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Turkey

Turkey

June 18, 2026

Ankara 2:21 am

21°C

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

The meeting comes ahead of US President Trump’s expected attendance at next month's NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey, after Trump personally urged his Turkish counterpart to reopen the Halki Seminary.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

The visit comes weeks before Turkey hosts NATO leaders, on the sidelines of which Ankara hopes to reach a deal with Washington over CAATSA sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400s.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

The latest Erdogan-Netanyahu clash underscored how Turkey-Israel tensions have grown beyond the Palestinian issue and into a wider regional rivalry spanning Syria, Lebanon, Iran and the eastern Mediterranean.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Feature

Turkey’s World Cup return clouded by politics, dawn kickoffs

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

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

Explainer

Turkey slams France-Cyprus military pact as East Med rivalries deepen

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides (2nd L) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron (C) review the honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on April 23, 2026, ahead of a meeting on the sidelines of a European summit.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference following the talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool - RTS14ZO6

Putin changes conversation on Syria with cease-fire plan

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the de-escalation zones are linked to US safe zone discussions.

A boy walks at a site hit yesterday by barrel bombs in a rebel-held area, south of Deraa city, Syria May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RTS14NH7

Syria to get civilian safe zones

Cease-fire mediators have agreed to establish and enforce areas free from fighting in Syria.

The real reason behind Turkey’s skyrocketing welfare spending

The number of people entitled to social welfare assistance has reached 15.5 million in Turkey, raising questions on what lies behind the government’s generosity.

Turkey unveiling defense industry innovations it hopes will boost exports

Turkey’s defense industry will exhibit ambitious products at the IDEF Fair, largely aimed at foreign markets.

Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) inspect the damage at their headquarters after it was hit by Turkish airstrikes in Mount Karachok near Malikiya, Syria April 25, 2017. REUTERS/ Rodi Said - RTS13V4D

How the US stood with Syria's Kurds

Turkish airstrikes against the YPG in Syria animated the region, but the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition is standing its ground when it comes to defending the Syrian Kurds.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey April 16, 2017. Picture taken April 16, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezerm - RTS12L9A

No end in sight for Erdogan's purges after referendum

The Turkish government’s narrow victory in last month’s constitutional referendum has emboldened new purges, affecting hundreds of police officers, academics and civilians.

Turkish special forces shoot with machine gun in Sirnak on December 22, 2015 during security operations against Kurdish rebels in the southeastern Turkey cities of Cizre and Silopi.
The Turkish army on December 21 engaged in intense clashes with Kurdish militants as the military pressed on with one of its biggest recent domestic operations and controversial curfew orders were expanded to a new area in the Kurdish-dominated southeast. The number of Kurdish rebels killed in a massive Turkish military offensiv

Kurds rage as Turkish police flee scene of fatal crash

Police officers crashed into a home in Kurdish town, killing two children, and furious residents are demanding an end to security forces' impunity.

A member of Shi'ite fighters carries a weapon during a battle with Islamic State militants at the airport of Tal Afar west of Mosul, Iraq November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX2UC8E

What's holding up the liberation of Iraq's Tal Afar?

There are various accounts of why Tal Afar, Iraq, remains under the Islamic State's control despite the presence of armed forces ready and waiting to reclaim the city.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSXT5Q

US, Russia approach each other cautiously on Syria

Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have set an ambitious pace for diplomatic discussions with other world leaders regarding Syria, but they apparently agree that small steps are best when dealing with each other on the topic.

An internally displaced Syrian boy who fled Raqqa city, rests on a vehicle loaded with belongings, inside a camp in Ain Issa, Raqqa Governorate, Syria May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS14UT7

Civilians task themselves with administering IS-free areas of Raqqa

The new Raqqa Civilian Assembly is overseeing areas of the province that have been cleared of the Islamic State and helping thousands of refugees who are risking everything, traveling clandestinely on booby-trapped roads to get out of the city.

Journalists hold placards reading "journalists will be freed , they will write again" during a demonstration for the World Press Freedom Day on the Istiklal avenue, in Istanbul, on May 3, 2017.
According to the P24 press freedom website on April 4, 2017, there are 141 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were detained as part of the state of emergency imposed after the failed coup. / AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

With Turkish journalists gagged, ICG spotlights Nusaybin

In a new report, the International Crisis Group examines the Turkish border town of Nusaybin, where residents feel alienated and under Turkish occupation, to outline the local dynamics in the Kurdish region.

A police barrier blocks a narrow back alley of Sur, an historical district of southeastern province of Diyarbakir, Turkey, March 10, 2017. Picture taken March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX31V7X

More Kurds forced out of ancient Sur in southeast Turkey

The Turkish authorities are evacuating more neighborhoods in Diyarbakir’s historic district of Sur, leaving hundreds of Kurdish families with uncertain futures.