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Turkey

Turkey

November 5, 2026

Ankara 4:24 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

Can economic opportunity bring Turkey, Egypt closer?

Turkey and Egypt are making investment overtures toward one another despite lingering political animosity that is unlikely to be resolved.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) carry their weapons as they take positions in the northeastern city of Hasaka, Syria, August 20, 2016. Picture taken August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2MEE9

Washington quietly rebuffs Turkish delegation’s anti-YPG efforts

A high-level delegation of Turkish Foreign Ministry, military and intelligence officials has failed to persuade the United States to exclude the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units from a planned offensive to liberate Raqqa.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan attends a Republic Day ceremony at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk, to mark the republic's anniversary as he is flanked by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (R) in Ankara, Turkey, October 29, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2QXOL

In run-up to referendum, Turks can say anything but 'no'

The Turkish ruling party's campaign to push through amendments to grant the president sweeping new powers is having absurd and sobering consequences.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani uses a walkie-talkie at the frontline during offensive operations against Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. Picture taken March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTR4TU0N

Will Raqqa be site for clash of titan generals?

Two admired military heroes of Iran and Turkey, both commanding elite military units in Iraq and Syria, could wind up confronting each other in northern Syria.

Turkish puppy saga draws in politicians, public

A shaken and polarized Turkey desperate for good news has been elated by a happy ending to the story of a puppy trapped in an Istanbul borehole.

A supporter holds a portrait of Selahattin Demirtas, detained leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, November 8, 2016, in the absence of Demirtas and other HDP lawmakers who were jailed after refusing to give testimony in a probe linked to "terrorist propaganda". REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2SH5T

What’s next for Turkish Kurds' political movement?

Hit by an unprecedented crackdown, representatives of Turkey’s Kurdish political movement explain their vision for the future.

Turkish writer, columnist and academic Murat Belge (R) and Turkish author Orhan Pamuk leave Kartal Justice Palace after Belge appeared in court on charges of insulting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Turkey May 3, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX2CLCD

Turkish daily scraps anti-referendum interview with Nobel laureate

In the Turkish press' latest act of self-censorship, Hurriyet has axed its interview with Orhan Pamuk after the celebrated novelist said he will vote no on the upcoming presidential referendum.

Turkish military vehicles drive in the Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, as they head towards the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2Y60D

Can Turkey take on Raqqa before concluding al-Bab?

Turkey is expanding its targets by proposing to partner with the United States at Raqqa before ending its al-Bab operation, a course that is laden with traps.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) talks during a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan following their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSRNKN

Can fragile Ankara-Moscow friendship survive Russian strike?

Though Turkey and Russia are working ever more closely together in Syria, the two cautious allies are holding back over their policy disconnects and incidents like the Russian airstrike that killed four Turkish soldiers near al-Bab.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting with the German chancellor at the Presidential Palace on February 2, 2017 in Ankara.

Merkel on Thursday said she had raised concerns over freedom of expression in Turkey in bilateral talks in Ankara with President Erdogan. / AFP / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Erdogan caught between Trump, Putin in Syria war

The Turkish government's spokesman says al-Bab will be the last stop of the Turkish army in Syria, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkish forces will march on to Raqqa.

Turkey wants safe zone, but can it maintain one?

The US president is listening to Turkey’s continuing calls for a "safe zone" in northern Syria, but resistance to it is still strong, as all is not quiet in the areas already under Turkish control.

Riot policemen walk over gowns which were laid down by academics during a protest against the dismissal of academics from universities following a post-coup emergency decree, in the Cebeci campus of Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey, February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX30F6V

The collapse of Turkish academia

The Turkish government’s clampdown on the academic community has reached the country’s top faculties and scholars.