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Turkey

Turkey

November 8, 2026

Ankara 4:43 am

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Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in UNSG poll as Nusseibeh places fourth

The Costa Rican candidate received 12 encourage votes in Thursday's UN Security Council straw poll.

United Arab Emirates

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

A dispute over religious dress in schools has exposed deeper tensions between the two allies, with energy, arms sales, Israel and financial interests adding to the strain.

Latest News

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Turkey probes Google’s AI search tools, orders protections for news websites

Turkey moves PKK leader Ocalan to prison villa as peace process faces new test

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.

Explainer

Who is Feridun Sinirlioglu, Turkey’s candidate for UN chief?

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.

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

Bartender Samet Kardas smokes as he serves beer at a bar in Istanbul July 14, 2009. Smokers in Turkey tempted to flout an imminent ban in cafes, restaurants and bars will be spared execution as allegedly meted out in 17th-Century Istanbul -- but their Prime Minister has likened cigarettes to terrorism. That's a measure of how strongly Tayyip Erdogan feels about tobacco. Sultan Murad IV is said to have roamed the streets ordering the execution of those who defied a smoking ban aimed at curbing coffee house s

'Moderate Political Islam' Leading Turkey to 'Moderate Sharia'

The alcohol ban admitted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be religiously motivated is a negative response to the question, "Is moderate political Islam compatible with democracy?”

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BURAK AKINCI
This photo taken on January 29, 2011, in Ankara, shows protesters drinking alcohol as they demonstrate against new laws banning alcohol sales in the Turkish capital and several Anatolian towns. Since 2002 the conservative ruling Justice and Development Party has brought many new bureaucratic hurdles to the sale of alcohol nationwide. Most recently, authorities in the province of Afyon tried to forbid alcohol completely but had to exlude "picnic" zones from the restriction

Is There Really a Turkish 'Jihad' Against Alcohol?

No, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not waging a jihad on alcohol in Turkey. A response to Kadri Gursel.

Turkish riot police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against the destruction of trees in a park brought about by a pedestrian project, in Taksim Square in central Istanbul May 31, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST ENVIRONMENT CRIME LAW TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX106X6

Erdogan Denies He Is a King

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian tendencies are starting to draw some worrying historical comparisons.

Mayor of Tehran, Iranian Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf attends a press conference after registering his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election at the interior ministry in Tehran on May 11, 2013. Iran will close the five-day registration period for candidates in Iran's June 14 presidential election, with a string of conservative hopefuls in the running but with key reformists yet to come forward, media reports said. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Tehran Mayor a Powerful Contender For Iran’s Presidency

Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ghalibaf has a good shot at succeeding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The construction site of the third Bosphorus bridge is pictured during its opening ceremony on May 29, 2013 in Istanbul. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid the first stone of the third Bosphorus bridge, a multi-billion dollar construction project expected to deliver the world's widest overpass. "When the project is completely finished, it will alleviate the burden of Istanbul, one of the most important transit corridors of the world," Erdogan said during the groundbreaking ceremony held on the

Islamization of Istanbul Continues

Istanbul might think twice about celebrating both "Conquest Day" and democracy in Turkey.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (2nd R) and leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu (R) attend an official ceremony to mark the 89th anniversary of Republic Day at Anitkabir in Ankara October 29, 2012. Anitkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of secular Turkey. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR39QHB

Erdogan’s Accusation of CHP Goes Too Far

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan might have crossed a red line by accusing the CHP of being directly responsible in the May 11 Reyhanli blasts that left 52 dead.

JABALIYA, GAZA - MARCH 29: A Palestinian shop-owner reads a newspaper outside his store on March 29, 2010, Jabaliya, Gaza Strip. Gaza's economy and employment levels have plummeted since the Israelis imposed a blockade after Hamas seized control in 2007. (Photo by Warrick Page/Getty Images)

Gaza Press Freedom in Spotlight After Columnist Arrested

The backlash from the brief arrest of high-profile columnist Ibrahim Abrash continues, with Hamas targeted over freedom of speech.

A Turkish soldier is reflected on a mirror as he stands guard on top of an armoured personnel carrier on the Turkish-Syrian border near the Akcakale border crossing, southern Sanliurfa province, October 4, 2012. Turkey's parliament gave authorisation on Thursday for military operations outside Turkish borders if the government deemed them necessary, a day after artillery shelling from Syria killed five civilians in the Turkish town of Akcakale. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY)

Will There Be a Turkish Peace Dividend?

The Kurdish peace process could bring changes to Turkey’s highly controversial and unchecked security policies and defense expenditures.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks during a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi July 3, 2011. Turkey pledged $200 million in aid for Libya's rebel Transitional National Council and said it was time for leader Muammar Gaddafi to leave Libya. REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori (LIBYA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2OFV1

Turkey’s Foreign-Aid Priority Is Central Asia

The Turkish International Development and Cooperation Agency (TIKA) still devotes most of its private aid to the Caucasus and Central Asia countries.

Workers hang portraits of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (L), President Abdullah Gul (2nd L) and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan before a groundbreaking ceremony for the third Bosphorus bridge linking the European and Asian sides of Istanbul May 29, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION POLITICS) - RTX1051J

Turkey’s Kurdish Policies Complicate Ties With Iran, Iraq

Turkey’s Kurdish policies are developing at the expense of its ties with Iran and Iraq.

An Alevi woman prays in the women's part of the mosque in Hacibektash, 15 August 2005. The hamlet was named after Haci Bektas Veli, who lived between 1248 and 1337, founder of the Bektashi sect and of the Alevis -- an offshoot of Shiite Islam. He is revered as a manifestation of Ali, the last of the first four Caliphs and the son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed. Haci Bektas Veli, a humanist philospher, fled religious conflict in his native Central Asia, settled and lived and is buried here. The town of 8,000

Syria’s War Impacts Turkish Alevis

Syria’s sectarian conflict is spilling over into Turkey’s Alevi community.

Musical Bridges Between Israel and Turkey

Israeli musician Yinon Muallem, who has been living in Istanbul for more than a decade, succeeds in using his music to bring Israelis and Turks closer.