkey for defense, nuclear cooperation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey's Libya maritime win no guarantee for Saddam Hifter's presidential ambitions

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with Saddam Haftar, Deputy Commander of the Libyan National Army, in Benghazi, Aug. 12, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey says Qatar Eurofighter jet deal still on track despite Iran war

A German Air Force Eurofighter jet is seen during the NATO Media Day at Lielvarde Air Base in Lielvarde, Latvia, on Oct. 1, 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

Turkish soap operas turn Istanbul into Paris of the East

Popular Turkish TV series are filling state coffers by attracting tourists from as far away as South America.

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against a purge of thousands of education staff since an attempted coup in July, in front of the main campus of Istanbul University at Beyazit square in Istanbul, Turkey, November 3, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX2RP4T

Turkish universities latest domino in Erdogan's path

Under the state of emergency, the president of Turkey now has the power to appoint the heads of all state-run as well as private universities.

Post-coup shake-up at Turkey's intelligence agency

Director of Turkish Intelligence Hakan Fidan with radical changes signals his continuing importance and solid reputation.

Riot police stand guard in front of a courthouse during a gathering to protest against the arrest of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2RWR1

Is Turkey on the fast track to fascism?

The July 15 coup in Turkey failed, but for many citizens, the country's upheaval carries all the signs of a regime change nonetheless.

Police detain Sebahat Tuncel, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), during a protest against the arrest of Kurdish lawmakers, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2RWQJ

Turkey crosses new thresholds in descent to autocracy

As Ankara has expanded its crackdown on opposition quarters and crossed some critical thresholds in what now seems a drive to lay the foundations of an autocratic regime, is the country at the ultimate breaking point with democracy?

Riot police detain a demonstrator during a protest against the arrest of the city's popular two joint mayors for alleged links to terrorism, in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2QIYH

Why Kurds in southeast Turkey are not taking to the streets

For the first time in 36 years, Diyarbakir has a government-appointed trustee to run its municipality — why was there not the expected popular reaction to the arrests of the city's elected co-mayors?

Turkish army officers stand at attention during a Republic Day ceremony at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk, to mark the republic's anniversary in Ankara, Turkey, October 29, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2QXNK

Turkey's new 'Erdogan Doctrine'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's aggressive foreign and security policies are coalescing into a clear doctrine of pre-emptive action that he seems to be using both to drum up domestic support and for leverage in negotiations with the West.

TOPSHOT - Protesters hold copies of the latest edition of the the Turkish daily newspaper "Cumhuriyet" as they shout slogans during a demonstration outside the newspaper's headquarters in Istanbul on November 1,2016 a day after its editor in chief was detained by police.
Turkish police detained the editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, state media reported, while the daily said several of its writers were taken into police custody. Murat Sabuncu was detained while authorities searched for

Turkey's post-coup crackdown reaches media giants

The few remaining opposition newspapers still able to report on Turkey's economic floundering are losing their own foreign investors in a dramatic demonstration of the trend the ruling Turkish party is trying to suppress.

Turkish armoured personnel carriers drive towards the border in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo - RTSRWBD

Abadi says 'we are ready' if Turkey wants war

As Turkey's behavior grows more erratic and aggressive by the day, the United States is scrambling to head off a dust-up among its anti-Islamic State coalition partners.

Newly built Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge, the third bridge over the Bosphorus linking the city's European and Asian sides, is pictured during the opening ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2N6E1

Could megaprojects spell mega trouble for Turkey's economy?

Giant infrastructure projects launched by the Turkish government have raised the specter of potentially unpredictable burdens on public finances amid little transparency on loan and demand guarantees provided to private contractors.

An Iraqi Christian prepares for the first Sunday mass at the Grand Immaculate Church since it was recaptured from Islamic State in Qaraqosh, near Mosul in Iraq October 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2R30Y

Christian minority in Iraq seeks autonomy in post-Mosul Iraq

What do Iraqi Christians expect from the post-Islamic State era?

A security stand guard while supporters wawe Turkish national and AKP party flags during a mass campaign rally of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on October 25, 2015 at Yenikapi in Istanbul, a week ahead of the country's general elections on November 1. AFP PHOTO/OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey is about to find out if more people are safe when armed

Many members of Turkey's Justice and Development Party are buying and carrying weapons without knowing how to use them.