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Turkey

June 20, 2026

Ankara 2:15 am

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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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

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

Supporters of Cumhuriyet newspaper, an opposition secularist daily, hold Monday's copies during a protest in front of its headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2R5SW

Turkey detains editor, staff of leading opposition paper

Opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet was raided this morning and several senior staff members were arrested as part of what the government called a "terrorism probe" into some of its shareholders.

Traditionally dressed Kurdish women flash victory signs during a rally of some 30,000 Turkish Kurds pro PKK leader (Kurdistan Workers' Party) Abdullah Ocalan and and against Turkish President and AKP party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Cologne, Germany September 3, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2NZJL

How Turkey’s AKP undid its legacy on 'Kurdish question'

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ended up reverting back to the "Old Turkey" concepts that he had criticized for years.

A banner depicting Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan is seen during the Extraordinary Congress of the ruling AK Party (AKP) to choose the new leader of the party, in Ankara, Turkey May 22, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSFD8J

Deciphering Ankara's Middle East policy

A mix of traditional Turkish fears and the Justice and Development Party's political ambitions has come to shape Turkey’s regional policies, especially in Syria and Iraq.

A U.S. fighter, who is fighting alongside with Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), carries his national flag as he stands with SDF fighters in northern province of Raqqa, Syria May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2EIZN

Who will liberate Raqqa?

The United States says a military operation to isolate the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa needs to get underway within weeks, but Turkey as well as Washington’s Syrian Arab allies oppose any plan to use Kurdish forces to take the city.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), talks during a gathering to protest against the arrest of the city's popular two joint mayors for alleged links to terrorism, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2QPFF

Diyarbakir protests timid as Kurds wary of post-coup crackdown

Furious over the arrest of their co-mayors, the Kurds of Diyarbakir are protesting by the thousands, but the crowds would be larger if the population weren't exhausted by the ongoing conflict with the Turkish government and afraid of being targeted.

Turkey's central bank governor Murat Cetinkaya speaks during a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2QOCR

Risk indicators growing for Turkish economy

Turkey’s growing economic, political and geopolitical risks have caused significant losses in foreign capital inflows, on which the country’s economic growth relies.

Local and foreign visitors, with the Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia in the background, stroll at Sultanahmet square in Istanbul August 23, 2013. The number of foreign visitors arriving in Turkey grew at its slowest pace for eight months in July, as the impact of anti-government protests and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan took their toll, data showed on Friday. Foreign arrivals rose 0.48 percent year-on-year last month to 4.59 million people, according to the Tourism Ministry figures, the lowest

Is new imam answered prayer or impending doom for Hagia Sophia?

While many Turks applaud the appointment of an imam inside the Hagia Sophia, others worry President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is claiming the national and historical treasure to build his case for an imperial presidency.

Gultan Kisanak, then-co-chair of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), speaks during a news conference in Istanbul March 14, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo - RTX2QFQS

Fury erupts after mayors detained in Turkey's Kurdish southeast

The Turkish authorities have arrested both co-mayors of Diyarbakir, Gultan Kisanak and Firat Anli, sparking massive protests that the press is having trouble covering after internet access was cut across the city.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter with Milan anti tank weapon guards against possible Islamic State suicide bomb attacks during a battle with Islamic State militants at Topzawa village, near Bashiqa, near Mosul, Iraq October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - RTX2Q845

The many dimensions of Mosul, and what comes next

There's much more at play in Mosul than a campaign for its immediate liberation from the Islamic State.

A waiter carries two cups of Turkish coffee at a coffee shop in Istanbul October 19, 2007. Turks are turning their backs on traditional Turkish coffee as they acquire a taste for the cappuccinos and espressos served at global coffee chain outlets opening up across this economically booming Muslim country. Picture taken October 19, 2007. To match feature TURKEY-COFFEE REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY) - RTX7D

The brewing battle over coffee in Turkey

Amid an increase in coffee consumption in Turkey, leading international coffee chains have stormed into the local market, luring the young clientele.

A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo - RTSOQGS

Why Netanyahu and Erdogan prefer ‘cold normalization’

Neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are particularly enthusiastic about implementing the reconciliation agreement between the two countries.

A view of a municipal board building after it was destroyed by Saudi-led air strikes in the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen, October 2, 2016. REUTERS/Naif Rahma TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSQEFL

Have Turkey's neo-Ottomans abandoned Yemen?

Turkish media ignores Yemen despite mounting civilian casualties, but hard-core Islamists and secular groups blame the neo-Ottoman government for being a pawn of Western and Saudi interests.