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Turkey

Turkey

November 5, 2026

Ankara 7:16 am

9°C

Turkey probes Google’s AI search tools, orders protections for news websites

Turkey’s competition watchdog said it is assessing whether AI-generated answers appearing on Google Search divert traffic from news sites and impose unfair content-use terms.

A protestor holds a flag bearing a portrait of jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration of Kurdish people from all around Europe to mark the 27th anniversary of his arrest and to demand his liberation, in Strasbourg, Eastern France, on Feb. 14, 2026.

Turkey moves PKK leader Ocalan to prison villa as peace process faces new test

The move is expected to give the PKK leader a more direct role in negotiations, but deep divisions over disarmament and Kurdish rights continue to threaten the process.

OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu is pictured during a joint press conference with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Switzerland's Foreign Minister at Vienna International Airport on Feb. 6, 2026 in Schwechat, Lower Austria.

Explainer

Who is Feridun Sinirlioglu, Turkey’s candidate for UN chief?

The Turkish president's confidant enters the race for UN chief with decades of diplomatic experience marked by both praise and scrutiny.

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Free Gaza, free world"

Analysis

Gaza progress, Syria pullback: What Turkey wants from Israel’s next government

Ankara sees room for limited improvement in ties if Israel’s next government eases Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and reduces military pressure on Syria.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Explainer

After EU rebuff, how Turkey is courting Egypt for maritime deal

Turkish Navy sailors wave their caps from the flight deck

Culture

Rock collapse near UNESCO-listed site in Turkey’s Cappadocia kills three

An view of the Uchisar settlement, east of Nevesehir in the province of the same name in central Turkey's historical Cappadocia region on Aug. 24, 2022.

Tornado kills 4 in Turkey’s Mediterranean tourism hub Antalya

Kepez

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

GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/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

Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou (L) pins a badge of EU presidency on the collar of his Turkish counterpart Yasar Yakis (R) upon his arrival in Ankara January 30, 2003. Greek Foreign Minister Papandreou whose country holds a terms' presidency of the European Union will attend a meeting of the European Union troika in Ankara January 31, 2003. ??? USE ONLY - RTXLR19

Turkish Diplomat Discusses Missteps in Syria

In an interview with Taraf, veteran Turkish diplomat Yasar Yakis speaks about Turkey's position toward Syria and his views on recent Kurdish developments in northern Syria.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara June 25, 2013. Turkish anti-terrorism police detained 20 people in raids in the capital Ankara on Tuesday in connection with weeks of anti-government protests across the country, media reports said. The unrest began at the end of May when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park. The protest spiralled int

Erdogan Seeks Informers

Is Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government encouraging people to report on each other?

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds gathered in the regional centre of Diyarb

Can the Kurds Redeem Erdogan’s Faltering Image?

If Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan can achieve a peace deal with the Kurds, he will have earned a place for himself in the history books.

Koc Holding Chairman Mustafa Koc makes a speech during the opening ceremony of the 12th Istanbul Biennial September 15, 2011. The 12th Istanbul Biennial has been organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) and is sponsored by Koc Holding. The Istanbul Biennial will run until November 13. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) - RTR2RC15

Is Audit of Koc Companies Erdogan’s Revenge for Gezi Park?

Police-accompanied tax audit raids against three companies of Turkey's largest industrial group, Koc, is putting into deeds Erdogan’s threats against capital owners he holds responsible for the Gezi Park events.

Anti-government protesters clash with riot police at Taksim in central Istanbul July 20, 2013. Turkish police fired water cannon on Saturday to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to march to Gezi Park in central Istanbul, which has been at the heart of fierce demonstrations against Prime Minister Erdogan's rule. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX11TB6

Erdogan Threatens to Settle Score With The Times

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to “do what we can in the legal sphere” against the British daily The Times for publishing an advertisement denouncing his government.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses the media in Ankara June 13, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10M6J

Has Turkey Made U-Turn On Syria’s Kurds?

The leader of the Democratic Union Party of Syria (PYD), Salih Muslim, says Turkey has given the green light for autonomy for the Kurds in Syria.

People stand facing Ataturk Cultural Center during a protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 18, 2013. Performance artist Erdem Gunduz became the new symbol of anti-government protests in Turkey on Tuesday after his eight-hour vigil in Taksim Square earned him the nickname "the Standing Man". Gunduz said he was protesting in solidarity with demonstrators who were evicted at the weekend from Gezi Park adjoining Taksim, an intervention by police that triggered some of the most violent clashes to date. What

Turkey’s Missed Opportunities

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan might wish to retract some of his foreign policy decisions.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) reacts as he poses with his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras (L) and Greece's Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos (R) after signing agreements in Istanbul March 4, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EK7W

Turkey's Egypt Question

Turkey's role in the Middle East will turn on how it handles the crisis in Egypt.

Mothers of slain Turkish protesters lead a march in Ankara on July 26, 2013 to demand justice.

Protest Aftermath Stokes Anti-Government Anger in Turkey

A judicial clampdown on demonstrators and lenient treatment of deadly police conduct hardens anti-government sentiment in the wake of Turkey’s protests.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) security meetings in Bandar Seri Begawan July 2, 2013. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (BRUNEI - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX119IY

Al-Monitor’s Gursel Wins Award; Watch US House on Syria

Al-Monitor’s coverage of press freedom in Turkey, the US House of Representatives on Syria, and Iraq as possible mediator on Iran; Daoud Kuttab discusses the Middle East with Fareed Zakaria.

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (R) and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) answer questions from journalists during a news conference after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo November 17, 2012. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR3AJOZ

Erdogan’s Egypt Policy In Disarray

Egyptian Ambassador to Ankara Abderahman Salaheldin asks whether Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a principled approach to the Egyptian revolutions of 2011 and 2013.

The sun sets over the Ottoman-era Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul November 26, 2012. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3AWMK

Islamists Extend Olive Branch To Turkish Atheists

Despite the bitter confrontation between Turkey’s Islamists and secularists, there is a welcome sign of the country’s potential for synthesizng Islam and liberal democracy.