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Turkey

Turkey

November 27, 2025

Ankara 4:47 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, 6:37 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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wears a scarf with both Turkish and Palestinian flags as he addresses a rally organised by the AKP party in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, in Istanbul on October 28, 2023.

Turkey recalls ambassador to Israel ahead of Blinken’s visit

While Turkey and Israel’s recalling of their respective ambassadors marks a serious setback for a diplomatic reset, the Turkish president said Saturday that cutting off diplomatic ties with Israel was “out of the question.”

Erdogan

What is driving Turkey’s Erdogan pro-Hamas, fiery Israel criticism?

Diplomats and experts say Erdogan’s response to Hamas’ attack on Israel and its aftermath have seriously undermined Turkey’s international position.

A Russian flag raised at the Russia Embassy in Washington, DC, April 15, 2021.

US sanctions UAE, Turkey, China firms for allegedly aiding Russia in Ukraine

The move targets the development of Russia’s defense and technology sectors and aims to weaken it in its war against Ukraine.

United Arab Emirates

One-hundred Turkish lira notes on display at a currency exchange in Kuwait City, August 12, 2018.

Turkey’s inflation slightly eases in October, remains above 60%

Following three months of increases, Turkey’s year-on-year inflation slightly eased last month.

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Turkey raises year-end inflation forecast to 65%, amid economic headwinds

The projection has been raised from 58% in July due to weakening global economic activity and oil volatility.

Iran Turkey FMs

Turkey, Iran FMs warn over Israel's expansion of Gaza war, disagree on oil boycott

As Turkey and Iran are signaling unity on joint warnings over expansion of the Israel-Hamas war, Tehran’s call for a boycott against Israel has not been echoed in Ankara.

US Air Force via Getty Images

US deploys B-1B bombers to Turkey for 'long-planned' exercise amid Gaza war

The Pentagon's show of force came as Iran's top diplomat visited Ankara amid threats by Tehran and its proxies to pile on Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Tehran on Sept. 3, 2023.

Iran’s FM heads to Turkey as Erdogan slams 'Israel's barbarity'

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has announced that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will pay an official visit to Turkey on Wednesday.

hammam ceiling

Turkey's 500-year-old hammam unveils Istanbul's Ottoman secrets

The 16th-century Zeyrek Cinili Hammam, commissioned by corsair-turned-admiral Barbarossa and built by imperial architect Sinan, has found second life after surviving fires, earthquakes and suspicious sultans who feared hammams could be hotbeds of rebellion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Emine Erdogan, attend a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Istanbul on Oct. 28, 2023.

Israel recalls diplomats from Turkey after Erdogan’s 'grave' statements

The move came after Erdogan called Israel a "war criminal" earlier Saturday, and marks a backsliding in bilateral ties that had been fully restored just last fall after more than a decadelong break.

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - JULY 11: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the opening high-level session of the 2023 NATO Summit on July 11, 2023 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The summit is bringing together NATO members and partner countries heads of state from July 11-12 to chart the alliance's future, with Sweden's application for membership and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine as major topics on the summit agenda. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Explainer: Why Turkey's Erdogan finally initiated Sweden’s NATO ratification

Turkish officials caution that ratification of Sweden's accession to NATO is not a done deal and that the process remains littered with challenges.

People sit in front of a currency exchange office on July 19, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey ends unpopular bond scheme in latest fiscal policy change

Turkey’s fiscal policy has reversed since President Erdogan won reelection in May, most notably with regards to interest rates.