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Turkey

Turkey

November 5, 2026

Ankara 8:06 am

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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

Supporters hold a poster of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a rally of ruling AK party in Istanbul June 16, 2013. Tens of thousands of Erdogan's supporters massed at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday, as riot police fired tear gas to break up pockets of anti-government protesters in the city center several kilometers away. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10PUP

Erdogan’s Sinking International Prestige

The more Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashes out at “international conspirators” as the cause of his troubles, the more his international reputation suffers.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Kurdistan Regional President Masoud Barzani pose for the media before their meeting in Istanbul April 19, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30XVX

Turkey’s Missed Opportunities With the Kurds

Disarray in Turkish foreign policy is not allowing Turkey to play its rightful role in supporting Kurdish national unity.

An injured journalist is filmed and helped by his colleagues during clashes between riot police and May Day protesters in central Istanbul May 1, 2013. Turkish riot police clashed with thousands of May Day protesters in Istanbul on Wednesday, firing water cannon and tear gas at crowds that tried to break through barricades to reach the city's main square, witnesses said. The incidents followed the pattern of recent years, when May Day demonstrations in Turkey's largest city have often been marked by clashes

Gezi Cleansing In Turkish Media

Many journalists lost their jobs and suffered from police violence following the shifting of Prime Minister Erdogan’s hard-line reactions to media freedoms.

An Indonesian soldier from the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) uses his walkie-talkie as he stands near a picture of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in the southern Lebanese village of Adaisseh July 24, 2013. Europe's decision to blacklist Hezbollah's "military wing" was triggered by the Lebanese movement's growing role in Syria, but the partial ban may have little practical impact due to fears of destabilising Lebanon and the wider Middle East. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (

How Will Terror List Decision Affect EU-Hezbollah Ties?

The European Union’s decision to add Hezbollah’s military wing to the list of terrorist organizations could compromise key security coordination between the two sides.

A protester opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi holds a sign reading "Depart" near riot police during a protest against the new judicial law in front of Egypt's Shura Council in Cairo May 25, 2013. Egypt's highest court ruled on Saturday that parts of a revised election law setting out terms for a parliamentary election were unconstitutional, casting fresh doubt over a poll that has already been delayed. The Shura Council has approved, Saturday, the referral of the contentious amendment proposal of th

Is the Middle East Rejecting Radicalism?

The world should not miss the opportunity for stablility and progress offered by the Middle East's rejection of radicalism.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) welcomes Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at Damascus airport January 17, 2011. REUTERS/Sana (SYRIA - 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 - RTXWOQH

Erdogan’s Assad Problem

Could Syrian President Bashar al-Assad outlast Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in office?

Members of the media are fired upon by a water cannon during protests at Kizilay square in central Ankara, June 16, 2013. The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannons at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MEDIA) - RTX10Q1Q

Shooting the Arbiter in Turkey: How Sabah Fired Its Ombudsman

The former ombudsman of Sabah tells his story of the firing that has shaken Turkish journalism and generated international criticism of Turkey’s approach to the media.

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan wave flags, hold banners and shout slogans as they wait for his arrival at Esenboga Airport in Ankara June 9, 2013. Still by far the country's most popular politician, Erdogan has pressed ahead with government business as usual. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10HD0

Erdogan’s New Chief Adviser is No Joke

Prime Minister Erdogan's appointment of Yigit Bulut to focus on the transition to a presidential system has generated controversy and criticism.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters in Ankara June 9, 2013. Still by far the country's most popular politician, Erdogan has pressed ahead with government business as usual. REUTERS/Umit BEKTAS (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10HTJ

European Court Presses Erdogan on Free Speech

A landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights is putting pressure on Turkey’s prime minister to abandon his many libel cases against journalists.

Boats sail on the river Nile in Cairo June 12, 2013. Most of Egypt's population live clustered around the Nile valley and delta, and the river is both a vital resource for the country's citizens, and a potent national symbol. In a recent dispute with Ethiopia over the construction of a dam upstream, Egypt's foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr underlined the country's reliance on the river's waters: "No Nile - no Egypt," he said. Picture taken June 12, 2013. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS SOCIET

Egypt's New Rulers Face Crisis With Ethiopia Over Nile

Egypt has sent delegations to Ethiopia to push for a compromise on the dam project and sharing the Nile's waters.

A man checks an apartment on a damaged building at the site of a blast in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Turkish-Syrian border, May 13, 2013. Syria's information minister has blamed Turkey's government for deadly car bombings near the Syrian border and branded Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan a "murderer", state-run Russian TV company RT reported on Monday. It said he repeated a denial of Syrian involvement in car bombings that killed 46 people on Saturday in the Turkish border town of Reyhan

Turkey’s Syria Policy in Shambles Over Support for Jihadists

A host of misjudgments by the Erdogan government about Syria, including reliance on radical Islamists, has led to new headaches for Turkey.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) greets 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 i

Turkey Needs Unified Vision for Middle East

Turkey needs a unified approach for governance at home before it can rebuild its foreign policy.