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Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 7:09 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

Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in UNSG poll as Nusseibeh places fourth

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

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, June 13, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. - RTX1GBHM

Putin, Erdogan meet face to face, but don't see eye to eye

The recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Azerbaijan appears to reflect a mutual irritation between the two parties.

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk inside the government- controlled Hanano barracks after what they said was an offensive against them by Free Syrian Army fighters in Aleppo April 17, 2014. The regime forces said that Free Syrian Army fighters carried an offensive against them by digging a tunnel and blowing up part of the Hannano barracks in an attempt to seize it and failed to do so. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR3LPQX

Why Assad may be helping Islamic State’s offensive

The latest regime airstrikes against rebels in Aleppo’s northern countryside seem to benefit the Islamic State, but also help the Syrian government divide its enemies.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, greets his supporters during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. A picture of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is seen in the background. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3F4BY

Will PKK let Kurdish politics move away from violence?

With the success of the pro-Kurdish HDP in the recent elections, the time has come for Turkey's Kurds to rethink civilian-military relations in Kurdish politics.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), speaks to the press before a meeting in Ankara on June 15, 2015 AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Opposition battles collection of medical records in Turkey

Turkey's Ministry of Health has embarked on a controversial effort to collect the names, addresses and diagnoses of psychiatric patients.

Captured fighter details Islamic State's Turkey connection

A Turkish citizen who joined the Islamic State in September and was captured in early June by Syrian Kurds explained IS' induction process with chilling clarity in a video shared exclusively with Al-Monitor.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and ruling AK Party (R) lawmakers scuffle during a debate on a legislation to boost police powers, at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara late February 19, 2015. The legislation, which would bolster the powers of the authorities to control protests, has been widely condemned by the opposition, who accuse the AKP of trying to create a police state in the NATO member nation. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4QBIU

Turkey's rule of law on slippery slope

The World Justice Project’s 2015 Rule of Law Index reveals striking evidence of rising authoritarianism in Turkey.

Turkey's incumbent President Abdullah Gul and his wife Hayrunnisa Gul talk to the media as they leave a polling station after casting their votes in Ankara August 10, 2014. Turks began voting on Sunday with Tayyip Erdogan poised to become the country's first elected president, fulfilling his dream of what he calls a "new Turkey" and his opponents say will be an increasingly authoritarian nation. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41UXL

Bombshell book exposes Gul's differences with Erdogan

The recent memoir of an aide to former Turkish President Abdullah Gul could be a harbinger of his return to politics.

Turkey's new President Tayyip Erdogan (L) and outgoing President Abdullah Gul attend a handover ceremony at the Presidential Palace of Cankaya in Ankara August 28, 2014. Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey's 12th president at a ceremony in parliament on Thursday, cementing his position as the country's most powerful modern leader, in what his opponents fear will herald an increasingly authoritarian rule. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR444T5

Will Abdullah Gul return to politics?

Following the Justice and Development Party's loss of its parliamentary majority, eyes and ears have turned to the former president and AKP co-founder amid speculation about his next move.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan kisses a handmade Turkish flag, given to him as a gift from Ugandan university student Cemil (not pictured), during a graduation ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, June 11, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1G1TU

Erdogan lost a battle, but perhaps not the war

The June 7 elections made Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian dreams less certain, but it would be naive to think that he has given them up.

People visit the site to commemorate victims of last week's blast in Diyarbakir, Turkey, June 12, 2015. A bombing last Friday killed three people and wounded at least 200 during an election rally of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), in Diyarbakir. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX1G87O

What caused the clashes in Diyarbakir?

Diyarbakir remains tense after recent intra-Kurd clashes.

Syrian refugees from Tel Abyad wait on the Turkish-Syrian border after crossing into Turkey near the Akcakale border gate in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 14, 2015. Kurdish-led militia backed by U.S.-led air strikes fought Islamic State near a Syrian town at the Turkish border on Sunday, a monitoring group and a Kurdish official said, in an advance that has worried Turkey. Concerned about an expansion of Kurdish sway in Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Kurdish groups were taking over areas ev

Erdogan fears fall of Syria's Tell Abyad

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is angry with the joint Kurdish-Arab operation to get the Islamic State out of Tell Abyad.

Turkish TV channels compete for Ramadan viewers

Turkey's TV channels promote their shows and entertainment programs in the runup to Ramadan, revealing rifts among moderate and more pious Muslims, as well as the battle between the Justice and Development Party and the Gulen movement.