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Turkey

June 20, 2026

Ankara 11:01 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

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTSKAK8

Iraqi Kurdistan government seized, sold Gulen schools

The Kurdistan Regional Government, at Turkey's request, has sold educational institutes affiliated with the cleric Fethullah Gulen and seized other Gulenist-run institutions.

Siirt, TURKEY: A village guard poses with his rifle in his cabin in the mountainous southeastern city of Siirt, Pervari province, 28 June 2005. The outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) retaliated by blowing up a train in Bingol at the weekend, killing five people. The unrest marks sharply increased violence between the PKK and the army in the Turkish southeast since April, months after the rebels, 01 June 2004, called off a five-year unilateral ceasefire. AFP PHOTO/MUSTAFA OZER (Photo credit sh

Why Turkey is boosting its budget for dubious 'village guards'

The paramilitary force that Turkey formed to fight the Kurdistan Workers Party has been controversial since the 1980s, so why is the government expanding it now?

The Ottoman era Dolmabahce Palace is decorated with a huge Turkish flag as part of the National Sovereignty and Children's Day celebrations in Istanbul, April 23, 2009. The National Sovereignty and Children's day marks the 89th anniversary of the opening of the Turkey's National Assembly. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS) - RTXEAOM

Why is Turkey reviving an Ottoman sultan?

A great Ottoman sultan-caliph is being re-popularized in today’s Turkey with a clear political intention: legitimizing authoritarian rule.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY: Two unidentified transsexual prostitutes stand near the main road waiting for customer in central Istanbul, in Taksim Square, 12 December 2003. AFP PHOTO/ Mustafa Ozer (Photo credit should read MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)

Barely illegal: The changing face of Turkey's pleasure industry

Prostitution and escort services — often one and the same — are flourishing through aggressive promotions using hookup apps, social media and online marketplaces right under the nose of Islamists.

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AKP’s war economy widens income gap

A recent survey by Turkey’s official statistics agency reveals growing income disparities as the country’s economic downturn continues amid unrest both at home and in the region.

Turkish armoured personnel carriers drive towards the border in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2N8HX

What is Turkey’s military strategy in Syria?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent statement once again revealed that Ankara's priority in Syria is not fighting against the Islamic State, but rather stopping Kurds' advances.

Turkish army soldiers stand guard at their position near the northern Syrian rebel-controlled town of al-Rai, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSPPGG

Turkey faces decision over boots on the ground in Syria

Turkish media are speculating that the Free Syrian Army militias cannot expel Islamic State from Dabik and al-Bab, so that mission will fall to Turkish infantry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China September 3, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Druzhinin/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2NZZP

Foreign policy mishaps prove costly for Turkish contractors

The AKP government’s foreign policy blunders have cost Turkish contractors abroad $16 billion of revenue losses.

Women walk past by shops at an open air bazaar near the Grand Bazaar, known as the Covered Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2G65X

How a kick rattled Turkey

Turkish women take to the streets to denounce conservative pressures after a young nurse is assaulted on a public bus for wearing shorts.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addresses the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz - RTSOOE8

Are Egypt's lackluster efforts leaving it isolated?

Egypt seems to be ignoring chances to upgrade its social standing in the world.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) tracks down Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L) for a brief private conversation after they gave remarks to reporters following their bilateral meeting alongside the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2O2NQ

Are US-Turkey military ties under threat?

Both Ankara and Washington seem to be oblivious to the changing nature of their relations.

Soldiers guard coffins of victims of the thwarted coup during a funeral service in Ankara, Turkey, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSIDQK

'New Turkey' finds founding myth in failed coup

The political narrative about the failed July 15 coup attempt is entering Turkey’s textbooks as the core of a new shape of Turkish nationalism.