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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Collective schizophrenia in Turkey - BURAK BEKDİL

Collective schizophrenia in Turkey

If countries were human beings and could be put to a therapist’s chair, Turkey would probably be sent to a clinic instead of being prescribed regular sessions. Before one overcomes the shock from one absurdity, one would be showered by five more (often heavier) blows.

More:Collective schizophrenia in Turkey - BURAK BEKDİL

Istanbul Prosecutor Dies of Injuries Suffered in Hostage Shootout

Istanbul Prosecutor Dies of Injuries Suffered in Hostage Shootout
By Polly Mosendz 3/31/15 at 4:36 PM

Mehmet Selim Kiraz, a prosecutor in Istanbul, died Tuesday from injuries suffered in a hostage shootout, Reuters reports. Kiraz was shot in the head and body, and he died while being transported to the hospital for an emergency operation.

More:Istanbul Prosecutor Dies of Injuries Suffered in Hostage Shootout

Turkish trade gap falls as imports decrease - ECONOMICS

Turkish trade gap falls as imports decrease

ANKARA
Fresh data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has shown the country’s foreign trade deficit narrowed in February, but the data does not point at an improvement since it was engineered by a drop in imports rather than an increase in foreign sales.

More:Turkish trade gap falls as imports decrease - ECONOMICS

The Kurds Will Decide Turkey's Fate | The National Interest

The Kurds Will Decide Turkey's Fate

On June 7, 2015, Turkey will hold its twenty-fourth general election to determine the 550 new members of the parliament. As the election date approaches, Turkish politics boil a little hotter. One development that has added fuel to the fire is the recent decision of Turkey’s largest Kurdish political party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to contest the elections as a “single party” for the first time.

More:The Kurds Will Decide Turkey's Fate | The National Interest

Turkey power cut: Prime Minister says nationwide blackout could be caused by terrorists - World - News - The Independent

Turkey power cut: Prime Minister says nationwide blackout could be caused by terrorists

A nationwide blackout across Turkey has thrown the country into chaos.

Power outages have been reported in dozens of cities throughout the country due to a fault on power transmission lines, according to Turkey's Electricity Transmission Company TEİAŞ's statement.

Moe:Turkey power cut: Prime Minister says nationwide blackout could be caused by terrorists - World - News - The Independent

Greek woman finds grandparent’s Turkey home after 90yrs

Greek woman finds grandparent’s Turkey home after 90yrs

92 years after the population exchange between Turkey and Greece following World War I, a Greek businesswomen successfully locates her grandparents’ home based on a old photograph, taken in front of a neighbor's doorstep, and the name of her ancestral town.

More:Greek woman finds grandparent’s Turkey home after 90yrs

Massive Blackout Brings Turkey To A Standstill: Iran Cyber Attack? - Breitbart

Massive Blackout Brings Turkey To A Standstill: Iran Cyber Attack?

AP/Burhan Ozbilici

by Jordan Schachtel31 Mar 20150
Turkey is in the process of recovering from a major blackout that has brought the country to a relative standstill. Almost the entire country has been affected by the massive power cut, according to some media reports out of Turkey. Officials are considering the possibility that they were hit by a major cyber attack directed at its critical infrastructure.

More:Massive Blackout Brings Turkey To A Standstill: Iran Cyber Attack? - Breitbart

Two hostage-takers killed and prosecutor seriously injured after Turkish police move in to end courthouse siege by left-wing group demanding 'justice' for boy killed by police tear gas canister | Daily Mail Online

Two hostage-takers killed and prosecutor seriously injured after Turkish police move in to end courthouse siege by left-wing group demanding ‘justice’ for boy killed by police tear gas canister

Two hostage-takers have been killed and the prosecutor 'heavily wounded' in the Turkey courthouse siege, Istanbul's police chief has confirmed.

Turkish police stormed a room where prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz was being held hostage after gunshots were heard.

More:Two hostage-takers killed and prosecutor seriously injured after Turkish police move in to end courthouse siege by left-wing group demanding 'justice' for boy killed by police tear gas canister | Daily Mail Online

236 acquitted in Balyoz coup case - POLITICS

236 acquitted in Balyoz coup case

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

All 236 suspects in the “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) coup plot case were acquitted March 31 after the case’s prosecutor argued that digital data in the files submitted as evidence in the case was “fake” and did not constitute evidence.

More:236 acquitted in Balyoz coup case - POLITICS

Monday, March 30, 2015

Turkish president appeals ruling that he must pay damages to artist - The Art Newspaper

Turkish president appeals ruling that he must pay damages to artist
Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Mehmet Aksoy’s work as a “monstrosity”

By Gareth Harris. Web only
Published online: 30 March 2015

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is appealing a recent civil court ruling that decreed he must pay the artist Mehmet Aksoy €3,600 in damages, according to Turkish press.

More:Turkish president appeals ruling that he must pay damages to artist - The Art Newspaper

How Turkish ecstasy baron Dogan 'Doctor Drugs' Alagoz escaped prison with dodgy fax

How Turkish ecstasy baron Dogan 'Doctor Drugs' Alagoz escaped prison with dodgy fax

By Uzay Bulut
March 30, 2015 16:57 BST

Dogan Alagoz, one of Turkey's most notorious drugs barons, has managed to escape the clutches of the country's prison system - and caused huge embarrassment to its legal system in the process.

Alagoz was released from Silivri prison in Istanbul on 16 January, after an accomplice sent a fake fax bearing the insignia of the Turkish appeal court, ordering the convict's release. The authorities did not realise their mistake until a month later, when a prosecutor noticed the error while checking the release verdicts.

More:How Turkish ecstasy baron Dogan 'Doctor Drugs' Alagoz escaped prison with dodgy fax

Malls, houses built on areas allocated for assembly after earthquake in İstanbul

Malls, houses built on areas allocated for assembly after earthquake in İstanbul

Shopping malls and luxury housing have been built on more than half the areas designated as emergency assembly areas in Istanbul following a devastating earthquake in 1999, according to the head of a leading nongovernmental organization that deals with rescue operations.

More:Malls, houses built on areas allocated for assembly after earthquake in İstanbul

Turkey probes journalists, musicians over criticism of state-funded news agency | Middle East Eye

Turkey probes journalists, musicians over criticism of state-funded news agency
#Media

Officials from Anadolu news agency request investigation of 58 public figures, among them opposition politicians, over Twitter comments
More:Turkey probes journalists, musicians over criticism of state-funded news agency | Middle East Eye

The Turkey connection to the ISIS network - Middle East News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

The Turkey connection to the ISIS network

By Thomas Seibert For The Straits Times In Istanbul

When Benjamin Xu, a German national of Macedonian and Chinese descent, arrived in Istanbul two years ago, he had no problem hooking up with the handlers from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) managing his transfer to neighbouring Syria.

More:The Turkey connection to the ISIS network - Middle East News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Is Erdogan changing his tune on Israel? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Is Erdogan changing his tune on Israel?

We cannot accept Iran’s efforts to exert its hegemony over the Middle East. Iran is only taking action against the Islamic State in order to advance its interests in the region and to wrest control of Iraq and Syria.

More:Is Erdogan changing his tune on Israel? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey ready to settle deals with Russia in local currencies - economy minister — RT Business

Turkey ready to settle deals with Russia in local currencies - economy minister
Published time: March 30, 2015 15:27

​Turkey’s Ministry of Economy is to consider using local currency, either the Russian ruble or Turkish lira, in major investment projects with Moscow.

More:Turkey ready to settle deals with Russia in local currencies - economy minister — RT Business

The gender wars in Turkey: a litmus test of democracy? | openDemocracy

The gender wars in Turkey: a litmus test of democracy?
Deniz Kandiyoti 30 March 2015

The pent up fury and grief released by Özgecan Aslan’s attempted rape and gruesome murder reveal deep fault lines and simmering sources of disaffection in Turkish society.

More:The gender wars in Turkey: a litmus test of democracy? | openDemocracy

‘We are ready to open any accession chapter’

‘We are ready to open any accession chapter’

Government Europe Turkey Volkan Bozkir

As a former diplomat who is well liked and respected in Brussels, Turkey’s Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir is the new face of the rapidly rising nation’s application for EU membership. Mr Bozkir has high hopes for Turkey’s goal of becoming a full EU member by 2023, and he says his country is ready to open any chapter in the process if the EU is also willing

More:‘We are ready to open any accession chapter’

İstanbul’s Sancaklar Mosque up for best design by London Design Museum

İstanbul’s Sancaklar Mosque up for best design by London Design Museum

The world's first underground mosque, the Sancaklar Mosque, which won best religious building at the 2013 World Architecture Festival, has been nominated for the 2015’s Designs of the Year exhibition by London Design Museum.

More:İstanbul’s Sancaklar Mosque up for best design by London Design Museum

NICOSIA, Cyprus: Turkish Cypriot soccer president: No going back on deal | Soccer | FresnoBee.com

Turkish Cypriot soccer president: No going back on deal

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

NICOSIA, Cyprus — In an effort to do away with decades of isolation, the president of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot soccer association said Monday he's determined to follow through with a decision to join the Cyprus Football Association.

More:NICOSIA, Cyprus: Turkish Cypriot soccer president: No going back on deal | Soccer | FresnoBee.com

Crisis averted between the Christian world and Turkey - FATİH ÇEKİRGE

Crisis averted between the Christian world and Turkey

Here is a piece of news first: There would have been a very serious April 24 crisis between Turkey and the Christian world. The crisis was averted at the last minute.

More:Crisis averted between the Christian world and Turkey - FATİH ÇEKİRGE

International dancers to take stage in Istanbul Dance Fest - STAGE

International dancers to take stage in Istanbul Dance Fest

ISTANBUL

Considered one of the most popular dance festivals around the world, the 4th International Istanbul Dance Festival (IIDF) is set to be held between April 2 and 6 at the Hilton Bosphorus Congress Center.

More:International dancers to take stage in Istanbul Dance Fest - STAGE

Urban rebuilding set for Istanbul’s posh districts - Daily Sabah

Urban rebuilding set for Istanbul’s posh districts
HAZAL ATEŞ
ISTANBUL

The government has added more housing units to its plans for urban transformation in Istanbul this year, seeking to demolish the crumbling buildings in the city's upscale districts to make way for buildings resistant to earthquakes.

More:Urban rebuilding set for Istanbul’s posh districts - Daily Sabah

CHP primaries eliminate party opposition figures ahead of Turkey’s elections - Daily Sabah

CHP primaries eliminate party opposition figures ahead of Turkey’s elections
SINAN ÖZTÜRK
ISTANBUL

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has held primaries in 41 provinces and 45 electoral districts to determine its candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections on June 7. However, only 50 percent of the total 760,000 CHP members cast votes, and this limited participation was enough to change party dynamics. The official results have not yet been announced for several districts, however, current results show that the party administration successfully passed the primaries, which also functions as a vote of confidence ahead of the elections, while the interparty opposition lost blood. Party members eliminated at least seven current deputies as they failed to get on the lists of their respective provinces, while many other deputies were surpassed by other candidates to be ranked lower on the CHP list.

More:CHP primaries eliminate party opposition figures ahead of Turkey’s elections - Daily Sabah

Five Dutch arrested smuggling food, tobacco into Syria - NL Times

Five Dutch arrested smuggling food, tobacco into Syria
Posted on Mar 30, 2015 by Janene Van Jaarsveldt

Five Dutch citizens have been arrested in Turkey for illegally trying to cross the Turkish-Syrian border, the Turkish army report on the Ministry of Defense website. It is not known whether these Dutch people are jihadists or were trying to join a terrorist organization.

More:Five Dutch arrested smuggling food, tobacco into Syria - NL Times

Turkish flight diverts to Casablanca due to bomb threat - 12 News

Turkish flight diverts to Casablanca due to bomb threat

ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkish Airlines says it has diverted an Istanbul-to-Sao Paulo flight and is landing in Casablanca, Morocco, after finding a note with the word "bomb" in the toilet.

More:Turkish flight diverts to Casablanca due to bomb threat - 12 News

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Hotspot - Turkey - Geographical

Hotspot - Turkey

Written by Klaus Dodds
Published in Geopolitical Hotspot

Following the tragic murder of a young woman on a Turkish bus, Klaus Dodds explores the relationship between gender, geopolitics, and our public spaces

More:Hotspot - Turkey - Geographical

Turkey’s ATU to operate duty free stores in United States

Turkey’s ATU to operate duty free stores in United States

Sunday, 29 March 2015 16:01
TAV Airports Holding's joint venture, ATU Duty Free, has been awarded the tender to operate the duty free shops in United States of America. ATU, which is the largest duty free operator of Turkey, operates duty free operations of Istanbul Ataturk, Ankara Esenboğa, Izmir Adnan Menderes, Gazipaşa Alanya airports in Turkey, as well as Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi airports in Georgia, Skopje and Ohrid airports in Macedonia, Enfidha, Monastir, Carthage, Djerba, Sfax, Tozeur and Tabarka airports in Tunisia, Riga Airport in Latvia, Salalah Airport in Oman and Madinah Airport in Saudi Arabia

More:Turkey’s ATU to operate duty free stores in United States

New Omnibus Bill chains the Internet and the streets in Turkey - Your Middle East

New Omnibus Bill chains the Internet and the streets in Turkey

The people of Turkey have gotten used to having their fundamental rights, economic rights, civil rights, and criminal provisions enacted in the omnibus bills, which amend hundreds of provisions in many irrelevant pieces of legislation at one go. The omnibus bill is a legislative method that has been criticized and condemned as a detrimental threat to the parliamentary system as well as the legislature and fundamental rights.

More:New Omnibus Bill chains the Internet and the streets in Turkey - Your Middle East

Turkey’s main opposition CHP holds primaries - Daily Sabah

Turkey’s main opposition CHP holds primaries
DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on Sunday, held primary elections in 41 provinces and 45 electoral districts to determine its candidates for the June 7 general election.

A total of 760,000 CHP members were allowed to vote in the primaries, which were supervised by judges. The voting ended at 5:00 p.m. while only 50 percent of the party members cast their vote.

More:Turkey’s main opposition CHP holds primaries - Daily Sabah

Report Exposes Turk Defense Industry's Weaknesses

Report Exposes Turk Defense Industry's Weaknesses
By Burak Ege Bekdil 10:57 a.m. EDT March 29, 2015
635629731190961270-464252388

ANKARA, Turkey — A recent report released by Turkey's procurement authorities has exposed fundamental weaknesses of the country's local industry.

More:Report Exposes Turk Defense Industry's Weaknesses

What will the president do with the secret fund? - MEHMET Y. YILMAZ

What will the president do with the secret fund?

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was granted the power to use a “discretionary fund.” We knew that while he himself was the prime minister, he had made good use of this secret fund. The expenditures in the discretionary fund had expanded with a great speed during the Erdoğan era.

More:What will the president do with the secret fund? - MEHMET Y. YILMAZ

Turkey enters election year with ‘zero’ growth - ECONOMICS

Turkey enters election year with ‘zero’ growth

Mustafa SÖNMEZ - mustafasnmz@hotmail.com

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which targeted 4 percent growth in its program for the 2015, has not had a very positive start. Estimates show that the first quarter’s growth rate did not exceed the growth rate of the first quarter of 2014 - in other words there has been a “zero growth.”

More:Turkey enters election year with ‘zero’ growth - ECONOMICS

Bomb scare on Turkish Airlines flight

Bomb scare on Turkish Airlines flight

A plane bound for Tokyo returned to Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport early Sunday morning after a message “C-4 Cargo” was discovered by the cabin crew in the lavatory.

More:Bomb scare on Turkish Airlines flight

Istanbul goes dark for ‘Earth Hour’ - GREEN

Istanbul goes dark for ‘Earth Hour’

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

Istanbul’s symbolic landmarks were darkened for an hour on March 28 during the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) annual “Earth Hour” event to raise awareness of environmental issues.

More:Istanbul goes dark for ‘Earth Hour’ - GREEN

Turkey charges two policemen in Erdogan spying case - Yahoo News

Turkey charges two policemen in Erdogan spying case

Istanbul (AFP) - A Turkish court on Sunday charged two former policemen with illegally eavesdropping on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following their extradition from Romania, state-media said.

More:Turkey charges two policemen in Erdogan spying case - Yahoo News

Cyprus set for reunification after long split - Channel NewsAsia

Cyprus set for reunification after long split

Football reunification in Cyprus is set to move closer on Monday when the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) will apply for membership of the UEFA-recognised Cyprus Football Association (CFA) in the Greek Cypriot-controlled south.

More:Cyprus set for reunification after long split - Channel NewsAsia

Turkey: Is the AKP's "Spell" Reversing?

Turkey: Is the AKP's "Spell" Reversing?

by Burak Bekdil
March 29, 2015 at 3:00 am

It looks as if the AKP's biggest enemy is the AKP.

When Turkey's Islamists came together under the roof of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001 and reflagged themselves as conservative democrats, they did not know they would have to get quickly organized for early parliamentary elections in slightly over a year.

More:Turkey: Is the AKP's "Spell" Reversing?

What I Saw In Turkey |

What I Saw In Turkey

By Catherine Agbo
— Mar 29, 2015 | 0 Comments

When I told my family and friends that I would be going on a trip to Istanbul, Turkey, as if it was planned, nearly every one of them asked me to bring them turkey from Turkey, before asking what my mission in Turkey was. Sadly, throughout the five days I spent in the beautiful country which straddles two continents,

More:What I Saw In Turkey |

Istanbul’s new creative hub retains Ottoman flavour – for now | Travel | The Guardian

Istanbul’s new creative hub retains Ottoman flavour – for now

The Fener-Balat quarter, once the little Greece of Istanbul, is now one of the city’s trendy design districts and regaining the international feel of its past

More:Istanbul’s new creative hub retains Ottoman flavour – for now | Travel | The Guardian

Senior US official to visit Turkey on security matters

Senior US official to visit Turkey on security matters

A senior US official responsible for arms control is set to visit Turkey next month on a "variety of strategic issues" at a time when Ankara is holding negotiations with a wide range of bidding companies for its new long-range missile defense system.

More:Senior US official to visit Turkey on security matters

Saturday, March 28, 2015

US lawmakers slam Turkey’s lack of commitment to democracy, again

US lawmakers slam Turkey’s lack of commitment to democracy, again

Five US congressmen criticized Turkey's distancing itself from democracy and rule of law in another letter addressed to Secretary of State John Kerry, the third in less than two months, urging the secretary to discuss their concerns with Ankara as well as increase dialogue with Turkish civil society

More:US lawmakers slam Turkey’s lack of commitment to democracy, again

Photographer documents İstanbul’s little-known treasures: libraries

Photographer documents İstanbul’s little-known treasures: libraries

Many of İstanbul's best libraries are in central locations we pass by each day, yet we often pay too little attention.

Seeing this fact, photographer Ümit Oğuz Göksel embarked on a quest to document İstanbul's libraries, and the results of his endeavor will go on display on Monday at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall's foyer.

More:Photographer documents İstanbul’s little-known treasures: libraries

Turkish Armed Forces to open social media accounts, 28 March 2015

Turkish Armed Forces to open social media accounts

28 March 2015

Turkey's military will use social media to promote the armed forces in the international community.

More:Turkish Armed Forces to open social media accounts, 28 March 2015

Archaeologists in Turkey uncover classical era’s first two-lane road

Archaeologists in Turkey uncover classical era’s first two-lane road

A 34 meter wide, 2,700 meter long two-lane road has been unearthed from the ruins of the ancient city of Anavarza in Adana province, with archaeologists noting that it is the oldest and largest main avenue of the classical era to have been uncovered so far.

More:Archaeologists in Turkey uncover classical era’s first two-lane road

The Syrian odyssey in Istanbul - Al Jazeera English

The Syrian odyssey in Istanbul

While Istanbul has long been a hub for migrants, Syrians have found themselves trapped in Turkey.

More:The Syrian odyssey in Istanbul - Al Jazeera English

Eroglu calls for 'security guarantees' in the event of re-unification

Eroglu calls for 'security guarantees' in the event of re-unification

Saturday, 28 March, 2015
Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has declared his political vision as he bids for re-election, saying that the Turkish Cypriot people would need security guarantees in the event of re-unification.

More:Eroglu calls for 'security guarantees' in the event of re-unification

Friday, March 27, 2015

A few smart moves by Turkey’s opposition CHP - MURAT YETKİN

A few smart moves by Turkey’s opposition CHP

There was a reception at Istanbul’s gorgeous Çırağan Palace on the evening of March 26 held by top industrialist Güler Sabancı in honor of Sabancı University member Dr. Fatih Birol’s election as the director of the International Energy Agency (IEA); she seemed truly proud of Birol’s success.

More:A few smart moves by Turkey’s opposition CHP - MURAT YETKİN

Turkish parliament now grants secret fund to President Erdoğan - POLITICS

Turkish parliament now grants secret fund to President Erdoğan

ANKARA – Turan Yılmaz

A regulation granting a discretionary fund for the presidency was passed as part of a government-sponsored omnibus bill in the General Assembly of the Turkish parliament early March 27, despite objection from opposition parties.

More:Turkish parliament now grants secret fund to President Erdoğan - POLITICS

Istanbul – city of legends and fairy tales - TASTE OF THE PAST

Istanbul – city of legends and fairy tales

NIKI GAMM
Historic fact or stories related on a winter’s night around a camp fire? There’s no end to Istanbul’s extraordinary life

More:Istanbul – city of legends and fairy tales - TASTE OF THE PAST

Water tunnels lead to 5,000 year-old underground city in Turkey

Water tunnels lead to 5,000 year-old underground city in Turkey

By Karen Graham 17 mins ago in Science
Nevsehir - A construction project in Cappadocia, Turkey, already famous for its underground cities, cave churches and strange chimney houses, has unearthed what may be the largest hiding place ever found in the region.

More:Water tunnels lead to 5,000 year-old underground city in Turkey

Turkey Maritime Sector Alive & Kicking

Turkey Maritime Sector Alive & Kicking
By Joseph R. Fonseca
Friday, March 27, 2015, 2:20 PM

Located on the periphery of two great continents, Turkey has benefitted from being in a favored position right at the center of an assertive and fast growing economic area. This geographical location finds Turkey in a very favorable position. Despite the general economic recession, the country’s shipping ports and shipbuilding sectors have faced challenges resolutely and expanded consistently.

More:Turkey Maritime Sector Alive & Kicking

Interior minister says gov’t will act on charges against Ankara mayor

Interior minister says gov’t will act on charges against Ankara mayor

Interior Minister Sebahattin Öztürk. (Photo: DHA)
March 27, 2015, Friday/ 18:04:23/ TODAY'S ZAMAN / ANKARA

In a sign of the growing rift between the government and the president, the interior minister said on Thursday the government will act on criminal complaints filed against Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek.

More:Interior minister says gov’t will act on charges against Ankara mayor

Istanbul’s Beauty & Care tradeshow goes international

Istanbul’s Beauty & Care tradeshow goes international

The 23rd edition of Beauty & Care, which took place from 12 to 15 March 2015 in Istanbul, at the Istanbul Congress Center and Lütfi Kirdar Exhibition Center, hosted 518 brands from 18 countries and welcomed 19.236 visitors, announced the organizers.

More:Premium Beauty News - Istanbul’s Beauty & Care tradeshow goes international

İstanbul rents double in 5 years

İstanbul rents double in 5 years

March 27, 2015, Friday/ 16:53:41/ ARİF BAYRAKTAR / ISTANBUL

Rental prices in Turkey's most populous province, Istanbul, have doubled since 2010, according to a recent study carried out by a real estate consultancy firm.

More:İstanbul rents double in 5 years

Turkish actress faces two years in jail for ‘insulting’ President Erdoğan

Turkish actress faces two years in jail for ‘insulting’ President Erdoğan

Turkish actress Gonca Vuslateri is facing a prison sentence of up to two years for posts on Twitter alleged to have insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

More:Turkish actress faces two years in jail for ‘insulting’ President Erdoğan

Qatari businessman purchases world’s 4th most expensive mansion in İstanbul

Qatari businessman purchases world’s 4th most expensive mansion in İstanbul

Qatari businessman Abdulhadi Mana Al Hajri has purchased Turkey’s most expensive and the world’s fourth most expensive residence, the Erbilginler Yalı, for EUR 100 million.

More:Qatari businessman purchases world’s 4th most expensive mansion in İstanbul

Turkey passes tough new security law, raising fears of election crackdowns | Reuters

Turkey passes tough new security law, raising fears of election crackdowns
ANKARA | By Jonny Hogg and Gulsen Solaker

Reuters/Gleb Garanich

(Reuters) - Turkey's parliament overwhelmingly passed a security law on Friday to broaden police powers and allow the use of firearms against demonstrators, deepening fears of crackdowns on dissent ahead of parliamentary elections.

More:Turkey passes tough new security law, raising fears of election crackdowns | Reuters

Turkey’s AK party: Cracks in the façade | The Economist

Turkey’s AK party
Cracks in the façade

RIDING on robust growth and democratic reforms, Turkey’s pro-Islamist Justice and Development (AK) party has won three terms in power since 2002. With parliamentary elections due on June 7th, its secular rivals gloomily thought that AK was poised for another victory. That was until Bulent Arinc, the government spokesman and a founding member of the party, let rip at his leader.

More:Turkey’s AK party: Cracks in the façade | The Economist

Turkey third largest destination for asylum seekers, UNHCR report reveals - Daily Sabah

Turkey third largest destination for asylum seekers, UNHCR report reveals
DAILY SABAH WITH AFP

The number of asylum seekers in industrialized countries rose by nearly half last year, driven by the devastating conflicts in Syria and Iraq, with Germany the top destination, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Thursday.

More:Turkey third largest destination for asylum seekers, UNHCR report reveals - Daily Sabah

NGO calls for more female politicians in Turkey - POLITICS

NGO calls for more female politicians in Turkey

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

A Turkish NGO has called for more women to stand for parliament in the upcoming general election, stating that “equal representation is a precondition of democracy.”

More:NGO calls for more female politicians in Turkey - POLITICS

Take a Gander at the Turkish Ice Cream Tricks at the Grand Bazaar - Eater Vegas

Take a Gander at the Turkish Ice Cream Tricks at the Grand Bazaar
by Bradley Martin Mar 26, 2015, 11:00a

The Istanbul-inspired Grand Bazaar Shops now hosts a piece of Turkey.

Known for their elaborate song and dance sales pitch, Marash Authentic Turkish Ice Cream has debuted inside cubicle 101 at the Bally's Grand Bazaar Shops and is playfully suckering customers with a sweet tooth.

More:Take a Gander at the Turkish Ice Cream Tricks at the Grand Bazaar - Eater Vegas

Turkey's Erdogan says Iran and terrorist groups must leave Yemen - France 24 | Reuters

Turkey's Erdogan says Iran and "terrorist groups" must leave Yemen - France 24
ISTANBUL, March 26

(Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Thursday as saying Turkey may consider providing logisitical support to the Saudi-led military mission in Yemen and called on Iran and "terrorist groups" to withdraw from the country.

More:Turkey's Erdogan says Iran and terrorist groups must leave Yemen - France 24 | Reuters

How the Kurds' Power Play Backfired in Turkey | The National Interest

How the Kurds' Power Play Backfired in Turkey

Imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan’s recent calls for the Kurdish militants to end the armed struggle inside Turkey seemed designed to show that they were on the brink of a peace deal. It didn’t work. The likelihood of a formal peace settlement has never been worse, and for now this may suit both the PKK and the Turkish government.

More:How the Kurds' Power Play Backfired in Turkey | The National Interest

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Erdoğan’s big poker game - AHU ÖZYURT

Erdoğan’s big poker game

It was different in Diyarbakır for Nevruz this time. Three long years had passed since the first letter was read in the big Bağlar Square. Those sentences were still fresh in the memories of the Kurdish youth.

More:Erdoğan’s big poker game - AHU ÖZYURT

Obama discusses anti-ISIL cooperation, Yemen with Turkey’s Erdoğan

Obama discusses anti-ISIL cooperation, Yemen with Turkey’s Erdoğan

US President Barack Obama discussed with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the "ongoing cooperation" between the two countries in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) as well as other pressing issues in the region, including Iran and Yemen, the White House said.

More:Obama discusses anti-ISIL cooperation, Yemen with Turkey’s Erdoğan

AKP's internal tensions finally erupt - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

AKP's internal tensions finally erupt

It has been rumored in Ankara lately that tension is growing among Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) elites, in particular between the “palace” of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the government led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. In return, AKP spokesmen and propagandists reiterated that this false news was manufactured by opposition figures whose only aim was to create “fitna,” an Islamic term for internal strife that roughly corresponds to sedition. Yet, thanks to a series of stunning statements by Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, the fitna erupted in a way that nobody could deny.

More:AKP's internal tensions finally erupt - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Are Turkey's young IS recruits now a domestic threat? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Are Turkey's young IS recruits now a domestic threat?

Turkish media extensively covered the story of 19-year-old Suleyman Bengi crossing the border to Syria and joining the Islamic State (IS). Suleyman, a freshman dentistry student at a prominent Ankara university and son of an academic, took along with him his 16-year-old twin brothers Dilar and Dilsat. Everyone is asking what could have motivated a young man from a well-to-do, educated family to embark on such an adventure.

More:Are Turkey's young IS recruits now a domestic threat? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

AKP cracks inflict collateral damage on the Kurdish issue - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

AKP cracks inflict collateral damage on the Kurdish issue

Last weekend witnessed the most important and serious crack in the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey's ruling party, when Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc engaged in a heated public argument with fellow AKP member and Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek. Only 75 days before the general elections, such a crack cannot bode well for the party’s fortunes. While the AKP’s ultimate power does not appear to be contested by any other contender, the party could lose its majority in the next parliament and the ability it has had since 2002 to form the government by itself.

More:AKP cracks inflict collateral damage on the Kurdish issue - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey in favor of unconditional solution to Cyprus issue - Daily Sabah

Turkey in favor of unconditional solution to Cyprus issue
ANADOLU AGENCY
GENEVA

Turkey is supporting the immediate resumption of peace talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriots, said the UN Geneva representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

More:Turkey in favor of unconditional solution to Cyprus issue - Daily Sabah

Pro-ISIS magazine in Istanbul bombed - CNN.com

Pro-ISIS magazine in Istanbul bombed

By Zeynep Bilginsoy and Ivan Watson, CNN

Istanbul (CNN)A bomb blast ripped through the Istanbul offices of a radical, pro-ISIS magazine killing a writer and wounding its editor-in-chief as well as two other people on Wednesday night.

More:Pro-ISIS magazine in Istanbul bombed - CNN.com

Turkey's gender gap in education on the rise Anadolu Agency

Turkey's gender gap in education on the rise

26 March 2015 11:38 (Last updated 26 March 2015 11:40)
With girls both outperforming boys in college entrance exams and university enrolment, AA looks at the reasons driving this new gender gap in Turkey.

More:Turkey's gender gap in education on the rise Anadolu Agency

Turkey shuts Bosphorus Strait due to bridge construction | Energy & Oil | Reuters

Turkey shuts Bosphorus Strait due to bridge construction
Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:28am GMT

ISTANBUL, March 26 (Reuters) - Turkey on Thursday closed the Bosphorus Strait, a key shipping channel for Russian oil and other commodities, to allow for construction work on a bridge, shipping agent GAC Turkey said.

More:Turkey shuts Bosphorus Strait due to bridge construction | Energy & Oil | Reuters

UNHCR - Wars in Syria and Iraq drive highest asylum numbers in 22 years

Wars in Syria and Iraq drive highest asylum numbers in 22 years

Press Releases, 26 March 2015

GENEVA – The wars in Syria and Iraq, as well as armed conflicts, human rights violations and deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions in other countries, pushed the number of asylum applications in industrialized countries to a 22-year high last year, according to a UNHCR report released today.

More:UNHCR - Wars in Syria and Iraq drive highest asylum numbers in 22 years

Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner is first to film inside Istanbul's Blue Mosque | Daily Mail Online

Shooting history: New Russell Crowe movie on bloody World War I battle becomes first to film inside Istanbul's Blue Mosque

One hundred years after the Battle of Gallipoli, a new Hollywood film starring and directed by Russell Crowe is poised to generate new interest in a region in Turkey where one of the darkest campaigns of the First World War was waged.

More:Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner is first to film inside Istanbul's Blue Mosque | Daily Mail Online

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

APA - One dead as blast hits magazine building in Istanbul

One dead as blast hits magazine building in Istanbul

[ 26 March 2015 03:02 ]

Baku-APA. One was killed and hree others were injured when a powerful explosion hit the building of “Adımlar” magazine in the Kağıthane district of İstanbul on Wednesday night, APA reports quoting Turkish mass media.

More:APA - One dead as blast hits magazine building in Istanbul

Washington and Ankara Need Couples Therapy | Foreign Policy

Washington and Ankara Need Couples Therapy

By Berivan Orucoglu
March 25, 2015 - 5:53 pm

Turkey, one of the most prominent and long-standing members of NATO, is running out of friends in the West.

Turkey, one of the most prominent and long-standing members of NATO, is running out of friends in the West.

More:Washington and Ankara Need Couples Therapy | Foreign Policy

Teens targeted as Turkey cracks down on speech

Teens targeted as Turkey cracks down on speech
Lucy Kafanov, Special for USA TODAY 2:32 p.m. EDT March 25, 2015

ISTANBUL — A high school student, a former beauty queen and a slew of Turkish journalists are among a growing number of people facing prison sentences for engaging in political dissent, part of what critics say is a widening government crackdown on freedom of speech.

More:Teens targeted as Turkey cracks down on speech

Turkey unveils Great Synagogue as Jewish population fades | Reuters

Turkey unveils Great Synagogue as Jewish population fades

By Ayla Jean Yackley

(Reuters) - When the domes of Edirne's abandoned Great Synagogue caved in, Rifat Mitrani, the town's last Jew, knew it spelled the end of nearly two millennia of Jewish heritage in this Turkish town.

More:Turkey unveils Great Synagogue as Jewish population fades | Reuters

Kurdish women’s movement reshapes Turkish politics - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Kurdish women’s movement reshapes Turkish politics

The People’s Democracy Party (HDP) has co-chairs for all representative levels. A female and male official share the responsibility. The party is chaired by Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag. The HDP has become the fastest-growing political movement in Turkey since the August 2014 election. Following the momentum of the last election, Yuksekdag explained, the HDP is now ready to participate in the next general election as a political party, believing it will be able to acquire at least 10% of the national vote, the threshold required to enter parliament. Previously, members of the HDP have entered the parliament as independent candidates.

More:Kurdish women’s movement reshapes Turkish politics - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

In Turkey, Not Even Posters of Women Are Safe From Violence — The Atlantic

In Turkey, Not Even Posters of Women Are Safe From Violence
After a deadly sexual assault on a minibus, a hidden-camera campaign gains new meaning.
Olga Khazan Mar 25 2015, 8:00 AM ET

Murad Sezer/Reuters

On February 11, a 20-year-old college student named Ozgecan Aslan was riding in a minibus in the southern Turkish town of Mersin. When she was the last passenger still aboard the bus, the driver allegedly pulled over and attempted to rape her. As she fought him off, he allegedly bludgeoned her with a crowbar, stabbed her to death, and cut off her hands to hide the evidence.

More:In Turkey, Not Even Posters of Women Are Safe From Violence — The Atlantic

Zeybekci: “Despite Turkey’s great efforts to seize the era, the share of its GDP in R&D is less than 1%”, 25 March 2015

Zeybekci: “Despite Turkey’s great efforts to seize the era, the share of its GDP in R&D is less than 1%”

25 March 2015

JTW News, Öznur Keleş

Turkey Innovation Week, organized for the fourth time by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM), was kicked off in İzmir on March 19th, 2015, with Switzerland as a partner country.

More:Zeybekci: “Despite Turkey’s great efforts to seize the era, the share of its GDP in R&D is less than 1%”, 25 March 2015

Turkey: 'It’s Hard to be a Hero', says Journalism Group as Dozens of Reporters Sued - Hetq - News, Articles, Investigations

Turkey: 'It’s Hard to be a Hero', says Journalism Group as Dozens of Reporters Sued

12:46, March 25, 2015

More than 60 journalists have been targeted by 100 lawsuits since a corruption probe incriminated government ministers in 2013, according to a prominent member of the Turkish Journalism Association (TGC).

More:Turkey: 'It’s Hard to be a Hero', says Journalism Group as Dozens of Reporters Sued - Hetq - News, Articles, Investigations

Discover the Cultural Treasure Turkey Threatens to Flood | TIME

Discover the Cultural Treasure Turkey Threatens to Flood

Andrew Katz @katz

4:00 AM ET
Construction of the hydroelectric Ilisu Dam threatens the ancient village of Hasankeyf

More:Discover the Cultural Treasure Turkey Threatens to Flood | TIME

EU cash to promote innovation and change in Turkish Cypriot schools | Cyprus Mail

EU cash to promote innovation and change in Turkish Cypriot schools

The European Commission on Tuesday launched a €1.5 million call for proposals promoting innovation and change in schools and the improvement of employability in the Turkish Cypriot community.

More:EU cash to promote innovation and change in Turkish Cypriot schools | Cyprus Mail

Gruelling, even hazardous, work on Turkey’s famed soap operas | Showbiz | Malay Mail Online

Gruelling, even hazardous, work on Turkey’s famed soap operas

Wednesday March 25, 2015
02:21 PM GMT+8

ISTANBUL, March 25 — Featuring heartthrob heroes, emancipated heroines and picturesque scenery, Turkish television drama series have taken the world by storm, gaining faithful audiences in dozens of countries across Europe, the Middle East and even the Americas.

More:Gruelling, even hazardous, work on Turkey’s famed soap operas | Showbiz | Malay Mail Online

Erdoğan plan for super-presidency puts Turkey's democracy at stake | World news | The Guardian

Erdoğan plan for super-presidency puts Turkey's democracy at stake

The Turkish president’s attempted power-grab is slated from within his own party as divisions between the country’s executive and legislature deepen

More:Erdoğan plan for super-presidency puts Turkey's democracy at stake | World news | The Guardian

Turkeys Womens Party demands equal representation - Daily Sabah

Turkey's Women's Party demands equal representation
ANADOLU AGENCY
ISTANBUL

Turkey's Women's Party has called on more women to run in elections, while demanding equal representation in Parliament.

"We call on more women to stand as independent candidates," party leader Benal Yazgan said at a press conference on Wednesday in Istanbul.

More:Turkeys Womens Party demands equal representation - Daily Sabah

Turkey mulls criminalizing social media users sharing ‘illegal content’ - Al Arabiya News

Turkey mulls criminalizing social media users sharing ‘illegal content’

Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Wednesday, 25 March 2015

The Turkish parliament is mulling another article in an omnibus bill which could criminalize social media users who share content subject to a legal complaint, the local Hurriyet Daily reported Tuesday.

More:Turkey mulls criminalizing social media users sharing ‘illegal content’ - Al Arabiya News

GMO Foods and Pesticides: Monsanto seeks retraction of WHO report linking herbicide to cancer - by Carey Gillam

Monsanto Co, maker of the world’s most widely-used herbicide, Roundup, wants an international health organization to retract a report linking the chief ingredient in Roundup to cancer.

The company said on Tuesday that the report, issued on Friday by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), was biased and contradicts regulatory findings that the ingredient, glyphosate, is safe when used as labeled.

Monsanto Co, maker of the world’s most widely-used herbicide, Roundup, wants an international health organization to retract a report linking the chief ingredient in Roundup to cancer.

The company said on Tuesday that the report, issued on Friday by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), was biased and contradicts regulatory findings that the ingredient, glyphosate, is safe when used as labeled.


Read more: Monsanto seeks retraction of WHO report linking herbicide to cancer - The Globe and Mail

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Turkish Lira World’s Biggest Loser as Party Discord Sparks Probe - Bloomberg Business

Turkish Lira World’s Biggest Loser as Party Discord Sparks Probe

by Benjamin Harvey
9:36 AM EDT
March 24, 2015

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey’s lira dropped the most among major currencies worldwide after reports that a prosecutor has opened an investigation into two ruling party politicians who accuse each other of collaborating with state enemies.

More:Turkish Lira World’s Biggest Loser as Party Discord Sparks Probe - Bloomberg Business

Erdogan’s lobbying exposes fractures in Turkey’s ruling party

Erdogan’s lobbying exposes fractures in Turkey’s ruling party

Reuters
March 24, 2015

ISTANBUL: Anyone watching the multitude of Turkish television stations broadcasting President Tayyip Erdogan’s speeches on an almost daily basis might be forgiven for thinking he was the one standing in a June election.

More:Erdogan’s lobbying exposes fractures in Turkey’s ruling party

Turkey’s $625,500 taxi plates now only on sale for taxi drivers - Daily Sabah

Turkey’s $625,500 taxi plates now only on sale for taxi drivers
DAILY SABAH WITH WIRES
ISTANBUL

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Directorate of Transport Coordination (UKOME) has forbidden the sale of taxi license plates to those who are not taxi drivers - a regulation which became effective on March 12.

More:Turkey’s $625,500 taxi plates now only on sale for taxi drivers - Daily Sabah

Turkish teacher on why she embraces Sufi lifestyle - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkish teacher on why she embraces Sufi lifestyle

While Cemalnur Sargut is a renowned writer, researcher and teacher of Islamic tasawwuf (Sufism) in Turkey, not enough is heard about her abroad. Her radiant smile, soothing voice and instruction of peaceful doctrines of Sufism keep attracting an ever-increasing number of followers in Turkey.

More:Turkish teacher on why she embraces Sufi lifestyle - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

A Multi-faceted Crisis Surrounding Turkey | Opinion | teleSUR

A Multi-faceted Crisis Surrounding Turkey
By: Taylan Tosun

There is a growing crisis concerning the classical political parties and representative system in Turkey. There is a growing social crisis underlying the one on the political level. The Kurdish question is exerting an increasing pressure on the government. And lastly a very serious economic crisis is on the horizon. Indeed this has been a familiar pattern in Turkey, at least in recent history. Political and economic crises have been always overlapped and triggered each other.

More:A Multi-faceted Crisis Surrounding Turkey | Opinion | teleSUR

French court sentences 9 Kurds in PKK extortion case | French News | Expatica France

French court sentences 9 Kurds in PKK extortion case

24th March 2015, Comments0 comments

A French court on Tuesday sentenced two Kurds to five years in prison and seven others to lesser terms in an extortion case linked to the Kurdish armed group PKK.

More:French court sentences 9 Kurds in PKK extortion case | French News | Expatica France

Turkey probes deputy premier, Ankara mayor

Turkey probes deputy premier, Ankara mayor

Reuters/AFP
Ankara
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc and the mayor of Ankara were placed under judicial investigation yesterday, officials said, over a public row including accusations of corruption that exposed fractures in the ruling AK Party.

More:Turkey probes deputy premier, Ankara mayor

Big love in Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Big love in Turkey

News broke on March 16 that the People’s Democracy Party (HDP) had approved the applications of three polygamous candidates in the eastern province of Hakkari. This was intriguing because only a week earlier the HDP, the party known for bolstering women’s rights and equality, had announced that men with a history of rape, sexual or physical harassment or those in polygamous marriages would be rejected to apply for candidacy in the June general elections. This controversy caused uproar in social media. Al-Monitor contacted several high-level HDP officials and the prospective candidates in Hakkari. Polygamy has been illegal in Turkey since 1926, making this is a sensitive issue. While HDP candidates declined to answer any questions, HDP officials told Al-Monitor that it is unlikely these prospective candidates will be appointed as HDP nominees in the upcoming elections.

More:Big love in Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Erdogan grows more radical - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Erdogan grows more radical

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent speeches and media remarks have been marked by an increasingly radical rhetoric. Among mainstream political leaders in Turkey today, Erdogan is by far and away the most hard-line and polarizing orator.

More:Erdogan grows more radical - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Erdogan’s delicate balancing act in Kiev - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Erdogan’s delicate balancing act in Kiev

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Ukraine on March 20 for a day of official talks with President Petro Poroshenko against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis the West and Russia are currently embroiled in. Erdogan’s visit was billed as the fourth meeting of the High Level Cooperation Council set up in 2011 to promote political and economic ties between the two countries.

More:Erdogan’s delicate balancing act in Kiev - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey calls on rebel Kurds to lay down arms

Turkey calls on rebel Kurds to lay down arms

Ankara, March 24 (IANS): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called on the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) to lay down arms in order to facilitate a settlement of the four-decadea" old Kurdish insurgency in the country.

More:Turkey calls on rebel Kurds to lay down arms

Turkish police detain dozens over exam 'irregularities', 23 March 2015

Turkish police detain dozens over exam 'irregularities'

23 March 2015

Ankara prosecutor orders detentions over concerns that 2010's nationwide civil service recruitment examination was compromised.

More:Turkish police detain dozens over exam 'irregularities', 23 March 2015

Turkish military launch operation targeting Kurdish rebel hideouts | Reuters

Turkish military launch operation targeting Kurdish rebel hideouts

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:21pm EDT

(Reuters) - Turkish security forces have launched an operation targeting shelters and stores believed to belong to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the military said on Tuesday, days after the group's jailed leader called its armed struggle "unsustainable".

More:Turkish military launch operation targeting Kurdish rebel hideouts | Reuters

Germanwings crashes in French Alps, Turk among 150 dead

Germanwings crashes in French Alps, Turk among 150 dead

An Airbus operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline crashed in a remote snowy area of the French Alps on Tuesday, killing all 150 on board, with a Turkish passenger reportedly among the dead.

More:Germanwings crashes in French Alps, Turk among 150 dead

Monday, March 23, 2015

Whose words count in Ankara as Turkey’s decisions? - MURAT YETKİN

Whose words count in Ankara as Turkey’s decisions?

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) circles were trying the extinguish the fire, or pretending that there was no fire at all, regarding the exchange of words between President Tayyip Erdoğan and Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç over the Kurdish issue, when the AK Parti’s intrepid Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek started to machine gun Arınç with tweets on March 23.

More:Whose words count in Ankara as Turkey’s decisions? - MURAT YETKİN

Arınç hits back; 'Gökçek not dignified enough to call for my resignation'

Arınç hits back; 'Gökçek not dignified enough to call for my resignation'

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç lashed out at Ankara Mayor and partymate Melih Gökçek for calling for his dismissal or resignation “reckless” during a speech following a cabinet meeting on Monday in Ankara.

More:Arınç hits back; 'Gökçek not dignified enough to call for my resignation'

Erdogan rift with Turkey government widens as threats fly - Yahoo News

Erdogan rift with Turkey government widens as threats fly
AFP
By Fulya Ozerkan 7 hours ago

Ankara (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dug in his heels Monday in what appears to be a widening rift with his own government over the Kurdish peace process.

More:Erdogan rift with Turkey government widens as threats fly - Yahoo News

One woman's journey from prisoner to mayor - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

One woman's journey from prisoner to mayor

Gultan Kisanak is the first female mayor of the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, which is widely seen as the unofficial capital of Turkey’s Kurds. Kisanak is among thousands of political activists who served time in Diyarbakir prison after the Turkish army’s coup in 1980. Like many, she was tortured for refusing to renounce her Kurdish identity. Prior to being elected mayor last year, Kisanak was a member of parliament for the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party.

More:One woman's journey from prisoner to mayor - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

News Analysis: U.S.-Turkish "model partnership" in jeopardy over conflicting issues | Shanghai Daily

News Analysis: U.S.-Turkish "model partnership" in jeopardy over conflicting issues
Mar 24,2015

ISTANBUL, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "model partnership" between Ankara and Washington is not strong enough as it used to be, experts said here on Monday.

More:News Analysis: U.S.-Turkish "model partnership" in jeopardy over conflicting issues | Shanghai Daily

Erdogan's lobbying exposes fractures in Turkey's ruling party - Yahoo News

Erdogan's lobbying exposes fractures in Turkey's ruling party
Reuters
By Nick Tattersall 8 hours ago

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Anyone watching the multitude of Turkish television stations broadcasting President Tayyip Erdogan's speeches on an almost daily basis might be forgiven for thinking he was the one standing in a June election.

More:Erdogan's lobbying exposes fractures in Turkey's ruling party - Yahoo News

US cautious with PYD to avoid annoying Turkey

US cautious with PYD to avoid annoying Turkey

Despite the fact that the Syrian Kurds have proven to be reliable partners on the ground, Washington has avoided getting too close to the Syrian Kurds, keeping in mind that close cooperation with the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), may damage the US-Turkish relationship.

More:US cautious with PYD to avoid annoying Turkey

Former Turkish Officer’s Revelations on Subversive Operations of the Turkish Intelligence Agency MIT Against Syria | Global Research

Former Turkish Officer’s Revelations on Subversive Operations of the Turkish Intelligence Agency MIT Against Syria
By Heba Delacres
Global Research, March 23, 2015

Currently on the run from Turkish prison system, former officer Önder Sığırcıkoğlu asserts he wasn’t out for money: “I took action to save my identity, my honour and my conscience.”

More:Former Turkish Officer’s Revelations on Subversive Operations of the Turkish Intelligence Agency MIT Against Syria | Global Research

Turkey tops Europe for students dropping out of school

Turkey tops Europe for students dropping out of school

Turkey ranks number one in Europe for students ending their studies prematurely for both males and females, and it is one of the only countries where more women dropped out than men.

More:Turkey tops Europe for students dropping out of school

Turkey urged to shun Vestel's bid to protect mobile phone sector | Reuters

Turkey urged to shun Vestel's bid to protect mobile phone sector

Mon Mar 23, 2015 10:37am EDT

By Tom Miles

GENEVA, March 23 (Reuters) - The European Union and Taiwan have said a bid by Turkish appliance manufacturer Vestel to get Ankara to impose emergency import tariffs on mobile phones would probably be illegal if it is approved, according to documents published on Monday.

More:Turkey urged to shun Vestel's bid to protect mobile phone sector | Reuters

Rival political groups once again clash in Ankara University

Rival political groups once again clash in Ankara University

Police used rubber bullets and set up barricades to halt a violent confrontation between students from rival political factions, who were wielding sticks and throwing stones at each other, on Monday at Ankara University in Turkey's capital.

More:Rival political groups once again clash in Ankara University

Ankara mayor calls for deputy PM’s resignation over row with President - POLITICS

Ankara mayor calls for deputy PM’s resignation over row with President

ANKARA

Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek has called on Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to dismiss Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç after he engaged in a war of words with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the Kurdish peace process.

More:Ankara mayor calls for deputy PM’s resignation over row with President - POLITICS

Investing in Istanbul - prime locations and plentiful profits

Investing in Istanbul - prime locations and plentiful profits

Istanbul is a buy-to-let dream. Not only is the population growing at an unprecedented rate but the city is today ranked 20th in PWC's Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2015 report as a market to watch, with the very same document claiming "Istanbul has a lot of growth potential... Projects are coming alive in prime locations" - and this is certainly true.

More:Overseas Property Blog

Redouble efforts to close the EU-Turkey gap | The Japan Times

Redouble efforts to close the EU-Turkey gap
by Martti Ahtisaari, Emma Bonino, and Albert Rohan

Mar 23, 2015

Later this year, Turkey will host the 2015 Group of 20 Leaders’ Summit, the 10th annual meeting of the G-20 heads of government. The country’s prominence on the world stage comes at an odd time, when it finds itself surrounded by a widening arc of instability.

More:Redouble efforts to close the EU-Turkey gap | The Japan Times

Dozens Detained in Turkey Over Alleged Cheating Scandal - ABC News

Dozens Detained in Turkey Over Alleged Cheating Scandal
ANKARA, Turkey — Mar 23, 2015, 5:52 AM ET
Associated Press

Turkey's state-run news agency says police have detained dozens of people as part of an investigation into alleged fraud and cheating in a national exam in 2010 for prospective civil servants.

More:Dozens Detained in Turkey Over Alleged Cheating Scandal - ABC News

EU and Turkey look to deepen trade ties - FT.com

EU and Turkey look to deepen trade ties

Alex Barker in Brussels and Daniel Dombey in Istanbul
EU and Turkish flags©Getty

Turkey and the EU are preparing to strengthen their two-decade old customs union, in an effort to deepen ties despite Ankara’s stalled membership negotiations and tensions over foreign fighters travelling through Turkish territory.

More:EU and Turkey look to deepen trade ties - FT.com

Erdogan Warned as Turkey’s Ruling Party Frustration Exposed - Bloomberg Business

Ruling Party Frustration Exposed
Don't Miss Out —

by Selcan Hacaoglu
3:51 AM EDT
March 23, 2015

(Bloomberg) -- Frustrations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to maintain his dominance over politics bubbled to the surface, as a co-founder of the ruling AK party warned him against meddling in the government’s work.

More:Erdogan Warned as Turkey’s Ruling Party Frustration Exposed - Bloomberg Business

FESTIVALS: Istanbul IFF Announces Projects Selected for the 10th Meetings on the Bridge - FilmNewEurope.com

FESTIVALS: Istanbul IFF Announces Projects Selected for the 10th Meetings on the Bridge
by FNE Staff

ISTANBUL: A total of 15 Turkish projects have been selected for the two sections of Meetings on the Bridge, the Project Development and Work in Progress Workshops organised as part of the 34th Istanbul Film Festival from 11 to 17 April 2015.

More:FESTIVALS: Istanbul IFF Announces Projects Selected for the 10th Meetings on the Bridge - FilmNewEurope.com

Kurdish Rebel Leader Gains Leverage From Behind Bars - WSJ

Kurdish Rebel Leader Gains Leverage From Behind Bars
PKK’s Ocalan, bolstered by militia’s victories over Islamic State, presses peace terms with Turkey
By
Ayla Albayrak and
Emre Peker
March 23, 2015 4:13 a.m. ET

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey—Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan called for a new era to end a three-decade military campaign against Turkey, with the emergence of his long-marginalized militia as a regional force strengthening his hand in negotiations with Ankara.

More (Subscription rqd):Kurdish Rebel Leader Gains Leverage From Behind Bars - WSJ

Turkey sidelines itself in US-led coalition against IS - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey sidelines itself in US-led coalition against IS

Turkey as 'reluctant subcontractor'

Semih Idiz writes this week that Turkey has sidelined itself in the battle against the Islamic State (IS) due to its single-minded pursuit of the ouster of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad:

More:Turkey sidelines itself in US-led coalition against IS - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkish TV Station Airs Antisemitic Documentary | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com

Turkish TV Station Airs Antisemitic ‘Protocols Sequel’ Echoing Rhetoric of President Erdogan
March 22, 2015 9:19 pm 2 comments

A Turkish news station aligned with the country’s ruling AKP party recently aired an antisemitic documentary entitled “The Mastermind,” Al-Monitor reported late last week.

More:Turkish TV Station Airs Antisemitic Documentary | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com

Turkey’s new policy on the employment of foreigners and its impact on EU citizens - CONTRIBUTOR

Turkey’s new policy on the employment of foreigners and its impact on EU citizens

BARBARA PUSCH

The draft law on the employment of foreigners was forwarded to the Turkish parliament on Feb. 9, 2015. Without any doubt, we can say European representatives and managers of international companies as well as European investors will profit most from the amendments envisaged. Based on the idea that this group in particular contributes the most to the country’s development, this draft law guarantees not only simplification and more possibilities to achieve a better legal status but also various special conditions to this group.

More:Turkey’s new policy on the employment of foreigners and its impact on EU citizens - CONTRIBUTOR

Turkey’s Erdogan at odds with government over Kurdish peace process - Khaleej Times

Turkey’s Erdogan at odds with government over Kurdish peace process

(AFP) / 22 March 2015

A senior minister told Erdogan to stop interfering and making “emotional” statements but the president snapped back that he had no intention of staying out of politics.
AdTech Ad

More:Turkey’s Erdogan at odds with government over Kurdish peace process - Khaleej Times

Erdogan’s Handshake With Authoritarianism And Looming EU Snub |

Erdogan’s Handshake With Authoritarianism And Looming EU Snub

Mahmud Ismail
— Mar 22, 2015 | 0 Comments

Over the recent years, the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led Turkish government has not hidden its passion to warmly embrace authoritarian principles that are often veiled in democratic costume. Erdogan, who rode to power more than a decade ago under a functional democratic setting appears to be busy dismantling the very democratic structures that ushered him into the reins of power.

More:Erdogan’s Handshake With Authoritarianism And Looming EU Snub |

Antalya: Snow-capped Mountains, Blue Sea of Historic Turkish City, Articles | THISDAY LIVE

Antalya: Snow-capped Mountains, Blue Sea of Historic Turkish City

22 Mar 2015

By Calixthus Okoruwa

In one word, Antalya is picturesque. This city which has since earned for itself a reputation as one of the tourism capitals of the Mediterranean offers sights that are simply breathtaking. Antalya is one of the best known cities in Turkey. With its history dating as far back as the second century BC, Antalya literally brims with vestiges and relics of a rather convoluted past.

More:Antalya: Snow-capped Mountains, Blue Sea of Historic Turkish City, Articles | THISDAY LIVE

Turks losing battle against government on social media - POLITICS

Turks losing battle against government on social media

Barçın Yinanç - barcin.yinanc@hdn.com.tr
Social media opened up a new realm for Turkish citizens to access news due to the heavy government control of mainstream media, but the state’s increasing control over the Internet means citizens are losing the censorship battle to the state, according to communications scholar Aslı Tunç

More:Turks losing battle against government on social media - POLITICS

Saturday, March 21, 2015

ARZU KAYA URANLI - Turkey’s double standards on freedom of speech are frightening

Turkey’s double standards on freedom of speech are frightening

While sharply polarizing Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was able to unite the US Senate last Wednesday. US Senator Charles E. Schumer and 73 other senators wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry to urge the State Department to promptly address the preservation of “the basic principles of democracy” and to speak up against violations of press freedom in Turkey.

More:ARZU KAYA URANLI - Turkey’s double standards on freedom of speech are frightening

Is Erdoğan different from Israel’s Netanyahu? - SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ

Is Erdoğan different from Israel’s Netanyahu?

There is a major difference between the upcoming parliamentary elections and previous ones: This is the first time President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has asked for votes from the Turkish people for “himself.”

More:Is Erdoğan different from Israel’s Netanyahu? - SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ

To end extremism, give Muslims opportunity: Turkey's EU Minister - DIPLOMACY

To end extremism, give Muslims opportunity: Turkey's EU Minister

BRUSSELS – AP

A Turkish government official says to eliminate a root cause of Islamist extremism, European countries must give their Muslim residents greater opportunities and more reasons for hope.

More:To end extremism, give Muslims opportunity: Turkey's EU Minister - DIPLOMACY

Jailed Kurdish Leader Ocalan Says Armed Struggle With Turkey 'Unsustainable'

Jailed Kurdish Leader Ocalan Says Armed Struggle With Turkey 'Unsustainable'
Reuters

By Daren Butler

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 21 (Reuters) - Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan said on Saturday his militant group's three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state had become "unsustainable" but stopped short of declaring an immediate end to its armed struggle.

More:Jailed Kurdish Leader Ocalan Says Armed Struggle With Turkey 'Unsustainable'

BBC News - Kurd leader Ocalan calls for congress to end Turkey struggle

Kurd leader Ocalan calls for congress to end Turkey struggle

The jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has renewed a call for his fighters to end their armed struggle in Turkey.

More:BBC News - Kurd leader Ocalan calls for congress to end Turkey struggle

Jailed Kurdish leader Ocalan urges fighters to abandon arms | UTSanDiego.com

Jailed Kurdish leader Ocalan urges fighters to abandon arms
By DESMOND BUTLER and SUZAN FRASER Associated Press4:47 a.m.March 21, 2015

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AP) — Imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan on Saturday renewed a call for his fighters to end their armed struggle against Turkey, part of efforts toward a peaceful resolution of a decades-long insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people.

More:Jailed Kurdish leader Ocalan urges fighters to abandon arms | UTSanDiego.com

BBC News - Abdullah Ocalan: Kurdish leader to announce Turkey peace plan

Abdullah Ocalan: Kurdish leader to announce Turkey peace plan

The jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan is set to announce details of a keenly anticipated peace plan with Turkey.

More:BBC News - Abdullah Ocalan: Kurdish leader to announce Turkey peace plan

Large amount of weapons seized in vehicle en route to İstanbul

Large amount of weapons seized in vehicle en route to İstanbul

In an anti-smuggling operation conducted by Turkish police on Friday night, teams seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition from a car which they stopped in Kocaeli’s Gebze district.

More:Large amount of weapons seized in vehicle en route to İstanbul

The pipeline dividing Cyprus | All media content | DW.DE | 20.03.2015

The pipeline dividing Cyprus

Cyprus was divided in 1974 between the Turkish north and Greek south. But both sides suffered from water shortages, and the conflict made united action difficult. Now Turkey is working on a massive pipeline. But like the island itself, opinion is divided.

More:The pipeline dividing Cyprus | All media content | DW.DE | 20.03.2015

Kurdish Rebel Leader Set to Announce Turkey Peace Plan

Kurdish Rebel Leader Set to Announce Turkey Peace Plan

Friday, 20 Mar 2015 10:02 PM

The jailed leader of Turkey's Kurdish rebels is set Saturday to announce a new roadmap for peace as expectations grow of a breakthrough in efforts to end a three-decades insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

More:Kurdish Rebel Leader Set to Announce Turkey Peace Plan

Energy and Crimean Tatars top agenda as Turkey's Erdogan visits Ukraine | Reuters

Energy and Crimean Tatars top agenda as Turkey's Erdogan visits Ukraine

By Orhan Coskun

ANKARA, March 20 Fri Mar 20, 2015 5:35am EDT

(Reuters) - Energy ties and the fate of Crimean Tatars will top the agenda when Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets his Ukrainian counterpart in Kiev on Friday, but concrete deals are unlikely as he seeks to avoid straining relations with Moscow.

More:Energy and Crimean Tatars top agenda as Turkey's Erdogan visits Ukraine | Reuters

Turkey moves to tighten control on Internet | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

Turkey moves to tighten control on Internet

ISTANBUL: Turkey's parliament has approved legislation to tighten the government's control over the Internet by allowing it to block websites without prior judicial authorization, official media said Friday.

More:Turkey moves to tighten control on Internet | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

Turkey Cracks Down on Migrant Smugglers

Turkey Cracks Down on Migrant Smugglers

Jamie Dettmer

March 20, 2015 11:21 AM
ISTANBUL—

In the bustling Istanbul district of Laleli, the wood-paneled money transfer office in the Taşhan Bazaar is deserted, with some stationery scattered behind and Turkey's red flag on a wall.

More:Turkey Cracks Down on Migrant Smugglers

Turkish 'hawks' want to settle past injustices - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkish 'hawks' want to settle past injustices

Those who are familiar with the Turkish military know it well, so recent media comments made by retired generals have placed hard-to-dismiss psychological pressures on serving officers. Now, once silent retired generals have resumed their oratory, this time regarding the so-called assassination plot against Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc by an illegal structure that has allegedly penetrated the Turkish army.

More:Turkish 'hawks' want to settle past injustices - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Islamic feminist challenges orthodoxy from within - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Islamic feminist challenges orthodoxy from within

Turkish theologian Hidayet Tuksal, known as an Islamist feminist, is the author of academic studies questioning Islamic narratives about women, including notions such as Eve’s creation from Adam’s rib and the devil following women. While working on a doctoral thesis, she discovered how sexist and misogynistic mentalities shaped religious texts, doctrines and Islamic scholars. She is alarmed that the same mentality continues today.

More:Islamic feminist challenges orthodoxy from within - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Approved article gives Turkish gov’t power to shut down websites in four hours, 20 March 2015

Approved article gives Turkish gov’t power to shut down websites in four hours

Parliament has approved a key article of the contentious omnibus bill which gives power to the prime minister and other ministers to shut down websites within four hours, just six months after a similar bill was overturned by the Constitutional Court.

More:Approved article gives Turkish gov’t power to shut down websites in four hours, 20 March 2015

Kurdish leader Ocalan eyes ′last chance′ for historic peace deal | Europe | DW.DE | 20.03.2015

Kurdish leader Ocalan eyes 'last chance' for historic peace deal

Turkey's Kurds await a historic declaration from Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party leader. Is it the last chance for peace between Ankara and its frustrated Kurds? Noah Blaser reports from Istanbul.

More:Kurdish leader Ocalan eyes ′last chance′ for historic peace deal | Europe | DW.DE | 20.03.2015

Germany plans aid projects for Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon | News | DW.DE | 20.03.2015

Germany plans aid projects for Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon

Germany is set to launch a series of projects in Turkey and Lebanon to help them cope with an influx of Syrian refugees. The two countries, which share borders with Syria, have borne the brunt of the refugee problem.

More:Germany plans aid projects for Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon | News | DW.DE | 20.03.2015

Friday, March 20, 2015

Pro-Kurdish party lashes out at Erdoğan over ‘monitoring group’ statements

Pro-Kurdish party lashes out at Erdoğan over ‘monitoring group’ statements

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lashed out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his objection to a 'monitoring group.'

More:Pro-Kurdish party lashes out at Erdoğan over ‘monitoring group’ statements

IRIN Global | Going cold Turkey: African migrants in Istanbul see hopes turn sour | Global | Migration

Going cold Turkey: African migrants in Istanbul see hopes turn sour

ISTANBUL, 20 March 2015 (IRIN) - In a nondescript cafe in one of Istanbul's more rundown neighbourhoods, migrants from Africa watch a Congolese soccer match as Afro-pop music blasts in the background.

More:IRIN Global | Going cold Turkey: African migrants in Istanbul see hopes turn sour | Global | Migration

Turkish reporter sentenced amid fears of media crackdown | EUROPE ONLINE

Turkish reporter sentenced amid fears of media crackdown
Europe
19.03.2015
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - A journalist from the southern Turkish city of Adana was on Thursday handed a five-month suspended sentence for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erodgan, as more journalists feared similar fates amid a government crackdown, reported Turkish media.

More:Turkish reporter sentenced amid fears of media crackdown | EUROPE ONLINE

Erdoğan’s Turkey corp. - EMRE DELİVELİ

Erdoğan’s Turkey corp.

In a speech in the western province of Balıkesir on March 15, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made yet another controversial remark by stating that he wanted to run Turkey like a corporation.

More:Erdoğan’s Turkey corp. - EMRE DELİVELİ

From Gallipoli to Ararat - YUSUF KANLI

From Gallipoli to Ararat

Turkey, Australia, New Zealand and Britain… What do they have in common? This week not only these countries, but the entire world remembered the heroes of the Gallipoli Campaign on the centenary of the historic battle. Was it important only because of its “nation building” effect on Australians and New Zealanders? Was it not the Gallipoli Campaign which produced to the forefront a great Turkish commander, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who only a couple of years later, was to become the commander of the Turkish War of Liberation?

More:From Gallipoli to Ararat - YUSUF KANLI

Thursday, March 19, 2015

3.6 million Turkish households depend on state help

3.6 million Turkish households depend on state help

Ministry of Family and Social Policies figures indicate that 3.59 million are dependent on state help, which mostly come in the form of food.

More:3.6 million Turkish households depend on state help

Erdoğan claims he was ‘deceived’ in Sledgehammer, Ergenekon probes

Erdoğan claims he was ‘deceived’ in Sledgehammer, Ergenekon probes

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has argued that he was “deceived” by those who carried out coup plot investigations dubbed as Ergenekon and the Sledgehammer, saying he was saddened by senior members of the military during these investigations.

More:Erdoğan claims he was ‘deceived’ in Sledgehammer, Ergenekon probes

Former Ankara CHP mayoral candidate warns of rigging in upcoming election

Former Ankara CHP mayoral candidate warns of rigging in upcoming election

March 19, 2015, Thursday/ 17:36:06/ ÜNAL LİVANELİ/ YAVUZ AKENGİN/ / ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) candidate for mayor of Ankara in last year's local elections has suggested that efforts to monitor the voting procedures in the upcoming general election on June 7 should be heightened, warning of the possibility of vote rigging.

More:Former Ankara CHP mayoral candidate warns of rigging in upcoming election

Patient Fed bolsters Turkish stocks as well as value of the lira - Daily Sabah

Patient Fed bolsters Turkish stocks as well as value of the lira
DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL

Fed decided that it is unnecessary to be impatient about increasing interest rates, while the U.S.’s central bank supports its economy with low rates, Istanbul’s stock exchange market raises with the relief

More:Patient Fed bolsters Turkish stocks as well as value of the lira - Daily Sabah

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey says Armenians not seeking 'truth' over WWI massacres | World | The News Tribune

Turkey says Armenians not seeking 'truth' over WWI massacres

The Associated PressMarch 19, 2015 Updated 3 hours ago

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's president says Armenians pressing Turkey to recognize the century-old massacres of Armenians as genocide are not looking for the truth but to score points against his country.

More:ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey says Armenians not seeking 'truth' over WWI massacres | World | The News Tribune

Turkish President Erdoğan lashes out at Armenian diaspora

Turkish President Erdoğan lashes out at Armenian diaspora

"The purpose of this campaign against Turkey is to treat our country as an enemy, instead of keeping alive Armenians’ sorrow," said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

More:Turkish President Erdoğan lashes out at Armenian diaspora

Burak Pehlivan: Erdoğan’s visit to Ukraine may be substantial milestone in relations between two countries

Burak Pehlivan: Erdoğan’s visit to Ukraine may be substantial milestone in relations between two countries

March 19, 2015, 3:04 p.m. | Op-ed — by Burak Pehlivan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay an official visit to Ukraine on March 20, with a broad delegation consisting of, among others, six major ministers from the cabinet and prominent businessmen of the country. This visit is considered as very important, because it shall be the first visit by high-ranking officials from Turkey to Ukraine, which intends to shape its future within the framework of unification with the European Union.

More:Burak Pehlivan: Erdoğan’s visit to Ukraine may be substantial milestone in relations between two countries

Turkish lira rallies against dollar after Fed holds rates Anadolu Agency

Turkish lira rallies against dollar after Fed holds rates

19 March 2015 09:21 (Last updated 19 March 2015 09:27)
Diminishing U.S. dollar concerns may provide a boost for Turkish assets: analyst

ANKARA

The Turkish lira rallied against the U.S. dollar Thursday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen indicated that an interest rate rise might not come soon.

The lira was holding at about 2.57 to the dollar Thursday, down from levels close to 2.64 earlier this week.

More:Turkish lira rallies against dollar after Fed holds rates Anadolu Agency

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Will low-birth-rate Turks become a minority in their own country?

Will low-birth-rate Turks become a minority in their own country?
BY MARCUS ROBERTS

Turkey is emerging as a powerhouse in the Eastern Mediterranean: an economic power that has greater influence in the region and that promotes itself as a “model Muslim democracy”. However, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is worried about a problem that many Western nations are used to: a declining fertility rate and demographic problems in the medium future.

More:Will low-birth-rate Turks become a minority in their own country?

A brief history of Central Bank independence in Turkey - WILLIAM ARMSTRONG

A brief history of Central Bank independence in Turkey

The recent tug of war between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Central Bank Governor Erdem Başçı over Turkey’s monetary policy has inflamed debate on the independence of the Bank. The struggle has been interpreted as the latest battleground in Erdoğan’s bid to bring all decision making into his own hands, but it should also be considered as part of a longer-term process – as the prudent economic policies followed during the AKP’s early years are jettisoned in favor of short-term populist measures.

More:A brief history of Central Bank independence in Turkey - WILLIAM ARMSTRONG

Can Turkish social democrats do what Islamists and Kurds did? - MURAT YETKİN

Can Turkish social democrats do what Islamists and Kurds did?

After suffering from a fragmented political life with short-term and inept coalitions, Turkey turned into a “dominant party” country after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power in 2002, winning consecutive elections under the leadership of Tayyip Erdoğan, who is now the president of the republic.

More:Can Turkish social democrats do what Islamists and Kurds did? - MURAT YETKİN

Where is Turkey’s place in strategy against IS? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Where is Turkey’s place in strategy against IS?

The Iraqi army and Shiite militias are widely expected to begin a major offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS), backed with air support by the international coalition. The eventual recapture of Iraq’s second-largest city is likely to mark a turning point in the strategy against IS.

More:Where is Turkey’s place in strategy against IS? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Expo 2015: Turkey to have 5th largest pavilion - Economy - ANSAMed.it

Expo 2015: Turkey to have 5th largest pavilion
After initial doubts, Milan event presented in Istanbul

18 March, 19:13

(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, MARCH 18 - Expo Milano 2015 has been presented in Istanbul, just over a month prior to its opening.

Turkey, an emerging powerhouse of the eastern Mediterranean, will have the fifth largest pavilion in Milan under the symbol of a pomegranate, in a half-moon representing ''unity in diversity''. The presentation of the Milan event was welcomed by the historic Palazzo Venezia of Istanbul, former Italian embassy to the Ottoman Empire currently residence of Italian ambassador to Turkey Luigi Mattiolo.

More:Expo 2015: Turkey to have 5th largest pavilion - Economy - ANSAMed.it

Turkey Braces for Expected Refugee Influx From Iraq

Turkey Braces for Expected Refugee Influx From Iraq

VoA - News Tuesday 17th March, 2015

ISTANBUL - Turkish authorities are bracing for an influx of refugees from the Iraqi city of Mosul, predicting as many as 300,000 could flee to Turkey once an assault begins in earnest to recapture the city from the militants of the Islamic State.

More:Turkey Braces for Expected Refugee Influx From Iraq

Armenian protests trap Turkish ambassador in Beirut theater | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR

Armenian protests trap Turkish ambassador in Beirut theater

BEIRUT: The Turkish ambassador to Lebanon was temporarily trapped inside a movie theater Wednesday, after Armenian protesters staged demonstrations outside it.

More:Armenian protests trap Turkish ambassador in Beirut theater | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR

In the Middle East, Events Are Outpacing U.S. Policy | Philip Seib

In the Middle East, Events Are Outpacing U.S. Policy

...Third, Turkey's foreign policy is increasingly erratic and the United States appears to be making little effort to ensure its NATO ally's meaningful cooperation in dealing with Syria and exercising constructive regional leadership. Turkey faces a rough year, with increasingly restive Kurds at home and global disapproval on the centennial of the Armenian genocide. The United States can ill afford to have Turkey slip into isolation, which not only would make eventual resolution of the Syrian civil war less feasible but also would further enhance Iran's sway.

More:In the Middle East, Events Are Outpacing U.S. Policy | Philip Seib

Turkey and EU agrees to update Customs Union - BARÇIN YİNANÇ

Turkey and EU agrees to update Customs Union

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the European Union have quietly decided to upgrade the Customs Union which, in the long run, might serve to stop “corruption allegations” and also boost the country’s competitiveness.

More:Turkey and EU agrees to update Customs Union - BARÇIN YİNANÇ