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Sunday, January 31, 2016

Public unrest sees Syrians in Turkey facing backlash

Public unrest sees Syrians in Turkey facing backlash

Turks were once sympathetic to refugees but will now turn away those with no visa

For Syrians who have fled the war for the relative safety of Turkey, life looks set to get worse. The suicide bomber who killed 10 German tourists in central Istanbul on January 12th was believed to be a 28-year-old man from northern Syria. Less than a week later, a shell fired from Syria looped over the border and hit a school in the Turkish border town of Kilis, killing one person and adding to the tension.

More:Public unrest sees Syrians in Turkey facing backlash

Are we at war or not? - NURAY MERT

Are we at war or not?

As a citizen of Turkey (a Sunni-Turkish, Muslim believer by conviction, if you were wondering), I need to know whether my country is at war with another state. I wonder whether we are expected to fight in Syria alongside Turkmens because of “ethnic affinity.” Or whether we are supposed to comply with our government’s commitment to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and join those fighting against al-Assad in Syria. Finally, we should know whether we are at war with Russia, which supports the al-Assad regime.

More:Are we at war or not? - NURAY MERT

Turkish Airlines eyes ‘new house’ in Istanbul - BUSINESS

Turkish Airlines eyes ‘new house’ in Istanbul

SEATTLE - Anadolu Agency

Turkish Airlines Chairman İlker Aycı has said the company was looking forward to the opening of its “new house,” the third airport in Istanbul, which will have a capacity of 90 million passengers in the first phase.

More:Turkish Airlines eyes ‘new house’ in Istanbul - BUSINESS

Nobel laureate Pamuk chides EU for ignoring Turkey’s rights record - RIGHTS

Nobel laureate Pamuk chides EU for ignoring Turkey’s rights record

Internationally acclaimed Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has accused the European Union of turning a blind eye to the state of democracy and media freedom in Turkey because of its cooperation in the migration crisis.

More:Nobel laureate Pamuk chides EU for ignoring Turkey’s rights record - RIGHTS

Erdoğan’s Next Target to Muzzle: Turkey’s Academics - The Media Line

Erdoğan’s Next Target to Muzzle: Turkey’s Academics
By Nick Ashdown | The Media Line

January 31, 2016

ISTANBUL — The Turkish government’s latest target in its campaign to silence critical voices is the country’s academics.

Many of the 2,212 Turkish academics who signed a strongly-worded letter calling for peace in Turkey’s embattled southeast have been fired, detained, investigated, harassed by nationalists, and attacked by the country’s largely pro-government media.

More:Erdoğan’s Next Target to Muzzle: Turkey’s Academics - The Media Line

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Turkey’s politics and foreign policy: Bridging the populism/realism gap | Brookings Institution

Turkey’s politics and foreign policy: Bridging the populism/realism gap

February 4, 2016

Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), populism has become a pervasive feature of the "new" Turkey. In the latest Turkey Project Policy Paper, Nora Fisher Onar of George Washington University's Institute for Middle East Studies explores the tension between populism and realism as a driver of uncertainty in Turkey's domestic and foreign affairs. The paper examines the sources, evolution, and consequences of AKP populism since 2002, including the problematic disconnect between anti-Western domestic rhetoric and the recent need for pro-Western pragmatism as Turkey's regional ambitions have been confronted by the disorder spilling across its borders.

More:Turkey’s politics and foreign policy: Bridging the populism/realism gap | Brookings Institution

United States: How Turkey Fell Out of Favor - The Globalist

United States: How Turkey Fell Out of Favor

Turkey is no longer seen as a staunch ally in NATO but as a wayward country that wears religion and ideology on its sleeve.

More:United States: How Turkey Fell Out of Favor - The Globalist

Friday, January 29, 2016

Turkish becomes sixth working language of PACE - DIPLOMACY

Turkish becomes sixth working language of PACE

STRASBOURG – Anadolu Agency

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has named Turkish as its sixth working language, with the chair of PACE Turkey Delegation saying the number of Turkish lawmakers working at the European organization is expected to rise.

More:Turkish becomes sixth working language of PACE - DIPLOMACY

European Commission opposes to sending migrants to Turkey - EUROPE

European Commission opposes to sending migrants to Turkey

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he would not be a party in sending migrants back to Turkey upon what he called “Samson Plan,” stating the plan was “illegal” after it drew negative reactions both from the European Commission and several rights advocate groups.

More:European Commission opposes to sending migrants to Turkey - EUROPE

Turkey Alone Can’t Solve Europe’s Refugee Crisis | Human Rights Watch

Turkey Alone Can’t Solve Europe’s Refugee Crisis

I talked to “Nabeel,” a 52-year-old man from Syria a few days ago in the resort town of Cesme on Turkeys’ Aegean coast. He told me how the overcrowded boat he’d boarded with his wife and four children a few days earlier sank. Turkish coastguards saved them. With his 9-year-old son by his side, he told me his priority was his children’s future. “I just want my kids to be in school, and to have medical care. If this was provided in Turkey or Lebanon I would have stayed.”

More:Turkey Alone Can’t Solve Europe’s Refugee Crisis | Human Rights Watch

A Turkish-Friendly Zone Inside Syria - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

A Turkish-Friendly Zone Inside Syria

Ed Stafford and Soner Cagaptay

January 29, 2016

Tighter border security would pose an existential threat to IS, not to mention hindering its travel, smuggling, and recruitment efforts.

More:A Turkish-Friendly Zone Inside Syria - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Dutch plan for EU ‘refugee swap’ with Turkey is morally bankrupt: Amnesty International

Dutch plan for EU ‘refugee swap’ with Turkey is morally bankrupt: Amnesty International
EPA/YANNIS KOLESIDIS

The new plan to tackle the refugee flows to Europe, mooted by the Dutch Presidency of the European Union today, is fundamentally flawed since it would hinge on illegally returning asylum seekers and refugees from Greece to Turkey, Amnesty International warned.

More:Dutch plan for EU ‘refugee swap’ with Turkey is morally bankrupt: Amnesty International

German retailer eyes further expansion as rivals exit Turkey

German retailer eyes further expansion as rivals exit Turkey

January 28, 2016, Thursday/ 14:17:12/ ERGİN HAVA | ISTANBUL

German retailer Metro AG's discount electronics stores chain Media Markt will invest more in its Turkey operations to fill the gap opened by the exit of international rivals in the TL 40 billion ($13.42 billion) Turkish market, the chain's director of Turkish operations said at a press conference in İstanbul on Thursday.

More:German retailer eyes further expansion as rivals exit Turkey

The Dündar-Gül case a threat to Turkish media - MURAT YETKİN

The Dündar-Gül case a threat to Turkish media

The Istanbul prosecutor’s office asked on Jan. 27 for life imprisonment for two Turkish journalists, Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, who had been arrested on suspicions of plotting against the government and military espionage for reporting on an ongoing court case alleging Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MİT) sent weapons to the civil war-hit Syria.

More:The Dündar-Gül case a threat to Turkish media - MURAT YETKİN

Turkish poultry sector has 12 months to eliminate animal protein from feed

Turkish poultry sector has 12 months to eliminate animal protein from feed

Post a comment
By Lynda Searby , 28-Jan-2016

Turkish poultry producers now have another year to prepare for a ban on animal by-products in feed as the implementation of new legislation is postponed until January 2017.

More:Turkish poultry sector has 12 months to eliminate animal protein from feed

Ship asylum seekers back to Turkey, Netherlands tells EU - NL Times

Ship asylum seekers back to Turkey, Netherlands tells EU
Posted on Jan 28, 2016 by Janene Pieters

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and PvdA leader Diederik Samsom came up with a plan to force the leading group of EU countries into a solution for the refugee crisis. Starting this spring, they want to take all asylum seekers who arrive in Greece via Turkey and send them back on a returning ferry.

More:Ship asylum seekers back to Turkey, Netherlands tells EU - NL Times

Turkey's Erdogan Announces South America Trip to Boost Trade | News | teleSUR English

Turkey's Erdogan Announces South America Trip to Boost Trade

The Turkish president’s visit next week is aimed at developing commercial relations with Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Chile, Peru and Ecuador next week to develop stronger economic ties with the region.

More:Turkey's Erdogan Announces South America Trip to Boost Trade | News | teleSUR English

Erdoğan kicks off campaign for ‘Turkish-style presidential system, constitution

Erdoğan kicks off campaign for ‘Turkish-style presidential system, constitution

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has launched a campaign to establish a “Turkish-style” executive presidential system and a new constitution, saying these are not a matter of personal ambition, but a necessity in a country whose parliamentary system he says is out of date.

More:Erdoğan kicks off campaign for ‘Turkish-style presidential system, constitution

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Tears and destruction amid Turkey PKK crackdown - BBC News

Tears and destruction amid Turkey PKK crackdown
By Mark Lowen BBC Turkey correspondent

27 January 2016

Media captionHundreds have died and thousands have been displaced since a ceasefire broke down in July.

The silence is pierced by volleys of gunfire and military vehicles rushing past. There's a loud explosion, sending acrid smoke billowing into the air. Snipers perched on a hotel rooftop open fire - the crack of their rifle shot is terrifyingly close.

More:Tears and destruction amid Turkey PKK crackdown - BBC News

EU's Decade of Flip-Flopping Serves Turkey Badly, Says Roth - Bloomberg Business

EU's Decade of Flip-Flopping Serves Turkey Badly, Says Roth
Isobel Finkel

January 27, 2016 — 5:19 AM EST

The European Union is treating Turkey with an inconsistency that’s liable to stoke human rights violations in the aspiring member of the bloc, Human Rights Watch Director Kenneth Roth said in an interview in Istanbul on Tuesday.

More:EU's Decade of Flip-Flopping Serves Turkey Badly, Says Roth - Bloomberg Business

Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak: Istanbul, city of dreams and nightmares | Art and design | The Guardian

Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak: Istanbul, city of dreams and nightmares

As his Museum of Innocence comes to Britain, the Nobel prizewinner takes his fellow author Elif Shafak on a tour of his cabinet of curiosities. They talk about what Istanbul means to them – and the collective amnesia of a country where writers can be jailed for a tweet

More:Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak: Istanbul, city of dreams and nightmares | Art and design | The Guardian

Judy Asks: Will Turkey Help Europe on Refugees? - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Judy Asks: Will Turkey Help Europe on Refugees?
Posted by: Judy Dempsey Wednesday, January 27, 2016

A selection of experts answer a new question from Judy Dempsey on the foreign and security policy challenges shaping Europe’s role in the world.

More:Judy Asks: Will Turkey Help Europe on Refugees? - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Syrian refugees start afresh in Turkey - British Red Cross blog

Syrian refugees start afresh in Turkey

Refugees-Croatia

Turkey hosts more refugees than any other nation in the world. Mike Adamson, British Red Cross chief executive, visited the country recently and saw how Syrians are trying to settle into a new way of life.

More:Syrian refugees start afresh in Turkey - British Red Cross blog

Moscow Warns Of ISIS Plans To Abduct Russians In Turkey

Moscow Warns Of ISIS Plans To Abduct Russians In Turkey
World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: January 27, 2016 18:52 IST

According to the competent agencies, leaders of the ISIS terrorist group plan to take hostages from among Russian citizens in Turkey.
Moscow, Russia: Russia's federal tourism agency on Wednesday issued a warning that ISIS Terrorists were planning to abduct Russian citizens in Turkey.

More:Moscow Warns Of ISIS Plans To Abduct Russians In Turkey

Turkey prosecutors demand life terms for two anti-Erdogan journalists: Report

Turkey prosecutors demand life terms for two anti-Erdogan journalists: Report
January 27, 2016 - 12:59:42 pm

Istanbul: Turkish prosecutors demanded life sentences for two top journalists from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper on charges of revealing state secrets with a report that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria, a report said Wednesday.

More:The Peninsula Qatar - Turkey prosecutors demand life terms for two anti-Erdogan journalists: Report

Turkey: Deteriorating Climate for Rights | Human Rights Watch

Turkey: Deteriorating Climate for Rights

Media Crackdown, Abuses Amid Collapsed Kurdish Peace Process

More:Turkey: Deteriorating Climate for Rights | Human Rights Watch

Kemal Erdoğan’s second Turkish revolution – POLITICO

Kemal Erdoğan’s second Turkish revolution

The Turkish leader seems intent on uprooting the Ottoman legacy and restoring Islam’s central role.
By

Soner Cagaptay

1/27/16, 5:30 AM CET

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is all but certain to become the longest serving Turkish leader in modern history, surpassing even Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The founder of modern Turkey ruled the country for 15 years between 1923 and 1938. By the time he finishes his current term, Erdoğan will have run Turkey for 17 years, as prime minister between 2002 and 2014 and as president until 2019.

More:Kemal Erdoğan’s second Turkish revolution – POLITICO

Brazil, Turkey Among Top Decliners in Global Corruption Ranking - Bloomberg Business

Brazil, Turkey Among Top Decliners in Global Corruption Ranking
Patrick Donahue

January 26, 2016 — 11:00 PM EST

Brazil and Turkey were among nations that tumbled the most in a global corruption ranking amid an ongoing scandal at state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s expanded bid to shore up power.

More:Brazil, Turkey Among Top Decliners in Global Corruption Ranking - Bloomberg Business

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Midnight in the Orient Bar with Ataturk | The Weekly Standard

Midnight in the Orient Bar with Ataturk
Istanbul dispatch.

5:21 PM, Jan 26, 2016 | By Lee Smith

Istanbul

Traffic on the Bosphorus goes one way and then the other. One day it leads from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and from there through the Dardanelles, to the Aegean and then the Mediterranean. On alternate days, the other way. Often it seems Turkish history goes like that.

More:Midnight in the Orient Bar with Ataturk | The Weekly Standard

Turkey Snared

Turkey Snared
01/26/2016 05:22 pm ET | Updated 5 hours ago

Yavuz Baydar
Columnist, co-founder of Punto24, Contributing Commentator: The Guardian

The postponement of the Syrian peace talks until Wednesday at the earliest shows how arduous even setting the basic modalities is and how little ground has been gained by the chief choreographer of the process -- the U.S.

More:Turkey Snared

Medical tourism: Cut-price hair transplants deliver $1bn to Turkish economy | Health News | Lifestyle | The Independent

Medical tourism: Cut-price hair transplants deliver $1bn to Turkish economy

Hundreds of Britons are travelling there in a bid to regain a fulsome quiff or lustrous crown as well as for other types of cosmetic surgery. Laura Pitel meets one of them in Istanbul

More:Medical tourism: Cut-price hair transplants deliver $1bn to Turkish economy | Health News | Lifestyle | The Independent

How Erdogan and the AKP Lost the Arab Spring | Foreign Affairs

Ankara's Failure
How Turkey Lost the Arab Spring
By Jonathan Schanzer and Merve Tahiroglu

When anti-government protests spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Libya, and Syria five years ago, optimists declared that the Middle East was on the precipice of a dramatic democratic transformation. Among the most optimistic were the leaders of Turkey, who saw the upheaval as an opportunity to realize their neo-Ottoman dream of positioning Turkey, a Muslim democracy with close ties to both the West and Arab nations, as a regional leader. Five years later, Arab Spring optimism has collapsed, and with it, Turkish ambitions. Libya and Syria are caught in civil wars, Egypt grows increasingly authoritarian, and Tunisia—arguably the only success story among them—is a magnet for the Islamic State (ISIS). Turkey, meanwhile, has experienced its own rapid reversal of fortune. Rather than projecting influence, Ankara is more isolated than ever.

More:How Erdogan and the AKP Lost the Arab Spring | Foreign Affairs

Ankara cracks down on CNN Turk after reference to president Erdogan as ‘dictator’ — RT News

Ankara cracks down on CNN Turk after reference to president Erdogan as ‘dictator’
Published time: 26 Jan, 2016 13:58

A court in Istanbul has launched an investigation into the Turkish television station CNN Turk after it used the phrase “‘Dictator’ on trial” in reference to a dispute between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition leader Kemal Kılıcdaroglu.

More:Ankara cracks down on CNN Turk after reference to president Erdogan as ‘dictator’ — RT News

PKK defiant over long war with Turkey - BBC News

PKK defiant over long war with Turkey
By Andrew Hosken BBC The World Tonight

Mild-mannered and polite, the young man with the nom de guerre Sinjar asked us how we liked our tea, with sugar or without? To his small band of guerrillas, he was the local commander whose word was law. To the Turkish government, Sinjar represented the enemy within, a leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which it has vowed to destroy.

More:PKK defiant over long war with Turkey - BBC News

Monday, January 25, 2016

Turkey action on migrants, PKK and freedom of speech under EU scrutiny | News | DW.COM | 25.01.2016

Turkey action on migrants, PKK and freedom of speech under EU scrutiny

EU ministers in Turkey have commented on a range of issues including control and care of migrants, a ceasefire with the Kurdish PKK and freedom of speech. Ankara is still waiting for a 3-billion-euro EU payment.

More:Turkey action on migrants, PKK and freedom of speech under EU scrutiny | News | DW.COM | 25.01.2016

Turkey ranked 36th most innovative country in report - ECONOMICS

Turkey ranked 36th most innovative country in report

ISTANBUL

Turkey is the 36th most innovative country in the world, according to the recently released Bloomberg Innovation Index.

More:Turkey ranked 36th most innovative country in report - ECONOMICS

Has the Economy Lost its Influence on Turkey's Foreign Policy? - US News

Has the Economy Lost its Influence on Turkey's Foreign Policy?

Recent actions by Turkey suggest its foreign policy is beginning to hum to a different tune.

More:Has the Economy Lost its Influence on Turkey's Foreign Policy? - US News

As Europe takes a ‘fortress mentality,’ Turkey quietly struggles with its own refugee crisis | Toronto Star

As Europe takes a ‘fortress mentality,’ Turkey quietly struggles with its own refugee crisis
Near the front lines of war, Turkey is quietly struggling to cope with the hundreds of thousands of migrants moving through and living within its borders.

More:As Europe takes a ‘fortress mentality,’ Turkey quietly struggles with its own refugee crisis | Toronto Star

Turkish lira eases with emerging markets, eyes inflation report

Turkish lira eases with emerging markets, eyes inflation report
Monday, 25 January 2016 20:34
Posted by Imaduddin
E-mail Print PDF Views: 3

imageISTANBUL: The Turkish lira drifted lower on Monday as investors trod cautiously ahead of Tuesday's central bank inflation report, and risk appetite waned anew as oil prices tumbled again.

The lira stood at 3.0116 against the dollar at 1133 GMT, just firmer than 3.0130 in late Friday afternoon trade, but off a high of 2.9998 overnight. It hit an all-time low of 3.0750 against the U.S. currency in September.

More:Turkish lira eases with emerging markets, eyes inflation report

How Erdoğan Weakens Turkey by Dominique Moisi - Project Syndicate

How Erdoğan Weakens Turkey

PARIS – Five years ago, when the so-called “Arab Spring” erupted, Turkey’s hour seemed to have arrived. Having been humiliated by the European Union after years of accession negotiations – talks marked by a chain of false promises from the EU – Turkey’s then-prime minister (and now president) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had the perfect plan for restoring his country’s pride and boosting its credibility: It would help to reshape a Middle East in turmoil. Needless to say, things have not unfolded exactly as planned.

More:How Erdoğan Weakens Turkey by Dominique Moisi - Project Syndicate

Ankara police detain 11 for 'Daesh recruitment'

Ankara police detain 11 for 'Daesh recruitment'

Early morning operation centered on Ulus town in Turkish capital

More:Ankara police detain 11 for 'Daesh recruitment'

U.K. Out / Turkey In: the EU’s Next Storms | European Public Affairs

U.K. Out / Turkey In: the EU’s Next Storms
25 January 2016 | by Jorge Vanstreels

If the recent EU series of near-disasters has left you searching for some respite, think again: there are two threats ahead that could well transform into a systemic crisis. Indeed, after the near-collapse of the EU-bond market, the high drama of Grexit, and the mass refugee tragedy, the worst might be yet to come.

More:U.K. Out / Turkey In: the EU’s Next Storms | European Public Affairs

Welcome to Nikos and Andros… - YUSUF KANLI

Welcome to Nikos and Andros…

Many people were puzzled when Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu separately met in Istanbul with Andreas Kyprianou, the secretary-general of the Greek Cypriot Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL). Particularly, the very fact that the meeting came immediately after a landmark trilateral meeting of the two Cypriot leaders with the U.N. secretary-general at the Swiss winter resort town of Davos on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting led to comments that Turkey might be moving toward direct involvement to end the more than half-century-old Cyprus problem.

More:Welcome to Nikos and Andros… - YUSUF KANLI

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Refugee crisis holds economic benefits for Turkey | Global Risk Insights

Refugee crisis holds economic benefits for Turkey
Refugee crisis holds economic benefits for Turkey
1 0 0 0
by Jason Dozier , January 24, 2016

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees defined the Syrian crisis as the “biggest migration flow of history.” As a gateway to Europe, Turkey has been the first country to welcome Syrian refugees. How this massive influx of refugees is managed and economically integrated into society will determine Europe’s policy and public perceptions.

According to the United Nations, over 6 million Syrians have been forced to leave their homes, and around 4 million people have fled the country. In late 2015, Turkey sheltered more than 2.5 million refugees. Those alarming figures are feeding the European fear of being flooded by a wave of refugees. However, this misconception might hide economic opportunities.

More:Refugee crisis holds economic benefits for Turkey | Global Risk Insights

Islamic State’s death squads wage dirty war in Turkey

Islamic State’s death squads wage dirty war in Turkey

Firas Hanoush knows all too well who was intended to see the gruesome video that emerged from Syria a fortnight ago. Him.

More:Islamic State’s death squads wage dirty war in Turkey

Syrian gold coin traders appear in western Turkey - LOCAL

Syrian gold coin traders appear in western Turkey

Banu Şen - İZMİR

A large number of jewelry stores that reportedly engage in the illegal trade of Syrian gold coins have appeared in a western Turkish neighborhood that once hit headlines for being a hub for migrants seeking to reach Europe via the Aegean Sea.

More:Syrian gold coin traders appear in western Turkey - LOCAL

Biden: US Recognizes Kurdish Threat to Turkey

Biden: US Recognizes Kurdish Threat to Turkey

Ken Bredemeier

January 23, 2016 11:08 AM
ISTANBUL—

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Turkey on Saturday that the United States recognizes that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is as much a threat to Ankara as Islamic State militants are, even as Washington supports Kurdish forces fighting the jihadists in Iraq.

More:Biden: US Recognizes Kurdish Threat to Turkey

Funeral held for chairman of Turkey’s largest company

Funeral held for chairman of Turkey’s largest company

Mustafa Koc died of heart attack at the age of 56

24.01.2016 Ayşe Hümeyra Atılgan Istanbul Turkey, todays headlines < < <

ISTANBUL

Thousands of people gathered Sunday to attend the funeral held for Mustafa Koc, the board chairman of Turkey’s largest company Koc Holding.

More:Funeral held for chairman of Turkey’s largest company

Istanbul New Airport shaping up as a hub for the 21st century | The National

Istanbul New Airport shaping up as a hub for the 21st century

Jonny Clark

January 24, 2016 Updated: January 24, 2016 05:12 PM

The latest designs for Istanbul’s newest airport – aptly called Istanbul New Airport – have been released, this time for its air traffic control tower. Designed by the US firm Aecom and the leading Italian automotive design company Pininfarina, the 95-metre structure is an elliptical tower designed to resemble the tulip, a Turkish symbol.

More:Istanbul New Airport shaping up as a hub for the 21st century | The National

How Turkey risks becoming a dictatorial, rogue and failed state

How Turkey risks becoming a dictatorial, rogue and failed state

EU and US cannot be expected to anger the Erdogan's government by interfering in its internal affairs.

More:How Turkey risks becoming a dictatorial, rogue and failed state

Biden: More support needed to repel IS from Turkish border - News, Weather and Sports for Lincoln, NE; KLKNTV.com

Biden: More support needed to repel IS from Turkish border

By DOMINIQUE SOGUEL
Associated Press

ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkey and the United States agree on the need to ramp up support for Sunni Arab forces in Syria to cut off the Islamic State group's access to the Turkish border and to prevent future terror attacks, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday.

More:Biden: More support needed to repel IS from Turkish border - News, Weather and Sports for Lincoln, NE; KLKNTV.com

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Shifting Tides: Bombing in Istanbul Highlights Regional Struggle with Border Security | McGill International Review

Shifting Tides: Bombing in Istanbul Highlights Regional Struggle with Border Security
Posted by Conor Swimm 2 hours ago

For the second time in a matter of months a Turkish urban center has fallen prey to an attack at the hands of a suicide bomber with apparent links to the so-called Islamic State. October’s attack on a pro-Kurdish peace rally in Ankara came in the run up to the November elections and seemed to target Turkey’s already strained political infrastructure. However, the January 12th attack on Istanbul, perpetrated by IS-affiliated militant Nabil Fadli, shows that the Jihadist group seems to be changing tack in its dealings with Turkey.

More:Shifting Tides: Bombing in Istanbul Highlights Regional Struggle with Border Security | McGill International Review

Hard lives on Istanbul’s streets | Fulton News

Hard lives on Istanbul’s streets

By Tanisha Rowland on January 23, 2016No Comment

- As Turkey's biggest city experiences biting winter temperatures, Anadolu Agency speaks to those surviving on the streets

More:Hard lives on Istanbul’s streets | Fulton News

Syrian refugees in Turkey to be trained as intermediate staff - PanARMENIAN.Net

Syrian refugees in Turkey to be trained as intermediate staff

January 23, 2016 - 11:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrians living in Turkey will be offered training before beginning to work in line with a new regulation which allows many of the 2.5 million Syrian refugees in the country to apply for work permits, Turkish government officials have said, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

More:Syrian refugees in Turkey to be trained as intermediate staff - PanARMENIAN.Net

Friday, January 22, 2016

The Islamic State’s Plans for Turkey

The Islamic State’s Plans for Turkey
Hilmi Demir and Selim Koru
January 18, 2016

ISIL-Turkey-video_18JAN16

The video “Turkey and the Fire of Racism” begins with a map of 7th-century Arabia, outlining how Islam came to spread to Central Asia, and thereby to the Turks. It then goes into a narrative of how the Turks have turned their back on Islam in favor of national ties, and the decline they have suffered as a consequence. The 17-minute, high-definition propaganda piece features fancy animations, militants the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) talking into the camera, and idyllic cut scenes, all delivered in crisp Istanbul Turkish, save one Kurdish portion.

More:The Islamic State’s Plans for Turkey

Biden should ask Turkey to double down on its commitment to the West - SONER ÇAĞAPTAY

Biden should ask Turkey to double down on its commitment to the West

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Turkey on Jan. 23 at a crucial time in the country’s history.

Recently, Turkish politics have been like a pendulum. The country entered the 21th century with a tradition of strict separation of religion and politics as well as having a strong pro-West orientation in its foreign policy, following the legacy of its founder, secularist Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

More:Biden should ask Turkey to double down on its commitment to the West - SONER ÇAĞAPTAY

Germany, Turkey eye lifting EU visa rules for Turks by October - Al Arabiya News

Germany, Turkey eye lifting EU visa rules for Turks by October

Germany and Turkey agreed Friday to work towards easing EU visa requirements for Turkish nationals visiting the Schengen area by October, according to a statement issued after talks between leaders of the two countries.

More:Germany, Turkey eye lifting EU visa rules for Turks by October - Al Arabiya News

Turkey is doing the dirty work of Europe’s immigration control | openDemocracy

Turkey is doing the dirty work of Europe’s immigration control
Lucy Williams 22 January 2016

The EU mini-summit held in Brussels on the November 29 agreed a deal to keep more refugees in Turkey and out of the EU. What does this mean for those already in Turkey, now excluded from the EU's protection?

More:Turkey is doing the dirty work of Europe’s immigration control | openDemocracy

Biden Rebukes Turkey Over Free-Speech Crackdown

Biden Rebukes Turkey Over Free-Speech Crackdown

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden rebuked Turkey on Friday for its crackdown on freedom of expression.

More:Biden Rebukes Turkey Over Free-Speech Crackdown

Fitch: Turkey 'Road Map' Delay Shows Policy Credibility Weakness | Reuters

Fitch: Turkey 'Road Map' Delay Shows Policy Credibility Weakness

(The following statement was released by the rating agency) LONDON, January 22 (Fitch) The delay to the Turkish central bank's road map for global monetary policy normalisation highlights the long-standing weakness of economic policy coherence and credibility, Fitch Ratings says. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) gave no indication of when it would begin its "monetary policy simplification steps" when it announced the monetary policy committee's interest-rate decision on Tuesday. At its previous meeting on 22 December, the committee had indicated that these steps would begin in January,

More:Fitch: Turkey 'Road Map' Delay Shows Policy Credibility Weakness | Reuters

Turkish PM in Berlin to ask for more EU money

Turkish PM in Berlin to ask for more EU money

Turkish PM Davutoglu will argue for more help in Berlin (Photo: Consillium)

By Eszter Zalan and Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29

Germany will press Turkey to reduce the number of refugees coming to Europe, but Turkey wants more EU money, as Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu goes to Berlin on Friday (22 January).

More:Turkish PM in Berlin to ask for more EU money

Merkel pushes Turkey to stem flow of migrants - The Local

Merkel pushes Turkey to stem flow of migrants

Published: 22 Jan 2016 08:29 GMT+01:00
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel will press Turkey to step up to its "key role" in stemming the flow of migrants to Europe, when she hosts Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for talks Friday.

More:Merkel pushes Turkey to stem flow of migrants - The Local

Refugee Crisis: The EU’s Turkey Connection - The Globalist

Refugee Crisis: The EU’s Turkey Connection

Europe has to tread carefully as Turkey itself is in a precarious situation.
By Holger Schmieding, January 22, 2016

If transit countries police their sea borders, the inflow of refugees can be reduced significantly.
If Turkey does not slow down flow of refugees, the political situation in Germany could get tenser.
Enhancing Turkey’s stability needs to be one of the foreign policy priorities of the EU.
To depend on the goodwill of Erdogan is not exactly a comfortable position for Europe to be in.

Turkey matters. But Europe has to tread carefully as Turkey itself is in a precarious situation. I see a good chance that Europe (specifically Germany) and Turkey can work out a deal that will lead to a slower flow of refugees from Turkey into Greece.

More:Refugee Crisis: The EU’s Turkey Connection - The Globalist

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Local court dismisses President Erdoğan’s appeal against opposition head - The Journal of Turkish Weekly

Local court dismisses President Erdoğan’s appeal against opposition head
Mesut Hasan Benli
Turkey
January 21, 2016

A local court in the Turkish capital Ankara has rejected a complaint made by PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan against main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) headKemal Kılıçdaroğlu for calling him “baş çalan” (prime thief) and “hırsız” (thief).

More:Local court dismisses President Erdoğan’s appeal against opposition head - The Journal of Turkish Weekly

ISIS 'plans to contaminate Turkish water with tularemia' - General news - ANSAMed.it

ISIS 'plans to contaminate Turkish water with tularemia'
Says intelligence report; symptoms difficult to diagnose

21 January, 16:41

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, JANUARY 21 - The Islamic State (ISIS) is planning to contaminate Turkey's water supplies, according to a 'confidential' intelligence report.

More:ISIS 'plans to contaminate Turkish water with tularemia' - General news - ANSAMed.it

Biden Arrives in Turkey With Full Agenda

Biden Arrives in Turkey With Full Agenda

Dorian Jones

January 21, 2016 3:31 PM
ISTANBUL—

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Turkey amid the ongoing fight against the Islamic State militant group and before next week's peace talks in Vienna on Syria.

More:Biden Arrives in Turkey With Full Agenda

Turkey ‘becomes third largest country exposure for World Bank’s lending arm’ - BUSINESS

Turkey ‘becomes third largest country exposure for World Bank’s lending arm’

ISTANBUL

Turkey was in 2015 the third largest partner of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) unit, which made investments worth around $4.3 billion in the country, said IFC Turkey Manager Aisha Williams in a meeting hosted by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) on Jan. 21.

More:Turkey ‘becomes third largest country exposure for World Bank’s lending arm’ - BUSINESS

Five held in Germany, 10 in Turkey in joint bust of alleged traffickers of 1,700 Syrians | The Japan Times

Five held in Germany, 10 in Turkey in joint bust of alleged traffickers of 1,700 Syrians

BERLIN – German and Turkish police arrested 15 people suspected of people smuggling in a joint operation to break up a ring believed to have trafficked more than 1,700 Syrian refugees to Europe.

More:Five held in Germany, 10 in Turkey in joint bust of alleged traffickers of 1,700 Syrians | The Japan Times

Istanbul bomber was Saudi, not Syrian | NanoNews.org

Istanbul bomber was Saudi, not Syrian
Jan 20, 2016 by Larry Roberts

Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the Turkish police detained four more suspects on Wednesday over their links with the suicide bomber in Tuesday’s Istanbul explosion. He also said 11 people had been killed in the attack, that’s one more than the figure released Tuesday.

More:Istanbul bomber was Saudi, not Syrian | NanoNews.org

Turkey blocks hundreds of web pages about Istanbul suicide bombing | EUROPE ONLINE

Turkey blocks hundreds of web pages about Istanbul suicide bombing
Europe
20.01.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - A Turkish court, acting at the request of the prime minister‘s office, has blocked 223 web pages containing information about last week‘s suicide bombing in Istanbul, which killed 10 German tourists, an internet activist said on Wednesday.

More:Turkey blocks hundreds of web pages about Istanbul suicide bombing | EUROPE ONLINE

Turkey in conflict: How Kurds' gains in Syria have pushed both sides to dig in - CSMonitor.com

Turkey in conflict: How Kurds' gains in Syria have pushed both sides to dig in

Seven months after the collapse of the Turkish-PKK peace process, the fighting is relentless and both sides are convinced now is the time to press their advantage.
By Dominique Soguel, Correspondent January 20, 2016

Diyarbakir, Turkey — The goal of the operation was simple and humanitarian: retrieve four corpses that had been rotting for weeks in this war-torn southeastern city.

More:Turkey in conflict: How Kurds' gains in Syria have pushed both sides to dig in - CSMonitor.com

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Looking to snitch on your neighbors? Turkey will pay you for the info - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Looking to snitch on your neighbors? Turkey will pay you for the info

Mukhtars are moving up in the world. Since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan moved to his controversial palace outside Ankara in November 2014, the mukhtars — elected heads of villages and towns — have become his prominent guests. They were the first group to be invited to the fancy palace, and Erdogan continues to receive groups of 300-400 mukhtars at a time.

More:Looking to snitch on your neighbors? Turkey will pay you for the info - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Woman sentenced to 11 months in jail for ‘insulting Erdoğan’ - CRIME

Woman sentenced to 11 months in jail for ‘insulting Erdoğan’

İZMİR – Doğan News Agency

A Turkish woman was sentenced to 11 months in prison on Jan. 20 for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by shouting and directing a hand gesture toward him in the Aegean province of İzmir in 2014.

More:Woman sentenced to 11 months in jail for ‘insulting Erdoğan’ - CRIME

Crytek opens virtual reality center in Istanbul - BUSINESS

Crytek opens virtual reality center in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

A virtual reality (VR) laboratory has been opened in Istanbul by Germany-based independent video game developer, publisher and technology provider Crytek in cooperation with Bahçeşehir University (BAU). Being a part of Crytek’s Virtual First Program, the center will serve as a technology base for VR developers and entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, according to a written statement by the university on Jan. 19.

More:Crytek opens virtual reality center in Istanbul - BUSINESS

American yogurt billionaire: ‘Hire more Muslim refugees’

American yogurt billionaire: 'Hire more Muslim refugees'

Chobani has been hailed as the fastest growing brand of Greek-style yogurt and recently opened the world’s largest yogurt plant in Idaho.

Ever wonder why the federal government would be sending hundreds of foreign refugees to a relatively small town in Idaho?

More:American yogurt billionaire: ‘Hire more Muslim refugees’

Harvard Business School publishes a case study about Istanbul-based TAV

Harvard Business School publishes a case study about Istanbul-based TAV

Wednesday, 20 January 2016 19:13
Published by Ozgur Tore

One of the world’s most prestigious business schools, Harvard Business School, published a case study about the operating model and growth strategy of TAV, one of the world’s largest airport constructors and management companies. The case study presents how TAV became a global brand from its humble beginnings in Istanbul.

More:Harvard Business School publishes a case study about Istanbul-based TAV

Cruise lines avoiding Turkey ports due to 'safety concerns' - Telegraph

Cruise lines avoiding Turkey ports due to 'safety concerns'

Two cruise lines have decided to cancel calls into ports in Turkey until further notice

More:Cruise lines avoiding Turkey ports due to 'safety concerns' - Telegraph

Erdogan aide calls for nationalisation of Turkey's Isbank | Daily Mail Online

Erdogan aide calls for nationalisation of Turkey's Isbank

By Reuters

Published: 07:12 EST, 20 January 2016 | Updated: 07:12 EST, 20 January 2016

ISTANBUL, Jan 20 (Reuters) - An aide to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called for the nationalisation of the country's biggest private bank, Isbank, in which the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has a 28 percent stake.

More:Erdogan aide calls for nationalisation of Turkey's Isbank | Daily Mail Online

How the US can get Russia and Turkey to talk | EurActiv

How the US can get Russia and Turkey to talk

by Stratfor
19 Jan 2016 - 12:18

With the Iran nuclear deal now in force, the United States can devote its energies to its next big regional challenge: dealing a crippling blow to Islamic State. The geopolitical strategy to move toward this goal is more circuitous than one might think, contends Stratfor, the global intelligence company.

More:How the US can get Russia and Turkey to talk | EurActiv

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Turkey vs ISIS: Where’s the New Caliphate Now? | Dissident Voice

Turkey vs ISIS: Where’s the New Caliphate Now?

by Eric Walberg / January 19th, 2016

Under intense pressure from the United States–not to mention Russia–Turkey has begun to reassess its support for anti-Assad groups. ISIS’s third attack in six months in Turkey has pushed it where it did not want to go. The first two attacks were against Kurds (one killed 33 outside a Kurdish cultural center in the border town of Suruc in July, another killed more than 100 in Ankara in October).

More:Turkey vs ISIS: Where’s the New Caliphate Now? | Dissident Voice

Readout of the President’s Call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey | whitehouse.gov

Readout of the President’s Call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey

The President spoke today by phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express his condemnation of, and offer condolences for, the January 12 terrorist attack in Istanbul. The two leaders pledged to deepen cooperation in the fight against terrorism and reiterated their shared goal of degrading and ultimately destroying ISIL. The President also condemned the recent string of PKK attacks against Turkish security forces and stressed the need for de-escalation.

More:Readout of the President’s Call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey | whitehouse.gov

Why the world questions Turkey's stance on Islamic State - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Why the world questions Turkey's stance on Islamic State

Is Turkey actually fighting the Islamic State (IS)? Or is the accusation that Turkey supports IS valid? If you ask President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, no other state combats IS as much as Turkey does.

More:Why the world questions Turkey's stance on Islamic State - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Syrian Teacher Vows to Show Her Turkish Loyalty After Istanbul Attack - New America Media

Syrian Teacher Vows to Show Her Turkish Loyalty After Istanbul Attack

ISTANBUL -- Aya Nawlo, a Syrian who fled the war in her country, opened the windows of the classroom where she was teaching primary school students in Istanbul after she heard a suicide bomber killed tourists last Tuesday. If a second bomb exploded, closed windows would shatter and injure the children.

More:Syrian Teacher Vows to Show Her Turkish Loyalty After Istanbul Attack - New America Media

Turkish officials investigate fake divorces - Marilyn Stowe Blog

Turkish officials investigate fake divorces

January 19, 2016

Turkish social security officials have expressed alarm at a recent surge in faked divorces.

Investigators from the Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu (SGK – Turkish Social Security Institution) have uncovered 1,700 women in the western city of Izmir who claimed to have divorced their husbands while continuing to live with them. The investigators, called ‘supervisors’, made surprise visits to the homes of those thought to be cheating the system.

More:Turkish officials investigate fake divorces - Marilyn Stowe Blog

Could Turkish become an official language of EU? - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail

Could Turkish become an official language of EU?

January 19th, 2016 Cyprus 97 Comments

The government is looking into applying to make Turkish, which is one of the island’s two official languages along with Greek, an official language of the European Union, reports said on Tuesday.

More:Could Turkish become an official language of EU? - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail

Italy not targeting Turkey in blocking aid package

Italy not targeting Turkey in blocking aid package
By Mustafa Pazarlı -
Jan 19, 2016

Italian ambassador to Ankara says 3 million-euro refugee deal will proceed

ANKARA – Italy’s ambassador to Ankara on Tuesday said his country, which has been blamed for blocking EU funds to help refugees in Turkey, does not have an issue with Turkey.

More:Italy not targeting Turkey in blocking aid package

Turkey Won’t Accept Kurdish Inclusion in Official Syrian Opposition - WSJ

Turkey Won’t Accept Kurdish Inclusion in Official Syrian Opposition

LONDON—Turkey won't tolerate the inclusion of Kurdish groups among the official opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at upcoming peace talks aimed at ending the war in Syria, Turkey’s prime minister said, highlighting divisions among major players just days before the talks are due to begin.

More:Turkey Won’t Accept Kurdish Inclusion in Official Syrian Opposition - WSJ

Refugee intake 'should give Turkey major influence over Syria peace talks' | World news | The Guardian

Refugee intake 'should give Turkey major influence over Syria peace talks'

Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, in London to meet David Cameron, says with 2.5m refugees Turkey is now second largest Syrian country

More:Refugee intake 'should give Turkey major influence over Syria peace talks' | World news | The Guardian

Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink remembered, while murder inquiry still underway - Daily Sabah

Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink remembered, while murder inquiry still underway
DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL

As the investigation into his murder continues, prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was remembered on Tuesday on the ninth anniversary of his death in Istanbul, by a large crowd of friends and supporters calling for the real culprits in the murder of Dink

More:Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink remembered, while murder inquiry still underway - Daily Sabah

Turkish peppers dodge bullet

Turkish peppers dodge bullet

The impact on the Turkish sector is varied. Grape exporters saw their most important market drop out, as did tomato growers. Pepper growers, on the other hand, have not been hindered. Putin didn't close the borders for peppers. The Russian parliament is supporting the government's efforts to become self sufficient. The inspection will be checking closely for illegal products. Syrian exporters also see a lot of potential in the Russian market, Belarus intercepted 200 parties of smuggled wares last year and the Russian import from Uruguay and Thailand decreased.

More:Turkish peppers dodge bullet

RPT-UPDATE 1-Turkish central bank keeps rate on hold despite pressure on lira | Reuters

Turkish central bank keeps rate on hold despite pressure on lira

(Repeats to additional subscribers with no changes to text)

Jan 19 Turkey's central bank left its main interest rate on hold at 7.5 percent for the 11th straight month on Tuesday, a widely expected move that could put more pressure on the languishing lira currency.

More:RPT-UPDATE 1-Turkish central bank keeps rate on hold despite pressure on lira | Reuters

New 320 million euro new EIB finance for Turkey's climate action and knowledge economy investments

New 320 million euro new EIB finance for Turkey's climate action and knowledge economy investments

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is renewing its support for climate action and the knowledge economy in Turkey with a EUR 320 million total finance package in the form of two separate lending facilities signed with the Under-secretariat of the Turkish Treasury.

More:New 320 million euro new EIB finance for Turkey's climate action and knowledge economy investments

Tourism in 2015: the biggest winners and losers - Telegraph

Tourism in 2015: the biggest winners and losers

Worldwide tourist numbers rose to almost 1.2bn last year, but which countries witnessed the biggest increase in visitors - and which the sharpest fall?

More:Tourism in 2015: the biggest winners and losers - Telegraph

Our historic and cultural heritage in Davos - GİLA BENMAYOR

Our historic and cultural heritage in Davos

The World Economic Forum (WEF) will be held in Davos from Jan. 20 to 23. There will be significant participation this year from Turkey at the Davos meetings, both from the business world and the world of politics.

More:Our historic and cultural heritage in Davos - GİLA BENMAYOR

Another banal expression of authoritarianism in Turkey - NURAY MERT

Another banal expression of authoritarianism in Turkey

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent attack against academics - who signed a petition condemning military operations in Kurdish cities and calling for peace and negotiations - is yet another banal expression of the authoritarian politics that have long prevailed in Turkey under Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule. All authoritarian regimes are anti-intellectual and this tendency intensifies when they are in trouble. So it is not surprising that Turkey’s president and his party look for scapegoats to blame for their domestic and foreign policy failures. Indeed, authoritarianism is rarely a reflection of political power; rather, in most cases it is a result of weakness.

More:Another banal expression of authoritarianism in Turkey - NURAY MERT

UN committee warns Turkey over discrimination and human rights violations - RIGHTS

UN committee warns Turkey over discrimination and human rights violations

Nurettin Kurt - ANKARA

A United Nations committee has voiced concern over widespread violations of human rights in Turkey, particularly focusing on racial profiling of Kurdish citizens during the campaign against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

More:UN committee warns Turkey over discrimination and human rights violations - RIGHTS

Monday, January 18, 2016

Implications of Istanbul Bombing for Turkey, Erdogan « LobeLog

Implications of Istanbul Bombing for Turkey, Erdogan

by Derek Davison

Last week’s suicide bombing in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district was the fourth bombing on Turkish soil since last June linked to the Islamic State (ISIS or IS). However, unlike the three previous bombings, this attack was not directed at Turkey’s Kurdish minority or supporters of the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which could signal a change in IS’s approach to its operations within Turkey. Instead of trying to stoke further tension in the ongoing Turkish-Kurdish conflict, this attack suggests that IS has begun targeting Turkish interests directly, perhaps in response to recent signals that Ankara may start doing more to control its Syrian border. In the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s attack, Turkish artillery shelled alleged IS positions in Syria and Iraq, and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claimed that they killed 200 IS fighters. But it remains to be seen whether Tuesday’s attack will spur Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to reevaluate his government’s approach to Syria, IS, and the Kurds more broadly.

More:Implications of Istanbul Bombing for Turkey, Erdogan « LobeLog

New container city to house Syrian refugees in Turkish border town - Daily Sabah

New container city to house Syrian refugees in Turkish border town
DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL

Turkey's efforts to reach out to Syrian refugees struggling with cold winter weather has culminated in a new camp for 6,000 refugees made of housing units made of containers that is under construction in a town near the Syrian border

More:New container city to house Syrian refugees in Turkish border town - Daily Sabah

Prosecuting Peace in Turkey | commentary

Prosecuting Peace in Turkey
Michael Rubin / Jan. 18, 2016

The situation in Turkey has become increasingly insecure and chilly. Turkey’s press freedom ratings put it in an unenviable club that includes Egypt, Pakistan, and Russia. Indeed, since Recep Tayyip Erdoğan first took the reins of power, it has declined in press freedom rankings 50 spots; it may soon fall below even Saudi Arabia and Cuba. Whereas feminists in the United States and Europe fight for new rights, Turkish women are fighting for rights that are actively being stripped away from them.

More:Prosecuting Peace in Turkey | commentary

Turkey worst in OECD for unregistered economy: Study - The Journal of Turkish Weekly

Turkey worst in OECD for unregistered economy: Study
Şebnem Turhan

The share of the unregistered economy in Turkey is bigger than any other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member state, according to a new study.

More:Turkey worst in OECD for unregistered economy: Study - The Journal of Turkish Weekly

Erdogan sues Turkey’s main opposition leader over dictator remark - Yahoo News

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses the audience during a meeting in Ankara

ANKARA (Reuters) - Lawyers for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan filed a lawsuit against the main opposition leader on Monday for implying that Erdogan was a dictator, presidential sources and the opposition party said.

More:Erdogan sues Turkey’s main opposition leader over dictator remark - Yahoo News

TTG Media | Travel industry, travel agent and tourism news, events and jobs - News - Crystal Cruises cancels Turkey port calls amid security fears

Crystal Cruises cancels Turkey port calls amid security fears

Crystal Cruises blames 'ongoing security fears' as it cancels port calls in Turkey

The move comes after 10 people were killed in a bomb blast in Istanbul, at least nine of which were believed to be German tourists.

More:TTG Media | Travel industry, travel agent and tourism news, events and jobs - News - Crystal Cruises cancels Turkey port calls amid security fears

2 killed as mortar shell drops on school in Turkey border province Kilis – reports — RT News

2 killed as mortar shell drops on school in Turkey border province Kilis – reports
Published time: 18 Jan, 2016 08:19
Edited time: 18 Jan, 2016 09:59

An explosion in a school’s grounds in the Turkish city of Kilis has reportedly killed two people, Turkish media are reporting on Twitter. It’s believed a mortar shell hit the affected area, in south central Turkey, near the Syrian border.

More:2 killed as mortar shell drops on school in Turkey border province Kilis – reports — RT News

Sunday, January 17, 2016

How Terrorism Came Back to Turkey | The National Interest

How Terrorism Came Back to Turkey

January 18, 2016

A suicide bomber identified as an Islamic State (IS) militant killed ten tourists and wounded fifteen others in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet neighborhood on Tuesday. The attack was the third IS-linked suicide bombing in Turkey in the last six months. But Turkey’s terrorism problem extends beyond the Islamic State. The country is now exposed to myriad enemies from a range of radical ideologies.

More:How Terrorism Came Back to Turkey | The National Interest

Istanbul bombing suspects in court on preliminary charges | Reuters - Firstpost

Istanbul bombing suspects in court on preliminary charges | Reuters
Jan 18, 2016 00:30 IST

ISTANBUL A Turkish court on Sunday heard preliminary charges against 16 Syrian nationals detained in connection with a suicide bomb attack that killed 10 German tourists in Turkey's largest city last week, media said.

More:Istanbul bombing suspects in court on preliminary charges | Reuters - Firstpost

Turkey Hails Iran Nuclear Deal - WSJ

Turkey Hails Iran Nuclear Deal

By Emre Peker
Jan. 17, 2016 10:41 a.m. ET
0 COMMENTS

ISTANBUL—Turkey welcomed the implementation of the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, calling for all parties to bolster security and stability in the Middle East as regional conflicts destabilize the country and stoke tensions between Ankara and Tehran.

More:Turkey Hails Iran Nuclear Deal - WSJ

Turkish opposition leader Kilicdaroglu is re-elected despite recent poll defeat | The Japan Times

Turkish opposition leader Kilicdaroglu is re-elected despite recent poll defeat

Jan 17, 2016

ANKARA – Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, was re-elected to the post despite a bruising defeat by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party in November elections.

More:Turkish opposition leader Kilicdaroglu is re-elected despite recent poll defeat | The Japan Times

Hundreds of Flights Cancelled as Istanbul Hit by Heavy Snow | Jakarta Globe

Hundreds of Flights Cancelled as Istanbul Hit by Heavy Snow

Istanbul. Hundreds of flights in and out of Turkey were cancelled for Thursday and Friday at Istanbul's two airports after the city was blanketed by heavy snow, which also forced the closure of schools and brought chaos to the roads.

More:Hundreds of Flights Cancelled as Istanbul Hit by Heavy Snow | Jakarta Globe

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Turkey’s agro food potential – The Financial Express

Turkey’s agro food potential
January 17, 2016

The Turkish economy has shown remarkable performance with its steady growth over the last decade. A sound macroeconomic strategy in combination with prudent fiscal policies and major structural reforms in effect since 2002 has integrated the Turkish economy into the globalised world, while transforming the country into one of the major recipients of FDI in its region. As these reforms have strengthened the macroeconomic fundamentals of the country, the economy grew with an average annual real GDP growth rate of 4.7 per cent over the period of 2002 to 2014.

More:Turkey’s agro food potential – The Financial Express

Why Turkey’s government is threatening academic freedom - The Washington Post

Why Turkey’s government is threatening academic freedom

By A.Kadir Yildirim January 16 at 8:05 PM

Turkey is making international news. And, unsurprisingly, the news is gloomy yet again. Emboldened by his party’s electoral victory in November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has set out on a crusade against academics. After 1,128 academics signed a petition to the Turkish government imploring an end to the violence in southeastern Turkey, prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against all signatories. University administrations have begun investigating these academics, who have in some cases been detained or suspended.

More:Why Turkey’s government is threatening academic freedom - The Washington Post

Did ISIS Mess With the Wrong Country By Attacking Istanbul? - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Did ISIS Mess With the Wrong Country By Attacking Istanbul?
Erdogan might finally stop playing footsie with this outfit

Shikha Dalmia|Jan. 15, 2016 4:23 pm

ISIS’s suicide bombing of Istanbul has been buried under the headlines emanating from the clown show that is called the annual state of union address and the horror show that is the Republican presidential debate. But while the GOPBlue MosqueFoter.com / CC BY-NC-SA hopefuls debate how they can ban victims of ISIS – aka Syrian refugees, not to mention other Muslims – from America in order to fight ISIS, the end of this noxious outfit might have already begun.

More:Did ISIS Mess With the Wrong Country By Attacking Istanbul? - Hit & Run : Reason.com

EU condemns Turkey's arrest of academics as 'extremely worrying' — EU - European Union business news and information | eubusiness.com

EU condemns Turkey's arrest of academics as 'extremely worrying'
16 January 2016, 13:22 CET

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union on Saturday condemned as "extremely worrying" Turkey's arrest of academics who signed a petition criticising a military crackdown in the Kurdish-dominated southeast.

More:EU condemns Turkey's arrest of academics as 'extremely worrying' — EU - European Union business news and information | eubusiness.com

Tourism and terrorism: first Paris, then Istanbul

Tourism and terrorism: first Paris, then Istanbul
EPA/SEDAT SUNA

People place flowers and Germany soccer clubs scarf for victims who were killed in a suicide attack near by Sultanahmet, home to the Hagia Sophia museum and the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul, Turkey, 13 January 2016. German Chancellor Angela Merkel described 12 January 2016's suicide attack in Istanbul in which 11 people died, eight of them Germans, as a 'murderous act.' The Turkish government blamed Islamic State for the suicide bombing in the tourist heart of Istanbul in which eight German citizens were among the dead and nine were injured.

More:Tourism and terrorism: first Paris, then Istanbul

Istanbul to host Love Festival - ARTS

Istanbul to host Love Festival

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

The 360 Degree Love Festival, which features various art disciplines, will be organized in Istanbul between Feb. 9 and 29 around the theme “World in Love.”

More:Istanbul to host Love Festival - ARTS

Turkey, the U.S. and Europe Are All Partly to Blame for the Festering Syria War | Behlül Özkan

Turkey, the U.S. and Europe Are All Partly to Blame for the Festering Syria War
Posted: 01/14/2016 12:46 pm EST Updated: 01/14/2016 4:00 pm EST
SULTANAHMET

ISTANBUL -- On Tuesday, 10 German tourists lost their lives when a bomb went off in Sultanahmet Square, in the heart of Istanbul's tourist district, ringed by centuries-old Byzantine and Ottoman sights such as Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. The suicide bombing appears to have been carried out by a Syrian member of the so-called Islamic State. Unlike previous ISIS-linked terrorist attacks in Turkey over the past year, this one specifically targeted foreigners. This alarming development shows that even Istanbul -- a cosmopolitan, culturally European city in the northwest corner of Turkey -- is not immune from the violence of Syria's civil war.

More:Turkey, the U.S. and Europe Are All Partly to Blame for the Festering Syria War | Behlül Özkan

Friday, January 15, 2016

Will Turkey Adopt Islamic Work Week? | commentary

Will Turkey Adopt Islamic Work Week?
Michael Rubin / Jan. 10, 2016
Turkey

When Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) first took power in 2002, they did so against the backdrop of a banking and financial crisis. In one day, the Turkish currency had lost 35 percent of its value, taking a bite out of almost every Turk’s bank account and purchasing power. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was wise: He focused his party’s efforts on popular measures to stabilize and repair the economy, rather than pursue some of the Islamist social agenda that his detractors feared. To a large degree, he succeeded. In the five years before the AKP assumed power, Turkey’s currency devalued from around 200,000 lira to just over 1.7 million lira against the dollar while in the first two years of AKP government, the Turkish currency actually strengthened to 1.5 million lira to the dollar. Whereas today Erdoğan has launched a jihad against cigarettes, back in the day Turkish radio broadcast stories about Erdoğan’s efforts to lower cigarette taxes.

More:Will Turkey Adopt Islamic Work Week? | commentary

Chomsky hits back at Erdoğan, accusing him of double standards on terrorism | World news | The Guardian

Chomsky hits back at Erdoğan, accusing him of double standards on terrorism

US academic says Turkish president – who has condemned leftwing critics for ignorance – has been aiding Isis, which he blamed for bomb attack on Istanbul

More:Chomsky hits back at Erdoğan, accusing him of double standards on terrorism | World news | The Guardian

Is ‘bon pour l’orient’ governance enough for Turkey? - GÜVEN SAK

Is ‘bon pour l’orient’ governance enough for Turkey?

Turkey belongs to the Middle East. So said 58 percent of respondents to a recent survey conducted by Istanbul’s Kadir Has University. At first I was surprised to see this result. Turks usually prefer to see themselves as being part of Europe. We constantly underline our country’s Europeanness, whether saying that we have the “biggest truck fleet in Europe” or trumpeting our membership in the Erasmus student exchange program. But perhaps things are now changing. The Kadir Has survey, conducted in the first half of December 2015, indicates the emergence of a new pattern. Let me elaborate.

More:Is ‘bon pour l’orient’ governance enough for Turkey? - GÜVEN SAK

Istanbul Ataturk beats Frankfurt to climb Europe’s airport ranks | Business , Regional | THE DAILY STAR

Istanbul Ataturk beats Frankfurt to climb Europe’s airport ranks

Richard WeissKari Lundgren| Bloomberg

FRANKFURT: Istanbul’s Ataturk airport overtook Frankfurt to enter the European top three for the first time in 2015 as Turkish Airlines continued its rapid expansion and strikes at Deutsche Lufthansa AG hurt the German hub. London Heathrow, the main base for British Airways, remains Europe’s busiest airport, even as it struggles to add flights on runways that are effectively full, while Paris Charles de Gaulle, ranked second, suffered two months of falling numbers for the first time in almost two years after November’s terror attacks.

More:Istanbul Ataturk beats Frankfurt to climb Europe’s airport ranks | Business , Regional | THE DAILY STAR

Saudi-born Istanbul bomber planned New Year's Eve attack: sources - Yahoo News

Saudi-born Istanbul bomber planned New Year's Eve attack: sources

ANKARA (Reuters) - Nabil Fadli, a Saudi-born Syrian who killed 10 German tourists in a suicide bombing in Istanbul, was planning a major attack on New Year's Eve celebrations in Ankara but changed targets after the plot was foiled, two senior Turkish officials have told Reuters.

More:Saudi-born Istanbul bomber planned New Year's Eve attack: sources - Yahoo News

1ST LEAD EU, Italy face off in spat over Turkey refugee aid, Renzi leadership By Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl, dpa | EUROPE ONLINE

1ST LEAD EU, Italy face off in spat over Turkey refugee aid, Renzi leadership By Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl,

By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Brussels (dpa) - Italy and the European Commission clashed Friday in a showdown over Europe‘s refugee crisis, with a top EU official also taking aim at the leadership of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

More:1ST LEAD EU, Italy face off in spat over Turkey refugee aid, Renzi leadership By Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl, dpa | EUROPE ONLINE

Blood Disorder: Turkey's Never-Ending Civil Strife | Simon Johns

Blood Disorder: Turkey's Never-Ending Civil Strife

A street in Turkey was once again spattered with blood and chunks of human remains this week when another suicide bomber detonated himself, this time in the heart of ancient Istanbul.

More:Blood Disorder: Turkey's Never-Ending Civil Strife | Simon Johns

The Islamic State Hits Turkey Where It Hurts | Foreign Policy

The Islamic State Hits Turkey Where It Hurts

The terror group is ramping up its fight against Ankara. Its latest battleground: the Turkish economy.

More:The Islamic State Hits Turkey Where It Hurts | Foreign Policy

Egyptian column becomes memorial to Istanbul attack victims - Yahoo News

Egyptian column becomes memorial to Istanbul attack victims
AFP
January 14, 2016 12:34 PM

Istanbul (AFP) - An ancient Egyptian obelisk has become a makeshift memorial for the 10 German tourists killed in this week's suicide bombing in Istanbul, with people laying carnations, messages and even football scarves to remember the victims.

More:Egyptian column becomes memorial to Istanbul attack victims - Yahoo News

Let’s accept 2016 as ‘lost year’ for Turkey’s tourism sector - GÜNEŞ KÖMÜRCÜLER

Let’s accept 2016 as ‘lost year’ for Turkey’s tourism sector

Things are getting worse for Turkey’s tourism sector, with crisis after crisis erupting before the last one is resolved. The situation is so bad that we should simply accept this year as a “lost year” for tourism and see this crisis period as a chance to transform the entire sector for the better.

More:Let’s accept 2016 as ‘lost year’ for Turkey’s tourism sector - GÜNEŞ KÖMÜRCÜLER

Turkey: Terrorism May Slow Economy - Emerging Markets Daily - Barrons.com

Turkey: Terrorism May Slow Economy

By Dimitra DeFotis

Turkey’s latest bomb attack, in which 9 Germans and a Peruvian died, and 15 others were injured, compounds the impact terrorism is having on the country’s economy.

More:Turkey: Terrorism May Slow Economy - Emerging Markets Daily - Barrons.com

Syrian Refugee Children Draw Pictures of Their Former Homes - ABC News

Syrian Refugee Children Draw Pictures of Their Former Homes

By JULIA JACOBO

Jan 14, 2016, 3:30 PM ET

Home is truly where the heart is, a classic expression proven by Syrian children at refugee camps in Turkey, who drew pictures of their homes for a photographer who simply asked them to put to paper whatever "comes to mind first."

More:Syrian Refugee Children Draw Pictures of Their Former Homes - ABC News

PressTV-Chomsky blames Erdogan for Turkey crisis

Erdogan responsible for crisis in Turkey: Chomsky
Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:38PM

Prominent US scholar Noam Chomsky has accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of having double standards on terrorism after Erdoğan accused him of ignorance and sympathizing with terrorists.

More:PressTV-Chomsky blames Erdogan for Turkey crisis

Daesh on Turkey's Doorstep: Erdogan's Regional Policy Bears Bitter Fruit

Daesh on Turkey's Doorstep: Erdogan's Regional Policy Bears Bitter Fruit
© REUTERS/ Umit Bektas
Politics

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's flirtation with Islamists has borne its bitter fruit: the recent suicide bomber attack in Istanbul is a potential blowback from Erdogan's risky adventures in Syria, W. Robert Pearson and Gregory Kist note.

More:Daesh on Turkey's Doorstep: Erdogan's Regional Policy Bears Bitter Fruit

Attacks in Turkey Symptomatic of Failed Strategy for Extremism - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Striking the Heart of Europe: Turkey's Failed Anti-Extremism Strategy

This week's terrorist strike on a group of German travelers in Istanbul was an attack on Turkish stability and the West's confidence. Is President Erdogan capable of stopping the Islamic State -- and does he even want to? By SPIEGEL Staff

Minutes after the explosion, when Robert H. came to, he only had one thought: Get out of here! His ears were ringing and his head was throbbing. But he briefly stopped to think. Where was his wife? He looked around and saw body parts lying around: disembodied legs, a head. People were screaming for help. Anke H. was lying on the ground, bleeding. She stammered: I can't breathe. Robert H. bound up the wound on her leg with a piece of cloth.

More:Attacks in Turkey Symptomatic of Failed Strategy for Extremism - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Rights fall victim to fight against terror in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Rights fall victim to fight against terror in Turkey

Turkey has been in a fight against terrorism for many years. This campaign changed its dimension and nature since the summer of 2015, after the June 7 election.

More:Rights fall victim to fight against terror in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

‘EU refugee deal should not overshadow right violations in Turkey,' jailed Turkish journalist says - RIGHTS

‘EU refugee deal should not overshadow right violations in Turkey,' jailed Turkish journalist says

ISTANBUL

Jailed Turkish journalist Can Dündar has sent the Italian prime minister an open letter arguing the rapprochement between Turkey and the European Union over refugees should not overshadow violations of fundamental rights and freedoms in Turkey during the country’s EU accession process.

More:‘EU refugee deal should not overshadow right violations in Turkey,' jailed Turkish journalist says - RIGHTS

Istanbul suicide bombing shows ISIS tactical change - Business Insider

The ISIS-linked suicide bombing in Istanbul represents a 'clear change in tactics' for the group

Pamela Engel

A suicide bomber linked to the terrorist group ISIS killed 10 people near Sultanahmet square, a popular tourist district in Istanbul on Tuesday, marking a significant change in the terrorist group's strategy toward Turkey, experts say.

More:Istanbul suicide bombing shows ISIS tactical change - Business Insider

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Despite traumas of war, Syrian children in Turkey dream of home - Channel NewsAsia

Despite traumas of war, Syrian children in Turkey dream of home

When nine-year old Ilaf Hassun drew a picture of her home she scrawled a simple house, trees and clouds with smiling faces. Then in thick red pen, she added the figure of a woman clutching her dead child walking towards a cemetery.

More:Despite traumas of war, Syrian children in Turkey dream of home - Channel NewsAsia

Education for Syrian children in Turkey: Turkish or Arabic? - BARÇIN YİNANÇ

Education for Syrian children in Turkey: Turkish or Arabic?

Education is the most urgent issue, according to Murat Erdoğan, an Ankara-based academic who has been working intensively on the issue of Syrian refugees. Erdoğan was among the first to call on the government to stop seeing Syrian refugees as temporary “guests.” He has been urging the government to face the fact that Syrians are here to stay and therefore it must not lose time developing policies accordingly.

More:Education for Syrian children in Turkey: Turkish or Arabic? - BARÇIN YİNANÇ

What the Istanbul bombing means for Turkey’s security and economic climate | Global Risk Insights

What the Istanbul bombing means for Turkey’s security and economic climate

While business won’t be heavily impacted for now, this week’s suicide attack in Istanbul’s tourism quarter reveals a complex terror threat.

On January 12th, a single suicide bomber detonated his suicide vest in the touristic centre of Istanbul. The explosion occurred in the vicinity of the Obelisk of Theodosius in the Sultanahmet Square of Istanbul’s Fatih district. The blast left at least ten dead, all of whom were German tourists.

More:What the Istanbul bombing means for Turkey’s security and economic climate | Global Risk Insights

Turkish tourism seen dented, not destroyed by Istanbul bombing | Reuters

Turkish tourism seen dented, not destroyed by Istanbul bombing

* Tourists reduced to a trickle in city's historic heart

* Attack threatens industry that makes up 4.5 pct of economy

* New blow on top of damage from Russia-Turkey row

By Ayla Jean Yackley and Asli Kandemir

ISTANBUL, Jan 14 On a normal winter's day, Ramazan Uslanmaz would lead two groups of tourists around Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district, from the towering minarets of the Blue Mosque to the labyrinthine alleyways of the Grand Bazaar.

More:Turkish tourism seen dented, not destroyed by Istanbul bombing | Reuters

Turkey to introduce new IDs in line with EU visa deal - LOCAL

Turkey to introduce new IDs in line with EU visa deal

ANKARA

Turkey has passed a new law to introduce a new version of identity cards for its citizens, as part of steps toward becoming a European Union member state.

More:Turkey to introduce new IDs in line with EU visa deal - LOCAL

Turkey attacks Islamic State targets in Syria, Iraq after Istanbul bombing - Yahoo News

Turkey attacks Islamic State targets in Syria, Iraq after Istanbul bombing
Reuters By Ercan Gurses

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish tanks and artillery have bombarded Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq over the past 48 hours, killing almost 200 of its fighters in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Istanbul, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday.

More:Turkey attacks Islamic State targets in Syria, Iraq after Istanbul bombing - Yahoo News

Europe Must See Turkey as a Partner, Not Just a Buffer Zone Against ISIS

Europe Must See Turkey as a Partner, Not Just a Buffer Zone Against ISIS
By Doruk Ergun On 1/14/16 at 9:56 AM

The little relief Turkish citizens felt on New Year’s Eve over news regarding the foiling of a plot by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) aimed at celebrations in the capital Ankara was short lived. On January 12, an ISIS suicide bomber struck the historic district of Sultanahmet in Istanbul, claiming the lives of 10 people and wounding another 15, most of whom were tourists. So far, alleged ISIS-linked attacks in Turkey have killed over 150 people and injured hundreds of others.

More:Europe Must See Turkey as a Partner, Not Just a Buffer Zone Against ISIS

Putin Looks for Regime Change in Turkey - Bloomberg View

Putin Looks for Regime Change in Turkey
177 Jan 14, 2016 2:30 AM EST
By Ivan Krastev

Many have been burned trying to predict Russian President Vladimir Putin's next foreign policy moves, but it's a safe bet he will copy whichever U.S. policy he has been criticizing. That's why Turkey, in particular, should pay close attention to what Russia has to say on regime change.

More:Putin Looks for Regime Change in Turkey - Bloomberg View

Turkey PKK bomb attack death toll rises to six - Yahoo News

Turkey PKK bomb attack death toll rises to six
AFP

Çınar (Turkey) (AFP) - Six people died and 39 others were wounded in a car bomb attack blamed on Kurdish rebels that ripped through a police station and an adjacent housing complex for officers and their families in southeastern Turkey, security forces said Thursday, updating an earlier toll of five.

More:Turkey PKK bomb attack death toll rises to six - Yahoo News

From Istanbul to Europe’s heart of darkness - FOLDED CORNER

From Istanbul to Europe’s heart of darkness

William Armstrong - william.armstrong@hdn.com.tr

The late English novelist Eric Ambler has had a renaissance in recent years. The six thrillers he wrote from 1936 to 1940 were runaway successes and revolutionized the genre, but Ambler then fell off the radar. Today, after years out of print, his unsettling work once again chimes with the spirit of the age, and Penguin recently decided to republish six of his novels as Modern Classics.

More:From Istanbul to Europe’s heart of darkness - FOLDED CORNER

Turkish Justice Ministry unable to produce media gag documents - POLITICS

Turkish Justice Ministry unable to produce media gag documents

Mesut Hasan Benli - ANKARA

The Turkish Justice Ministry has acknowledged it has no documented information in regards to bans imposed on media coverage of certain incidents since from the beginning of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) era in power.

More:Turkish Justice Ministry unable to produce media gag documents - POLITICS

The World Today - Istanbul bombing raises questions about Turkey's refugee open border policy 14/01/2016

Istanbul bombing raises questions about Turkey's refugee open border policy

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Turkish authorities have now arrested five people suspected of direct links to the deadly suicide bombing that killed 10 Germans in Istanbul's main tourist area.

More:The World Today - Istanbul bombing raises questions about Turkey's refugee open border policy 14/01/2016

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Alert tour guide led tourists away from Istanbul bomber | New York Post

Alert tour guide led tourists away from Istanbul bomber

By Bruce Golding

January 13, 2016 | 4:05pm

A tour guide’s great sense of hearing helped prevent more people from being killed by a suicide bomber in Turkey.

More:Alert tour guide led tourists away from Istanbul bomber | New York Post

Turkey’s security predicament | Opinion | thenews.com.pk

Turkey’s security predicament
By Patrick Cockburn
January 14, 2016
Turkey is becoming a more dangerous place, but then so is the Middle East and North Africa and anywhere Isis can send its suicide squads. The Turkish authorities say that the bomber who killed at least 10 people, mostly German tourists, near the obelisk of Theodosius, not far from Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, was a 28-year-old Saudi, making it likely though not certain that Isis ordered the attack.

More:Turkey’s security predicament | Opinion | thenews.com.pk

US considering training fighters on Turkey-Syrian border - Business Insider

The US is considering training fighters to secure the Turkey-Syrian border

Jeremy Bender

The Pentagon is considering a Turkish plan to create a training program for Sunni Arabi fighters along the Turkish-Syrian border, The Wall Street Journal reports.

More:US considering training fighters on Turkey-Syrian border - Business Insider

Twenty-four hours after the attack, Istanbul finds its balance | Middle East | DW.COM | 13.01.2016

Twenty-four hours after the attack, Istanbul finds its balance

An attack on one of Turkey's most beloved cities has left tourists shaked and raised questions about new targets of terrorism. Anna Lekas Miller reports from Istanbul.

More:Twenty-four hours after the attack, Istanbul finds its balance | Middle East | DW.COM | 13.01.2016

CHP and the need for a strong opposition in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

CHP and the need for a strong opposition in Turkey

Turkey’s social democratic main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will convene a congress on Jan. 16-17 in Ankara.

More:CHP and the need for a strong opposition in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

′IS wants to weaken the government in Ankara′ | World | DW.COM | 13.01.2016

'IS wants to weaken the government in Ankara'

For a long time, 'IS' fighters left and entered Syria across theTurkish border, but lately, Ankara has been actively combatting the group. Turkey has thus become IS enemy number one, says Middle East expert Günter Meyer.

More:′IS wants to weaken the government in Ankara′ | World | DW.COM | 13.01.2016

Opinion: The Turkish nightmare | Opinion | DW.COM | 13.01.2016

Opinion: The Turkish nightmare

The bomb attack in Istanbul has shocked Germany, especially because most of the victims came from Germany. For Turkey, the attack means a new peak in a spate of violence, writes DW's Reinhard Baumgarten in Istanbul.

More:Opinion: The Turkish nightmare | Opinion | DW.COM | 13.01.2016

Cologne Turkish, too, fear crime and race tensions | Business Recorder

Cologne Turkish, too, fear crime and race tensions
January 13, 2016
FRANK ZELLER

As Cologne reels from the New Year's Eve violence against women, it's not just ethnic Germans who worry - many Turkish migrants also fear crime and tell their host country: don't blame us. Some worry that Germany's record migrant influx is reigniting troubles that Cologne - a pioneer city in multicultural life, with large-scale labour migration since the 1960s - thought it had long left behind.

More:Cologne Turkish, too, fear crime and race tensions | Business Recorder

Turkish media: Istanbul bomber registered as a refugee | News | DW.COM | 13.01.2016

Turkish media: Istanbul bomber registered as a refugee

Press in Turkey have reported that the terrorist who killed 10 tourists in Istanbul entered the country as an asylum seeker. Most of the victims of the attack were German nationals.

More:Turkish media: Istanbul bomber registered as a refugee | News | DW.COM | 13.01.2016

ISIS Is Changing The Way It's Fighting Its War On Turkey - BuzzFeed News

ISIS Is Changing The Way It’s Fighting Its War On Turkey

The bombing that killed at least 10 foreign citizens could draw Turkey deeper into the fight against ISIS. BuzzFeed News’ Mike Giglio reports from Turkey.

More:ISIS Is Changing The Way It's Fighting Its War On Turkey - BuzzFeed News

Syrian refugees in Turkey exceeds 2.5 mln as population tops 80 mln - LOCAL

Syrian refugees in Turkey exceeds 2.5 mln as population tops 80 mln

Bülent Sarıoğlu - ANKARA

The number of Syrian refugees who have sought refuge in Turkey has now exceeded 2.5 million, pushing Turkey’s total population beyond 80 million, according to figures presented to a parliamentary commission by the Directorate General of Migration Management.

More:Syrian refugees in Turkey exceeds 2.5 mln as population tops 80 mln - LOCAL

What Is Behind the Istanbul Attack? - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

What Is Behind the Istanbul Attack?

Soner Cagaptay

January 13, 2016

The Islamic State's choice of target likely reflects a very deliberate attempt to short-circuit U.S.-Turkish military efforts along the Syrian border and exacerbate tensions in Europe.

The January 12 Islamic State (IS) attack in Istanbul appears to have multiple motives. First, by striking in the heart of the old city center -- which has many mosques, museums, and tourists, but few Turks -- the group targeted the country's lucrative tourism industry and its $30 billion in annual revenues. At least ten people were killed in the suicide blast, all of them tourists. If such attacks continue, they would have a debilitating effect on the industry and, in turn, the country's balance of payments.

More:What Is Behind the Istanbul Attack? - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Turkey arrests Russians, ISIS suspects after Istanbul suicide bombing kills 10 Germans - CBS News

Turkey sweeps up ISIS suspects after Istanbul bombing
12 Photos

ISTANBUL -- Turkish police have arrested one person in connection with the deadly suicide bombing in Istanbul that killed 10 Germans, officials said Wednesday.

More:Turkey arrests Russians, ISIS suspects after Istanbul suicide bombing kills 10 Germans - CBS News

Istanbul Bombing: Turkey is Overwhelmed by a Whirlwind of Regional Challenges

Istanbul Bombing: Turkey is Overwhelmed by a Whirlwind of Regional Challenges
By Fadi Hakura On 1/13/16 at 9:25 AM

The suicide bomb attack that hit Istanbul on Tuesday, resulting in ten, mostly German, fatalities in the tourist district of Sultanahmet, is symptomatic of the innumerable challenges facing the Turkish government.

More:Istanbul Bombing: Turkey is Overwhelmed by a Whirlwind of Regional Challenges

Analysis: Istanbul attack reveals Erdogan’s crumbling sense of stability - Middle East - Jerusalem Post

Analysis: Istanbul attack reveals Erdogan’s crumbling sense of stability

Blast in central Istanbul tourist area leaves several killed

The terrorist attack jolted the state, prompting a government ordered media blackout. Turkey initially reported that the suicide bomber was a Syrian.

More:Analysis: Istanbul attack reveals Erdogan’s crumbling sense of stability - Middle East - Jerusalem Post

ISIS’ Operational Capacities In Turkey Strengthened By Laissez-Faire Approach Of President Erdogan's Government

ISIS’ Operational Capacities In Turkey Strengthened By Laissez-Faire Approach Of President Erdogan's Government
By Alessandria Masi @alessandriamasi On 01/13/16 AT 4:58 AM

BEIRUT — Tuesday's bomb blast at the heart of Istanbul sent shock waves through Turkey's second city. A suicide bomber, said by Turkey to be affiliated with the Islamic State group, detonated his explosives at a popular tourist site, sending shrapnel flying into historic Sultanahmet Square, killing at least 10 people, all of them foreigners, and injuring 15 more. The attack marks the first bomb targeting tourists that Turkey has seen in recent history.

More:ISIS’ Operational Capacities In Turkey Strengthened By Laissez-Faire Approach Of President Erdogan's Government