Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

September 23, 2026

Ankara 4:35 am

16°C

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey’s $18B Ponzi-like scandal likened to Madoff as arrests mount

Turkey detained 14 more people Tuesday as authorities widened a probe into one of the country's largest investment-fund scandals.

construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

Turkey, US sign $2M grant deal for small nuclear reactors: What to know

The new cooperation deal comes as Ankara seeks to expand nuclear power and reduce reliance on Russia.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Exclusive

Turkey, US resume F-16 talks ahead of expected Trump-Erdogan meeting

The issue is returning to US-Turkey talks as Ankara races to modernize its air force amid expanding fifth-generation fleets in the region.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Analysis

Despite Mecca pact, Turkey rules out direct military role in Yemen

Saudi-backed Yemeni government fighters

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey detains finance executives amid market turmoil

Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul

Turkey's Erdogan to run for 'final' third term in 2028, adviser says

Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / AFP via Getty Images

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

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.

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

Alain Le Roy, under-secretary-general for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, looks on in a helicopter during his visit at the Golf Hotel, headquarters of Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan December 27, 2010, where a detachment of UNOCI peacekeepers provides security. An election meant to resolve Ivory Coast's decade-long political crisis has resulted in two rivals claiming the presidency, with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defying world pressure to hand over to Ouattara. The standoff has killed more than

Veteran French diplomat: EU should play greater role in resolving Syria crisis

French diplomat Alain Le Roy discusses the European Union's "unstable" and "insecure" borders and its greater challenge of resolving the crisis in Syria.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin interacts with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan as they pose for a group picture during the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2O1GI

New Turkey-Russia hotline still subject to static

Russia and Turkey are effusive about the positive gains in their relationship, but ties remain tenuous where Syria is concerned.

Turkish police stands guard in front of the Istanbul courthouse on July 20, 2016 following the military coup attempt of July 15.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was today to chair a crunch security meeting in Ankara for the first time since the failed coup, with tens of thousands either detained or sacked from their jobs in a widening purge. / AFP / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey could find itself facing hefty legal bill for mass purges

The mass expulsions of public servants after the July 15 coup attempt bode big legal trouble for Turkey, legal experts warn.

Demonstrators scuffle with riot police during a protest against the suspension of teachers from classrooms over alleged links with Kurdish militants, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2OU7N

'Settlement schmettlement': Turkish purges target Kurds

Government crackdown targets include Kurds, military officers, educators and intellectuals, as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen.

Turkey’s senior citizens get their first university

Akdeniz University has launched Turkey’s first academic program for senior citizens as the problem of an ageing population looms large for the country in the coming decades.

Turkish army tanks take position on top of a hill near Mursitpinar border crossing in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 11, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File photo - RTSJOQM

How post-coup purges depleted Turkey's military

New data shows military purges by the Turkish government in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt have adversely affected the combat strength of the Turkish Armed Forces.

MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 30: Turkish author and Nobel Prize in Literature Orhan Pamuk attends "Vargas Llosa: Cultura, Ideas Y Libertad" seminar at Casa de America on March 30, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

Repression of Turkish intellectuals elicits global response

Nobel laureates, intelligentsia and celebrities around the world unite against the arbitrary detention of Turkish authors.

A Turkish army tank drives towards to the border in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2MYVZ

Turkey demands role in Mosul battle, but coalition unconvinced

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed Turkey’s keenness to be part of the liberation of the two IS strongholds of Raqqa and Mosul, but continuing differences with Washington and Baghdad make this difficult.

TOPSHOT - Turkish troops drive their anti-mine Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) past shepherds on September 4, 2016 on a road near the Syrian village of Tuwairan, located around 2km of al-Rai, the small border town with Turkey.
Turkish forces and Syrian rebels expelled the Islamic State group from the last areas of the Syrian-Turkish border under their control on September 3, 2016, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. / AFP / Nazeer al-Khatib (Photo credit should read NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP/G

Why the battle for al-Bab is pivotal in Syria

As groups fighting in Syria make headway against the Islamic State, each wants to be positioned to reap the spoils of war.

Riot police detain a demonstrator during a protest against the suspension of teachers from classrooms over alleged links with Kurdish militants, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2OUAU

Is Turkey backpedaling on expulsions following mass purges?

Turkish officials have admitted that innocent people could have been victimized in the massive purges since the July 15 coup attempt.

People walk past by a kiosk in central Istanbul, Turkey November 2, 2015. A jubilant President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday cast the return of Turkey's Islamist-rooted AK Party to single-party rule as a vote for stability that the world must respect, but opponents fear it heralds growing authoritarianism and deeper polarisation. The newspaper headline on top reads: "AK Party on its own" REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX1UE7G

Crushed under restrictions, young Turkish journalists find freedom in print media

A new brand of literary magazines that present thinly veiled messages of popular resistance against increasing social, cultural and political pressure from the government have so far evaded censorship and are delighting more readers every day.

The sun sets over the Ottoman-era Suleymaniye mosque in Istanbul January 8, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: ENVIRONMENT RELIGION) - RTX176ER

Turks bicker about time change

Turkey's government has decided to remain on summer time permanently, adding another hour of difference between Turkey and Europe, but putting Turkey in the same time zone as Mecca and Medina.