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Turkey

Turkey

September 13, 2026

Ankara 7:27 pm

25°C

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

The Russia-Ukraine drone war is hitting Turkish commercial interests, exposing the limits of Ankara’s ability to protect shipping while remaining outside the conflict.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather during a rally to recruit more fighters in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia's Houthi crisis tests alliances with Trump, Turkey and Pakistan

As the Houthis tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb, Saudi Arabia is turning to new regional alliances while Washington resists calls to intervene.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Turkey’s defense giants court Egypt at Alamein Airshow: What to know

El Alamein International Airshow

Russia to give Turkey preferential fertilizer access amid Hormuz supply crunch

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on September 1, 2026. (Photo by Kristina Solovyova / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Turkish ceramicist Leyla Borovali shapes Aegean heritage into clay

Leyla Borovali at her studio overlooking the Aegean

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

TAI Hurjet

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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 to Wear in Tehran: The Evolution of Islamic Chic

The once-drab Iranian hijab has blossomed into colorful and figure-hugging styles that satisfy the letter if not the spirit of Islamic law.

Gay rights activists carry a rainbow flag during a protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 23, 2013. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY) - RTX10Y6Y

Murder, Menace Stalk Istanbul's LGBT Community

A transgender woman was recently strangled to death in her house, leading the LGBT community in Istanbul to push harder than ever for hate-crime legislation.

A man sprays water on supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, as they shout slogans during a protest at the Rabaa Adawiya square where they are camping, in Cairo August 2, 2013. Tens of thousands of supporters of Mursi marched through Cairo on Friday, demanding Mursi's reinstatement amidst a looming threat that Egyptian authorities will clear out two pro-Mursi sit-ins with force. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX128JA

Obama Administration Navigates New Egypt

Al-Monitor’s coverage and analysis of Egypt.

A billboard advertising the TV series "The Magnificent Century" is seen after being damaged by eggs thrown by pro-Islamic protesters in Istanbul January 9, 2011. A steamy television period drama about a 16th century sultan has angered conservative Muslims in Turkey and sparked a debate over the portrayal of the past in a country rediscovering its Ottoman heritage. "The Magnificent Century" chronicles the life of Suleiman the Magnificent, who ruled the Ottoman Empire during its golden age, showing a young an

Is Turkey's 'Magnificent Century' A Threat or Asset?

How Turkey's "Magnificent Century" soap opera, depicting the life and times of an Ottoman sultan, has managed to draw both fans and critics from the country's neighbors.

A riot police officer orders a news photographer to move away during an anti-government protest in central Istanbul July 28, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12327

More Troubling News For Turkish Media’s Independence

Can Dundar, veteran journalist of Milliyet daily, is fired under government pressure.

Women attend Friday prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the courtyard of Sultanahmet mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul July 12, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX11KYO

Erdogan’s Crisis With Pregnant Women

A remark by a supporter of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) has created a domestic political crisis for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A trader reads a newspaper with the headline that reads "AK Party Term", during the morning session at the Istanbul Stock Exchange June 13, 2011. Turkish stocks rose on Monday after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party won Sunday's parliamentary election to secure a third term of single-party rule. The AK Party won 50 percent of the vote to give Erdogan a third consecutive term. But the AK Party's parliamentary majority slipped, as it won 326 seats, down from 331 in the previous assembly. REUTERS/Murad

Turkish Media Drifting Toward an Abyss

The crisis at Sabah and Milliyet, two of Turkey’s flagship newpapers, has deepened under persistent political pressure, sounding the alarm for the country’s media.

A worker checks cable drums at a factory in the city of Kayseri, central Turkey, June 27, 2006. The confident mood in Kayseri contrasts to the anxiety in Ankara, as they believe Turkey will weather the turbulence rocking its economy, resolve the tension between secularists and Islamists and stay the course to European Union membership. Picture taken June 27, 2006. To match feature TURKEY CRISIS REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY) - RTR1F0MZ

An Anatolian Tiger Gives Fair Warning to Erdogan

A leader of the conservative business community in Turkey criticizes the government’s latest move against the country’s largest industrial group

A passenger walks beside a train in a train station in Baghdad May 6, 2013. Iraq's infrastructure is dilapidated after decades of war, sanctions and economic decline. In a country where piles of rubble and incomplete buildings are commonplace, almost every sector needs investment, including electricity and the sewage system. But the country is laying plans to rebuild its historic railways and become a transit hub for goods that would be shipped from Asia to Iraq’s neighbours and beyond. Iraq's railways date

Iraqi Women Endure Sexual Harassment

Increasing awareness of sexual harassment and abuse endured by Iraqi women on a daily basis has shed light on the need for social institutions to combat this kind of injustice.

Turkish embassy staff carry their wounded colleague on a stretcher after a suicide car bomb attack at the gates of an office housing Turkish embassy staff in Somalia's capital Mogadishu July 27, 2013. A car loaded with explosives rammed into the gates of an office housing Turkish embassy staff in the Somali capital, killing two people, witnesses and police said on Saturday. REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX121BU

Why Did Al-Qaeda-Linked Group Hit Turkish Embassy in Somalia?

The al-Shabab terrorist attack on Turkey’s embassy in Mogadishu has provoked further conspiracy theories.

A supporter of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stands in front of a police fence as she waits for his arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk airport early June 7, 2013. Erdogan told thousands of cheering supporters on Friday his authority came from the ballot box and urged them not to be drawn into violence, in a show of ruling party strength after a week of fierce anti-government protests. Addressing crowds at Istanbul airport from an open-top bus after returning from a trip to North Africa, Erdogan called on

Turkey’s Twitter 'Fenos' Work to Marginalize Critics

Women journalists, in particular, face the wrath of pro-AKP pundits.

Locals carry a victim, killed in air strikes, to the morgue of a hospital in Uludere, of the Sirnak province December 29, 2011. Turkish warplanes launched air strikes against suspected Kurdish militants in northern Iraq near the Turkish border overnight, the military said on Thursday, but local officials said the attack killed 35 smugglers who were mistaken for guerrillas. The Turkish military confirmed it had launched the strikes after unmanned drones spotted suspected rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Part

Erdogan’s Doublethink

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s approach to police and military actions is an Orwellian case of "doublethink."