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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Indian Connection to Turkey's Booming Fake Passport Mafia

The Indian Connection to Turkey's Booming Fake Passport Mafia
World | Written by Sreenivasan Jain (with inputs from Manas Roshan) | Updated: September 30, 2015 18:00 IST

For the hundreds of Syrian migrants who have escaped wars the forgery network holds out the possibility of a better life.
The refugee crisis shaking the world has come to be narrowly defined as Syrians fleeing the war, trying to enter Europe. But the ones trying to enter the West are only a small fraction - less than 10 per cent of the millions of refugees for whom Europe remains out of reach. All this week, on Exodus, a special series on NDTV, we trace the invisible roots of the refugee crisis from its point of origin along the Syria Turkey border to the gates of a divided Europe.

More:The Indian Connection to Turkey's Booming Fake Passport Mafia

Other than the Syrians, Turkey is biggest loser in civil war - MarketWatch

Opinion: Other than the Syrians, Turkey is biggest loser in civil war

Published: Sept 30, 2015 9:57 a.m. ET

JERUSALEM (MarketWatch) — “Come vacation here,” said then-Prime Minister Recep Erdogan to his southern neighbor Bashar Assad in 2004, ignoring Washington’s protests that Damascus was feeding the anti-American insurgency in Iraq.

More:Other than the Syrians, Turkey is biggest loser in civil war - MarketWatch

Turkish opposition party unveils manifesto for election | Fulton News

Turkish opposition party unveils manifesto for election

By David Fisher on September 30, 2015No Comment

– Republican People’s Party announces election manifesto and introduces candidates for Nov. 1 general elections.

ANKARA – Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu announced Wednesday his party’s election manifesto and introduced candidates for the upcoming Nov. 1 general election.

More:Turkish opposition party unveils manifesto for election | Fulton News

Fin4Dev » An energy efficient makeover for Turkey’s housing market

An energy efficient makeover for Turkey’s housing market

Turkey has suffered from some of the worst earthquakes in history. To avert further loss of life and damage to property in the event of a natural disaster, the Turkish government has implemented an Urban Transformation Plan, to demolish and reconstruct thousands of buildings deemed to be unsafe in earthquake-prone areas.

More:Fin4Dev » An energy efficient makeover for Turkey’s housing market

16 Turkish workers kidnapped in Iraq are released | wivb.com

16 Turkish workers kidnapped in Iraq are released
SUZAN FRASER and SINAN SALAHEDDIN, The Associated Press Published: September 30, 2015, 2:44 am Updated: September 30, 2015, 10:04 am

BAGHDAD (AP) — Sixteen Turkish workers kidnapped from a construction site in Baghdad and held for nearly a month were released on Wednesday, Turkey’s prime minister and Iraqi officials said.

More:16 Turkish workers kidnapped in Iraq are released | wivb.com

Turkey’s voters need to feel safe to go to polls, US envoy says - POLITICS

Turkey’s voters need to feel safe to go to polls, US envoy says

Tolga Tanış – WASHINGTON

All voters in Turkey need to feel safe enough to go to the ballot boxes, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara John Bass has said amid debates about the ramifications of moving polling stations in some southeastern districts due to recent violence.

More:Turkey’s voters need to feel safe to go to polls, US envoy says - POLITICS

Obscure Turkish Law Draws Focus Ahead of November Vote

Obscure Turkish Law Draws Focus Ahead of November Vote

Dorian Jones

September 29, 2015 4:21 PM
ISTANBUL, TURKEY—

A little-used Turkish law against insulting the president is gaining new life. Well-known journalists and, increasingly, ordinary citizens, are being prosecuted and even jailed under the law.

More:Obscure Turkish Law Draws Focus Ahead of November Vote

Pedal power gets a Turkish makeover - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Pedal power gets a Turkish makeover

The Chic Women’s Bicycle Tour kicked off Sept. 20 in 10 Turkish cities. The call for participants, made through various social media outlets, stated, “This women’s activity is organized by women for women.” The cycling activists calling themselves Suslu Kadinlar (Chic Women) described the event as “independent, commercial free, without politicians, and free for all.” They invited everyone to join. The bicycle tour was held for the third time in conjunction with the annual Car Free Cities Day, an initiative organized as part of the European Union’s “Mobility Week” activities. The Chic Women’s tour attracted the most attention from the public, and photos from the event help explain why.

More:Pedal power gets a Turkish makeover - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey's Middle East policy 'fiasco' - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey's Middle East policy 'fiasco'

Talking to reporters in New York over the weekend prior to addressing the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made remarks that clearly indicated Ankara is not on the verge of a major policy change on Syria, despite recent speculation to that effect. His statements also suggested that Turkey will remain at odds with Washington and Moscow over priorities in Syria and how to proceed with regard to the future of President Bashar al-Assad.

More:Turkey's Middle East policy 'fiasco' - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Resolution or deception - YUSUF KANLI

Resolution or deception

It is as if a Cyprus settlement is completed and time has come to sell it to the people – and, of course, to the global sponsors who hopefully will finance its implementation.

More:Resolution or deception - YUSUF KANLI

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

WASHINGTON: US sends search-and-rescue aircraft, crew to Turkey | Presidential Election | The Sun Herald

US sends search-and-rescue aircraft, crew to Turkey

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON — U.S. aircraft and about 300 Air Force troops have begun arriving at a military base in Turkey to provide search and rescue capabilities for the fighting in Iraq and Syria.

More:WASHINGTON: US sends search-and-rescue aircraft, crew to Turkey | Presidential Election | The Sun Herald

Exiled Turkish Opposition Releases Scathing Report on Human Rights Under Erdoğan

Exiled Turkish Opposition Releases Scathing Report on Human Rights Under Erdoğan
By Felicity Capon 9/28/15 at 6:34 PM

The Turkish government has perpetrated "systematic human rights violations" that "justify legal action at international level", a report commissioned by one of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's opponents and written by several senior British lawyers, has found. The report adds that Erdoğan's government has reversed steps taken towards European integration, damaging democracy, freedom of speech and the rule of law.

More:Exiled Turkish Opposition Releases Scathing Report on Human Rights Under Erdoğan

Turkey’s non-Muslims demand apology from Ankara - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey’s non-Muslims demand apology from Ankara

Sept. 6-7 marked the 60th anniversary of pogroms against non-Muslims in Istanbul that forced thousands to emigrate from Turkey. For the first time, the city’s remaining non-Muslims, now a dwindling community, held a church service to honor the victims of the pogroms.

More:Turkey’s non-Muslims demand apology from Ankara - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey and Jordan to EU: Our Refugee Problem Is Bigger Than Yours | Foreign Policy

Turkey and Jordan to EU: Our Refugee Problem Is Bigger Than Yours

By Siobhán O'Grady
September 28, 2015 - 3:58 pm
The European Union might be overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers who have flooded into European territory in recent months, but Turkey and Jordan aren’t all that sympathetic.

More:Turkey and Jordan to EU: Our Refugee Problem Is Bigger Than Yours | Foreign Policy

Turkey: Will it Fly Again? - The Market Mogul

Turkey: Will it Fly Again?
Niral Patel

Turkey has been highlighted as a strategic emerging economy. The country is geographically located between Europe and Asia – often considered the bridge between the East and the West. Turkey is often credited with weathering the global economic crisis in the last decade when compared to other emerging economies. However, after a pendulum shift of strong economic growth from 2009-2011, the growth stagnated and has been on a steady decline. Two variables have accelerated this decline. Political uncertainty coupled with regional violence, and a weakening Lira have contracted Turkey’s GDP.

More:Turkey: Will it Fly Again? - The Market Mogul

Who are the useful idiots? The Saudis or the Americans? - BARÇIN YİNANÇ

Who are the useful idiots? The Saudis or the Americans?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has come to the defense of Saudi Arabia against domestic and international criticism after 770 pilgrims died in a stampede during the hajj at the beginning of Eid al-Adha last week.

More:Who are the useful idiots? The Saudis or the Americans? - BARÇIN YİNANÇ

Turkish economic confidence tumbles to record low in Sept - Yahoo Maktoob News

Turkish economic confidence tumbles to record low in Sept
Reuters Middle EastReuters Middle East – 2 hours 12 minutes ago

By Behiye Selin Taner and Humeyra Pamuk

ISTANBUL, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Turkey's economic confidence index took a record plunge in September, data showed on Tuesday, the starkest evidence yet of the damage political uncertainty and escalating violence have done to its long-term outlook.

More:Turkish economic confidence tumbles to record low in Sept - Yahoo Maktoob News

Erdoğan’s Delicate Visit to Brussels - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Erdoğan’s Delicate Visit to Brussels
Posted by: Marc Pierini Tuesday, September 29, 2015

On October 4–6, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will be in Brussels for a long-planned visit to Belgium. The trip occurs in the midst of a major international crisis, as Russia is getting in on the act in Syria and asylum seekers continue to surge toward Europe. The visit also comes at a very troubled time in Turkey, where on November 1 a parliamentary election will be held amid a spiral of violence and a sharp deterioration of the rule of law.

More:Erdoğan’s Delicate Visit to Brussels - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Turkish hoteliers fear worse to come in 2016

Turkish hoteliers fear worse to come in 2016

September 29, 2015, Tuesday/ 13:58:54/ TODAY'S ZAMAN / ISTANBUL

In the midst of a disappointing 2015 for Turkish hoteliers, the sector fears that next year could be even worse if things don't change quickly, Touristic Hotels and Investors Association (TUROB) President Timur Bayındır said in a statement on Tuesday.

More:Turkish hoteliers fear worse to come in 2016

EU progress report to underline Turkey’s shortcomings in law, press freedom

EU progress report to underline Turkey’s shortcomings in law, press freedom

The European Union’s 2015 progress report on Turkey will be published on Oct. 14 and is expected to emphasize growing concerns about the decline of the rule of law, the increase in media suppression, the mismanagement of public administration, anti-corruption and the Kurdish issue.

More:EU progress report to underline Turkey’s shortcomings in law, press freedom

Monday, September 28, 2015

Pipelines delivering water to Turkish Cyprus fully operational - Daily Sabah

Pipelines delivering water to Turkish Cyprus fully operational
EMRE DINER
NICOSIA

By a method implemented for the first time worldwide, water was delivered to the Alaköprü Dam in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) from Anamur, Turkey, through pipes buried 250 meters under water.

More:Pipelines delivering water to Turkish Cyprus fully operational - Daily Sabah

Turkey Prime Minister Speaks at United Nations on ISIS and Al-Assad

Turkey Prime Minister Speaks at United Nations on ISIS and Al-Assad

In a 70th anniversary session of the United Nations, Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists his country wanted neither the so called Islamic State nor Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime on its doorstep.

More:Turkey Prime Minister Speaks at United Nations on ISIS and Al-Assad

Turkey's Erdoğan hails push for İmam Hatip high schools - POLITICS

Turkey's Erdoğan hails push for İmam Hatip high schools

ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has hailed the progress made in making İmam Hatip religious vocational high schools into more active and visible institutions during his term in power.

More:Turkey's Erdoğan hails push for İmam Hatip high schools - POLITICS

Human rights abuse rampant in Turkey – British lawyers — RT UK

Human rights abuse rampant in Turkey – British lawyers
Published time: 28 Sep, 2015 11:29

The Turkish government is guilty of systemic human rights violations, according to a report written by Britain’s top lawyers and commissioned by President Erdogan’s exiled rival and outspoken critic Fethullah Gulen.

More:Human rights abuse rampant in Turkey – British lawyers — RT UK

Turkey's Snap Elections May Not Change Much - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Turkey's Snap Elections May Not Change Much

Asli Aydintasbas and Soner Cagaptay

September 28, 2015

Barring a last-minute surprise, President Erdogan's efforts to return his AKP to single-party rule could be hindered by a faltering economy and declining domestic security.

More:Turkey's Snap Elections May Not Change Much - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Turkey’s key problem now freedom of press instead of torture, judge says - RIGHTS

Turkey’s key problem now freedom of press instead of torture, judge says

İpek Yezdani – ISTANBUL

Turkish judge Işıl Karakaş, who was recently elected as the new vice-president of the European Court of Human Rights, has said Turkey’s image as a country that tolerates “torture” has been replaced with the image of a country that does not protect the freedom of press.

More:Turkey’s key problem now freedom of press instead of torture, judge says - RIGHTS

Global ambitions reflect confidence in Turkey’s future

Global ambitions reflect confidence in Turkey’s future

Now the sixth most visited country on earth, Turkey has grappled with some challenges this year, posed by economic problems in Russia and instability on its borders. Turkish Tourism Investors Association Chairman and Atlasglobal President, Murat Ersoy, explains why Turkey’s unique advantages mean that the long-term prospects for tourism and aviation remain excellent.

More:Global ambitions reflect confidence in Turkey’s future

Turks kidnapped in Baghdad appear in video promising their release - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail

Turks kidnapped in Baghdad appear in video promising their release

September 28th, 2015 International 0 Comments

Sixteen Turkish workers abducted in Baghdad earlier this month have appeared in an online video promising their release, days after the UN backed a deal to extricate Syrian villagers under siege from rebels supported by Ankara.

More:Turks kidnapped in Baghdad appear in video promising their release - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail

Merkel tells U.N.: Work with Turkey

Merkel tells U.N.: Work with Turkey

UNITED NATIONS -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said working with Turkey is essential to curtailing the flood of migrants out of Iraq and war-wracked Syria, and in grappling with the region's worst migrant crisis since World War II.

More:Merkel tells U.N.: Work with Turkey

Kurdish Militants Claim Responsibility for Killing 75 Turkish Soldiers

Kurdish Militants Claim Responsibility for Killing 75 Turkish Soldiers
© REUTERS/ Sertac Kayar
Middle East
07:18 28.09.2015(updated 07:27 28.09.2015) Get short URL
279972
The militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party said that a total of 75 Turkish soldiers and policemen were killed in an attack on the military site on the border between Turkey and Iraq.

More:Kurdish Militants Claim Responsibility for Killing 75 Turkish Soldiers

Turkey’s Economic Precipice | commentary

Turkey’s Economic Precipice
Michael Rubin / Sept. 27, 2015
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “Justice and Development Party,” best known by its Turkish acronym AKP, was a breath of fresh air when it came to power after the November 2002 elections. In the five years before the AKP assumed power, Turkey’s currency devalued from around 200,000 to just over 1.7 million lira against the dollar. The Turkish public blamed the incumbents for a banking crises in November 2000, and then a currency crisis when, on a single day in February 2001, the Turkish lira lost one-third of its value. Incumbent parties bickered and corruption scandals swirled around them. The AKP cultivated an image of cleanliness and piety, even as Erdoğan, its leader and, from February 2003, prime minister, had more than a dozen corruption cases hanging over him from his tenure as mayor of Istanbul. Regardless, the AKP was pragmatic. It focused on the economy first and foremost. In the first two years of AKP rule, the currency stabilized and actually strengthened against the dollar. Some of this stability was the result of new technocrats taking a fresh look at the economy and proposing solutions which previous political paralysis prevented, but Turkish budgetary authorities and many established journalists privately suggested some of the AKP’s accomplishments rested upon an influx of so-called “Green Money,” provided by interests in Saudi Arabia and Qatar and used as an off-books slush fund by Erdoğan and his team.

More:Turkey’s Economic Precipice | commentary

Money flows with the refugees as life vests fill shops in Turkey - The Economic Times

Money flows with the refugees as life vests fill shops in Turkey
By New York Times | 28 Sep, 2015, 05.31AM IST

IZMIR, TURKEY: For months, Ahmed Abdul-Hamid, a Palestinian from the Syrian city of Aleppo, tried and failed to cross the sea to start a new life in Europe. The Turkish police detained him. Smugglers tricked him. Once, his boat stalled and he had to swim back to shore, leaving him stranded and broke.

More:Money flows with the refugees as life vests fill shops in Turkey - The Economic Times

Could Russia Have Had A Role In Recent PKK Attacks On Turkish Pipelines? | OilPrice.com

Could Russia Have Had A Role In Recent PKK Attacks On Turkish Pipelines?
By The Jamestown Foundation
Posted on Sun, 27 September 2015 00:00 | 0

On August 25, an explosion occurred on the South Caucasus Pipeline (also known as the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline), which transports natural gas from Azerbaijan, through Georgia, and into Turkey (Anadolu Agency, August 25). According to the Turkish press, the militant organization the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) was behind this explosion, which occurred along the section of the pipeline near Sar?kam??, a Turkish town around 30 miles southwest of Kars.

More:Could Russia Have Had A Role In Recent PKK Attacks On Turkish Pipelines? | OilPrice.com

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Kurdish party urges German role to end conflict in Turkey | News | DW.COM | 27.09.2015

Kurdish party urges German role to end conflict in Turkey

Turkey's pro-Kurdish party has called on Germany to play a greater role in resolving the conflict between Kurdish militants and Turkish security forces. The party has warned the fighting may push more refugees to Europe.

More:Kurdish party urges German role to end conflict in Turkey | News | DW.COM | 27.09.2015

Kurdish rebel rockets miss target, kill 2 girls in Turkey | Business Standard News

Kurdish rebel rockets miss target, kill 2 girls in Turkey

AFP | Diyarbakir (Turkey) September 28, 2015 Last Updated at 01:02 IST

Two girls were killed and four people wounded today when Kurdish rebels fired rockets at police in Turkey's southeast and missed, hitting a house instead.

More:Kurdish rebel rockets miss target, kill 2 girls in Turkey | Business Standard News

Brazil and Turkey, two countries with a common fate… - ECONOMICS

Brazil and Turkey, two countries with a common fate…

Mustafa Sönmez - mustafasnmz@hotmail.com

While the world is watching the “emerging” periphery countries, the most fragile ones are Russia, Brazil and Turkey. South Africa is sometimes considered as well.

More:Brazil and Turkey, two countries with a common fate… - ECONOMICS

Back to school means more spending for Turkish families | Fulton News

Back to school means more spending for Turkish families

By Kristoff Saunders on September 27, 2015No Comment

– As Turkish students start the new school year, their parents keep a watchful eye on their wallets as spending for school supplies can rise very quickly

More:Back to school means more spending for Turkish families | Fulton News

Analysis: A Syrian deal between Tsar Putin and Sultan Erdogan | i24news - See beyond

Analysis: A Syrian deal between Tsar Putin and Sultan Erdogan

Erdogan respects Putin's Syrian aspirations and expects the same in return with regards to the Kurds

More:Analysis: A Syrian deal between Tsar Putin and Sultan Erdogan | i24news - See beyond

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Confidence crisis hits lagging Turkish economy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Confidence crisis hits lagging Turkish economy

A lack of confidence is the latest problem topping the mounting heap of Turkey's economic woes. The first indication comes from the decreasing appetite for investment, a cause of concern for government ministers and bureaucrats who are increasingly drawing attention to the problem.

More:Confidence crisis hits lagging Turkish economy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey major conduit for Syrian 'blood antiquities' - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey major conduit for Syrian 'blood antiquities'

As I sat down to have a drink in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, a tall man in his early 20s came in. He approached a nearby table, and in broken Arabic, introduced himself as Ahmad to the head of the family seated there. He then asked if they might be interested in seeing some of Syria's ancient history. The conversation ended promptly, as the family left the coffee shop. Ahmad then approached me, saying, “Americans are the best customers for art, would you like to look at some photos?” I asked where the antiquities were from and where they were being stored. He said he did not know. He would take my phone number, and his friends could help me.

More:Turkey major conduit for Syrian 'blood antiquities' - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Japan buys 90 percent of Turkish beverage giant, now owns Cola Turka

Japan buys 90 percent of Turkish beverage giant, now owns Cola Turka

Yıldız Holding, owner of snack food giant Ülker, has sold several of its beverage properties including Cola Turka, Çamlıca Soda and Saka Water to Japanese DyDo DRINCO for TRY 335 million. Yıldız Holding had sold its dairy property Ak Gıda to French food giant Group Lactalis just four months ago.

More:Japan buys 90 percent of Turkish beverage giant, now owns Cola Turka

Turkish citizens may travel visa-free to Europe in two years: EU Commissioner Hahn - Daily Sabah

Turkish citizens may travel visa-free to Europe in two years: EU Commissioner Hahn
ANADOLU AGENCY
BERLIN

European visa requirements for Turkish nationals could be removed within two years, the EU enlargement commissioner told a German newspaper Saturday.

More:Turkish citizens may travel visa-free to Europe in two years: EU Commissioner Hahn - Daily Sabah

Turkey Refuses Refugees’ Land Bridge to Europe - The Media Line

Turkey Refuses Refugees’ Land Bridge to Europe
By Nick Ashdown | The Media Line

September 26, 2015

Tensions are escalating as “death boats” remain the sole option

[EDIRNE, TURKEY] – Thousands of mostly Syrian refugees who came to Edirne, a Turkish town near the borders with Greece and Bulgaria, have abandoned their effort to take a safe land route to Europe.

More:Turkey Refuses Refugees’ Land Bridge to Europe - The Media Line

Bombs and Ballots Bring Uncertainty to Turkey - Fair Observer

Bombs and Ballots Bring Uncertainty to Turkey

By James Butler • September 26, 2015

James Butler

President Erdogan’s security policy threatens to undermine the ruling party ahead of November’s election.

Security has significantly worsened in Turkey since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) failed to secure a majority in the June parliamentary election. The resumption of full-scale conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and a continued threat from Islamic State (IS) militancy in border regions and major cities show no signs of abating in the short-term. Although unrest in the southeast could still derail the election process, the current instability and the failure of efforts by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to erode support for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) suggest the AKP will still struggle to secure a majority on November 1.

More:Bombs and Ballots Bring Uncertainty to Turkey - Fair Observer

22 provinces too close to call for upcoming Turkish election

22 provinces too close to call for upcoming Turkish election

The number of voters eligible to participate in Turkey’s upcoming Nov. 1 snap election has increased by 300,086 since the June 7 general election. Voter numbers have dropped in 26 provinces, but have increased in 55. Meanwhile, in 22 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, the election appears too close to call.

More:22 provinces too close to call for upcoming Turkish election

PKK bombs Turkish security headquarters, killing 19 forces - ARA News

PKK bombs Turkish security headquarters, killing 19 forces
September 26, 2015

ŞIRNAK – Rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for operations that claimed lives of 19 Turkish forces in southeastern Turkey.

More:PKK bombs Turkish security headquarters, killing 19 forces - ARA News

Friday, September 25, 2015

Confidence crisis hits lagging Turkish economy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Confidence crisis hits lagging Turkish economy

A lack of confidence is the latest problem topping the mounting heap of Turkey's economic woes. The first indication comes from the decreasing appetite for investment, a cause of concern for government ministers and bureaucrats who are increasingly drawing attention to the problem.

More:Confidence crisis hits lagging Turkish economy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey Proposes Syria 'Safe Zone' in Return for Cooperation With EU on Refugee Crisis

Turkey Proposes Syria 'Safe Zone' in Return for Cooperation With EU on Refugee Crisis
By Jack Moore 9/25/15 at 5:04 PM
Turkey

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu wrote to EU leaders this week proposing ideas on how to deal with the refugee crisis, including support for a "safe zone" in northern Syria in return for Ankara's cooperation on the issue, according to EU officials.

More:Turkey Proposes Syria 'Safe Zone' in Return for Cooperation With EU on Refugee Crisis

EU summit reinforces Fortress Europe - World Socialist Web Site

EU summit reinforces Fortress Europe
By Peter Schwarz
25 September 2015

A special summit of European Union heads of state on Wednesday evening adopted a series of measures to stop the flow of refugees into Europe.

More:EU summit reinforces Fortress Europe - World Socialist Web Site

Putin supports Erdogan in Turkey, but not in Syria - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Putin supports Erdogan in Turkey, but not in Syria

MOSCOW — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke Sept. 22 during a joint live broadcast by two pro-government news channels, Kanal 7 and Ulke TV. After lambasting the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party and certain Kurdish politicians, he said of his then-upcoming trip to Moscow, “The Syria question will be at the heart of our talks."

More:Putin supports Erdogan in Turkey, but not in Syria - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

The AKP Faces a Turkish Kurdistan—Here's What The Party Should do About It | Foreign Affairs

Kurds Can Go Their Own Way
Erdogan Faces Upheaval—Here's What He Should do About It
By Soner Cagaptay

In the early twentieth century, as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, what took the Young Turk leaders by surprise was not that the Armenians pursued independence but that the Albanians did. The Young Turks could understand, even if they did not accept, that Christian Armenians would want to break away from the Muslim-ruled empire. But why should Albanians, most of whom were Muslims like the Turks, want to part ways?

More:The AKP Faces a Turkish Kurdistan—Here's What The Party Should do About It | Foreign Affairs

How the U.S. Military Lost Its Favor for Turkey - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

How the U.S. Military Lost Its Favor for Turkey

Soner Cagaptay

Foreign Policy Concepts

September 24, 2015

Despite continued bilateral security cooperation, thirteen years of policy differences have taken their toll on the U.S. military's attitude toward Turkey.

More:How the U.S. Military Lost Its Favor for Turkey - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Migrant crisis: What will Turkey want for helping EU? - BBC News

Migrant crisis: What will Turkey want for helping EU?
By Chris Morris BBC News, Brussels

25 September 2015

"Money is not the big problem," admitted European Council President Donald Tusk. "This is not as easy as expected."

mORE:Migrant crisis: What will Turkey want for helping EU? - BBC News

Turkey’s Erdoğan says Assad may be part of Syria transition process

Turkey’s Erdoğan says Assad may be part of Syria transition process

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had pressed for the departure of Syrian President Bashar Assad for any solution of the intractable Syrian conflict, has said a solution that would include Assad is possible during a transition process.

More:Turkey’s Erdoğan says Assad may be part of Syria transition process

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Turkey's Turmoil: Why Erdogan and the Kurds Are Both to Blame | The National Interest

Turkey's Turmoil: Why Erdogan and the Kurds Are Both to Blame

"In sum, the solution to the Kurdish problem, always predicated upon the expansion of the democratic space in Turkey, is foundering precisely because both Erdogan and the PKK have little regard for democracy."

More:Turkey's Turmoil: Why Erdogan and the Kurds Are Both to Blame | The National Interest

Sacrificing lives for what? - YUSUF KANLI

Sacrificing lives for what?

The Feast of Sacrifice bayram (holiday) or Eid al-Adha is one of the two most important festivities of Islam. Sacrificing sheep, goats, camels or cows, depending on the wealth of the family, during the bayram has become a tradition. It would have been great, perhaps, if Abraham was offered by God to plant a tree instead of a sheep to sacrifice instead of Ismail, yet religious beliefs cannot be questioned and must be respected.

More:Sacrificing lives for what? - YUSUF KANLI

Wave of anti-Kurd attacks in Turkey spark fears of potential pogrom | Middle East Eye

Wave of anti-Kurd attacks in Turkey spark fears of potential pogrom
#PKK

Some people in Turkey's Kurdish community fear mass attacks as the impact of fresh conflict with the PKK is felt across the country

More:Wave of anti-Kurd attacks in Turkey spark fears of potential pogrom | Middle East Eye

International Press Institute: Turkish journalism ‘agonizing under unbearable pressure’

Turkish journalism ‘agonizing under unbearable pressure’
Veteran columnist Kadri Gürsel warns of danger to country’s democracy

VIENNA, Sep 24, 2015 – Journalism in Turkey is “agonizing under unbearable pressure”, leading Turkish journalist and Chair of the International Press Institute (IPI)’s Turkish National Committee Kadri Gürsel said on Monday in an address to participants gathered in Warsaw for Europe’s largest annual human rights conference.

More:International Press Institute: Turkish journalism ‘agonizing under unbearable pressure’

Turkey to seek support of world leaders for its militant crackdown | Reuters

Turkey to seek support of world leaders for its militant crackdown
ANKARA, | By Orhan Coskun and Humeyra Pamuk

Turkey's prime minister will tell world leaders next week Ankara can play a key role in stopping a spread of terrorism, including Islamic State, but expected understanding for its own battle against Kurdish militants.

More:Turkey to seek support of world leaders for its militant crackdown | Reuters

Syrian Refugees In Turkey Lack Documentation | Al Jazeera America

Not Syrian, not Turkish: Refugees fleeing war lack documentation
Without passports, desperate refugees turn to forgeries to escape their paperless limbo
September 24, 2015 9:00AM ET
by Tania Karas @TaniaKaras

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — For Mahmoud Ali and Iman Omar, both Syrian refugees from Aleppo, life in exile is bittersweet. The couple is far from home. They don’t know if they can ever return, but at least here they can be together. They escaped separately to this southern Turkish city 40 miles from the Syrian border and, free of the chaos of war, were able to marry in 2013.

More:Syrian Refugees In Turkey Lack Documentation | Al Jazeera America

CHP’s İnce proposes law to drive Erdoğan out of Ak Saray

CHP’s İnce proposes law to drive Erdoğan out of Ak Saray

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Yalova deputy Muharrem İnce submitted a proposed law to Parliament to force President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to leave the new presidential palace, dubbed AK Saray, and to use the former presidential office in Çankaya, the Sözcü daily reported on Wednesday.

More:CHP’s İnce proposes law to drive Erdoğan out of Ak Saray

A single petition can invalidate Turkey’s whole election

A single petition can invalidate Turkey’s whole election

Following the district election board’s decision to not set up ballot boxes in three neighborhoods and 23 villages of the embattled district of Cizre, the Bitlis Governor’s office has now petitioned for the removal of ballot boxes from some of its districts.

More:A single petition can invalidate Turkey’s whole election

Turkey Absorbs 2 Million Refugees, But Says They Can't Stay : Parallels : NPR

Turkey Absorbs 2 Million Refugees, But Says They Can't Stay
September 24, 2015 5:04 AM ET
Peter Kenyon - Square

As refugees stream into Europe, here's something to consider: the burden being shouldered by Turkey alone dwarfs the numbers currently trying to get to Europe.

More:Turkey Absorbs 2 Million Refugees, But Says They Can't Stay : Parallels : NPR

Soaring bad debts sound alarm in Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Soaring bad debts sound alarm in Turkey

The deterioration in Turkey’s real economy is accelerating, with political uncertainty, early elections and bloody conflict with Kurdish militants taking their toll on the economy in general. Statistics by the Banks Association of Turkey Risk Center show a dramatic increase in both the number and value of bounced checks, especially in August, when the Kurdistan Workers Party stepped up its terror attacks. The problem seems to be particularly rife in the predominantly Kurdish provinces in the east and southeast, where since August 2014 the number and value of bounced checks increased by up to 115%, well above the national average, with local economies struggling amid the simmering unrest.

More:Soaring bad debts sound alarm in Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey Warns: Russia's Invasion of Syria 'Very Dangerous'

Turkey Warns: Russia’s Invasion of Syria ‘Very Dangerous’

by Frances Martel23 Sep 201512
The government of Turkey is expressing “deep concern” regarding Russia’s prodigious military buildup in Syria, allegedly intended to keep Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in power against the jihadists of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS).

More:Turkey Warns: Russia's Invasion of Syria 'Very Dangerous'

Relocations of polling stations in Turkey - TARHAN ERDEM

Relocations of polling stations in Turkey

The statements of Bitlis Governor Ahmet Çınar of Turkey’s east was on papers Sept. 22. In order to provide voting security, to avoid possible troubles in the transfer of ballot boxes and for the national will to be reflected in the ballot box, he has asked the Provincial Election Board whether certain polling stations can be relocated at certain provincial and district centers.

More:Relocations of polling stations in Turkey - TARHAN ERDEM

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Once a safe haven, Turkey tightens grip on foreign journalists - Columbia Journalism Review

Once a safe haven, Turkey tightens grip on foreign journalists
By Burcu Baykurt
September 23, 2015

Cizre is a town of 120,000 in southeastern Turkey near the borders with Syria and Iraq. Earlier this month, the predominantly Kurdish town was isolated from the rest of the world for nine days as Turkish security forces clashed with the militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Residents suffered food, electricity, and water shortages, and some were denied access to urgent medical treatment. Only on Sept. 12, when the curfew was temporarily lifted, did unsettling images from the bullet-pocked town start reaching to the public. Turkish officials claim that 40 PKK fighters were killed, while the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) contends there were 21 civilians among the dead, including children.

More:Once a safe haven, Turkey tightens grip on foreign journalists - Columbia Journalism Review

Turkey's AK Party Focus Driven by Erdogan Image

Turkey's AK Party Focus Driven by Erdogan Image
Dorian Jones

September 23, 2015 2:09 PM
ISTANBUL—

Analysts say Turkey's AK Party congress last week resulted in the tightening of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s grip on the party. Now critics are saying party leadership has been replaced by Erdogan's cult of personality consisting of only those very close to the president.

More:Turkey's AK Party Focus Driven by Erdogan Image

Hidden Agendas: Saudi Arabia, Turkey Created Migrant Crisis in Europe?

Hidden Agendas: Saudi Arabia, Turkey Created Migrant Crisis in Europe?
© AFP 2015/ NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV
Politics
20:32 23.09.2015(updated 20:36 23.09.2015) Get short URL
097172
During the period from 2011 to August 2014, Turkey took in 1.5 million Syrian refugees. In October another 40,000 Syrian refugees fled to Turkey. Despite their unfortunate fate, the migrants still continue to reside in refugee camps.

More:Hidden Agendas: Saudi Arabia, Turkey Created Migrant Crisis in Europe?

The Rise of Turkey's Militant Kurdish Youths | Foreign Affairs

New Kurds on the Block
The Rise of Turkey's Militant Youth
By Micha'el Tanchum

For years now, the Turks have anxiously watched the chaos engulfing Syria and Iraq. But now the country is facing its own potential civil war. In late July, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) made the ill-advised decision to discontinue two-and-half years of peace negotiations with the Kurdish militants and launch a military campaign against them. Since then, the Kurdish regions, one quarter of Turkey’s territory, have become active conflict zones, with the military and police facing regular attacks from Kurdish rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices.

More:The Rise of Turkey's Militant Kurdish Youths | Foreign Affairs

UPDATE 1-EU gropes for ways to help Turkey keep refugees at bay - Zawya

UPDATE 1-EU gropes for ways to help Turkey keep refugees at bay

By Paul Taylor and Francesco Guarascio

BRUSSELS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The European Union is groping for ways to persuade Turkey to do more to keep Syrian refugees on its territory and stop them flooding into Europe, amid deep mutual suspicion between Brussels and Ankara.

More:UPDATE 1-EU gropes for ways to help Turkey keep refugees at bay - Zawya

Amid Migrant Mobilization, Signs Turkey Is Hardening Rules - ABC News

Amid Migrant Mobilization, Signs Turkey Is Hardening Rules

By berza simsek and raphael satter, associated press

ISTANBUL — Sep 23, 2015, 11:15 AM ET

As refugees probe the land route between Turkey and the European Union, Ankara has begun enforcing long-dormant rules on Syrians' travel, in part over concerns about how the flow is affecting the country's image, according to a government document obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with officials and migrants.

More:Amid Migrant Mobilization, Signs Turkey Is Hardening Rules - ABC News

Anti-ISIL coalition can’t lose Turkey | The National

Anti-ISIL coalition can’t lose Turkey

Ahead of this year’s United Nations General Assembly, Russian president Vladimir Putin has been busy with Syria. Moscow has moved a small army’s worth of fighters, bombers, jets and helicopters to airfields in Latakia with the explicit purpose of propping up Bashar Al Assad’s regime. Meanwhile, Mr Putin has been welcoming a steady flow of foreign leaders to discuss their stake in the Syrian conflict.

More:Anti-ISIL coalition can’t lose Turkey | The National

The Latest: EU targets $1.1 billion fund for Syrian refugees and the same for host Turkey | Fox News

The Latest: EU targets $1.1 billion fund for Syrian refugees and the same for host Turkey
Published September 23, 2015Associated Press

The European Union hopes to provide more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in aid to Syrian refugees and release another 1 billion euros for Turkey, the host for almost 2 million people who have fled the conflict.

More:The Latest: EU targets $1.1 billion fund for Syrian refugees and the same for host Turkey | Fox News

Refugee crisis: Food and phone charging on Turkey border - BBC News

Refugee crisis: Food and phone charging on Turkey border

22 September 2015 Last updated at 19:25 BST

One of the pressure points on the migrant path is now the Turkey-Greece land border.

More:Refugee crisis: Food and phone charging on Turkey border - BBC News

Fitch: Fiscal discipline is key for Turkey

Fitch: Fiscal discipline is key for Turkey
- Strength of fiscal position helps Turkey's stable outlook, Fitch analyst Paul Gamble says

The commitment to fiscal discipline in Turkey is a key factor in the 'stable' outlook for the country's credit rating, Fitch Ratings Senior Director Paul Gamble told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

More:AA ENERGY TERMINAL

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Turkey Alarmed Over Russian Military Buildup in Syria

Turkey Alarmed Over Russian Military Buildup in Syria

Jamie Dettmer

Last updated on: September 22, 2015 4:04 PM
WASHINGTON—

On the eve of a visit Wednesday by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Moscow, Turkey has dubbed Russia’s rapid military buildup in Syria as “very dangerous."

More:Turkey Alarmed Over Russian Military Buildup in Syria

Gateway to Europe: Why Turkey isn’t stopping the migrants | euronews, world news

Gateway to Europe: Why Turkey isn’t stopping the migrants

22/09 09:54 CET

"Refugees hide in olive orchards around rocky coasts and settle there while waiting their turn to get on the boat."

Euronews’ correspondent Bora Bayraktar has visited the Turkish coast to find out why the authorities are not stopping migrants from streaming across to Greece.
Exodus from Syria

Behramkale or Assos is a tiny town in modern-day Turkey on the Aegean Coast where Aristotle taught thousands years ago. The ancient city has been a magnet for tourists who liked to take photos among the columns of the ruins of the Temple of Athena at the top of the hill overlooking the Greek Island of Lesbos.

More:Gateway to Europe: Why Turkey isn’t stopping the migrants | euronews, world news

Pro-business Stance of Turkey's Ruling Party Questioned

Pro-business Stance of Turkey's Ruling Party Questioned

Dorian Jones

September 22, 2015 1:36 PM
ISTANBUL, TURKEY—

Turkey’s AK Party has witnessed unprecedented economic growth in its more than decade-long rule. Its pro-business policies increasingly are coming under question, however, amid police raids against leading businesses and what is seen as the demotion of a key pro-business figure within the party.

More:Pro-business Stance of Turkey's Ruling Party Questioned

Turkey: The high price of Erdogan’s power grab - FT.com

Turkey: The high price of Erdogan’s power grab

David Gardner

Critics say his bid for an executive presidency risks making the nation ungovernable

More:Turkey: The high price of Erdogan’s power grab - FT.com

Lira Declines With Bonds as Turkey Keeps Rates on Hold - Bloomberg Business

Lira Declines With Bonds as Turkey Keeps Rates on Hold
Tugce Ozsoy
September 22, 2015 — 11:22 AM CEST

Turkey’s lira fell for a second day and stocks dropped with bonds as the central bank left interest rates unchanged for a seventh month.

The currency weakened 0.5 percent to 3.0217 per dollar at 7:17 p.m. in Istanbul. Ten-year lira bonds were the worst performers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and stocks fell for the first time in six days.

More:Lira Declines With Bonds as Turkey Keeps Rates on Hold - Bloomberg Business

Routed by Market, Turkey Puts Ousted Policy Guru Back on Bench - Bloomberg Business

Routed by Market, Turkey Puts Ousted Policy Guru Back on Bench
Isobel Finkel Onur Ant
September 22, 2015 — 1:41 PM CEST

How much can one man mean to an economy? Investors in Turkish equities value Ali Babacan at more than 1 percent of the nation’s stock market, if Friday’s moves are anything to go by.

More:Routed by Market, Turkey Puts Ousted Policy Guru Back on Bench - Bloomberg Business

2 ministers quit Turkish government amid heightened tension | wivb.com

2 ministers quit Turkish government amid heightened tension
The Associated Press Published: September 22, 2015, 4:34 am Updated: September 22, 2015, 12:34 pm

ISTANBUL (AP) — Two lawmakers from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party resigned on Tuesday from the interim government, accusing top officials of making it impossible for them to do their jobs amid a flare-up of violence between Kurdish rebels and the military.

More:2 ministers quit Turkish government amid heightened tension | wivb.com

Two scenarios for Turkish re-elections - MURAT YETKİN

Two scenarios for Turkish re-elections

With less than 40 days left until the Turkish reelections on Nov. 1, the parties have not yet begun their election campaigns.

More:Two scenarios for Turkish re-elections - MURAT YETKİN

Fitch: Fiscal discipline key for Turkey - ECONOMICS

Fitch: Fiscal discipline key for Turkey

LONDON - Anadolu Agency

The commitment to fiscal discipline in Turkey is a key factor in the “stable” outlook for the country’s credit rating, Fitch Ratings Senior Director Paul Gamble told Anadolu Agency on Sept. 22.

More:Fitch: Fiscal discipline key for Turkey - ECONOMICS

How voters, not politicians, could be the losers in Turkey's November elections - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

How voters, not politicians, could be the losers in Turkey's November elections

The Nov. 1 parliamentary elections will have direct bearing on the democratization of Turkey, the course the country will adopt and how the spiral of violence that has swept the country since July 20 will evolve. But the primary issues about the elections are how to ensure security in the 22 predominantly Kurdish provinces in eastern and southeastern Turkey, and whether the election results will reflect the free will of voters.

More:How voters, not politicians, could be the losers in Turkey's November elections - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

History repeats itself - SEMİH İDİZ

History repeats itself
Tuesday,September 22 2015, Your time is 11:10:13 AM

Europe is deeply divided over the Syrian refugee crisis. Relying on the moral authority it gained through its more humane approach to the crisis - which contrasts sharply with some EU members (the “bête noire” being Hungary) – Germany is calling for more burden-sharing in this regard.

More:History repeats itself - SEMİH İDİZ

Turkey’s poor who are not regarded as poor - GİLA BENMAYOR

Turkey’s poor who are not regarded as poor

The Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) issued the results of the 2014 Income and Living Conditions Survey. The outcome of the survey must be open to interpretation because media organs publishing them reflected the results differently.

More:Turkey’s poor who are not regarded as poor - GİLA BENMAYOR

Full-fledged Tissue World Istanbul Tradeshow to Take Place in 2016 -- ISTANBUL, Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Full-fledged Tissue World Istanbul Tradeshow to Take Place in 2016

ISTANBUL, Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Tissue World, the leading platform dedicated to global tissue paper industry is pleased to announce the return of the event in Istanbul on 27 - 29 September 2016, at Istanbul Congress Center (ICC), Turkey. Following the resounding success of the inaugural Tissue World Istanbul conference in 2014, the 2016 event will include both a conference and a tradeshow.

More:Full-fledged Tissue World Istanbul Tradeshow to Take Place in 2016 -- ISTANBUL, Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Monday, September 21, 2015

Turkish officer misses own wedding over fears of Kurdish rebel attacks - Al Arabiya News

Turkish officer misses own wedding over fears of Kurdish rebel attacks

A Turkish policeman missed his own wedding party after being denied permission to leave his station in the southeast, where Kurdish rebels have killed scores of security force members, local media reported Monday.

More:Turkish officer misses own wedding over fears of Kurdish rebel attacks - Al Arabiya News

Erdogan’s Deadly Ambitions | Foreign Policy

Erdogan’s Deadly Ambitions

By John Hannah
September 21, 2015 - 12:11 pm

We break from our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this disturbing news: Turkey, a vital NATO ally, is teetering on the brink of civil war. Dormant for more than two years thanks to a 2013 ceasefire, the state’s four-decade-old conflict with the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK) is again raging. The peace process that once generated such high hopes lies in tatters. Since late July, close to 1,500 people have been killed.

More:Erdogan’s Deadly Ambitions | Foreign Policy

Lira Gains Versus Dollar as Fitch Holds Turkey Rating - Bloomberg Business

Lira Gains Versus Dollar as Fitch Holds Turkey Rating
Tugce Ozsoy
September 21, 2015 — 6:14 PM CEST

The lira rose before the central bank’s monetary-policy meeting Tuesday as Fitch Ratings’ decision to maintain Turkey’s outlook added to optimism over the U.S. delaying a rates liftoff.

More:Lira Gains Versus Dollar as Fitch Holds Turkey Rating - Bloomberg Business

The White House Downgrades Turkey | commentary

The White House Downgrades Turkey
Michael Rubin / Sept. 21, 2015

One of the reasons why Recep Tayyip Erdoğan managed to change Turkey fundamentally and probably permanently during his tenure as prime minister is that as he implemented his reforms undermining opponents, and ultimately freedom, he suggested that he enjoyed U.S. and European Union support. U.S. diplomats continued their paeans to Turkey and its democracy, even as Erdoğan laid the legal foundation to send his opponents to prison. President Barack Obama went so far as to single out Erdoğan as one of his most trusted foreign friends.

More:The White House Downgrades Turkey | commentary

Leading boss warns of potential loss in Turkey’s employment - ECONOMICS

Leading boss warns of potential loss in Turkey’s employment

Elif Ergu - ISTANBUL

If Turkey’s economy turns in on itself, employment in the country will decrease, according to former head of the Turkish Industrial and Business Association (TÜSİAD) and Boyner Holding board member Ümit Boyner.

More:Leading boss warns of potential loss in Turkey’s employment - ECONOMICS

Blocked: Safe land route from Turkey, Europe News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Blocked: Safe land route from Turkey

Migrants' efforts to avoid risky sea crossing to Europe scuttled by police in border city

EDIRNE (Turkey) • Ms Doaa, a 25-year-old Syrian, was lying in the shade one day last week, trying to shelter herself from the scorching sun in a makeshift camp near this border city. A pile of blankets next to her quivered, and a tiny hand emerged. Her son, Nassim, who was just a week old.

More:Blocked: Safe land route from Turkey, Europe News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Turkey’s unfinished revolution - NURAY MERT

Turkey’s unfinished revolution

Turkey missed a great opportunity for a very necessary “political restoration” after the June elections. Such a restoration could only have been implemented by a grand coalition of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP), as beyond just being an ordinary coalition government, it would have also been the only chance – and necessary step – to end the country’s political and social polarization and reverse the process of democratic regression and the rise of conservative authoritarianism.

More:Turkey’s unfinished revolution - NURAY MERT

Current crisis is costing Turkey an ancient civilization - CONTRIBUTOR

Current crisis is costing Turkey an ancient civilization

Susanne Güsten

In a remote village on the slopes of Mount Bagok in the Nusaybin district of southeastern Mardin province, an elderly farmer stood with tears in his eyes as he surveyed the charred remains of his crops and vineyards. A forest fire ignited by an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack on a nearby Turkish telecommunications mast had just raged among the half dozen Syriac villages on Mount Bagok that make up the last contingent tract of Syriac land in Turkey. “Our fields, our fruit orchards, even the hay for our livestock – everything is gone,” said the farmer, Hanne Akbaba.

More:Current crisis is costing Turkey an ancient civilization - CONTRIBUTOR

Turkey on Fire | Frontpage Mag

Turkey on Fire
Is President Erdogan behaving more like Bashar al-Assad?
September 21, 2015
Robert Ellis

Two years ago a former supporter, the Lebanese editor Jihad a-Zein, wrote: “Erdogan’s behavior has seemed closer to that of an old-style Arab military ruler,” and who can disagree?

More:Turkey on Fire | Frontpage Mag

Manz to explore Turkey’s solar industry potential

Manz to explore Turkey’s solar industry potential
ISTANBUL

Germany-based Manz AG, a leading high-tech engineering firm, will look to explore Turkey’s renewable energy potential, especially focusing on the country’s solar industry development prospects, during a visit, later this month.

More:Manz to explore Turkey’s solar industry potential

Turkey's Islamist Factory Settings

Turkey's Islamist Factory Settings

by Burak Bekdil
September 21, 2015 at 4:00 am

Normalization of relations with Israel could bolster efforts to balance Iran's growing regional clout.

"In the Middle East, everyone at some point realizes that there is a bigger enemy than the big enemy." – Israeli official.

But in the Middle East, reason does not always overcome holiness.

Israel-bashing and the systematic fueling of anti-Semitic behavior have become a Turkish political pastime since Turkey downgraded its diplomatic ties with Israel in 2010. There has been, though, relative tranquility and reports of a potential thaw since June 7, when Turkey's Islamist government lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since it rose to power in 2002.

More:Turkey's Islamist Factory Settings

Turkey's Refugee Policy Under Spotlight as Migrants Decamp to Europe

Turkey's Refugee Policy Under Spotlight as Migrants Decamp to Europe

Ankara: On seeing the images that shocked the world of the body of a three-year-old Syrian refugee, Aylan Kurdi, washed up on a Turkish beach, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached for the phone and called the child's grief-stricken father.

More:Turkey's Refugee Policy Under Spotlight as Migrants Decamp to Europe

Latest Turkish poll shows slip in support for ruling AK Party - Yahoo News UK

Latest Turkish poll shows slip in support for ruling AK Party

ANKARA (Reuters) - Support for Turkey's ruling AK Party has slipped by 1.6 points from June's election to 39.3 percent, a survey from pollster Gezici showed on Monday, casting doubt on the AKP's chances of forming a single-party government after a Nov.1 vote.

More:Latest Turkish poll shows slip in support for ruling AK Party - Yahoo News UK

Erdogan tests popular support with anti-Kurdish rally

Erdogan tests popular support with anti-Kurdish rally

Istanbul rally is shaping up as warm-up for Turkey's second general election campaign in under six months.

ISTANBUL (Turkey) - Thousands are expected to take part in an anti-terror demonstration in Istanbul Sunday, in a rally that will gauge the level of popular support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's two-month-old offensive against Kurdish militants.

More:.:Middle East Online:::.

Turkey Releases New Footage of 1974 Invasion of Cyprus | GreekReporter.com

Turkey Releases New Footage of 1974 Invasion of Cyprus
By Philip Chrysopoulos -
Sep 20, 2015

Attilas_1974While deliberations on the Cyprus problem are about to recommence, the Turkish Army has just put out a video of 4 minutes of unreleased footage from the July 1974 invasion.

Turkish Hurriyetdailynews shows the 4-minute-long footage containing shots of the Turkish army and airforce attacking Cyprus on July 20, 1974.

More:Turkey Releases New Footage of 1974 Invasion of Cyprus | GreekReporter.com

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Migrant boat collides with ferry off Turkey | News | DW.COM | 20.09.2015

Migrant boat collides with ferry off Turkey

A group of refugees drowned when the inflatable boat they were on collided with another vessel, Turkish media has reported. The boat was reportedly heading towards the Greek island of Lesbos.

More:Migrant boat collides with ferry off Turkey | News | DW.COM | 20.09.2015

European leaders seek refugee deal with Turkey – POLITICO

European leaders seek refugee deal with Turkey

By Matthew Karnitschnig

9/20/15, 3:40 PM CET

BERLIN — Europe’s leaders, unnerved by the caustic tone between capitals over quotas, are redoubling efforts to address the refugee issue at what many see as the source: Turkey.

More:European leaders seek refugee deal with Turkey – POLITICO

Migrants brave deadly dinghies, Turkish coastguard for new life - Yahoo News

Migrants brave deadly dinghies, Turkish coastguard for new life
Reuters By Umit Bektas

ANKARA (Reuters) - It is nighttime on a beach near the resort town of Bodrum and a group of migrants look out nervously at two ships on the horizon, wondering if they can slip past the Turkish coastguard and cross the Aegean Sea into a new life in Europe.

More:Migrants brave deadly dinghies, Turkish coastguard for new life - Yahoo News

Erdogan rallies support for battle with Kurdish rebels - Yahoo News

Erdogan rallies support for battle with Kurdish rebels

Istanbul (AFP) - Thousands are expected to take part in an anti-terror demonstration in Istanbul Sunday, in a rally that will gauge the level of popular support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's two-month-old offensive against Kurdish militants.

More:Erdogan rallies support for battle with Kurdish rebels - Yahoo News

Turkey's Radicalizing Youth Dominates Escalating Conflict | Opinion | teleSUR English

Turkey's Radicalizing Youth Dominates Escalating Conflict
By: Joris Leverink

Politicized youth organizations on both ends of the political spectrum in Turkey are becoming more vocal, violent and popular.

More:Turkey's Radicalizing Youth Dominates Escalating Conflict | Opinion | teleSUR English

Turkey refugees demand access to Europe | eNCA

Turkey refugees demand access to Europe

Saturday 19 September 2015 - 7:42pm

TURKEY - Tensions rose on Saturday in the northwestern Turkish city of Edirne, where around 2,000 migrants have been blocked by police from reaching the nearby border with Greece for nearly a week.

More:Turkey refugees demand access to Europe | eNCA

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Turkey: West's ally Erdoğan pushes deadly electoral strategy | Green Left Weekly

Turkey: West's ally Erdoğan pushes deadly electoral strategy
Saturday, September 19, 2015
By Tony Iltis

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is so serious about achieving the result it wants in parliamentary elections on November 1, it is pushing the country to civil war.

More:Turkey: West's ally Erdoğan pushes deadly electoral strategy | Green Left Weekly

Endgame by Ahmet Altan review – guns, love and greed in small-town Turkey | Books | The Guardian

Endgame by Ahmet Altan review – guns, love and greed in small-town Turkey

Andrew Finkel

Saturday 19 September 2015 09.00 BST

As apples are to oranges so is Endgame, a Turkish noir novel, to the Scandi versions of the genre. Up in the chilly north, evil shenanigans are buried beneath thick layers of normality. Here, in a small town overlooking the eastern Mediterranean, it’s the other way round. Our narrator – a novelist, newly arrived in search of inspiration – has hardly finished his first sip of Turkish coffee before the yellow mini-van of death pulls up and a hit man emerges to shoot a fellow customer’s eyeball right out of its socket.

More:Endgame by Ahmet Altan review – guns, love and greed in small-town Turkey | Books | The Guardian

Is AKP heading for a split? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Is AKP heading for a split?

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has ruled Turkey single-handedly for more than a decade, winning a solid majority in three successive elections, in 2002, 2007 and 2011.

More:Is AKP heading for a split? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Friday, September 18, 2015

Kremlinology alla Turca, or understanding in-house AKP politics - MURAT YETKİN

Kremlinology alla Turca, or understanding in-house AKP politics

The political backstage of Ankara was stirred at lunchtime on Sept. 17, when President Tayyip Erdoğan paid an unplanned visit to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to perform Friday prayers together in the mosque inside the Çankaya prime ministerial - formerly presidential - compound on top of the capital’s Çankaya Hill.

More:Kremlinology alla Turca, or understanding in-house AKP politics - MURAT YETKİN

EU border force blames Turkish Airlines for surge in illegal African migration - Telegraph

EU border force blames Turkish Airlines for surge in illegal African migration

Rapid expansion of Turkish national carrier is in part behind surge in African migrants through the Western Balkans, EU agency says

More:EU border force blames Turkish Airlines for surge in illegal African migration - Telegraph

Former ‘wise man’ Baskın Oran: Erdoğan will cause his own downfall

Former ‘wise man’ Baskın Oran: Erdoğan will cause his own downfall

Notorious not only for a life dedicated to international relations and Turkish foreign policy in academia but also for bold comments, retired Professor Baskın Oran told Today's Zaman that Turkey's Kurdish problem risks turning into a people's war between Turks and Kurds, underling that the conflict and polarization policy of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will only end when he self-destructs.

More:Former ‘wise man’ Baskın Oran: Erdoğan will cause his own downfall

Hollande calls on EU to help Turkey's refugees - The Local

Hollande calls on EU to help Turkey's refugees

Published: 18 Sep 2015 08:31 GMT+02:00

French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that he will urge a special EU summit next week to help Turkey keep Syrian refugees on its soil until the neighbouring country's war ends.

More:Hollande calls on EU to help Turkey's refugees - The Local

Steinmeier demands more aid for Turkey amid refugee crisis | News | DW.COM | 18.09.2015

Steinmeier demands more aid for Turkey amid refugee crisis

Germany's foreign minister has called for more aid to be funneled to Turkey and other transit nations struggling with growing numbers of refugees fleeing Syria's civil war. Turkey already hosts some 2 million Syrians

More:Steinmeier demands more aid for Turkey amid refugee crisis | News | DW.COM | 18.09.2015

Is the Kurdish Spring Finally Blossoming? | The Chicago Monitor

Is the Kurdish Spring Finally Blossoming?
September 17, 2015 Human Rights, International, Middle East, Opinion No comments
Kurdish-Spring-Thumb

By Michal Kranz

Historically a rather unimportant outpost at the northern terminus of the Mesopotamian plain, the Turkish town of Cizre has drawn the gaze of the international community in recent months as the epicenter of the new conflict between the Turkish government in Ankara and the Kurdish rebels, namely the infamous Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

More:Is the Kurdish Spring Finally Blossoming? | The Chicago Monitor

Turkey spent $7.6 billion hosting 2.2 million Syrian refugees - Yahoo News

Turkey spent $7.6 billion hosting 2.2 million Syrian refugees
Reuters

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey, which hosts the world's largest refugee population, has so far spent $7.6 billion caring for 2.2 million Syrians who have fled strife there, a Turkish deputy prime minister said on Friday.

More:Turkey spent $7.6 billion hosting 2.2 million Syrian refugees - Yahoo News

Making the hard yards: rugby football in Turkey

Making the hard yards: rugby football in Turkey
By Önder Erdoğan -
Sep 18, 2015

As the 2015 Rugby World Cup kicks off today, Anadolu Agency meets the men and women throwing the oval ball in Turkey

More:Making the hard yards: rugby football in Turkey

Analyst: Turkey is not becoming pious, in fact it is moving away from religion - POLITICS

Analyst: Turkey is not becoming pious, in fact it is moving away from religion

AHMET HAKAN
Volkan Ertit, an academic popularly known for his books ‘Secularism’ and ‘The Age of Concerned Conservatives,’ argues that Turkish people are becoming less pious. ‘Turkey is shifting away from religion,’ Ertit says, citing changing attitudes to a series of social issues. Speaking to daily Hürriyet, Ertit listed 11 criteria supporting his thesis.

More:Analyst: Turkey is not becoming pious, in fact it is moving away from religion - POLITICS

President Erdoğan to establish ‘Supreme Consultation Board’ of elders - POLITICS

President Erdoğan to establish ‘Supreme Consultation Board’ of elders

Erdinç Çelikkan - ANKARA

A “wise persons’ committee of elders” will be established at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s presidential palace in Ankara, composed of figures aged over 75 years who had in the past held senior posts at public institutions.

More:President Erdoğan to establish ‘Supreme Consultation Board’ of elders - POLITICS

Opposition Journalists Under Assault in Turkey - The New York Times

Opposition Journalists Under Assault in Turkey

ISTANBUL — Hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out against a prominent newspaper here, an angry mob of his supporters descended on the publication’s headquarters, smashing windows, chanting profanities and trying to storm the building.

More:Opposition Journalists Under Assault in Turkey - The New York Times

Turkey's Economic Worries Mount as Fitch Weighs Rating

Turkey's Economic Worries Mount as Fitch Weighs Rating
Selcan Hacaoglu and Onur Ant | 17-09-2015, 05:09 AM | Turkey |
Turkey's Economic Worries Mount as Fitch Weighs Rating

Any notion from Fitch that it might consider cutting Turkey could add selling pressure for investors

More:Turkey's Economic Worries Mount as Fitch Weighs Rating

European Public Dental Health Specialists Meet in Istanbul

European Public Dental Health Specialists Meet in Istanbul

Thursday, 17 September 2015 23:24
Published by Ozgur Tore

The 20th EADPH - European Association of Dental Public Health Congress is being held in Istanbul between the dates of 17-19 September 2015. The congress is to be held at the Reji Events Center İstanbul and hosted by Kalyon Hotel Istanbul, with the participation of 200 delegates from over 20 countries from Europe, the Middle East and Turkic Republics.

More:European Public Dental Health Specialists Meet in Istanbul

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Turkish business community’s choice is a coalition after election - MURAT YETKİN

Turkish business community’s choice is a coalition after election

“We miss you,” said Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSİAD) head Cansen Başaran-Symes, addressing board member Memduh Boydak as they were about to start TÜSİAD’s Higher Consultative Board meetings in Istanbul on Sept. 17.

More:Turkish business community’s choice is a coalition after election - MURAT YETKİN

Juncker's EU common list of safe countries of origin raises questions | The Parliament Magazine

Juncker's EU common list of safe countries of origin raises questions
Written by Julie Levy-Abegnoli on 17 September 2015 in News

By including Turkey, which has repeatedly been condemned for armed conflict and human rights violations, Juncker's proposed common EU list of safe countries of origin raises as many questions as answers.

More:Juncker's EU common list of safe countries of origin raises questions | The Parliament Magazine

Thousands March Against Terrorism in Turkey's Capital

Thousands March Against Terrorism in Turkey's Capital
World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: September 17, 2015 21:36 IST

Ankara: Thousands of people waving national flags took part in an anti-terrorism rally in Turkey's capital Ankara on Thursday, as the army presses a major offensive against Kurdish militants, who have killed dozens of security force members in weeks of attacks.

More:Thousands March Against Terrorism in Turkey's Capital

Prominent journalist Hasan Cemal investigated for criticizing Erdoğan

Prominent journalist Hasan Cemal investigated for criticizing Erdoğan

T24 news portal columnist and recipient of numerous international awards, Hasan Cemal has become the latest among scores of journalists, academics and other members of society, to face investigation for criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

More:Prominent journalist Hasan Cemal investigated for criticizing Erdoğan

650,000 people who voted on June 7 missing in voter lists for snap election

650,000 people who voted on June 7 missing in voter lists for snap election

September 17, 2015, Thursday/ 17:57:46/ HABİB GÜLER / ANKARA

The names of 650,000 people who cast votes in the June 7 general election are missing in the voter lists prepared for the snap election scheduled for Nov.1

More:650,000 people who voted on June 7 missing in voter lists for snap election

Syrian papers being sold to ISIS fighters sneaking into Europe with the refugees | Daily Mail Online

PASSPORT TO TERROR: MailOnline reporter buys Syrian papers being sold to ISIS fighters sneaking into Europe hidden among refugees

By Nick Fagge On The Syria Border For Mailonline

Published: 06:13 GMT, 17 September 2015 | Updated: 11:52 GMT, 17 September 2015

ISIS fighters and economic migrants are able to buy Syrian identity documents that allow them to hide among refugees travelling to Europe with frightening ease, an investigation by MailOnline can reveal.

More:Syrian papers being sold to ISIS fighters sneaking into Europe with the refugees | Daily Mail Online

Lira Ends Two-Day Gain as Focus Turns to Turkey Risks Before Fed - Bloomberg Business

Lira Ends Two-Day Gain as Focus Turns to Turkey Risks Before Fed
Constantine Courcoulas
September 17, 2015 — 11:34 AM CEST

Turkey’s lira ended a two-day rally before a Federal Reserve interest-rate decision that risks damping appetite for emerging-market assets that have been the most vulnerable to selling pressure this year.

More:Lira Ends Two-Day Gain as Focus Turns to Turkey Risks Before Fed - Bloomberg Business

Turkey's Economic Worries Mount as Fitch Weighs Rating

Turkey's Economic Worries Mount as Fitch Weighs Rating
Selcan Hacaoglu and Onur Ant | 17-09-2015, 05:09 AM | Turkey |

Any notion from Fitch that it might consider cutting Turkey could add selling pressure for investors

Talk about bad timing.

In the throes of a worsening conflict with Kurdish and Islamic State militants, looming elections and the potential fallout from higher US interest rates, Turkey is due for its scheduled checkup at Fitch Ratings this week.

More:Turkey's Economic Worries Mount as Fitch Weighs Rating

Nothing but turbulence awaits Turkey - SEMİH İDİZ

Nothing but turbulence awaits Turkey

Turkey is going through extraordinary times. Its democracy is being whittled down for the sake of the political interests of a certain individual and party. The war with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to take the lives of soldiers and policemen. There is no indication of when this whirlwind, set in motion after the June elections - which saw the Justice and Development Party (AKP) loose its parliamentary majority - will end.

More:Nothing but turbulence awaits Turkey - SEMİH İDİZ

Turkey reaches 2,880,000 unemployed - Mehr News Agency

Turkey reaches 2,880,000 unemployed
TURKEY
News ID: 2917379 - Wed 16 September 2015 - 15:33
Economy
ANKARA, Sep. 16 (MNA) – Turkey reported 2,880,000 people unemployed in June this year, despite economy grew by 3.8 points in the second quarter, said the National Institute of Statistics on Tuesday.

More:Turkey reaches 2,880,000 unemployed - Mehr News Agency

Erdoğan’s political catharsis, or pushing old friends away? - MURAT YETKİN

Erdoğan’s political catharsis, or pushing old friends away?

Addressing a group of international ombudsmen in Ankara on Sept. 16, President Tayyip Erdoğan tried to assure Turkey’s “Western friends” that the country is a democracy, not an autocracy. He said he wanted to underline this because people who want to undermine Turkey’s march toward an “advanced democracy” are trying to “manipulate” reality to create an adverse impression. Erdoğan particularly mentioned the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has resumed its acts of terror after a pause of three years, as well as the “parallels” (meaning sympathizers of Fethullah Gülen, an Islamist ideologue living in the U.S.) and their “extensions” in politics, media and elsewhere.

More:Erdoğan’s political catharsis, or pushing old friends away? - MURAT YETKİN

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

What is going on in Turkey? | Katoikos.eu

What is going on in Turkey?

EurOpinion 16 September, 2015

By Deniz Torcu

Hosting nearly 2 million Syrian refugees and serving as the crossing point into the European Union for many other hundreds of thousands, with unfortunate tragedies occurring on a daily basis, Turkey’s domestic unrest has been out of the spotlight for the past few weeks. Recently, the conflict with the PKK has brought Turkey’s domestic situation back to the spotlight, namely in the city of Cizre in recent days. As strategically important as ever, the current disarray in the country is even more relevant to the rest of the European Union.

More:What is going on in Turkey? | Katoikos.eu

Turkey moves to next phase of crisis – debt - EconoTimes

Turkey moves to next phase of crisis – debt

Tuesday, September 15, 2015 4:05 PM UTC

After stock market and currency market turmoil, emerging market might be facing next phase of crisis and that's a credit one.

More:Turkey moves to next phase of crisis – debt - EconoTimes

Turkey stops Syrian refugees entry to Greece

Turkey stops Syrian refugees entry to Greece
16 September 2015, 14:30 (GMT+05:00)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.16
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:

Turkey stopped the penetration of Syrian refugees to Greece. Over the past two days, more than 500 Syrian refugees gathered on the border in the Turkish province of Edirne with the intention to enter the territory of Greece, Haber7 newspaper reported Sept. 16.

More:Turkey stops Syrian refugees entry to Greece

The Daily Aztec : Aztecs abroad in Istanbul

Aztecs abroad in Istanbul

Jamie Ballard, Staff Writer
September 16, 2015

Protests took place across the city of Istanbul, Turkey last week in response to the recent killing of 30 Turkish security force members.

More:The Daily Aztec : Aztecs abroad in Istanbul

How Turkey began the slide towards civil war

How Turkey began the slide towards civil war
September 16, 2015 2.50pm BST
Reuters/Murad Sezer

The speed with which Turkey has became engulfed in violence since the Suruç massacre on July 20 2015 is causing mass anxiety.

More:How Turkey began the slide towards civil war

TANAP crucially important for Turkey – Matthew Bryza

TANAP crucially important for Turkey – Matthew Bryza
16 September 2015, 17:42 (GMT+05:00)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 16

By Anahanum Khidayatova – Trend:

The cancellation of the Turkish Stream will affect Turkey in a positive way, Matthew Bryza, former deputy assistant of the US secretary of state for South Caucasus, former US ambassador to Azerbaijan and director of International Centre for Defense Studies in Tallinn told Trend Sept.16.

More:TANAP crucially important for Turkey – Matthew Bryza

Two Turkish workers kidnapped in Baghdad are released | Reuters

Two Turkish workers kidnapped in Baghdad are released
BASRA, Iraq

Two of the 18 Turkish workers kidnapped in Baghdad this month have been released near the southern oil city of Basra, the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad said on Wednesday.

More:Two Turkish workers kidnapped in Baghdad are released | Reuters

In Erdogan’s Turkey, repression of press freedom continues unabated

In Erdogan’s Turkey, repression of press freedom continues unabated

Erdogan is seeking to silence remaining critical voices in media by forcing owners to dismiss critical journalists, terrorising reporters.

More:.:Middle East Online:::.

Refugees see last chance for Europe before winter closes route from Turkey | Reuters

Refugees see last chance for Europe before winter closes route from Turkey
ISTANBUL | By Ayla Jean Yackley

Hundreds of Syrians and other migrants thronged a small park in central Istanbul on Wednesday, hoping for a last chance to reach Europe before poor weather makes their favored route from Turkey to Greece too dangerous to undertake.

More:Refugees see last chance for Europe before winter closes route from Turkey | Reuters

Ongoing violence, curfews keep doctors from tending to sick in southeast Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Ongoing violence, curfews keep doctors from tending to sick in southeast Turkey

CIZRE, Turkey — In the wee hours of Sept. 6, the Yaramis family in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish city of Cizre watched helplessly as their baby boy died before their eyes. Mehmet Tahir, only 25 days old, had fallen sick with fever the day before, but repeated calls for an ambulance were to no avail. Cizre was under a round-the-clock curfew as special police forces moved in for what officials described as an operation against Kurdish militants entrenched in residential areas. The Nur neighborhood where they live was right in the middle of the deadly clashes, and not even ambulances were allowed in.

More:Ongoing violence, curfews keep doctors from tending to sick in southeast Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey's AK Party Targets 100,000 Voters to Break Stalemate - Bloomberg Business

Turkey's AK Party Targets 100,000 Voters to Break Stalemate
Onur Ant
September 15, 2015 — 11:00 PM CEST

Turkey’s most credible pollsters see little chance of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu winning a majority at the Nov. 1 repeat election. Officials from his ruling AK Party say they’ve found a way to do it.

More:Turkey's AK Party Targets 100,000 Voters to Break Stalemate - Bloomberg Business

Turkish Government Makes a Strategic Mistake - Fair Observer

Turkish Government Makes a Strategic Mistake

By Nathaniel Handy • September 15, 2015

The Justice and Development Party’s nationalist gamble is a mistake in terms of immediate electoral aims and wider strategic goals for Turkey.

It has been well-documented that the current Turkish government offensive against the Islamic State (IS) is largely being conducted as a cover for a far wider assault against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) of the closely aligned Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria. Both in terms of arrests and airstrikes, PKK and YPG targets have been engaged in greater numbers than have IS.

More:Turkish Government Makes a Strategic Mistake - Fair Observer

Women Don't Want Privilege, They Want Equality | G(irls)20

Women Don't Want Privilege, They Want Equality
Posted: 09/15/2015 5:22 pm EDT Updated: 09/15/2015 5:59 pm EDT

Whenever I'm asked about women empowerment, I always say the same thing: I believe with all my heart that the 21st century is the era of women. The most important trend in today's world is the rise of female participation in the labour force. This is both an inevitable trend and a great potential for the world.

More:Women Don't Want Privilege, They Want Equality | G(irls)20

Refugees flood Istanbul bus station, headed for Germany

Refugees flood Istanbul bus station, headed for Germany
By Erol Ersoy -
Sep 15, 2015

ISTANBUL – Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at Istanbul’s main bus station Tuesday, desperate to reach Europe as some EU states tightened their borders.

More:Refugees flood Istanbul bus station, headed for Germany

Lira Gains With Turkish Stocks on Optimism Kurds Ready for Talks - Bloomberg Business

Lira Gains With Turkish Stocks on Optimism Kurds Ready for Talks
Taylan Bilgic Tugce Ozsoy
September 15, 2015 — 12:40 PM CEST

The lira gained and Turkish stocks rallied the most worldwide after reports Kurdish separatists are ready for talks with the government eased concern that violence will worsen.

More:Lira Gains With Turkish Stocks on Optimism Kurds Ready for Talks - Bloomberg Business

Police remove posters at İstanbul University that ‘insult’ Erdoğan

Police remove posters at İstanbul University that ‘insult’ Erdoğan

September 15, 2015, Tuesday/ 16:37:06/ TODAY'S ZAMAN / ISTANBUL

Posters put up on the campus of İstanbul University by the youth wing of the Workers' Movement Party (EHP) were taken down by police officers on Monday because they allegedly insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

More:Police remove posters at İstanbul University that ‘insult’ Erdoğan

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Saddled with 2 million Syrian refugees, Turkey shows signs of strain | Daily Mail Online

Saddled with 2 million Syrian refugees, Turkey shows signs of strain

By Reuters

Published: 13:47 GMT, 15 September 2015 | Updated: 13:47 GMT, 15 September 2015

By Jonny Hogg

ANKARA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The strain of sheltering the world's largest refugee population is showing in Turkey, whose open door to those fleeing Syria and Iraq is shielding European nations from a migration crisis far worse than the one they are struggling with now.

More:Saddled with 2 million Syrian refugees, Turkey shows signs of strain | Daily Mail Online

FINCHANNEL.com - Istanbul Atatürk becomes ‘The airport with the most new long-haul routes’ in Europe

Istanbul Atatürk becomes ‘The airport with the most new long-haul routes’ in Europe

The FINANCIAL -- Operated by TAV Airports, Istanbul Atatürk Airport has become “The airport with the most new long-haul routes” at Euro Annies 2015 Awards. Gazipaşa-Alanya is selected as ‘The fastest growing airport’ in its category.

More:FINCHANNEL.com - Istanbul Atatürk becomes ‘The airport with the most new long-haul routes’ in Europe

Turkey's Erdoğan Is Hanging on for Dear Life | Behlül Özkan

Turkey's Erdoğan Is Hanging on for Dear Life
Posted: 09/15/2015 11:13 am EDT Updated: 4 hours ago

ISTANBUL -- The June 7 elections in Turkey spelled the end of 13 years of single-party rule by the Islamist Justice and Development Party. The electorate's messages were clear. First and foremost, in the most decisive way, the electorate denied Erdoğan his wish to become the all-powerful executive president of a transformed Turkish political system. The electorate mandated parliament to assume its powers and asked that the political parties form a coalition government that would break the immense centralization and concentration of power in Erdoğan's hand.

More:Turkey's Erdoğan Is Hanging on for Dear Life | Behlül Özkan

Dutch Mayor Calls For Peace Between Kurds and Turks in Holland

Dutch Mayor Calls For Peace Between Kurds and Turks in Holland
The mayor of Rotterdam called on the two groups to make agreements

15.09.2015 15:41

ROTTERDAM – The Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb called on Kurds and Turks in the city to remain peaceful after tensions between the two reported the Dutch news website RTV Rijnmond.

More:BasNews

Refugee boat capsizes near Turkey | News | DW.COM | 15.09.2015

Refugee boat capsizes near Turkey

At least 22 people died when their boat capsized in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and the Greek island of Kos, according to local media. A further two hundred refugees were rescued off the coast of Datca peninsula in southwestern Turkey.

More:Refugee boat capsizes near Turkey | News | DW.COM | 15.09.2015

Turkey's Food Safety Problems Magnified by Unregistered Facilities | Food Safety News

Turkey’s Food Safety Problems Magnified by Unregistered Facilities
By News Desk | September 15, 2015

Only about one in 10 food producers and/or retailers in Turkey have an official license issued by the state, which means that the vast majority are never inspected.

More:Turkey's Food Safety Problems Magnified by Unregistered Facilities | Food Safety News

Back to the Polls in Turkey - Australian Institute of International Affairs

Back to the Polls in Turkey
By Sedat Mulayim

Turkey is going back to the polls again. The YSK (Turkish Electoral Commission) announced that a new election will be held on 1 November. The commission says it picked the date by a majority decision, however President Erdogan had already announced the date 4 days earlier when he said “we will, God willing, have a new election on 1 November 2015’. He was proven to be right. Crystal ball?

More:Back to the Polls in Turkey - Australian Institute of International Affairs

Canakci Says Turkey's Economic and Financial Shock Is Temporary - Bloomberg Business

Canakci Says Turkey's Economic and Financial Shock Is Temporary
Greg Quinn
September 15, 2015 — 3:37 AM CEST

Turkey’s financial-market strains are temporary and will ease once uncertainty over political conditions and U.S. monetary policy subsides, said Ibrahim Canakci, the country’s deputy at the International Monetary Fund.

More:Canakci Says Turkey's Economic and Financial Shock Is Temporary - Bloomberg Business

Violence in Turkey Could Affect Election - The Media Line

Violence in Turkey Could Affect Election
By Linda Gradstein | The Media Line

September 14, 2015

Some fear return to daily clashes

A two and a half year cease-fire between the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) collapsed this month with a roadside attack that killed 16 Turkish soldiers. It is the highest single attack death toll on the Turkish military since the end of the 1990’s, and Erdogan responded with air strikes on PKK bases in Iraq.

More:Violence in Turkey Could Affect Election - The Media Line

As EU steps up controls, refugees wish for open land borders from Turkey

As EU steps up controls, refugees wish for open land borders from Turkey
September 14, 2015 at 6:45 PM EDT
Officials from across Europe arrived in Brussels to discuss instituting quotas to distribute 160,000 asylum seekers throughout the continent. Some countries have balked at the plan, while Germany, Austria and Hungary have tightened up their borders. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from Turkey, where tens of thousands refugees are hoping to get to Europe.

GWEN IFILL: Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants continued their long journeys today in Europe, as the continent’s leaders met to chart a path forward and the two-decade-old free travel policy among European Union nations was put on hold.

From Izmir, Turkey, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

More:As EU steps up controls, refugees wish for open land borders from Turkey