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Saturday, April 30, 2016

Bridgepoint nears deal to buy Turkish dried fruits maker Peyman | Reuters

Bridgepoint nears deal to buy Turkish dried fruits maker Peyman
ISTANBUL, April 29 | By Seda Sezer and Asli Kandemir

Bridgepoint, a U.K.-based private equity firm, said it is close to buying Turkish dried fruit and nuts producer Peyman in a deal which two people familiar with the matter said on Friday was worth around $110 million.

More:Bridgepoint nears deal to buy Turkish dried fruits maker Peyman | Reuters

Opinion: U.S., Europe must stand up to Erdogan | National News - KCCI Home

Opinion: U.S., Europe must stand up to Erdogan

(CNN) —Last Saturday night, the Dutch journalist Ebru Umar was reportedly resting at her vacation home in the Turkish resort town of Kusadasi when she heard a knock at the door. Umar, a fierce critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was about to become an example of the very practices against which she has been fulminating in her newspaper columns and her Twitter account.

More:Opinion: U.S., Europe must stand up to Erdogan | National News - KCCI Home

Friday, April 29, 2016

The Turks Are Back, and They’re Building Half of Tel Aviv’s Towers - Business - Haaretz

The Turks Are Back, and They’re Building Half of Tel Aviv’s Towers

The government wants to bring foreign building companies to Israel to introduce better technology and speed construction; Turkey’s Yilmazlar has been doing that for 20 years.

More:The Turks Are Back, and They’re Building Half of Tel Aviv’s Towers - Business - Haaretz

BBC Question Time: Young Man In Hull Busts Turkey EU Membership 'Threat'

BBC Question Time: Young Man In Hull Busts Turkey EU Membership ‘Threat’
‘That’s not going to happen.’
29/04/2016 10:23 | Updated 2 hours ago

A young man embarrassed a conservative blogger during BBC Question Time on Thursday, after she claimed Britain was threatened by Turkey becoming a member of the European Union.

More:BBC Question Time: Young Man In Hull Busts Turkey EU Membership 'Threat'

Robert Fulford: Say hello to the insecure man of Europe | National Post

Robert Fulford: Say hello to the insecure man of Europe

Robert Fulford | April 29, 2016 10:31 AM ET

President Recep Erdogan of Turkey is regarded as stern, proud and despotic, but lately we have learned that he’s also extremely sensitive. Negative remarks wound him seriously. He’s almost always in a state of high dudgeon. Since becoming president he’s sued at least 1,845 individuals for libel. He recently warned reporters at a press conference that he’ll sue more of them if they keep insulting him.

More:Robert Fulford: Say hello to the insecure man of Europe | National Post

UPDATE 2-Second Islamic finance expert to take senior role in Turkish central bank - sources | Reuters

UPDATE 2-Second Islamic finance expert to take senior role in Turkish central bank - sources

* Erhan Kilimci to become deputy governor - officials

* Some investors fear political pressure on bank

* President Erdogan has called for lower rates (Adds analyst comment, context)

By Orhan Coskun

ANKARA, April 29 Turkey's central bank will promote the head of its markets division to deputy governor, officials told Reuters on Friday, elevating another banker with Islamic finance credentials to its policy-setting committee.

More:UPDATE 2-Second Islamic finance expert to take senior role in Turkish central bank - sources | Reuters

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Will Ankara’s new culture plan lead to more censorship of the arts? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Will Ankara’s new culture plan lead to more censorship of the arts?

On April 21, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu revealed the long-awaited sustainable cultural development plan in Ankara. The program, commonly referred to as "culture package," has been in the works for over four months. Davutoglu’s one-hour introduction of the plan generated more questions than answers. He suggested, for instance, that it was the responsibility of artists in Turkish society to act as amicable peacemakers. At one point during his speech he said, "When a society is approaching a crisis, you [artists] should be the light of hope. You must stand against polarization, you must spread a unifying language."

More:Will Ankara’s new culture plan lead to more censorship of the arts? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey: e-Food cards for refugees | euronews, Aid Zone

Turkey: e-Food cards for refugees

By Robert Hackwill

"The more we find out where the beneficiaries are, what their needs are, and who is in need of assistance, the more people we’ll have on the scheme"

How can refugees’ basic needs be secured? Food, for example. Our new programme Aid Zone goes to the country with the highest number of refugees in the world, Turkey. We travel to Gaziantep, about 100 kilometres from Aleppo.

More:Turkey: e-Food cards for refugees | euronews, Aid Zone

Erdogan envisaged as aide for the elite, says biographer | Europe | DW.COM | 28.04.2016

Erdogan envisaged as aide for the elite, says biographer

In an interview with DW, author Cigdem Akyol talks about the fighting nature of Tayyip Erdogan, a former underdog, his out-of-control ambitions and how he has forgotten his roots over time.

More:Erdogan envisaged as aide for the elite, says biographer | Europe | DW.COM | 28.04.2016

Fecund foreigners? | The Economist

Fecund foreigners?
Immigrants do less to raise birth rates than is generally believed
Apr 30th 2016

FOR a Turkish woman ready to start a household, Weseler Strasse in Duisburg is a one-stop shop. There, in the shadow of an enormous steel works, are dozens of stores selling wedding dresses and glitzy tuxedos; jewellery and home furnishings. What this stretch of Weseler Strasse does not contain is a baby shop.

More:Fecund foreigners? | The Economist

Fighting erupts in Turkish parliament over contentious bill - San Francisco Chronicle

Fighting erupts in Turkish parliament over contentious bill

Suzan Fraser, Associated Press
April 28, 2016 Updated: April 28, 2016 10:32am

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish lawmakers on Thursday fought and threw punches at each other as they debated a contentious ruling-party proposal to strip themselves of immunity from prosecution — a move that could pave the way for the trial of pro-Kurdish legislators on terrorism-related charges. Five people were hurt in the fighting, a news agency reported.

More:Fighting erupts in Turkish parliament over contentious bill - San Francisco Chronicle

Perhaps we should thank the speaker! - SEMİH İDİZ

Perhaps we should thank the speaker!

Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman has understandably caused outrage among modern Turks by suggesting the new Turkish constitution should be stripped of all references to secularism and be based on religious values instead.

His remark also disturbed his own Justice and Development Party (AKP) government because it appears to hint at what really lies in the AKP’s heart.

When combined with his support for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s push to convert Turkey’s parliamentary system into a presidential one, Kahraman appears to be calling for an Islamic dictatorship.

More:Perhaps we should thank the speaker! - SEMİH İDİZ

EU Immigration Fears: Germany, France Want 'Emergency Brake' Ahead Of Turkey Visa-Free Travel Deal

EU Immigration Fears: Germany, France Want 'Emergency Brake' Ahead Of Turkey Visa-Free Travel Deal
By Michael Kaplan @michaeld_kaplan On 04/28/16 AT 8:11 AM

France and Germany are pushing to have “emergency brake” stipulations in an agreement that will allow visa-free travel for Turks into Europe, Politico reported. The move was seen as a way to counter domestic criticism as Europeans have grown increasingly uneasy about immigration into the continen

More:EU Immigration Fears: Germany, France Want 'Emergency Brake' Ahead Of Turkey Visa-Free Travel Deal

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Turkish Businessman Reza Zarrab Pleads Not Guilty to U.S. Charges Over Iran Sanctions - WSJ

Turkish Businessman Reza Zarrab Pleads Not Guilty to U.S. Charges Over Iran Sanctions
Prosecutors allege Turkish-Iranian gold trader and others helped entities evade U.S. restrictions on Tehran

By Nicole Hong
April 27, 2016 1:41 p.m. ET

Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in New York to allegations he plotted to hide financial transactions from U.S. banks in violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

More:Turkish Businessman Reza Zarrab Pleads Not Guilty to U.S. Charges Over Iran Sanctions - WSJ

Is Turkey poised to become an Islamic Republic?

Is Turkey poised to become an Islamic Republic?
By Michael Rubin On 4/27/16 at 11:58 AM

The reality, of course, was quite different. Erdoğan first replaced technocrats in banking and financial bodies with Islamist ideologues, and he later turned on academics and university rectors.

More:Is Turkey poised to become an Islamic Republic?

Female Suicide Bomber Attacks Main Tourist Spot in Bursa, Turkey - Bloomberg

Female Suicide Bomber Attacks Main Tourist Spot in Bursa, Turkey
Benjamin Harvey

April 27, 2016 — 11:36 AM EDT

A suicide bomber blew herself up on Wednesday outside the Grand Mosque in Bursa, the Turkish city’s main tourist attraction, injuring several people.

More:Female Suicide Bomber Attacks Main Tourist Spot in Bursa, Turkey - Bloomberg

Turkish conglomerates race into construction, hunting quick profits | Reuters

Turkish conglomerates race into construction, hunting quick profits

* Companies hit elsewhere turn to construction

* Turkish house prices among world's fastest rising

* Building boom risks undermining sustainable growth

By Asli Kandemir and Ceyda Caglayan

ISTANBUL, April 27 Turkish conglomerates are racing to add high-end apartment blocks and office towers to Istanbul's rapidly-changing skyline, turning to one of the world's most profitable real estate markets for quick returns as other parts of the economy suffer.

More:Turkish conglomerates race into construction, hunting quick profits | Reuters

In first appearance, Turkey's Cetinkaya focuses on inflation - Chicago Tribune

In first appearance, Turkey's Cetinkaya focuses on inflation
Onur Ant, (c) 2016, Bloomberg(c) 2016, Bloomberg

Turkey's new central bank governor, Murat Cetinkaya, emphasized in his first public appearance that curbing inflation remains the bank's top priority, signaling continuity in monetary policy.

More:In first appearance, Turkey's Cetinkaya focuses on inflation - Chicago Tribune

Turks protest Islamisation push – EurActiv.com

Turks protest Islamisation push
Home | Enlargement | News

By EurActiv.com with AFP

Turkish police yesterday (26 April) fired tear gas to break up protests over a call for the country to adopt a religious constitution that has sparked concerns of creeping Islamisation in the traditionally secular state.

More:Turks protest Islamisation push – EurActiv.com

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The Turkey–EU refugee deal and how to really solve 'the problem' | openDemocracy

The Turkey–EU refugee deal and how to really solve 'the problem'
Defne Gonenc 26 April 2016

Unless there is mobilisation to provide a better life for those in underdeveloped parts of the world, the 'problem' of people's desire to migrate in search of a better life will persist.

More:The Turkey–EU refugee deal and how to really solve 'the problem' | openDemocracy

Growing concerns over a reporter ′black list′ in Turkey | Europe | DW.COM | 26.04.2016

Growing concerns over a reporter 'black list' in Turkey

EU-Parliament President Martin Schulz and Reporters Without Borders condemn Turkey's treatment of foreign journalists. There's a growing number of cases of reporters who've been arrested or denied entry into the country.

More:Growing concerns over a reporter ′black list′ in Turkey | Europe | DW.COM | 26.04.2016

Tornos News | European Union: Turkey visa restriction lifted if Cyprus obligations met

European Union: Turkey visa restriction lifted if Cyprus obligations met

European Union: Turkey visa restriction lifted if Cyprus obligations metVisa restrictions on Turkey are only going to be lifted if the 72 preconditions including the obligations it has to Cyprus are met, the European Commission said on Tuesday

Visa restrictions on Turkey are only going to be lifted if the 72 preconditions including the obligations it has to Cyprus are met, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

More:Tornos News | European Union: Turkey visa restriction lifted if Cyprus obligations met

Opinion: Sharia in Turkey - Not the real problem | Opinion | DW.COM | 26.04.2016

Opinion: Sharia in Turkey - Not the real problem

Speaker of the Turkish Parliament Ismail Kahraman has called for an "Islamic constitution" and secular Europe cringes. But the real problem lies somewhere else, says Daniel Heinrich.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The narrative that the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) wants to turn Turkey into an Islamic republic is too simple to resist. Middle-class Western citizens are haunted by the image of a humorless President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a sultan-like Turkish leader that seeks to reinstate Sharia law - and that just a three-hour flight from Germany. The Turks at the gates of Vienna pale in comparison.

More:Opinion: Sharia in Turkey - Not the real problem | Opinion | DW.COM | 26.04.2016

Before Jan Bohmermann Incident, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Was Jailed for a Poem - The Atlantic

The Thinnest-Skinned President in the World

Turkey’s leader was once imprisoned for reciting a poem. Now he wants to jail a German satirist for doing the same.

More:Before Jan Bohmermann Incident, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Was Jailed for a Poem - The Atlantic

U.S. embassy warns citizens in Turkey about 'credible' terrorist threats | Reuters

U.S. embassy warns citizens in Turkey about 'credible' terrorist threats

The United States warned U.S. citizens in Turkey on Tuesday about "credible" terrorist threats to tourist areas in the country.

More:U.S. embassy warns citizens in Turkey about 'credible' terrorist threats | Reuters

Turkey police fire tear gas at religious constitution protest - Yahoo7

Religious push sparks secularism row in Turkey

AFP on April 27, 2016, 5:25 am

Ankara (AFP) - Turkish police on Tuesday fired tear gas to break up protests over a call for the country to adopt a religious constitution that has sparked concerns of creeping Islamisation in the traditionally secular state.

More:Turkey police fire tear gas at religious constitution protest - Yahoo7

Why Turkey's anti-tobacco efforts went up in smoke - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Why Turkey's anti-tobacco efforts went up in smoke

Following the introduction of a strict smoking ban in Turkey in 2008, the great Turkish folk singer Neset Ertas became the first person to publicly challenge then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his tough attitude toward smokers. In a television program in 2009, the late Ertas interrupted Erdogan as he spoke on the issue and said, “Those miserable poor people are already beat. Electricity bills unpaid, water bills unpaid, not even bread and olives to eat. The cigarette is the only thing they have left. Don’t meddle with the people’s cigarettes.”

More:Why Turkey's anti-tobacco efforts went up in smoke - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

EU referendum: Will Turkey's EU hopes affect UK vote? - BBC News

EU referendum: Will Turkey's EU hopes affect UK vote?

The question of whether Turkey and six Balkan countries will join the European Union and, if so, what it will mean for the UK has become a live issue in the EU referendum campaign.

More:EU referendum: Will Turkey's EU hopes affect UK vote? - BBC News

Turkey's Erdogan chases critics at home and abroad | Daily Mail Online

Turkey's Erdogan chases critics at home and abroad

By Associated Press

Published: 06:14 EST, 26 April 2016 | Updated: 06:14 EST, 26 April 2016

ISTANBUL (AP) — Ebru Umar was sleeping in her summer residence on Turkey's Aegean coast when police arrived at her door and took her away for questioning about two of her tweets that were deemed offensive to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

More:Turkey's Erdogan chases critics at home and abroad | Daily Mail Online

Honoring Turkey’s Voice of the Voiceless - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Honoring Turkey’s Voice of the Voiceless
Posted by: Thomas de Waal Tuesday, April 26, 2016

After a decade of unprecedented opening up to the world, Turkey is closing down again. Journalists and academics are persecuted. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has gone to war once more with the militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), disavowing a peace process he himself launched. Erdoğan rails against so-called terrorists in language reminiscent of the military men of the 1980s he fought hard to weaken, labeling almost anyone who sympathizes with the Kurdish cause a terrorist by association.

More:Honoring Turkey’s Voice of the Voiceless - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Education is key to refugee kids in Turkey | Globalization | DW.COM | 26.04.2016

Education is key to refugee kids in Turkey

With Turkey now home to over two million Syrian refugees, school places, which are key to integration, are in short supply. An Istanbul suburb has launched a pilot project to address this problem.

More:Education is key to refugee kids in Turkey | Globalization | DW.COM | 26.04.2016

Journalist likens Dutch-Turkish to fascists, blames them for arrest - NL Times

Journalist likens Dutch-Turkish to fascists, blames them for arrest
Posted on Apr 26, 2016 by Janene Pieters

On Tuesday Dutch journalist Ebru Umar published her first column in Metro Nieuws following her arrest in Turkey on Saturday. She lashes out against Dutch-Turks, who she blames for her being stuck in Turkey.

“CONGRATULATIONS with your completely failed Dutch citizenship”, she wrote. “CONGRATULATIONS on your loyalty to a couple of mountain goats from Turkey, goat fuckers if you will, who you follow as soon as they call for NSB (a former fascist party in the Netherlands, ed) behavior. (…) I congratulate you Dutch-Turks on your NSB behavior You are the reason I am stuck in Turkey.”

More:Journalist likens Dutch-Turkish to fascists, blames them for arrest - NL Times

Turkey condemns BBC interview with PKK as «terrorist propoganda» | EUROPE ONLINE

Turkey condemns BBC interview with PKK as «terrorist propoganda»
Europe
25.04.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - Turkey condemned Monday the BBC for conducting an interview with the head of the banned Kurdistan Workers‘ Party (PKK) Cemil Bayik.

More:Turkey condemns BBC interview with PKK as «terrorist propoganda» | EUROPE ONLINE

The silver lining in the Ergenekon ruling - SEMİH İDİZ

The silver lining in the Ergenekon ruling

The overturning by Turkey’s top court of appeal of the so-called “Ergenekon coup plot trial,” which was initiated in 2007 and lasted until 2011, is being hailed as one of the most significant legal developments in recent Turkish history.

More:The silver lining in the Ergenekon ruling - SEMİH İDİZ

Free court, free press important for EU investments in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Free court, free press important for EU investments in Turkey

Murat Yetkin

“The immigration deal is very important for the European Union and relations with Turkey; actually it has the highest importance now,” said European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici during an interview on April 25 in Istanbul. “We want to revitalize relations with Turkey in every field, including [the] economy. But for that structural reform, including fiscal policies, judicial reforms [and] freedom of press are highly important as well,” Moscovici continued. “Investments need stability, predictability and security, that is why we talk about reforms and that includes free courts and free press, as I mentioned to Turkish ministers I talked to this morning.”

More:Free court, free press important for EU investments in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Monday, April 25, 2016

Flash - Foreign reporters face tough times in turbulent Turkey - France 24

Foreign reporters face tough times in turbulent Turkey

Hasnain Kazim, German news weekly Der Spiegel's resident correspondent in Turkey, last year applied to renew his Turkish press card -- usually a mere formality.

More:Flash - Foreign reporters face tough times in turbulent Turkey - France 24

Is Turkey's AKP cashing in on poverty? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Is Turkey's AKP cashing in on poverty?

People in Turkey classified as “in need of assistance” number more than 30 million, out of a population of 79 million, according to government figures. While the per capita income is decreasing, the government keeps pressing citizens to have at least three children, showing little regard for the financial strains of families. And more babies born into already struggling households means more people seeking state assistance to raise their offspring.

More:Is Turkey's AKP cashing in on poverty? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Is Islamophobia on the rise in Turkey? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Is Islamophobia on the rise in Turkey?

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Rising Islamophobia has recently manifested itself in rallies organized across Europe by a group called Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West. Surveys show negative perceptions of Islam are on the rise in the United States as well. But is Islamophobia an issue unique to non-Muslim countries, as many might assume? Not so, according to Mehmet Yanmis, a scholar of religious sociology at Dicle University in Diyarbakir, the largest city of Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast.

More:Is Islamophobia on the rise in Turkey? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

American journalist says Turkey bars him from re-entry | Reuters

American journalist says Turkey bars him from re-entry
ISTANBUL | By Ayla Jean Yackley

An American reporter living and working in Turkey was barred from re-entering the country and forced to fly home on Monday in the latest incident in which a foreign journalist has been denied entry or accreditation.

More:American journalist says Turkey bars him from re-entry | Reuters

Kurdish Workers’ Party Warns Turkey That it Won’t Back Down

Kurdish Workers’ Party Warns Turkey That it Won’t Back Down
By Mirren Gidda On 4/25/16 at 4:30 AM

The Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) says that it is ready to step up its fight against Turkey, because the country is trying to force it to surrender. Speaking to the BBC , the party’s leader Cemil Bayik accused Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “escalating” the war.

More:Kurdish Workers’ Party Warns Turkey That it Won’t Back Down

Discussions of Freedom at the Istanbul Film Festival

Discussions of Freedom at the Istanbul Film Festival
04/24/2016 03:30 pm ET

Karin Badt
Associate Professor of Cinema and Theater in Paris

“My documentary is on a man who goes naked,” said a lively film student at the Istanbul Film Festival brunch, offered at the Goethe Institute. “He walks about town naked, in the style of Diogenes the Cynic!”

More:Discussions of Freedom at the Istanbul Film Festival

Obama’s legacy on Turkish-American relations - SELİN NASİ

Obama’s legacy on Turkish-American relations

As the U.S. presidential elections near, many people, including President Barack Obama himself, have been engaging in a reassessment of the last eight years of American foreign policy.

More:Obama’s legacy on Turkish-American relations - SELİN NASİ

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Turkey's Erdogan needs thicker skin, EU's Tusk says | Reuters

Turkey's Erdogan needs thicker skin, EU's Tusk says
GAZIANTEP, Turkey/BRUSSELS | By Ercan Gurses and Alastair Macdonald

Reuters/Joshua Roberts

Turkey's president needs a thicker skin against criticism, a senior EU official suggested as European leaders try to shore up support at home for their deal with Ankara to hold back migrants.

More:Turkey's Erdogan needs thicker skin, EU's Tusk says | Reuters

Israel Says Istanbul Bomber Did Not Target Israelis - ABC News

Israel Says Istanbul Bomber Did Not Target Israelis

By The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Apr 24, 2016, 8:11 AM ET

Israel's counterterrorism bureau says the suicide bomber who killed three Israeli tourists in Istanbul last month did not specifically target Israelis but was taking aim at tourism in Turkey in general.

More:Israel Says Istanbul Bomber Did Not Target Israelis - ABC News

Is Erdogan ready to run Turkey’s economy too? | The National

Is Erdogan ready to run Turkey’s economy too?

Joseph Dana

April 24, 2016 Updated: April 24, 2016 04:13 PM

Monetary policy has always been fertile ground for political manipulation. While many countries try to maintain a strict separation between political calculations and central banks, several in emerging markets fail to strike the right balance.

More:Is Erdogan ready to run Turkey’s economy too? | The National

Merkel backs Turkey’s idea of ‘safe zones’ for refugees in Syria | euronews, world news

Merkel backs Turkey’s idea of ‘safe zones’ for refugees in Syria

24/04 01:47 CET

The Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu took German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Council president Donald Tusk on a tour of a refugee camp on saturday.

More:Merkel backs Turkey’s idea of ‘safe zones’ for refugees in Syria | euronews, world news

Turkish-Dutch Journalist Detained Over Erdogan Tweet - ABC News

Turkish-Dutch Journalist Detained Over Erdogan Tweet

By suzan fraser, associated press

ANKARA, Turkey — Apr 24, 2016, 5:31 AM ET

A Turkish-Dutch journalist has been detained for questioning over a tweet she posted about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, her newspaper said Sunday.

More:Turkish-Dutch Journalist Detained Over Erdogan Tweet - ABC News

Germany's Merkel kissed by Syrian refugee children on Turkey trip, World News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Germany's Merkel kissed by Syrian refugee children on Turkey trip

ISTANBUL NIZIP, Turkey (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border on Saturday (April 23), kicking off a high-stakes visit aimed at boosting a month-old migrant deal plagued by moral and legal concerns.

More:Germany's Merkel kissed by Syrian refugee children on Turkey trip, World News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Merkel praises migration deal with Turkey | All media content | DW.COM | 24.04.2016

Merkel praises migration deal with Turkey

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited a refugee camp in Turkey in an attempt to build support for the migration deal between the EU and Ankara. It foresees Turkey taking in even more refugees in exchange for financial aid and other incentives.

More:Merkel praises migration deal with Turkey | All media content | DW.COM | 24.04.2016

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Turkey, the West’s most valuable Mideast partner, is falling apart | Toronto Star

Turkey, the West’s most valuable Mideast partner, is falling apart

Turkey, the West's most important Mideast partner, is falling apart and Canada could have a role in stemming the slide.

Turkey is by far the West’s most important partner in the Middle East today. The European Union has pleaded with Turkey to stop the flow of refugees north through the Balkans, offering billions of Euro and relaxed visa procedures for Turks in return. For America and its NATO partners, Ankara’s airbases close to the Syrian border are crucial to its air war against the Islamic State jihadist group.

More:Turkey, the West’s most valuable Mideast partner, is falling apart | Toronto Star

Obama says EU-Turkey deal can be step forward - Israel News, Ynetnews

Obama says EU-Turkey deal can be step forward

Associated Press

GAZIANTEP, Turkey - Barack Obama said a recent deal between the European Union and Turkey takes a step toward fairer sharing of the job of housing refugees.

More:Obama says EU-Turkey deal can be step forward - Israel News, Ynetnews

Asil Nadir returns to northern Cyprus - InCyprus

Asil Nadir returns to northern Cyprus
incyprus incyprus — 23/04/2016
ASISNADIR

Turkish Cypriot businessman Asil Nadir, who was jailed in Britain for stealing millions from his business empire, was extradited to Turkey and released on Friday then returned to Cyprus on Saturday morning.

More:Asil Nadir returns to northern Cyprus - InCyprus

The Guardian view on the Jan Böhmermann affair: no joke | Opinion | The Guardian

The Guardian view on the Jan Böhmermann affair: no joke
Editorial
Crude mockery of Turkey’s president has led to a German comic being prosecuted under an obscure old law. Free speech is one big loser. Angela Merkel’s reputation is another

More:The Guardian view on the Jan Böhmermann affair: no joke | Opinion | The Guardian

Israel and Turkey: Approaching Reconciliation? - The Globalist

Israel and Turkey: Approaching Reconciliation?

Normalization negotiations seem closer than ever to conclusion, but significant differences remain on Gaza, Hamas and Egypt.

More:Israel and Turkey: Approaching Reconciliation? - The Globalist

Friday, April 22, 2016

Top EU officials, Merkel visit refugee camp in Gaziantep, discuss EU deal with PM Davutoğlu - Daily Sabah

Top EU officials, Merkel visit refugee camp in Gaziantep, discuss EU deal with PM Davutoğlu
DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will join several top EU officials in a visit to Turkey today while the recent Turkey-EU deal struck to stem migration flows continues to function. Merkel, along with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, will visit a refugee camp in the southern province of Gaziantep near the Syrian border, which is home to many Syrians who have fled the conflict in their war-torn country. In a statement on Friday, German Federal Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said that the main focus of the visit will be the funding of projects for refugees in Turkey, indicating that the three officials also plan to launch a project especially designed for refugee families and their children.

More:Top EU officials, Merkel visit refugee camp in Gaziantep, discuss EU deal with PM Davutoğlu - Daily Sabah

Weakest link of the Turkey-EU visa deal: New passports - SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ

Weakest link of the Turkey-EU visa deal: New passports

There are huge differences between the statements of Turkish and EU officials with regard to how many of the 72 benchmarks required for granting visa exemption to Turkish citizens by the end of June have been fulfilled by the government in Ankara.

More:Weakest link of the Turkey-EU visa deal: New passports - SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ

Syrian Refugees In Turkey Face Uncertain Future In Informal Encampments

Syrian Refugees In Turkey Face Uncertain Future In Informal Encampments
04/22/2016 04:56 pm ET

At least 400,000 Syrian children do not attend school in Turkey. Almost all the children at the informal encampment in Torbali have never been in a real classroom.

For the third stop of our series “Route Mediterranean,” journalist Eric Reidy takes a detour to visit an informal encampment in Torbali,Turkey, where several Syrian families, including children as young as 14, work in the fields to make a living.

More:Syrian Refugees In Turkey Face Uncertain Future In Informal Encampments

Turkey free speech row spreads to Netherlands

Turkey free speech row spreads to Netherlands

By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS, 22. Apr, 19:30

Turkey has said that Dutch authorities should treat a Dutch comedian the same way that German authorities treated a German comic for insulting Turkey’s president.

The Turkish embassy to the EU told EUobserver on Friday (22 April) that Hans Teeuwen merits legal “action” for hurling obscene allegations against the Turkish leader on Dutch TV.

More:Turkey free speech row spreads to Netherlands

Can Turkey change the course of the story? - VERDA ÖZER

Can Turkey change the course of the story?

“Manifesting one’s own identity and distinctness is an action of citizenship,” epic German thinker Hannah Arendt famously said.

More:Can Turkey change the course of the story? - VERDA ÖZER

Is anybody having normal sex in Turkey? - BLIND SPOT

Is anybody having normal sex in Turkey?

Belgin Akaltan - belgin.akaltan@hdn.com.tr

Let me define “normal” first. Let me start with heterosexual relationships, the ones that are accepted by society. What I am trying to get at is the situation of married sex in Turkey, which I believe constitutes the bulk of all sex life in this country.

More:Is anybody having normal sex in Turkey? - BLIND SPOT

Donald Tusk: We Should Not Negotiate Our Values with Erdogan - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Donald Tusk on Refugee Crisis: We Can Never Negotiate Our Values with Erdogan

A Commentary By Donald Tusk

Tough policies on migration do not rule out humanitarian goals in the EU, the European Council president argues in an editorial. But Europe must also set clear limits on the concessions it is willing to make with its partners in resolving the refugee crisis.

More:Donald Tusk: We Should Not Negotiate Our Values with Erdogan - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Nadir released after one day in prison (Update) - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail

Nadir released after one day in prison (Update)

April 22nd, 2016 Newswire Cyprus, featured 6 Comments

Turkish Cypriot businessman Asil Nadir, who was jailed in Britain in 2012 for stealing millions from his business empire, was released in Turkey on Friday, Dogan news agency and other local media reported.

More:Nadir released after one day in prison (Update) - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail

Four Turkish academics released pending trial on terror propaganda -group | Reuters

Four Turkish academics released pending trial on terror propaganda -group

Four Turkish academics jailed on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda were released pending trial by an Istanbul court on Friday, a group of their colleagues said on Facebook.

More:Four Turkish academics released pending trial on terror propaganda -group | Reuters

Press, professors go on trial in Turkey | Europe | DW.COM | 22.04.2016

Press, professors go on trial in Turkey

A Turkish court will try two of the country's top journalists and four academics accused of signing a petition, highlighting the government's crackdown on free speech. Tom Stevenson reports from Istanbul.

More:Press, professors go on trial in Turkey | Europe | DW.COM | 22.04.2016

Dutch PM wants answers on Turkey's call to Turks in the Netherlands to report those who insult Erdogan, Europe News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Dutch PM wants answers on Turkey's call to Turks in the Netherlands to report those who insult Erdogan

EINDHOVEN (AFP) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday (April 21) that he will ask Ankara to clarify a call to Turks in the Netherlands to report individuals who insult Turkey or its president.

More:Dutch PM wants answers on Turkey's call to Turks in the Netherlands to report those who insult Erdogan, Europe News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Why Turkey frets over US-Russian relations - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Why Turkey frets over US-Russian relations

Turkey is deeply concerned with signs that the United States and Russia may come to an understanding to close the Turkish-Syrian border, which would have profound strategic and geopolitical implications.

More:Why Turkey frets over US-Russian relations - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Thursday, April 21, 2016

ISIL suspect in Ankara bombing caught in Turkey’s east - CRIME

ISIL suspect in Ankara bombing caught in Turkey’s east

ANKARA – Doğan News Agency

An alleged member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who was a suspect in the Ankara bombing that killed 103 people on Oct. 10, 2015, has been caught in the eastern province Elazığ. The suspect, Nihat Ürkmez, was detained in Elazığ before he was taken to Ankara, where he was arrested on April 21.

More:ISIL suspect in Ankara bombing caught in Turkey’s east - CRIME

Syrian children underline hardships of living in Turkey through art - ARTS

Syrian children underline hardships of living in Turkey through art

Thursday,April 21 2016, Your time is 9:08:33 PM

Syrian children in Turkey marked the 4th Istanbul Children and Youth Arts Biennial with their projects encompassing issues facing them, such as the “right to education” and “secure living conditions,” during various art and music projects of the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM).

More:Syrian children underline hardships of living in Turkey through art - ARTS

Last section of mammoth İzmit Bay Bridge mounted - BUSINESS

Last section of mammoth İzmit Bay Bridge mounted

The last section of the mammoth İzmit Bay Bridge, a key part of the Gebze-Orhangazi-İzmir Highway Project which will shorten the travel time between Istanbul and the Aegean city of İzmir dramatically, was mounted in an official ceremony on April 21.

More:Last section of mammoth İzmit Bay Bridge mounted - BUSINESS

Another shift of power in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Another shift of power in Turkey

The Turkish Court of Appeals’ ruling on April 21 which overturned the convictions in the “Ergenekon” coup plot case marked an era in the country’s problematic relations between politics, the military and the judiciary.

More:Another shift of power in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Meet the 'Yes Men' of Turkey, Using Creative Subversion to Resist Their Government's War on Dissent | Alternet

Meet the 'Yes Men' of Turkey, Using Creative Subversion to Resist Their Government's War on Dissent
Collective launches mock university to ridicule crackdown on academic freedom.
By Sarah Lazare / AlterNet
April 21, 2016

Declaring that moral outrage has been exhausted, an anonymous collective of Turkish scholars and artists is now turning to public satire and subversive spectacle to expose the government crackdown on free expression that has forced several of their colleagues into jail and joblessness.

More:Meet the 'Yes Men' of Turkey, Using Creative Subversion to Resist Their Government's War on Dissent | Alternet

You say raki, I say ouzo | The Economist

You say raki, I say ouzo
Greek and Turkish Cypriots, close to a deal, may yet call the whole thing off
Apr 23rd 2016 | KORMAKITIS AND NICOSIA | From the print edition

PERCHED on a hilltop a few miles from the sea, the Christian Maronite village of Kormakitis, in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, is running out of time. In 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the island following a Greek Cypriot coup, the town was home to some 2,000 people. Today about 110 pensioners remain. They spend their time at the café joking in the indigenous dialect, a blend of Arabic, Aramaic and Greek. Their children, who have moved to the richer Greek part of the island, visit on holidays. A Lebanese priest leads prayers at the newly restored church. Every fortnight a UN convoy arrives from Nicosia, the capital, carrying supplies.

More:You say raki, I say ouzo | The Economist

Turkish court overturns 275 verdicts in 'coup plot' trial - InCyprus

Turkish court overturns 275 verdicts in ‘coup plot’ trial

By Gulsen Solaker

Turkey’s appeals court has overturned coup plot convictions imposed in 2013 on a retired military chief and scores of senior figures in a case then regarded as clipping the wings of the secularist and military establishment, state media said on Thursday.

More:Turkish court overturns 275 verdicts in 'coup plot' trial - InCyprus

Kurdish Opposition Leader: Turkey's Erdogan Building a 'Caliphate'

Kurdish Opposition Leader: Turkey’s Erdogan ‘Wants a Caliphate’

by John Hayward21 Apr 20161
On Tuesday, Germany’s Der Spiegel published a lengthy interview with Selahattin Demirtas, leader of the Kurd-aligned HDP Party of Turkey. Demirtas leveled some serious allegations against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying the Kurds stood in the way of Erdogan’s creating an Islamic State-style (ISIS/ISIL) “Caliphate” of his own, and warning that Erdogan’s war against the Kurds could make the already-fearsome refugee crisis in Europe even worse.

More:Kurdish Opposition Leader: Turkey's Erdogan Building a 'Caliphate'

Greece, Turkey and the EU | Comment | ekathimerini.com

Greece, Turkey and the EU
COMMENT 20.04.2016 : 21:41

TAGS: Migration, Diplomacy, EU

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated the obvious when he was on his way to Brussels a couple of days ago. He said that if Brussels did not hold up its end of the EU-Turkey agreement on refugees, which involves the relaxation of visa rules for Turks by June, then “no one would expect Turkey to adhere its commitments” to stem the flow of migrants reaching Greece.

More:Greece, Turkey and the EU | Comment | ekathimerini.com

Turkey moves closer to EU visa-free travel | euronews, world news

Turkey moves closer to EU visa-free travel

21/04 04:06 CET

Turkey is moving closer to being granted visa-free travel to the European Union. It could be in force by the end of June.

The bloc’s executive, the EU Commission, has said it depends on Ankara meeting the remaining conditions contained in a deal with the EUover stemming migration into Europe. The assessment is to be presented in a report next month.

More:Turkey moves closer to EU visa-free travel | euronews, world news

DW Freedom of Speech Award goes to Turkish ′Hurriyet′ journalist Sedat Ergin | News | DW.COM | 21.04.2016

DW Freedom of Speech Award goes to Turkish 'Hurriyet' journalist Sedat Ergin

Sedat Ergin, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily “Hürriyet" is to receive Deutsche Welle's Freedom of Speech Award. His attendance at DW's Global Media Forum in June hinges on legal battles in Istanbul.

More:DW Freedom of Speech Award goes to Turkish ′Hurriyet′ journalist Sedat Ergin | News | DW.COM | 21.04.2016

Tourism Loses Allure in Turkey as Bombings Fray Nerves - Bloomberg

Beaches and Bars Lose Allure in Turkey as Bombings Fray Nerves

Regional tensions and deadly bombings are scaring away visitors from the world’s sixth-most popular holiday destination.

More:Tourism Loses Allure in Turkey as Bombings Fray Nerves - Bloomberg

How Turkish intelligence scored a much-needed success - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

How Turkish intelligence scored a much-needed success

In 2013, Al-Monitor columnist Amberin Zaman penned a piece for another publication titled “Hakan Fidan, So Very Sexy” to explain how crucial Fidan's role as director of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) is in Turkish politics — hence, the media’s persistent focus on his actions.

More:How Turkish intelligence scored a much-needed success - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Suriname's top diplomat calls on Islamic bloc to invest | Caribbean News Now

Suriname's top diplomat calls on Islamic bloc to invest
Published on April 20, 2016 Email To Friend Print Version

By Ray Chickrie

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- At the just concluded 13th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) heads of government summit in Istanbul, the foreign minister of Suriname, Niermala Badrising, used the occasion to showcase her country and urged member states to invest in Suriname.

More:Suriname's top diplomat calls on Islamic bloc to invest | Caribbean News Now

Erdogan: The World's Most Insulted President

Erdogan: The World's Most Insulted President

by Burak Bekdil
April 20, 2016 at 4:00 am

Since Erdogan was elected president in August 2014 he has sued at least 1,845 Turks for insulting him. Now his judicial challenges have been exported to Europe.

Angela Merkel's decision to allow Böhmermann's prosecution hardly complies with the European culture of civil liberties.

"[N]ow the Turkish journalists and artists will even suffer more." — Rebecca Harms, co-chair of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance at the European Parliament.

The trouble is, the more Erdogan realizes that his blackmailing works, the more willing he will be to export his poor democratic culture into Europe. Merkel has set the wrong precedent and given the prickly sultan what he wants.

More:Erdogan: The World's Most Insulted President

Mr. Erdogan Will See You Now: Welcome to Banking’s Toughest Job - Bloomberg

Mr. Erdogan Will See You Now: Welcome to Banking’s Toughest Job
Onur Ant

April 19, 2016 — 5:00 PM EDT
Updated on April 20, 2016 — 5:42 AM EDT

Erdem Basci’s biggest accomplishment may be that people still talk about the independence of Turkey’s central bank.

The 49-year-old former academic was one of the world’s most innovative and unpredictable central bankers during a five-year term that ended Tuesday and wasn’t renewed. He was also one of the most beleaguered, criticized by investors for missing inflation targets every year, and berated by his prime minister-then-president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as a traitor, a failure and the government’s primary obstacle to reaching ambitious economic goals.

More:Mr. Erdogan Will See You Now: Welcome to Banking’s Toughest Job - Bloomberg

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

European Leaders Face Criticism For Refugee Deal With Turkey | Children of Syria | FRONTLINE | PBS

European Leaders Face Criticism For Refugee Deal With Turkey

April 19, 2016 /
by Priyanka Boghani

The fate of Syrians hoping to seek asylum in Europe has changed dramatically over the last year. Less than eight months ago, hundreds of thousands of Syrians joined Afghans, Iraqis and others on perilous sea journeys to Greece, trying to make their way to Germany and other European nations with generous asylum policies.

More:European Leaders Face Criticism For Refugee Deal With Turkey | Children of Syria | FRONTLINE | PBS

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Turkish Competition Authority Considers Movie Cinemas In Sector Report - Anti-trust/Competition Law - Turkey

Turkey: Turkish Competition Authority Considers Movie Cinemas In Sector Report
Last Updated: 19 April 2016

The Turkish Competition Authority has published a report on movie cinemas, outlining competition law-related conditions in different aspects of the sector, such as production, distribution and screening ("Report"). The report has been updated to include information about the recent merger of AFM and MARS and its effect of the sector. Notably, the report comments on the link between movie cinemas and shopping malls in Turkey.

More:Turkish Competition Authority Considers Movie Cinemas In Sector Report - Anti-trust/Competition Law - Turkey

Turkey: 38 arrested for 'framing' Fenerbahce officials - Washington Times

Turkey: 38 arrested for ‘framing’ Fenerbahce officials

By SUZAN FRASER - Associated Press - Tuesday, April 19, 2016

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained 38 people suspected of “framing” soccer team Fenerbahce’s players and directors in a match-fixing investigation in 2011, as the government pressed ahead with a crackdown on supporters of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric.

More:Turkey: 38 arrested for 'framing' Fenerbahce officials - Washington Times

Turkey: 38 arrested for 'framing' Fenerbahce officials - Washington Times

Turkey: 38 arrested for ‘framing’ Fenerbahce officials

By SUZAN FRASER - Associated Press - Tuesday, April 19, 2016

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained 38 people suspected of “framing” soccer team Fenerbahce’s players and directors in a match-fixing investigation in 2011, as the government pressed ahead with a crackdown on supporters of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric.

More:Turkey: 38 arrested for 'framing' Fenerbahce officials - Washington Times

A Test of Turkey's Pragmatism | Stratfor

A Test of Turkey's Pragmatism
Analysis
April 19, 2016 | 09:00 GMT Print

It appears as though Turkey has established its priorities in the Syrian civil war. Algerian newspaper El Watan said April 8 that Algiers has been mediating a back-channel dialogue between Syria and Turkey, a report that a Stratfor source has since corroborated. The discussions centered primarily on Ankara's concerns over the creation of an independent Kurdish state in Syria. The source, moreover, said Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu raised the same concerns on a March 4-5 visit to Tehran, during which the prime minister proposed a plan to communicate with Damascus about Kurdish containment in Syria.

More:A Test of Turkey's Pragmatism | Stratfor

Sending the Wrong Signal to Turkey - The New York Times

The choice Angela Merkel had when Turkey’s imperious president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, demanded that Germany prosecute a comedian was a variation on the dilemma posed by a kidnapper: Paying the ransom solves the immediate problem but sets a dangerous precedent.

More:Sending the Wrong Signal to Turkey - The New York Times

How the Syrian war is affecting Turkish Lira – The London Economic

How the Syrian war is affecting Turkish Lira
Ollie McAninch
19 Apr 2016

Currency trader Compare Currency tell The London Economic how the war in Syria is having dramatic effects on currencies around the world, in particular the Turkish Lira.

More:How the Syrian war is affecting Turkish Lira – The London Economic

Turkey to hit anti dumping duties on U.S. cotton imports

Turkey to hit anti dumping duties on U.S. cotton imports
YarnsandFibers News Bureau, 2016-04-19 17:00:00 - New York
Turkey to hit anti dumping duties on U.S. cotton imports

Turkey to hit anti-dumping duties on U.S. cotton imports, the decision to introduce tariffs has been widely expected since Turkey's Economy Ministry said in February that U.S. cotton was hurting the country's domestic industry, a U.S. industry trade association said on Monday, fraying relations between one of the world's top fiber growers and one of its biggest customers amid weak global prices and demand.

More:Turkey to hit anti dumping duties on U.S. cotton imports

Böhmermann case likely to backfire on Erdoğan - SEMİH İDİZ

Böhmermann case likely to backfire on Erdoğan

The offensive poem by German comedian Jan Böhmermann about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is puerile and asinine. There is a thin line between biting even scathing political humor and downright insults.

More:Böhmermann case likely to backfire on Erdoğan - SEMİH İDİZ

Monday, April 18, 2016

Could the Turkish police have prevented IS massacre in Ankara? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Could the Turkish police have prevented IS massacre in Ankara?

Could Turkish police have prevented the double-suicide attack Oct. 10 in Ankara that killed 102 people? Until April 13, we could only speculate. But now, we can give a firm answer that yes, the attack could have been thwarted.

More:Could the Turkish police have prevented IS massacre in Ankara? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey’s New Central Bank Head Expected to Cut Interest Rate in Inaugural Move - WSJ

Turkey’s New Central Bank Head Expected to Cut Interest Rate in Inaugural Move

Murat Cetinkaya to lead Monetary Policy Committee less than 24 hours after becoming central bank’s governor

More:Turkey’s New Central Bank Head Expected to Cut Interest Rate in Inaugural Move - WSJ

Germany Green Lights Legal Case Against Erdogan Critical Comic - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Erdogan and the Satirist: Inside Merkel's Comedy Conundrum

By SPIEGEL Staff
Photo Gallery: A German Comedian Takes On Turkey Photos
DPA

With his insulting poem about Turkish President Erdogan, Jan Böhmermann has triggered an affair of state. Now, Chancellor Merkel has elected to allow legal proceedings against the German comedian. What, though, was Böhmermann's intent?

Jan Böhmermann has disappeared. He's not giving interviews; he's not answering his phone. Since Monday, he has also gone silent on Twitter, where he is normally extremely active. He has hardly left his home in Cologne in the last few days and he is also now under police protection.

More:Germany Green Lights Legal Case Against Erdogan Critical Comic - SPIEGEL ONLINE

First they came for the comedians, and I did not speak out…. – iPolitics

First they came for the comedians, and I did not speak out….
Screenshot 2016-04-17 19.56.54

I don’t know about you, but I’d be willing to hide Rick Mercer if the government ever came after him.

You know, if he ever really got under their skin with an especially stinging Rick’s Rant. Think I’m kidding? If only I were.

More:First they came for the comedians, and I did not speak out…. – iPolitics

Hard to satire: Turkey forcing censorship abroad - The Daily Athenaeum: Opinion

Hard to satire: Turkey forcing censorship abroad

By Robby Ralston

Should satire ever be punished? Recent events in Turkey have led the public to answer this question with a resounding "no."
More:Hard to satire: Turkey forcing censorship abroad - The Daily Athenaeum: Opinion

Erdoğan’s Latest: Lifting of Parliamentary Immunity - The Media Line

Erdoğan’s Latest: Lifting of Parliamentary Immunity
By Nick Ashdown | The Media Line

April 18, 2016

By: Nick Ashdown/The Media Line

ISTANBUL — A draft proposal of a constitutional amendment lifting the legal immunity of parliamentarians facing probes, widely seen as targeting the ruling party’s arch-rivals, has been submitted to the Turkish Parliament.

More:Erdoğan’s Latest: Lifting of Parliamentary Immunity - The Media Line

Sunday, April 17, 2016

German comic in Erdogan row suspends TV show | News24

German comic in Erdogan row suspends TV show

Berlin - A German comedian whose satirical poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unleashed a bitter row about freedom of speech has decided to suspend his own TV show, he announced on his Facebook page on Saturday.

More:German comic in Erdogan row suspends TV show | News24

Saturday, April 16, 2016

'Imamization' raising eyebrows in Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

'Imamization' raising eyebrows in Turkey

Nevzat Turan, a high school vice principal from Malatya province, shared a photo of folkloric dance on social media and equated with adultery any dance where women and men hold hands. As public criticism soared, Turan deleted the April 10 post, but he also had supporters. Among these, Mirac Gocmez, from the local Justice and Development Party (AKP) establishment, wrote on Facebook, “What happened to the freedom of expression that they cherish? The man [Turan] is righteous, and he is stating the truth. And most importantly, he expressed himself in the language of Islam. That is what is really bothering you.”

More:'Imamization' raising eyebrows in Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

State Department Report Slams Turkey on Human Rights and Press Freedom

State Department Report Slams Turkey on Human Rights and Press Freedom
04/15/2016 03:54 pm ET

Aydoğan Vatandaş
Journalist, writer and political analyst

The United States accused Turkey of restricting civil rights and violating basic human rights in a long annual human rights report released on Wednesday.

More:State Department Report Slams Turkey on Human Rights and Press Freedom

Thousands Of Syrian Refugees Struggle To Survive In Turkish Port City

Thousands Of Syrian Refugees Struggle To Survive In Turkish Port City
04/15/2016 10:55 am ET
161

Eric Reidy Refugees Deeply
The EU-Turkey deal involves mass returns of migrants and asylum seekers, including Syrians from Greece to camps in Turkey.

During the early years of the Syrian conflict, Mersin was considered “the best place to be Syrian in Turkey” and thousands of middle-class Syrians fled to the port city. With few allowed to work and their resources now exhausted, most now struggle to survive. Mersin is the second stop in our series “Route Mediterranean.

More:Thousands Of Syrian Refugees Struggle To Survive In Turkish Port City

European body concerned over worsening Turkish human rights | Fox News

European body concerned over worsening Turkish human rights
Published April 14, 2016 Associated Press
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ANKARA, Turkey – A European official has voiced concern over Turkish security forces' fight against Kurdish rebels, saying the respect for human rights has "deteriorated at an alarming speed."

More:European body concerned over worsening Turkish human rights | Fox News

Merkel and EU representatives to go to Turkey next week | Daily Mail Online

Merkel and EU representatives to go to Turkey next week

By Reuters

Published: 05:17 EST, 15 April 2016 | Updated: 05:17 EST, 15 April 2016

BERLIN, April 15 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Gaziantep in Turkey on Saturday 23 April along with representatives of the European Union, her spokesman said on Friday.

More:Merkel and EU representatives to go to Turkey next week | Daily Mail Online

Turkey's Militants Get More Organized | Stratfor

Turkey's Militants Get More Organized

Turkey's biggest Kurdish militant group is looking to expand, and it might turn to Russia for help. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, better known by its Kurdish acronym, PKK, has established an umbrella organization for the country's leftist militancies in an effort to broaden its own capabilities and extend its support base beyond the pro-Kurd community. The new group, known as the Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement (HBDH), is led by the chief of the PKK's most radical leftist faction. Its stated intention is to promote its political agenda, which opposes the Turkish state and the ruling Justice and Development Party in particular, through the use of propaganda and terrorist attacks, including against foreign nationals. Because Russia has a long history of using Turkey's militant groups — especially the PKK — to promote its own interests in the region, there is little doubt that Moscow will seize the opportunity created by the HBDH to do so again. By supporting the PKK's newest endeavor, Russia might be able to keep Turkey preoccupied with problems at home and out of Moscow's affairs elsewhere in the Middle East.

More:Turkey's Militants Get More Organized | Stratfor

Friday, April 15, 2016

EU: Turkey Needs Urgent Reforms in Key Areas

EU: Turkey Needs Urgent Reforms in Key Areas

April 14, 2016 1:45 PM

The European Union has accused Turkey of “backsliding” on democracy and urged Ankara to conduct "a structured and more frequent political dialogue on key thematic issues."

More:EU: Turkey Needs Urgent Reforms in Key Areas

Thursday, April 14, 2016

First Turkey-backed operation against IS becomes a fiasco - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

First Turkey-backed operation against IS becomes a fiasco

Turkey recently proposed that the United States abandon Syrian Kurdistan's People's Protection Units (YPG) and "let us wipe out the Islamic State [IS] jointly with the moderate opposition." Turkey then made its first such move last week at al-Rai, Syria, with a composite force of Turkmens, Free Syrian Army factions and Salafists.

More:First Turkey-backed operation against IS becomes a fiasco - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Minister reveals details about giant infrastructure projects in Turkey - BUSINESS

Minister reveals details about giant infrastructure projects in Turkey

Deniz Zeyrek - ANKARA

Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication Minister Binali Yıldırım has updated the status of a number of giant infrastructure projects across Turkey, noting these projects will make a great contribution to the country’s economy in an exclusive interview with daily Hürriyet.

More:Minister reveals details about giant infrastructure projects in Turkey - BUSINESS

Media in Turkey terrified to speak out, government cracks down TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles

Media in Turkey terrified to speak out, government cracks down

Metin Yilmaz, editor-in-chief of the Sozcu newspaper, one of the most outspoken critics of the government in the Turkish media, says he is weighing his words more carefully these days.

Framed front pages adorn Sozcu’s office walls in testament to its status as a bastion of opposition to President Tayyip Erdogan and the Islamist-rooted AK Party. Red Turkish flags and pictures of the modern republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk celebrate its secularist roots.

More:Media in Turkey terrified to speak out, government cracks down TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles

Turkey rejects European Parliament report as 'null and void': minister 

Turkey rejects European Parliament report as 'null and void': minister

April 14, 2016

Ankara (AFP) - Turkey on Thursday rejected a European Parliament report which accused Ankara of "backsliding" on democracy, because of references that the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir said.

More:Turkey rejects European Parliament report as 'null and void': minister 

Turkish opposition backs immunity bill that Kurdish MPs say targets them | Reuters

Turkish opposition backs immunity bill that Kurdish MPs say targets them
ANKARA | By Gulsen Solaker

Turkey's main opposition party will support a government bid to lift the immunity from prosecution currently enjoyed by all members of parliament, a draft law that Kurdish lawmakers say is targeted against them.

More:Turkish opposition backs immunity bill that Kurdish MPs say targets them | Reuters

Piri: Cyprus' reservations on frozen Turkey's chapters understandable, but chapters need to open

Piri: Cyprus' reservations on frozen Turkey's chapters understandable, but chapters need to open
By Antonios Gkildakis•
Thursday, 14 April, 2016
Accession negotiation chapters 23 and 24, on Fundamental Rights and Justice, are important chapters and should be the first to open and last one to close in Turkey’s membership talks, said S&D MEP Kati Piri on Wednesday, noting that she understands the reservations of the Republic of Cyprus on this matter.

More:Piri: Cyprus' reservations on frozen Turkey's chapters understandable, but chapters need to open

Erdoğan Brings His Media Policies to Germany - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Erdoğan Brings His Media Policies to Germany
Posted by: Judy Dempsey Thursday, April 14, 2016

Print Page

If Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had his way, he would have the German satirist Jan Böhmermann behind bars by now. The reason? During his regular late-night talk show on March 31, Böhmermann issued a blistering attack on Erdoğan in the form of a satirical poem. Seated before the Turkish flag and a portrait of Erdoğan, Böhmermann accused the president of, among other things, sex with goats and sheep. The comedian also stated that Erdoğan loved to “repress minorities, kick Kurds and beat Christians while watching child porn.”

More:Erdoğan Brings His Media Policies to Germany - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Anti-ISIL fight alla Turca - MURAT YETKİN

Anti-ISIL fight alla Turca

Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz said on April 13 that theTurkish security forces had killed 362 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants since July 2015 with its cross-border artillery fire against targets in Syria.

More:Anti-ISIL fight alla Turca - MURAT YETKİN

Middle East News: Turkish forces arrest three suspected ISIS women

Turkish forces arrest three suspected ISIS women
Middle East News
Wed, 13 Apr 2016

Riyadh: Turkish security forces arrested three women suspects on charges of links to ISIS while another person was killed trying to enter Turkey illegally.

Turkish news agency Anadolu, citing security sources, reported, "Four people tried to enter from Syria to Turkey through illegal channels.

More:Middle East News: Turkish forces arrest three suspected ISIS women

But there are good terrorists and bad terrorists - BURAK BEKDİL

But there are good terrorists and bad terrorists

In his speeches to Turkish audiences but addressing world leaders, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan often says that “there should be no good terrorists and bad terrorists” and that “terrorists are terrorists.” He’s right. But he is not realistic at all if he is seriously expecting the entire world to agree on his own definition of who is a terrorist and who is not.

More:But there are good terrorists and bad terrorists - BURAK BEKDİL

Shiny, happy people - AHU ÖZYURT

Shiny, happy people

Turn on a Turkish TV channel these days, and you will be amazed at how much entertainment is going on. The game show “Survivor” has not lost steam yet. New dramas, matchmaking shows, showbiz stuff. They are all on, all the time. Then you flip a news channel and reality hits like a bullet.

More:Shiny, happy people - AHU ÖZYURT

A political party like a Teflon pan - MEHMET Y. YILMAZ

A political party like a Teflon pan

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is very much like a Teflon pan: Nothing sticks to it. It is always others who are responsible for everything that is going on, as if they are not the ones who have been ruling this country for 14 years.

More:A political party like a Teflon pan - MEHMET Y. YILMAZ

Intel before first Ankara bombing ignored: Report - CRIME

Intel before first Ankara bombing ignored: Report

ISTANBUL

A preliminary survey report investigating the Oct. 10 blast in Ankara that killed 103 people, including two suicide bombers, revealed that Turkey’s intelligence units were tipped off about imminent suicide bomb attacks targeting rallies 25 days before the explosion.

More:Intel before first Ankara bombing ignored: Report - CRIME

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The U.S Attorney Preet Bharara Strikes Pro-Erdogan Media Back!

The U.S Attorney Preet Bharara Strikes Pro-Erdogan Media Back!
04/12/2016 05:01 pm ET

Aydoğan Vatandaş
Journalist, writer and political analyst

During a keynote speech at the New York Press Association Spring Convention on Friday, Attorney Preet Bharara commented on how he suddenly became a public figure in Turkey reaching almost three hundred thousand followers in Twitter.

More:The U.S Attorney Preet Bharara Strikes Pro-Erdogan Media Back!

Opulence and paranoia as Saudi king visits Turkey | World news | The Guardian

Opulence and paranoia as Saudi king visits Turkey

King Salman and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have much in common, and trip is seen as a pivotal moment in countries’ relations

More:Opulence and paranoia as Saudi king visits Turkey | World news | The Guardian

Comedian who mocked Erdogan could face prison | All media content | DW.COM | 11.04.2016

Comedian who mocked Erdogan could face prison

A German comedian could face jail after being accused of breaking a law that prohibits insulting representatives of foreign states. Jan Boehmermann performed a satirical poem that accused the Turkish president of having sex with animals.

More:Comedian who mocked Erdogan could face prison | All media content | DW.COM | 11.04.2016

Turkey Picks New Central Bank Governor - NASDAQ.com

Turkey Picks New Central Bank Governor
April 11, 2016, 09:35:00 AM EDT By Dow Jones Business News

Turkey's government on Monday named the central bank's deputy governor, Murat Cetinkaya, as its next chief, ending a period of market-rattling uncertainty about who would take on one of the toughest monetary policy jobs in the world.

More:Turkey Picks New Central Bank Governor - NASDAQ.com

Monday, April 11, 2016

Turkey’s dangerous offer to have boots in the Syrian ground - BARÇIN YİNANÇ

Turkey’s dangerous offer to have boots in the Syrian ground

U.S. President Barack Obama has said failing to prepare for the aftermath of the ousting of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was the worst mistake of his presidency.

More:Turkey’s dangerous offer to have boots in the Syrian ground - BARÇIN YİNANÇ

Prosecuting Böhmermann satire could ′cost Merkel the chancellery′ | Germany | DW.COM | 11.04.2016

Prosecuting Böhmermann satire could 'cost Merkel the chancellery'

Turkey is asking Germany to prosecute a satirist who made fun of its president. No matter how Merkel decides, experts say she can't win. She'll either offend an important diplomatic partner or alienate German supporters.

More:Prosecuting Böhmermann satire could ′cost Merkel the chancellery′ | Germany | DW.COM | 11.04.2016

Reading the Drastic Shift in Turkish Foreign Policy After Arab Spring

Reading the Drastic Shift in Turkish Foreign Policy After Arab Spring
04/11/2016 02:35 pm ET

Aydoğan Vatandaş
Journalist, writer and political analyst

The Turkish foreign policy has faced a drastic shift after the Arab Spring from a policy known as ‘zero problems with neighbors’ to ‘animosity with neighbors’ which eventually led Turkey to precious loneliness in the region.

More:Reading the Drastic Shift in Turkish Foreign Policy After Arab Spring

Seeking ‘His President’s Opposition’ in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Seeking ‘His President’s Opposition’ in Turkey

The “pervert” debate between Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has finally faded out after Erdoğan said he would no longer count Kılıçdaroğlu as a political counterpart, with the latter providing no reply.

More:Seeking ‘His President’s Opposition’ in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Under 0.1 percent of Syrian asylum seekers in Turkey eligible for work permits | i24news - See beyond

Under 0.1 percent of Syrian asylum seekers in Turkey eligible for work permits

By i24news
Published: 04/11/2016 - 04:43pm, updated: 04:49pm

Turkish labor laws provided part of the justification for the EU deal to deport asylum seekers back to Turkey

More:Under 0.1 percent of Syrian asylum seekers in Turkey eligible for work permits | i24news - See beyond

Turkey on terrorism alert : TTR Weekly

Turkey on terrorism alert

April 11, 2016 by AFP

ISTANBUL, 11 April 2016: The US embassy in Turkey, on Saturday, warned of “credible threats” to tourist areas in Istanbul and the resort city of Antalya, intensifying fears in a country hit by four suicide bombings this year.

More:Turkey on terrorism alert : TTR Weekly

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Awareness on information security low in Turkey - RIGHTS

Awareness on information security low in Turkey

Barçın Yinanç - barcinyinanc@hdn.com.tr
While the world is in a state of alert over information security, the awareness on the importance of this issue in Turkey is low, according to Minhac Çelik, the founder of the siberbulten.com website. ‘As a role model, the prime minister should not have downplayed the data breach of 50 million Turkish citizens,’ says Çelik

More:Awareness on information security low in Turkey - RIGHTS

Turkey on high alert amid rising terror threats - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Turkey on high alert amid rising terror threats

ANKARA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Faced with rising terror threats from both ethnic and religious armed militant groups, Turkey increased its security measures nationwide and intensified police presence in Istanbul, the nation's business capital.

More:Turkey on high alert amid rising terror threats - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Turkish Journalists Say Free Press Under Fire And EU's Not Helping

Turkish Journalists Say Free Press Under Fire And EU's Not Helping

By Daniella Cheslow

April 10, 2016

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Turkish TV news anchor Banu Guven said watching her president get grilled on press freedom by CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour hours earlier evoked a sense of schadenfreude.

More:Turkish Journalists Say Free Press Under Fire And EU's Not Helping

Turkey breaks Kurdish militant cell 'preparing attack': report | Daily Mail Online

Turkey breaks Kurdish militant cell 'preparing attack': report

By Afp

Published: 12:08 EST, 10 April 2016 | Updated: 12:08 EST, 10 April 2016

Turkish police have smashed a cell of Kurdish militants in a usually tranquil region between Istanbul and Ankara who had hoarded explosives, guns and suicide vests, the Dogan news agency reported Sunday.

More:Turkey breaks Kurdish militant cell 'preparing attack': report | Daily Mail Online

Saturday, April 09, 2016

Police Detonate Bag in Istanbul Square Amid Threat Warning

Police Detonate Bag in Istanbul Square Amid Threat Warning
By Reuters On 4/9/16 at 1:42 PM

Turkish police carried out a controlled explosion of a bag left in Istanbul's popular Taksim square on Saturday, a Reuters witness at the scene says, hours after the U.S. embassy warned of "credible threats" to tourist areas.

More:Police Detonate Bag in Istanbul Square Amid Threat Warning

US Warns Citizens of 'Credible Threats' in Turkey - ABC News

US Warns Citizens of 'Credible Threats' in Turkey

By The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey — Apr 9, 2016, 9:41 AM ET

The United States is warning its citizens about "credible threats" to touristic areas in Turkey, especially around public squares and docks in Istanbul and the Mediterranean city of Antalya.

More:US Warns Citizens of 'Credible Threats' in Turkey - ABC News

Istanbul by the sea: New bus might solve traffic problem - Daily Sabah

Istanbul by the sea: New bus might solve traffic problem
DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL

An amphibious bus operates in Incheon, South Korea. The “amphibus” will debut in Turkey in the near future. An amphibious bus operates in Incheon, South Korea. The “amphibus” will debut in Turkey in the near future.

No matter whether you drive, take the subway or hitch a taxi, getting around Istanbul is problematic, especially during rush hour in Turkey's most populous city. Traveling between the city's Asian and European sides is worse, although an underwater tunnel helps ease the traffic.

More:Istanbul by the sea: New bus might solve traffic problem - Daily Sabah

The First Migrants Deported Back to Turkey Under an E.U. Deal Face an Uncertain Future | TIME

The First Migrants Deported Back to Turkey Under an E.U. Deal Face an Uncertain Future

Jared Malsin/Dikili, Turkey @jmalsin

April 8, 2016

Dozens of Pakistani migrants are sent back from Greece, thanks to a controversial deal between the E.U. and Turkey

More:The First Migrants Deported Back to Turkey Under an E.U. Deal Face an Uncertain Future | TIME

Friday, April 08, 2016

'Sexists' and 'perverts': Insults rock Turkish politics, Middle East News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

'Sexists' and 'perverts': Insults rock Turkish politics

ISTANBUL (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed an allegedly sexist remark by Turkey's opposition leader as an "affront" to all Turkish women on Friday (April 8), further fuelling a colourful war of words which erupted earlier in the week.

More:'Sexists' and 'perverts': Insults rock Turkish politics, Middle East News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Turkish official arrested for selling state secrets | Daily Mail Online

Turkish official arrested for selling state secrets

By Associated Press

Published: 05:59 EST, 8 April 2016 | Updated: 05:59 EST, 8 April 2016

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's state-run news agency says a Turkish official has been arrested in a police sting operation for attempting to sell the designs of two Turkish-made firearms to a U.S.-based company.

More:Turkish official arrested for selling state secrets | Daily Mail Online

Car technology and Turkey - İSMET BERKAN

Car technology and Turkey

Think of a car. Its production has not even started yet and you have to wait a year to receive the earliest produced one.

Yet three days after the car’s announcement, 300,000 people have made advance payments, saying “I want to buy this car.”

More:Car technology and Turkey - İSMET BERKAN

Turkey on Edge as Migrants Return

Turkey on Edge as Migrants Return
By Agencies, Citizen Digital
Published on 8 April 2016

More migrants for Greek after scuffles with police on island

When the first boatload of deported migrants arrived Monday at the Turkish port of Dikili, a small group of Turkish human rights activists turned up to welcome them.

More:Turkey on Edge as Migrants Return

Erdogan and the Isolation of Turkey - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Erdogan's Tightrope Walk: How Turkey's Reform Project Ended in Isolation

An Essay by Michael Werz

When he first came to power, Turkish President Erdogan embarked on a path of modernization. But the growth of a new elite withered those reforms and now, an autocracy is taking hold. It is time for the West to rethink its relations with Turkey.

More:Erdogan and the Isolation of Turkey - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Merkel Ally Erdogan Moves Closer to Autocracy in Turkey - SPIEGEL ONLINE

With Friends Like These...: Erdogan's Assault on Freedom and Democracy

The EU has placed its fate in the hands of Turkish President Erdogan. But the man who is to help solve the refugee crisis has recently shown more clearly than ever that he prefers autocracy to democracy. He is the price Europe must pay for failure. By SPIEGEL Staff

Celil Sagir doesn't have much left to lose. On March 28, he was fired, shoved aside. Now, he can talk about what is currently happening in Turkey and describe what it looks like when one man subordinates an entire country.

More:Merkel Ally Erdogan Moves Closer to Autocracy in Turkey - SPIEGEL ONLINE

First Week Underscores Problems of EU Turkey Refugee Deal - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Uncertain Future: Weaknesses Emerge in EU-Turkey Refugee Deal

By Giorgos Christides, Katrin Kuntz and Maximilian Popp

The EU is praising the first deportations this week from Greece to Turkey as a breakthrough for the recent refugee agreement with Ankara. But it was little more than a show. Many believe the deal will fail to survive the expected legal challenges.

More:First Week Underscores Problems of EU Turkey Refugee Deal - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Some Gazans fear Turkish generosity may come at high price - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Some Gazans fear Turkish generosity may come at high price

Since Israel imposed its blockade on the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ victory in the 2006 legislative elections, besieged Gazans have received remarkable regional and international support, including health and infrastructure projects, the rebuilding of destroyed houses and the construction of schools.

More:Some Gazans fear Turkish generosity may come at high price - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Thursday, April 07, 2016

Migrants, Terror and Turkey | McGill International Review

Migrants, Terror and Turkey

After undergoing significant modifications since it was first announced in November of 2015, the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan has officially gone into effect as of Monday, April 4. The controversial accord has provided for the first wave of deportations of irregular migrants, with nearly five-hundred to be returned from Greece to Turkey by the close of this week. The rushed implementation of the readmission agreement by Greek officials comes as a firm declaration from Brussels as well: the backdoor to Europe is now shut. However, reports reveal that the plan may not be as significant of a deterrent as initially hoped. Since the deal came into effect, an additional 4,000 migrants have arrived on Greek shores.

More:Migrants, Terror and Turkey | McGill International Review

Political language degenerates in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Political language degenerates in Turkey

Political language in Turkey is degenerating as political polarization increases. The ongoing “pervert” debate is an embarrassing example of this.

More:Political language degenerates in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

A bridge between the east and west | Overseas | PropertyGuru.com.sg

A bridge between the east and west

Romesh Navaratnarajah • April 8, 2016

By Romesh Navaratnarajah

For centuries, Istanbul has been the centre of trade and cultural exchange between Europe and Asia. The city’s strategic location means it sits on the border of both continents. Even today, tourists and foreign investors flock to Istanbul, contributing to the city’s building boom.

More:A bridge between the east and west | Overseas | PropertyGuru.com.sg

A bridge between the east and west | Overseas | PropertyGuru.com.sg

A bridge between the east and west

Romesh Navaratnarajah • April 8, 2016

By Romesh Navaratnarajah

For centuries, Istanbul has been the centre of trade and cultural exchange between Europe and Asia. The city’s strategic location means it sits on the border of both continents. Even today, tourists and foreign investors flock to Istanbul, contributing to the city’s building boom.

More:A bridge between the east and west | Overseas | PropertyGuru.com.sg

Turkey grants relief on loans to tourism industry | Business , Regional | THE DAILY STAR

Turkey grants relief on loans to tourism industry

Turkey moved to minimize the financial fallout from a sharp drop in tourism by creating new rules to govern the $17 billion that local hospitality firms owe the banks.

More:Turkey grants relief on loans to tourism industry | Business , Regional | THE DAILY STAR

Opinion: Time to tell Erdogan to turn back | National News - WPTZ Home

Opinion: Time to tell Erdogan to turn back
Published 4:05 PM EDT Apr 07, 2016

NEXT STORY

(CNN) —Visiting heads of state frequently make time in their Washington itineraries to deliver speeches on key issues. But as the Brookings Institution hosted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, events outside the venue took an ugly turn.

More:Opinion: Time to tell Erdogan to turn back | National News - WPTZ Home

‘Pervert’ debate rocks politics amid harsh words - POLITICS

‘Pervert’ debate rocks politics amid harsh words

ANKARA

The heat in the debate over main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s criticism against Turkey’s family minister has been turned up, with Kılıçdaroğlu firing back at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over his use of the word “pervert.”

More:‘Pervert’ debate rocks politics amid harsh words - POLITICS

A culture of honor (or horror) – revisited - BURAK BEKDİL

A culture of honor (or horror) – revisited

In 2010, Turkey was “shaken” by the surfacing of alleged serial rapes in the southeastern city of Siirt, including “shocking” cases of adults raping minors and minors raping toddlers, killing one.

More:A culture of honor (or horror) – revisited - BURAK BEKDİL

Women, media play major role in pursuing freedom, says Hürriyet chairwoman - RIGHTS

Women, media play major role in pursuing freedom, says Hürriyet chairwoman

NEW YORK

Women and the media play a huge role in the process of reaching true freedom and peace, daily Hürriyet Chairwoman Vuslat Doğan Sabancı has told the audience at the gala dinner for the Women in the World (WITW) Summit in New York.

More:Women, media play major role in pursuing freedom, says Hürriyet chairwoman - RIGHTS

Turkey's Erdogan says no migrant deal if EU doesn't fulfill pledges | Reuters

Turkey's Erdogan says no migrant deal if EU doesn't fulfill pledges

Turkey will not go through with an agreement to take back Syrian migrants from Europe if the European Union does not fulfill its pledges, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

More:Turkey's Erdogan says no migrant deal if EU doesn't fulfill pledges | Reuters

Wednesday, April 06, 2016

The state of rights in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

The state of rights in Turkey

In times of war, it is not only lives and the truth that are lost, but also the rights of the people. When people have to make a choice between their security, employment or freedom, freedom is the first to be abandoned. Security - that is, existence - is of course the last.

More:The state of rights in Turkey - MURAT YETKİN

Turkey arrests 'would-be PKK female suicide bomber' in Ankara: reports | Daily Mail Online

Turkey arrests 'would-be PKK female suicide bomber' in Ankara: reports

By Afp

Published: 13:47 EST, 6 April 2016 | Updated: 13:47 EST, 6 April 2016

Turkey has arrested a female militant affiliated to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) suspected of planning to carry out a suicide attack, a report said Wednesday.

More:Turkey arrests 'would-be PKK female suicide bomber' in Ankara: reports | Daily Mail Online

Turkey's President Erdogan gambles and loses | The Japan Times

Turkey’s President Erdogan gambles and loses
by Daniel Pipes

Apr 6, 2016

WASHINGTON – The Republic of Turkey, long a democratizing Muslim country solidly in the Western camp, now finds itself internally racked and at the center of two external crises, the civil war in next-door Syria and the illegal immigration that is changing European politics. The prospects for Turkey and its neighbors are worrisome, if not ominous.

More:Turkey's President Erdogan gambles and loses | The Japan Times

Single men protest in Turkish village, demand to get married - Al Arabiya English

Single men protest in Turkish village, demand to get married

Men from a southern Turkish village took to the streets to protest local women’s refusal to accept them as potential grooms, leaving them unmarried for nine years, CNN Turk reported on Tuesday.

More:Single men protest in Turkish village, demand to get married - Al Arabiya English

Economists expect Moody's to maintain Turkey's rating

Economists expect Moody's to maintain Turkey's rating

ANKARA

Economists expect U.S.-based credit rating agency Moody's to make no changes to Turkey's rating in its new report due Friday.

More:Economists expect Moody's to maintain Turkey's rating

Turkish Cypriot parties race to form alliances - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail

Turkish Cypriot parties race to form alliances

April 6th, 2016 Evie Andreou Cyprus 2 Comments

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci stressed on Wednesday the need for the formation of a ‘government’ that will put above all, the best interests of the people.

More:Turkish Cypriot parties race to form alliances - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail

Information on 50 Million Turkish Citizens Dumped Online | Threatpost | The first stop for security news

Information on 50 Million Turkish Citizens Dumped Online
by Chris Brook April 6, 2016 , 12:00 pm

Turkey’s communications minister this week is denying reports that personally identifiable information of 50 million of the country’s citizens has been leaked online.

On Monday hackers published what they claim is a Turkish citizenship database, a cache of information downloadable via BitTorrent, that allegedly includes details on 49,611,709 individuals. The information includes citizens’ names, national identification numbers, dates of birth, the cities they were born in, full addresses, genders, and parents names.

More:Information on 50 Million Turkish Citizens Dumped Online | Threatpost | The first stop for security news

As the dream of Europe fades, Syrians try to figure out life in Turkey | Europe | DW.COM | 06.04.2016

As the dream of Europe fades, Syrians try to figure out life in Turkey

As the EU closes its doors to migrants, Syrian refugees are having second thoughts about risking the trip to Greece. But they are finding it hard to start new lives in Turkey. Anna Lekas Miller reports from Izmir.

More:As the dream of Europe fades, Syrians try to figure out life in Turkey | Europe | DW.COM | 06.04.2016

Why Syrian refugees are avoiding refugee camps - Quartz

Why Syrian refugees are avoiding refugee camps

Julius Motal

On the border between Greece and Macedonia, a “Crazy Holidays”-branded bus idles, its luggage compartment open. A paper stuck in the window of one reads in English: “BUS TO ATHENS.”

More:Why Syrian refugees are avoiding refugee camps - Quartz

Deported refugees sent to holding centre in Turkey

Deported refugees sent to holding centre in Turkey
April 05, 2016 in USA

Not long after the first boatload of deportees left Mytilini, human rights activists gathered to protest near the port entrance where they competed for space with journalists.

More:Deported refugees sent to holding centre in Turkey

Erdogan’s not mad, he’s ruthless – EurActiv.com

Erdogan’s not mad, he’s ruthless

By George Friedman | Geopolitical Futures

If President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is going to become the single centre of power in Turkey, he must crush his domestic opposition and the PKK, and with its refugee deal, the EU is helping him do that, writes George Friedman.

More:Erdogan’s not mad, he’s ruthless – EurActiv.com