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Turkey

Turkey

November 5, 2026

Ankara 10:21 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

What role will Crimean Tatars play in Russian-Turkish relations?

Observers wonder just how far Turkey is willing to stick out its neck to support Crimean Tatars during its quest to further reconcile with Russia.

An Iraqi soldier walks next to a wall painted with the black flag commonly used by Islamic State militants, during a battle with Islamic State militants near Arabi neighborhood, north of Mosul, Iraq, January 21, 2017. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTSWOU6

Iraq’s Sunnis eye post-IS future under regional cover

Under Arab and international sponsorship, Iraq’s Sunni leaders recently attended a conference in Turkey to discuss the future of Sunnis in post-IS Iraq, with the conference sparking Shiite outrage and dissent among other Sunni officials opposed to the Turkish role in Iraq.

How TV series can create new reality for traumatized Turks

Riding the populist wave of patriotism, Turkey’s entertainment sector has tuned to stories of bravery on the battlefield.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a rally against terrorism in Strasbourg, France, October 4, 2015. Some 30000 supporters coming from several countries including France, Germany, and Switzerland gathered in Strasbourg on Sunday to listen to Turkish President Erdogan's address. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler - RTS2Z0D

Does Turkey's Erdogan expect more gain than pain from ditching EU?

As the April 16 referendum approaches, Turkey's president is trying to whip his supporters into a frenzy by lashing out at Europe, spewing epithets and pledging to reinstate the death penalty.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference after the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool - RTS12BYZ

Ankara's Syrian plan falters as Moscow sets up in Afrin

Turkey's move to enlist the Russians against the Syrian Kurds is not working out, as both the United States and Russia deepen their ties with the Syrian Kurds and Operation Euphrates Shield appears to have reached the limits of its expansion.

A member of the Free police, wearing a Turkish flag on his hat, attends a ceremony celebrating the inauguration of the "Free Police" in the Syrian border town of Jarablus January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSX6LE

Free Syrian Army getting backup from Turkish-trained police

Turkey is shoring up the FSA's — and perhaps Ankara's — clout in Syria by providing newly schooled policemen to Aleppo province.

Rebel fighters stand amidst rubble at the entrance to a tunnel they said belonged to Islamic State fighters which connects the city to Aqeel mountain, in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab, Syria March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX30UPT

Are Ankara’s prospects in Syria dimming?

Turkey is hemmed in by the United States and Russia in Syria, unable to achieve its aim of blocking Kurdish gains.

Patriarch election saga drags on for Turkey's Armenians

Turkey’s Armenian community has remained without an active patriarch for years as Ankara uses a legal vacuum to interfere in its religious affairs.

People gesture during a gathering celebrating Newroz, which marks the arrival of spring and the new year, in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX320QD

On Nowruz, massive pro-Kurdish rallies flood Turkey's Diyarbakir

Despite the wide repression their politicians have faced, Turkey's Kurds seem unintimidated as thousands gathered in Diyarbakir to celebrate Nowruz and raise their voices in defiance.

A woman reacts as she attends the Democracy and Martyrs Rally, organized by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and supported by ruling AK Party (AKP), oppositions Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), to protest against last month's failed military coup attempt, in Istanbul, Turkey, August 7, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSLJVF

European court ruling on headscarves sparks ire in Ankara

Turkey to provide legal assistance to women affected by a European ruling that allows companies to ban employees from wearing headscarves.

White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (C) arrives prior to a joint news conference between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTSYJDE

Flynn affair exposes Turkey's 'sloppy' PR efforts

Though the pro-government Turkish media continues to studiously ignore the affair, the US media is busy probing former national security adviser Michael Flynn's ties to a Turkish businessman who hired him to lobby for Ankara.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Zemlianichenko/Pool - RTS12A4O

Who really benefits from Turkey-Russia joint fund?

A Turkish construction company, which runs major operations in Russia and was the builder of Erdogan’s controversial palace, figures prominently in a deal to create a joint investment fund between the two countries.