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Turkey

Turkey

August 27, 2026

Ankara 11:14 pm

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Top European 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

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades speaks during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) at the presidential palace in the capital Nicosia, on September 8, 2020. (Photo by Iakovos HATZISTAVROU / AFP) (Photo by IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Russian naval exercises could fuel Greece-Turkey standoff in EastMed

A planned Russian drill could worsen an already tense standoff between Greece and Turkey in the energy-rich and disputed eastern Mediterranean Sea.

President of Iraq's Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani (R) attends a press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister in Arbil, the regional capital in northern Iraq, on July 19, 2020. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED / AFP) (Photo by SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi Kurdistan president leaves Ankara talks with two Yazidi children

A senior Iraqi Kurdistan official told Al-Monitor that the talks with Ankara were “really good," and the delegation had brought two Yazidi children back with them on the plane.

Turkey hit by ‘second peak’ of coronavirus outbreak

A jump in COVID-19 cases, led by the capital Ankara, prompts new restrictions on social mobility. Dozens of health care workers have died, former government ministers have contracted the virus and doctors are warning that some cities could face a shortage of beds in intensive care units.

Why Mediterranean tensions may not benefit Erdogan at home

An equitable resolution to the crisis with Greece and France would be great for Turkey, but even that may not help the Turkish president’s approval ratings.

The Gaza Strip's Hamas Prime minister Ismail Haniyeh (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands in front of the lawmakers of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party at the Parliament in Ankara on January 3, 2012. Haniyeh's visit was a show of solidarity with the Islamic aid group IHH, which had planned to send the Mavi Marmara vessel with another Gaza flotilla last year but then dropped the plan. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty

Turkey courts Hamas despite US pressure

Despite US and Israeli criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with the Hamas leadership, the relationship between Turkey and Hamas remains strong.

A picture taken from Cyprus' warship "Ioannides" shows a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter taking part in the "Multinational CIMIC Exercise, ARGONAUT 2019, Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations, a rescue drill in which the militaries of Cyprus, Greece, France, Britain, Israel, Germany and the US participated on May 30, 2019 off the coast of Mari between the southern ports of Larnaca and Limassol in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. (Photo by Iakovos Hatzistavrou / AFP) (Photo credit should read IAKOV

US officials say partial lift of Cyprus arms embargo not related to Turkish-Greek tensions

Amid ongoing Turkey-Greece tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, US officials maintained the partial lifting of an arms embargo on Cyprus aims to reduce Russian influence and is not a step against Ankara’s recent maneuvers in the region.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - APRIL 12: Galata Tower and surrounds are empty during a two-day lockdown imposed prevent the spread of COVID-19 on April 12, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. The 48-hour lockdown extends until midnight Sunday and applies to more than two dozen cities, including Istanbul and the capital, Ankara. As of April 12, Turkey has reported 56,956 cases of COVID-19 and 1,198 related deaths. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Botched restoration makes Turkish antiquities into punchlines

Experts accuse the Turkish government of hiring inexperienced construction companies to restore precious historical monuments, and the results have been predictable.

Prime Minister of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj (R) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the GNA's presidential headquarters in the capital Tripoli on June 17, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

What is Turkey’s role in Tripoli political tremor?

The power struggle inside the Tripoli government is drawing Turkey into a political brouhaha with unpredictable consequences.

Senior Islamic State figure in custody after Turkish raid

Turkish police detained a top Islamic State figure during a raid in the nation’s southern province of Adana as counterterrorism operations continue against the organization’s networks.

Intel: Greece seeks French military aircraft as Turkey renews gas exploration in eastern Mediterranean

Athens seeks French military hardware amid sharp tensions with Ankara.

Pro Kurdish supporters march by Austrian Parliament as approximately 2000 thousand people attended a protest in Vienna on October 10, 2014 to show solidarity for Syrian Kurds who are fighting to defend the Syrian-Turkey border town of Kobane from Islamic State (Isis) militants. AFP PHOTO / JOE KLAMAR (Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Austria says Turkish spy caught amid probe into Turkish-Kurdish clashes

Austria will prosecute an individual who reportedly confessed to spying on behalf of Turkey.

TOPSHOT - People clash with Turkish police ahead of the funeral of Turkish lawyer Ebru Timtik in the Gazi District of Istanbul on August 28, 2020. - A Turkish lawyer seeking a fair trial after being charged with membership of a terrorist organisation has died in an Istanbul hospital on the 238th day of her hunger strike. Friends said Ebru Timtik weighed just 30 kilogrammes (65 pounds) at the time of her death late August 27, which has sparked condemnation from opposition parties in Turkey as well as from a

Ankara accused of weaponizing pandemic measures against opposition

The Turkish government is accused of abusing pandemic restrictions to suppress the opposition and advance its own political agenda.