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Turkey

July 4, 2026

Ankara 12:32 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.

Latest News

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

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

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

Volunteers who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants, who have taken over Mosul and other Northern provinces, chant slogans in Baghdad, June 14, 2014. Iraq's most senior Shi'ite Muslim cleric urged followers to take up arms against a full-blown Sunni militant insurgency to topple Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, escalating a conflict that threatens civil war and a possible break-up of the country. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS M

Iraqi Turkmen take up arms in Kirkuk

Iraqi Turkmen, wary of gains by both Iraqi Kurds and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), have moved to create their own armed militia.

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Iraq crisis hits Turkish economy

Iraq is Turkey's second leading export market, but trade routes to Baghdad and farther south are currently blocked because of ISIS's capture of Iraqi territory.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu speaks during the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha June 9, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous (QATAR - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTX10HR9

Erdogan gets surprise presidential rival

Academic Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the opposition’s joint candidate for Turkey’s presidential elections, has the potential to change the game.

Turkey's Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during the 4th Istanbul Finance Summit in Istanbul September 19, 2013. Turkey will get only brief relief from the surprise postponement of a reduction in U.S. economic stimulus and must press ahead with plans to rebalance its own economy, Simsek said on Thursday. To match Interview TURKEY-ECONOMY/ REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTX13R39

Turkey's finance minister avoids politics, sticks to economy

The visit of Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek to Lebanon aimed at building economic ties and avoiding more controversial foreign policy matters.

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 17, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3U7T5

Turkey avoids claims of 'hostage' crisis in Iraq

The Turkish government is trying to downplay the ISIS detention of diplomats in Mosul.

Renault cars produced in Turkey and awaiting export throughout Europe, are lined-up in front of ship containers in the port of Koper October 14, 2013. Automotive industry association ACEA said October 16, 2013, that new car registrations in Europe climbed 5.5 percent to 1.19 million vehicles in September, only the third month a gain was recorded in the past two years. But within the European Union, the level of demand was the second lowest on record for the month of September since it began tabulating resul

Financial sector spurs Turkish economic growth

Europe’s rising demand for Turkish exports is considered a positive sign for Turkey's economic forecast.

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 11, 2014. Since Tuesday, black clad ISIL fighters have seized Iraq's second biggest city Mosul and Tikrit, home town of former dictator Saddam Hussein, as well as other towns and cities north of Baghdad. They continued their lightning advance on Thursday, moving into towns just an hour's drive from the capital. Picture taken June 11, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNRE

Turkey should close its border to ISIS

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has depended on the Turkish border for its operations in Syria; US Sen. Tim Kaine offers a blueprint for US-Egypt ties; Al-Monitor’s Year in Review and Back Channel.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (R) greets the audience as he and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul arrive at a meeting in Ankara June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3T167

Will Turkey and Iran find common ground in Iraq?

Developments in Iraq, coming soon after a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Turkey, might be forcing a change in Turkey's approach to jihadist groups.

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) celebrate on vehicles taken from Iraqi security forces, at a street in city of Mosul, June 12, 2014. Since Tuesday, black clad ISIL fighters have seized Iraq's second biggest city Mosul and Tikrit, home town of former dictator Saddam Hussein, as well as other towns and cities north of Baghdad. They continued their lightning advance on Thursday, moving into towns just an hour's drive from the capital. Picture taken June 12, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (I

Turkey paying price for jihadist highway on border

The hostage crisis in Mosul is the boomerang effect of Ankara’s policy of opening its borders to jihadists.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PHILIPPE ALFROY
A man, standing next to a tree with the Black Sea in the background, looks towards the area where Istanbul's third airport will be build, on February 20, 2014, north of Istanbul. This airport, already considered the "world's largest", is a symbol of major construction developments led by Turkey's Prime Minister and former Mayor Recep Tayyip Erdogan. AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE

Turkey's Greens protest Erdogan's airport plans

The world's biggest airport is planned for Istanbul and will come at an ecological cost.

A photo illustration taken in Istanbul shows a U.S. 100 dollar banknote against Turkish lira banknotes of various denominations January 7, 2014. Turkey's lira slipped against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as the government bond yield curve, which had briefly inverted on Tuesday because of speculation about an emergency rate hike to rescue the currency, returned to a positive slope. Picture taken January 7, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTX1761E

Foreign investors spark Turkish stock rally

Defying expectations, foreign investors buy $705.59 million in Turkish shares in May.

A masked Kurdish protestor try to pull down a Turkish flag on June 8, 2014 in Diyarbakir, eastern Turkey, after a man was killed during clashes with Turkish soldiers the night before in Lice. Two Kurdish protesters have died of gunshot wounds sustained during fierce clashes with Turkish soldiers in the country's southeast on June 7. Three people, including two soldiers, were hospitalised after the demonstrators opened fire, hurled stones and fireworks at security forces, according to an AFP reporter on the

Removal of Turkish flag stokes anti-Kurdish sentiments

Turkey is in an upheaval over the removal of its flag from a military base.