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Turkey

July 3, 2026

Ankara 12:44 am

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A screenshot of one of Deniz Goktas' standup routines posted to YouTube.

Culture

Turkish standup comic detained after act calling Erdogan 'dictator' goes viral

Comedian Deniz Goktas’ arrest comes as Ankara intensifies prosecutions against opposition figures, journalists, artists and critics ahead of a major NATO summit.

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 2026.

Turkish jets strike al-Shabab targets in Somalia: What to know

A Somali Defense Ministry statement initially said Turkish F-16s carried out strikes on Al-Shabab targets before a later version referred only to “international partners.”

Syrian textile employees work in a textile workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey eases job rules for 1M+ Syrians under temporary protection: What to know

The move, part of a broader easing of restrictions on Syrians living in Turkey, could allow roughly 1.1 million working-age Syrians to enter registered employment more easily as Ankara seeks to reduce informal labor and address workforce gaps.

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Azerbaijan slam Israel’s Armenian genocide recognition as Yerevan mum

Ankara accused Israel of weaponizing history as Armenia avoided public comment amid delicate regional diplomacy.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Turkey and Egypt are deepening military ties amid regional turmoil

From (L-R) Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attend a meeting in Cairo on June 21, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

(From L) Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu take part in a Unity rally Marc

Turkish-Israeli ties worse than ever

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s irritation over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's presence at the Paris rally has contributed to rekindled tensions between Turkey and Israel.

Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan (L-R), Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev attend a news conference after a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union at the Kremlin in Moscow, December 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov (RUSSIA - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR4J3ML

Turkey aims to mend ties with Armenia

Armenia’s entry in the Euroasian Economic Union has encouraged Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to implement his formal apology and open the border with Armenia before April 24, 2015, the 100th anniversary of the genocide.

Turkish military says MIT shipped weapons to al-Qaeda

New documents have been leaked online, prompting the government to immediately ban reporting on the scandal and order the content deleted.

Chairman U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) (C) listens to testimony at the House Intelligence Committee on "Worldwide Threats", in Washington February 4, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX187U2

Former House Intel chair: Turkey can't have it both ways in NATO

Mike Rogers, former chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, also sees economic pressure on Russia as presenting a “unique opportunity” for Moscow’s help in Syria.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Ankara January 12, 2015. REUTERS/Adem Altan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4L43Z

Is Erdogan losing touch with reality?

Ankara’s welcoming ceremony for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Jan. 12 featured 16 ancient warriors, rekindling the Ottomanism debate.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the HDP, Turkey's leading Kurdish party, addresses his supporters in Diyarbakir October 9, 2014. Islamic State fighters launched a renewed assault on the Syrian city of Kobani on Wednesday night, and at least 21 people were killed in riots in neighbouring Turkey where Kurds rose up against the government for doing nothing to protect their win. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR49I8X

Turkish Kurds' electoral strategy is a high-wire act

Rumors of electoral collusion between the government and the Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) gain momentum.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan walks down the stairs in between soldiers, wearing traditional army uniforms from the Ottoman Empire, as he arrives for a welcoming ceremony for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara January 12, 2015. REUTERS/Adem Altan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4L487

Erdogan, inadvertently, brings humor to Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comically dressed warriors help Turks regain their sense of humor.

A view shows smoke raising from an eastern Kobani neighbourhood, damaged by fighting between Islamic State militants and Kurdish forces, November 18, 2014. Picture taken from the Turkish side of the Turkey-Syria border. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4ELGD

Kobani hospitals overflow as battle continues

Makeshift hospitals are being set up in basements and schools across Kobani to treat fighters and civilians while armed groups have targeted the city’s main hospitals.

A Turkish police officer checks identification cards of Syrian men after they crossed from Syria to Turkey at the Akcakale border gate, southern Sanliurfa province, October 4, 2012. Turkish artillery hit targets near Syria's Tel Abyad border town for a second day on Thursday, killing several Syrian soldiers according to activists and security sources, after a mortar bomb fired from the area killed five Turkish civilians. Turkey's government said "aggressive action" against its territory by Syria's military

Turkey cannot secure Syrian border alone

Turkish officials say Turkey is doing its best to prevent crossings into and out of Syria by Islamic militants, blaming European countries for not furnishing useful intelligence.

gultekin copy.jpg

Turkish religious thinker ponders future of Islam

Turkey’s veteran religious thinker Levent Gultekin may have a solution for both Islamophobia and Islamic extremism.

Television journalists report from outside the headquarters of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) party, shortly before the country's president-elect announces the name of his party's new chairman, in Ankara, on August 21, 2014. Turkey's ruling party is meeting on August 21 to agree on a new leader and prime minister to replace incoming president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu the frontrunner for the job.AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read AD

How foreign journalists become 'spies' in Turkey

Journalism in Turkey is increasingly becoming a nightmare for foreign reporters, too, while the president personally leads psychological lynching campaigns.

Traders work during the afternoon session on the floor of the Stock Exchange in Istanbul September 18, 2008. Turkish stocks fell to their lowest level in three years and bond yields topped 20 percent in a sharp sell-off on Thursday on a wave of risk aversion exacerbated by market closures in neighbouring Russia. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTR220LR

Will investment trends change in Turkey in 2015?

The Istanbul stock exchange emerged as the most profitable investment tool in Turkey in 2014, followed by the dollar.