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

Turkey

Turkey

November 5, 2026

Ankara 7:32 am

9°C

Turkey probes Google’s AI search tools, orders protections for news websites

Turkey’s competition watchdog said it is assessing whether AI-generated answers appearing on Google Search divert traffic from news sites and impose unfair content-use terms.

A protestor holds a flag bearing a portrait of jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration of Kurdish people from all around Europe to mark the 27th anniversary of his arrest and to demand his liberation, in Strasbourg, Eastern France, on Feb. 14, 2026.

Turkey moves PKK leader Ocalan to prison villa as peace process faces new test

The move is expected to give the PKK leader a more direct role in negotiations, but deep divisions over disarmament and Kurdish rights continue to threaten the process.

OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu is pictured during a joint press conference with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Switzerland's Foreign Minister at Vienna International Airport on Feb. 6, 2026 in Schwechat, Lower Austria.

Explainer

Who is Feridun Sinirlioglu, Turkey’s candidate for UN chief?

The Turkish president's confidant enters the race for UN chief with decades of diplomatic experience marked by both praise and scrutiny.

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Free Gaza, free world"

Analysis

Gaza progress, Syria pullback: What Turkey wants from Israel’s next government

Ankara sees room for limited improvement in ties if Israel’s next government eases Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and reduces military pressure on Syria.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Explainer

After EU rebuff, how Turkey is courting Egypt for maritime deal

Turkish Navy sailors wave their caps from the flight deck

Culture

Rock collapse near UNESCO-listed site in Turkey’s Cappadocia kills three

An view of the Uchisar settlement, east of Nevesehir in the province of the same name in central Turkey's historical Cappadocia region on Aug. 24, 2022.

Tornado kills 4 in Turkey’s Mediterranean tourism hub Antalya

Kepez

Saudi Arabia’s KBS, top Turkish and Pakistani officials hold rare meeting in Iran: What to know

GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/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

Turkish Kurds flee 'self-rule' neighborhoods

Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast is sliding deeper into chaos as residents flee neighborhoods devastated from clashes between the security forces and Kurdish militants.

As both sides rattle sabers, is Turkey on verge of civil war?

Armored and aerial Turkish security forces and the PKK appear to be gearing up for a major offensive in the southeast, evacuating civilians, forbidding doctors from leaving and expanding morgues.

A Kurdish flag is seen as a member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stands guard at a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4SF4S

Turkey’s joint front with Sunni Arabs, Kurds

Ankara is developing a joint front with the Sunni Arabs and Kurds, and refuses to withdraw its troops from the Mosul area.

Riot police stand in front of protesters during a demonstration against Turkish military deployment in Iraq, in Najaf, Iraq, December 12, 2015. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTX1YDSC

Turkey misfires in Iraq

Turkey’s military deployment near Mosul provokes widespread opposition and sends Russia-Turkey ties into a further downward spiral; Turkey’s Kurds face "unrealistic prospect" for democracy; Barzani on the spot as a result of KRG alignment with Turkey; Russia slams Saudi hosting of Syrian opposition.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves as he leaves the stage after receiving the endorsement of the New England Police Benevolent Association in Portsmouth, New Hampshire December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Mary Schwalm - RTX1Y6A7

US presidential candidates speak out on Syria

The leading US presidential candidates have differing positions on Syria, combating the Islamic State and the admission of Syrian refugees to the United States.

Turkey prepares for Trump presidency

Many Turks believe Donald Trump will become the next US president, and that his animosity toward Muslims and other minorities represents not just popular but also official American views.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses a news conference after meeting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RTX1WHB6

4 ways Russia could retaliate against Turkey

Russia is mulling its limited options for dealing with Turkey without hurting itself in the process.

Are Turkey and Iran reviving a 16th century conflict?

Turkey's Iraq policy can be traced back to its rivalry with Iran in Mesopotamia centuries ago.

Will Russia's economic restrictions on Turkey backfire?

Some worry Turkey’s losses from an angry Russia could reach $20 billion, but others expect the figure to be much lower and point out that Russia’s losses will be no less painful.

A demonstrator holds a picture of Bar Association President Tahir Elci during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, November 28, 2015. An unidentified gunman on Saturday killed a top Kurdish lawyer who had been criticised in Turkey for saying the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was not a terrorist organisation. Witnesses said Bar Association President Tahir Elci was shot in the head after making a statement to the media in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's troubled, mainly Kurdish southeast. REUTERS/O

Bloodshed stokes Kurdish separatist sentiment

Ankara’s draconian security crackdowns, marked by dozens of civilian deaths, have left many Kurds wondering whether they should give up their struggle for rights and seek independence.

Turkish soldiers in a tank and an armored vehicle patrol on the road to the town of Beytussebab in the southeastern Sirnak province, Turkey, September 28, 2015. Five children were wounded on Monday when a bomb tore through a street in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, hospital officials said, where deadly clashes in recent weeks have followed the collapse of ceasefire by Kurdish militants. A separate blast in the town of Tatvan wounded five soldiers when their vehicle passed over an explosive left in a ditch

Ankara's Mosul miscalculation

Even Turkmens are unhappy with Turkey’s moves in Mosul, and Ankara may have made a serious misjudgment.

Did Erdogan threaten Iran?

Spokesman for the Hassan Rouhani administration denies that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "threatened" Iran regarding negative media coverage.