In 2011, as regional leaders were toppled from power, one after the other, Turkey’s strident Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan looked like he had it all: a thriving economy (the world’s fastest-growing after China’s), …
Turkey
The Battle for Taksim Square
Taksim Square, the symbolic heart of Istanbul, was engulfed in black fumes and white clouds Tuesday as riot police firing tear gas and water cannons moved in to regain control over an area that has been occupied by antigovernment …
Erdo-gone? After Taksim, Turkish Leader’s Political Future May Hang in the Balance
By Sunday night, most of the businesses on Istiklal Avenue, Istanbul’s biggest pedestrian street, seemed to have had their front teeth knocked in. ATM screens glared and winked stupidly from behind broken glass monitors. …
Protests in Istanbul After Police Crackdown on Activists
Activists agitating against the construction of a shopping mall in a park in Istanbul were violently dispersed by Turkish police. The move triggered mass protests in Turkey’s largest city as well as demonstrations elsewhere, now …
Arming Syria’s Rebellion: How Libyan Weapons and Know-How Reach Anti-Assad Fighters
The beefy Libyan revolutionary field commander turned politician rose from the beige couch to greet his new Syrian guest, who pulled up a chair to join the two other Syrian men seated in a semicircle around the couch in the café …
Syria’s Opposition Hopes to Win the War by Selling Oil
Given the many resolutions on Syria that have hit a brick wall at the U.N. Security Council, and the endless wrangling among Western leaders over how to end the calamitous two-year war, the April 22 decision by E.U. foreign …
In Turkey’s Rebel Country, Women Lead the Charge — in Soccer
Hakkari is in one of the most distant and neglected corners of the country. But the Kurdish area has produced a team without parallel
Must-Reads from Around the World
Germany’s postwar homosexuality laws continue to stigmatize former victims, Turkey’s model of democracy might not necessarily work in Arab Spring nations and Argentina will not give up its claim to the Falkland Islands
U.S. Steps Up Aid, but Syria’s Rebels Want Arms
It should come as no surprise that Syria’s rebels were underwhelmed by Thursday’s U.S. pledge of $60 million in direct aid: although the announcement by Secretary of State John Kerry in Rome marked Washington’s first direct …
Must-Reads from Around the World
New Delhi’s air pollution was worse than Beijing’s on Thursday, China’s surplus labor will disappear by 2025 and Argentina refuses to hold talks over Falkland Islands
Democracy Comes to Syrians — in a Turkish Refugee Camp
The task of electing camp leaders is a novel experience for many displaced Syrians, who still remember the corrupt polling practices of the Assad regime
Kurdish Assassinations in Paris Turn a Spotlight on Turkey-PKK Talks
The murder of three Kurdish nationalists in Paris amid reports of peace talks between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party has sparked clashing theories over who is responsible for the killings
While U.S. Recognizes Syrian Opposition, It Designates One Anti-Assad Group as ‘Terrorist’
One of the most effective anti-Assad militias has just been designated a “terrorist” organization by the U.S. Will that help or hobble the exiled opposition’s attempt to take control of the fight against the regime in Damascus?