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Turkey

Turkey

November 5, 2026

Ankara 8:25 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

Iraqi security forces stand guard with their military vehicle outside the Turkish embassy in Baghdad December 8 2015. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RTX1XPHA

Why is Turkey stirring the Iraqi cauldron?

The wisdom and real motives of Turkey dispatching troops to northern Iraq is a topic of hot debate.

Ankara falls into Moscow's trap

Ankara is now being compelled to backtrack on its Syria policy in the face of Russian threats and sanctions, while the United States stands as one of the prime beneficiaries of the crisis.

Turkish soldiers stand guard at a check point on the main road between Mardin and Cizre near the southeastern town of Midyat, Turkey, September 9, 2015. A deteriorating security situation in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast where a ceasefire between government forces and Kurdish insurgents has broken down, will make it difficult to hold an election planned for November, the head of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said on Wednesday. Turkey's southeast has seen almost daily clashes between mi

Turkey sticks its neck out again, this time in Iraq

Ankara’s unusually loud public acknowledgement of sending reinforcement soldiers into Iraq shows Turkey hopes to establish its own territory there.

Is Gollum good? Turkish judge consults 'TV expert' to find out

A simple meme posted over social media has spawned an official Turkish investigation into the legendary fictional character "Gollum" from "The Lord of the Rings."

Turkey’s red line in Syria under attack

Syrian military advances, backed by Russia, threaten Turkmen and Jabhat al-Nusra forces along the border with Turkey; Russia and Israel understand each other on Syria; Israel’s’ "small joy" in clash with EU over settlements.

Defence ministry officials sit under screens with satellite images on display during a briefing in Moscow, Russia, December 2, 2015. Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday it had proof that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his family were benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil from Islamic State-held territory in Syria and Iraq. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTX1WTWJ

Turkey takes a hit from the Russian hammer

Moscow is bringing its hammer down on Ankara following Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane late last month, crushing Erdogan’s aspirations for autonomy from the West in foreign and security policy.

A man looks as the world's biggest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker DUHAIL as she crosses through the Suez Canal April 1, 2008. The Qatari tanker, which was built to transfer LNG from Qatar to Europe and the U.S., is on her first trip ever from Qatar to Spain. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT) - RTR1YZYN

Will Turkey be able to replace Russian gas with Qatari imports?

Although Qatar cannot replace Russian gas for Turkey, it is promising to see that Ankara is exploring new strategies for diversifying its long‐term energy supply.

Gazans' dark secret? They've become chocoholics

Chocolate used to be on the Israeli list of banned items, but not anymore, as chocolate shops have been proliferating in light of the increasing demand in Gaza.

Will Iran play peacemaker between Russia, Turkey?

Given Tehran's ties to both countries, Iranian officials discuss the potential for Iran to mediate between Russia and Turkey.

Brigitte Zanda, head of the meteorite collection at the National Museum of Natural History, poses with a 1.3 kilogram meteorite which is more than 4.5 billion years old in Paris February 9, 2010. This chondrite meteorite was formed when various types of dust and small grains present in the early solar system concentrated to form primitive asteroids. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (FRANCE - Tags: SOCIETY SCI TECH) - RTR2A0C4

How one Turkish village became rich overnight

Many impoverished villagers in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast have made a fortune selling chunks of a meteorite after one exploded in September, while tax inspectors gripe about not receiving their share.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) at the U.S. ambassador's residence during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) in Paris, France December 1, 2015. Obama urged Turkey on Tuesday to reduce tensions with Moscow after the downing of a Russian warplane and to seal its border with Syria to choke off the supply of money and fighters to Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1WOVR

Turkey makes progress on sealing Syria border, but is it enough?

Turkey’s granting the United States access to its military bases, among other factors, has muted US frustration at slow efforts to seal a remaining stretch of the Turkish-Syrian border to foreign fighters and oil smugglers.

Turkey’s Kurds shaken by killing of human rights lawyer

Turkey’s Kurds have united in grief over the perplexing killing of celebrated human rights lawyer Tahir Elci, whose loss some take as a sign that peace is further out of reach than ever.