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Turkey

Turkey

November 27, 2025

Ankara 2:36 pm

16°C

Pope Leo XIV, seen here boarding the plane for Ankara, said he was 'very much looking foward' to his trip to Turkey

Breaking | Last Updated: November 27, 2025, 6:35 am

Pope Leo lands in Turkey on first foreign visit

On his inaugural foreign visit to Turkey, Pope Leo will begin his tour with a meeting with the Turkish president.

Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Pope Leo heads to Turkey, navigating faith, politics and Orthodox tensions

The visit will bolster Turkey’s image on religious tolerance and shared positions with the Vatican while Ankara navigates sensitive issues surrounding the Halki Seminary and the Greek Patriarchate’s ecumenical status.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli is pictured in this undated image.

Turkey sentences journalist over 4 years in jail for threatening Erdogan

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli was sentenced to over four years in prison in a trial government critics say aimed at silencing one of Turkey's most influential journalists and intended to intimidate journalists nationwide.

People take part in a demonstration to call for the liberation of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan outside the European Council in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 15, 2025.

Analysis

PKK leader Ocalan gains legitimacy in Turkey, bigger sway over Syria’s Kurds

The ongoing deadlock between Damascus and the SDF is seen as a major obstacle to progress in Turkey’s efforts to address its long-standing Kurdish issue.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Turkey’s spy chief holds talks in Egypt over trapped Hamas militants

BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Turkey’s graphic-novel culture blossoms in face of censorship

cartoons

Culture

Can AI save Turkey’s endangered Laz language?

A villager stands at a high point to survey the damage to the hill sides by quarrying in Ikizdere in the Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey on June 7, 2021. A government-friendly company plans to extract 20 million tons of stone from a quarry in the northeastern town of Ikizdere for one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest development projects. The locals are rising up in protest, challenging the government and its priorities in a region dear to the domineering Turkish leader's heart. (Ph

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

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

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey accused of double standard as Armenian journalist's killer walks free

Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink's murderer walked free in Turkey Wednesday while the government's critics pointed aghast to political prisoners held years beyond the court's authority to keep them.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the parliament.

Turkey’s parliament to debate Sweden’s NATO bid as Erdogan eyes Biden invite

The move, which comes as Turkish President Erdogan seeks a meeting with the US president, signals potential progress on the pending Turkish bid to buy new F-16 jets from the American side.

This photograph taken on June 9, 2023, shows the Central Bank of Turkey, in Ankara.

Turkey reports account surplus amid fiscal policy changes

Turkish bonds may also become more attractive, according to a top bank, as Turkey’s new economic leaders raise interest rates and end unpopular policies.

The Soloturk aerobatic demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force flies an F-16 aircraft over Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic's Founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara, on October 29, 2023. Turkey marked its centenary as a post-Ottoman republic on October 29, 2023, with somewhat muted celebrations held in the shadow of Israel's escalating war with Hamas militants in Gaza. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALT

Turkey, Greece agree on confidence-building measures as Ankara eyes F-16s

The announcement comes as Ankara seeks to overcome congressional objections to its bid to purchase new F-16 jets from the United States.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

Israel's Gaza war opens room for Turkey-Iran rapprochement

Turkey’s Gaza diplomacy has failed to bear fruit thus far, but it has clearly led to a rapprochement between Ankara and Tehran.

Turkey's President and leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, on October 25, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s judicial crisis deepens as Erdogan weighs in

Erdogan’s stepping into a crisis between Turkey’s two high courts is widely seen as yet another sign of erosion of rule of law and judicial independence in Turkey.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

EU says UAE will restrict certain re-exports to Russia amid Ukraine war

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to restrict the re-exportation to Russia of "dual-use" items used for its war in Ukraine, and Turkey is reportedly considering a similar measure.

United Arab Emirates

Journalists carrying placards "No to the censorship law" and "We are journalists" take part in a protest in front of the Constitutional Court in Ankara on Nov. 8, 2023, regarding the law discussed by the Constitutional Court and known to the public as the Censorship Law.

Turkey’s top court upholds controversial media law as EU laments 'democratic backsliding'

The ruling coincided with the release of the EU Commission's annual report which noted “continued deterioration” in the country’s democratic standards, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary.

The 142-meter luxury yacht Nord, reportedly owned by Russian tycoon Alexei Mordashov, arrives in the far eastern city of Vladivostok on March 31, 2022.

UK sanctions UAE network accused of helping Russia make gold profits

The new sanctions announced by the UK Foreign Ministry target 29 individuals and companies operating in and supporting Russia’s gold, oil and strategic sectors.

United Arab Emirates

Nescafe

Boycotts in Turkey over Israel’s war in Gaza spread to Coca-Cola, Nescafe

While the Turkish Parliament stopped the sale of certain multinational brands in its cafeterias, several universities have said they will no longer collaborate with Israeli academia until a cease-fire is reached.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey returns to dollar bond market as Erdogan shifts approach

The Turkish government has made several fiscal policy changes since the president's reelection in May in an effort to win back investors and address economic problems.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken ends Middle East tour in Turkey, no Gaza 'humanitarian pause' in sight

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed his Middle East tour in Turkey as anti-US protests ramped up in the country.