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Turkey

Turkey

November 5, 2026

Ankara 1:56 pm

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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

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

Turkey's Political Fallout On Iraqi Kurdish Crude

Relying upon Ankara as a sole energy transit route without an agreement with Baghdad may further delay the Kurdistan Region’s energy production potential.

Protesters shout slogans during an anti-government protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 29, 2013. Thousands of protesters marched to Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday chanting slogans against the government and police after security forces killed a Kurdish demonstrator in southeastern Turkey. The protest had been planned as part of larger unrelated anti-government demonstrations that have swept through the country since the end of May, but became a voice of solidarity with the Kurds after Friday's k

Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Process On a Knife’s Edge

The killing of a Kurdish protester by Turkish security forces has heightened fears that the fragile peace between the government and the PKK may be coming to an end.

Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against Turkish security forces, after an incident in the Lice district of Diyarbakir province killed one person and wounded seven on Friday, in Istanbul June 29, 2013. Turkish security forces killed one person and wounded seven on Friday when they fired on a group of people protesting against construction of a new gendarmerie outpost in Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey, security sources said. The incident happened in the village of Kayacik in the Lice di

Turkish Kurds Find Common Ground With Protesters

A visit to Turkey’s Kurdish southeast reveals common ground between the Gezi Park protesters and Turkish Kurds.

Media takes images of a protester holding a flag in front of a riot police vehicle during a protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 11, 2013. Turkish riot police moved on Tuesday into the central Istanbul square at the heart of 10 days of anti-government protests, firing tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of protesters armed with rocks and fireworks. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10K7N

Turkish Media a Casualty Of Erdogan’s Policies

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's policies have eroded the credibility of Turkey's mainstream media.

A protester is detained by plainclothes police officers during an anti-government protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 29, 2013. Thousands of protesters marched to Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday chanting slogans against the government and police after security forces killed a Kurdish demonstrator in southeastern Turkey. The protest had been planned as part of larger unrelated anti-government demonstrations that have swept through the country since the end of May, but became a voice of solidarity

AKP May Have Gotten Message From Gezi Park

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) may be coming around to the notion that participatory, not majoritarian, democracy is the answer for Turkey.

Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi wave Egyptian flags and shout slogans against him and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, during a protest in front of El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo June 30, 2013. Millions of Egyptians flooded into the streets on the first anniversary of Islamist President Mursi's inauguration on Sunday to demand that he resign in the biggest challenge so far to rule by his Muslim Brotherhood. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) -

Egypt Springs Again

Al-Monitor’s coverage of the pro-democracy movements in Egypt and Turkey.

Syrian students sits in a UNICEF school during a visit by European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva and Italy's Foreign Minister Emma Bonino at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria June 25, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: EDUCATION CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTX1106A

New Syrian Institution Helps US Deliver Humanitarian Aid

A senior US aid official tasked with coordinating humanitarian assistance to Syria says he is “all for” prolonging the Syria war if it leads to a “democratic Syria.”

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan reviews students of the Police Academy upon his arrival to their graduation ceremony in Ankara June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX10YXL

Can Erdogan Keep PKK Peace Process on Track?

The Kurdistan Workers Party attempted to showcase its force in Sirnak’s Cizre province on Sunday, June 23, creating concern that the PKK is violating the negotiation parameters.

Empty and disused Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL Group) containers are seen at Malta Freeport in the Port of Marsaxlokk outside Valletta February 10, 2012. The IRISL ships and containers are key parts in an international cat-and-mouse game: Iran's attempt to evade the trade sanctions tightening around it. Washington and European capitals want to stop or slow Iran's nuclear programme. They believe that IRISL, which moves nearly a third of Iran's exports and imports and is central to the coun

Iraq: Iran’s Economic Gateway To the World

Amid strict international sanctions, Iranian exports are increasingly flowing into Iraqi markets as one of its few remaining lifelines in the region and around the world.

Palestinian youths take part during a rally in support of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (seen on banner), at the Seaport of Gaza City June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10RQC

Erdogan’s Proposed Gaza Visit Reignites Controversy

Despite opposition from Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Gaza is set to take place by July 5.

An Albanian man touches a banner with a picture of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a rally in support of Erdogan in Tirana June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Arben Celi (ALBANIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10TTO

Erdogan Doesn't Have Luxury of Suspending PKK Negotiations

Although the Gezi protests led to debate on the position of the Kurds between the government and the protesters, they helped the government to refocus on the peace process with the Kurds.

Protesters wear masks depicting victims of the violent anti-government protests in Turkey in Istanbul's Taksim Square June 26, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX111ZC

Turkey Protest Violence All Too Familiar to Kurds

Media coverage of police brutality in the Istanbul protests presents an opportunity for the country to address the violence Kurds have faced for decades.