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Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 8:16 am

4°C

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

Opposition politicians and rights advocates described Yonca Verdioglu Sik’s brief detention as an attempt to intimidate her husband, opposition lawmaker Ahmet Sik, over his criticism of the government.

A steel worker works in front of giant iron melting pot in Kardemir Iron and Steel Factory in Karabuk, northwestern Turkey, Aug. 26 2005. (TARIK TINAZAY/AFP via Getty Images)

Steel factory explosion in western Turkey kills at least 16

Footage from the scene showed a huge plume of thick smoke spreading into the sky as flames engulfed a tall structure within the plant.

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions?

Democratic control of Congress complicates Turkey’s push for F-35s and sanctions relief, but Ankara remains hopeful Trump can still broker a deal.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

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United Arab Emirates

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

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.

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

TOFIK BABAYEV/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

Turks don't click and tell on e-matchmaking

Turkey’s largest online dating site has 18 million registered profiles and 1 million people who have logged in over the last 12 months, but few will tell about their experiences.

People sit in the back of a truck as they celebrate what they said was the liberation of villages from Islamist rebels near the city of Ras al-Ain in the province of Hasakah, after capturing it from Islamist rebels November 6, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern Syria

Ankara looks beyond Raqqa offensive for fate of northern Syria

The Turkish government is worried about how the Democratic Union Party will transform northern Syria once the Islamic State is defeated in Raqqa.

Kurdish fighters from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) man a checkpoint near the city of Afrin, which is under the control of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), April 30, 2014. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hebbo (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3NB2H

Kurdish cantons in northern Syria already linked

One of the most heated issues of the Syrian war has been the possibility of Kurdish cantons connecting, overcoming Turkey’s threatening objections. And now, with the Aleppo road open, Kurdish cantons are connected for the first time in four years.

Members of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), sit with an Arab tribal fighter (L) in a house in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 30, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a le

Despite deadly border clash, Iran-PKK war unlikely

Though attributed to the PJAK, the recent deadly border clash along Iran’s border with Turkey involved the PKK and is unlikely to escalate.

Kurdish Regional Government President Masoud Barzani speaks to the media during his visits in the town of Bashiqa, after it was recaptured from the Islamic State, east of Mosul, Iraq, November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX2TYYB

Iraqi Kurdistan faces many obstacles to independence referendum

Amid a strong regional disagreement, Iraqi Kurdistan is insisting on holding a referendum on independence in the fall.

Syrian Democratic Forces(SDF) fighters stand with their weapons north of Raqqa city, Syria March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS120ZB

YPG tightens noose around Raqqa

The battle for Raqqa is near as arms from the United States are dispersed among the coalition’s Kurdish ally, the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units.

A retired manufacturer and head of an Alevi association Muzaffer Aksakal, 65, poses in his association's cafe in Istanbul, Turkey April 10, 2017. Aksakal describes himself as being "socialist and secular". He says he will vote 'No' in the referendum. "If the 'Yes' wins, parliament will be useless and the right to declare war or peace will be in the hands of a single man." Aksakal belongs to the Alevi religious minority, which make up about 15-20 percent of Turkey's 80 million people. Alevis draw from Shi'i

Turkey's Alevi community fears more than just IS

With evidence indicating imminent IS attacks against them, Turkey's Alevi minorities wonder who they can trust after years of dangerous rhetoric and polices from the AKP government.

Turkey wary of NATO's decision to join fight against IS

Turkey didn't veto NATO’s decision to join the anti-Islamic State coalition in Syria and Iraq, but it does consider the move part of a plan to strengthen the Kurdish People’s Protection Units.

US pastor remains political hostage in Ankara

If speculation is true that American pastor Andrew Brunson is being held as leverage for the extradition of Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen and Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab, it marks a new low for Turkey.

A German air force Tornado jet lands at an airbase in Incirlik, Turkey, December 10, 2015. The first the German air force Tornado reconnaissance jets will take off for Turkey's Incirlik air base on Thursday, to support the military campaign against Islamic State. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1Y3FP

Turkish-German showdown over Incirlik Air Base

Ankara’s refusal to allow German lawmakers to visit their troops at Incirlik is forcing Berlin to look elsewhere in the region to redeploy its forces, which could result in the loss of prestige for Turkey.

Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (2ndL) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), walk past a guard of honor during an official welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, on December 19, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Qatari money increasingly important for Turkey

Growing ties with Qatar have become a hallmark of Turkish regional policy under the Justice and Development Party, with the two countries now readying to establish a joint wealth fund.

Roses and rose leaves are pictured at a rose-oil plant in Isparta, Turkey, May 31, 2015. Turkey's harvest of its prized Damascus rose, set to end this weekend, transforms 16 million square m (4,000 acres) of land into beds of pink and perfumes the air around the town of Isparta, the world's biggest producer of Damascus roses and their costly oil, each June. Picture taken May 31, 2015. To match TURKEY-ROSES/ REUTERS/Ayla Jean Yackley - RTX1IW1U

Turkish town gets ready to smell the roses

The Turkish town of Isparta is in the midst of this year's rose harvest, a flower the Ottomans revered for its fragrance, taste and medicinal qualities.