
Hundreds of mainly Syrian migrants are engaged in a standoff with Turkish police near Turkey’s Greek border after the authorities shut down their bid to cross into the European Union. Turkey has been struggling to house nearly 2 million Syrian refugees,
by Donna Rachel Edmunds18 Sep 2015, 9:00 AM PST0

In remarks to various sympathetic pro-Russian networks, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused the West of working with the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, and claimed those not aiding his political survival were helping “terrorists.”
by Mary Chastain16 Sep 2015, 2:04 PM PST0

Turkish authorities are now targeting Doğan Media Group for “terrorist propaganda,” only days after mobs attacked the offices of Doğan-owned Hürriyet Daily News.
by Mary Chastain15 Sep 2015, 9:22 PM PST0

Hundreds of attacks by Turkish nationalist mobs on Kurdish-friendly parties, Kurdish businesses, and even knowing Kurdish individuals in the wake of the nation’s struggle against the Marxist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terror group threaten the peaceful coexistence of Turks and Kurds, leaders warn.
by Frances Martel14 Sep 2015, 9:50 PM PST0

Police officers raided Turkish magazine Nokta after they published an illustration of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan taking a selfie next to a soldier’s coffin. The officers also seized remaining copies from the newsroom.
by Mary Chastain14 Sep 2015, 9:46 PM PST0

Malaysian authorities on Monday announced the arrest of three suspects—two Malaysians and a Pakistani national—in connection with the August 17 terrorist bombing of the Erewan shrine in Bangkok, in which 20 people were killed.
by John Hayward14 Sep 2015, 7:37 PM PST0

On September 1, a special unit of the Greek coast guard intercepted an old Bolivian-flagged freighter called Haddad 1 off the coast of Crete. The ship, bound from Turkey for the Libyan port of Misrata, proved to be carrying nearly 5,000 urban combat shotguns of Turkish manufacture and 500,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
by John Hayward13 Sep 2015, 6:05 PM PST0

Those who attempt to escape deserve their death and destruction, the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) argues in the latest issue of their magazine Dabiq, using a photo of drowned toddler Aylan Kurdi to emphasize their point.
by Mary Chastain10 Sep 2015, 9:06 PM PST0

During a week in which the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet has fought off three violent mobs at two of its headquarters, a rival columnist supportive of Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened the life of Hurriyet writer Ahmet Hakan, noting that the AKP has “been merciful today and you are still alive,” but that can always change.
by Frances Martel10 Sep 2015, 7:00 PM PST0

The Saudi government will not accept any migrants from Syria, but it will build 200 Saudi-run mosques in Germany to hinder any social integration of the Muslims into Germany’s liberal and low-conflict society.
by John Hayward10 Sep 2015, 6:42 PM PST0

Turkey has sent ground forces into Iraq to chase down Kurdish militants for the first time since a ceasefire deal was reached more than two years ago.
by Edwin Mora9 Sep 2015, 8:35 PM PST0

Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper has suffered a second, bolder attack on headquarters in both Istanbul and Ankara, following an attack earlier this week in which Islamists broke office doors with stones and sticks, while yelling, “Allahu akbar.”
by Frances Martel9 Sep 2015, 12:02 PM PST0

The head of Turkey’s People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş, stated this week that his Kurdish-friendly party had experienced more than 400 attacks by Islamists and Turkish nationalists in the last two days.
by Frances Martel9 Sep 2015, 8:22 AM PST0

Contents: Egypt’s army starts ‘The Martyr’s Right’ operation in North Sinai; Turkey’s troops enter northern Iraq to hunt PKK after terror attacks; Violence spreads in cities across Turkey; Pro-government mobs in Turkey storm Hurriyet offices for alleged Erdogan misquote; Turkey appears to be approaching civil war.
by John J. Xenakis9 Sep 2015, 6:14 AM PST0

No sooner did the Turkish government release two British reporters for Vice News, arrested while covering clashes between police and the militant youth wing of the Kurdish PKK party, than they arrested a Dutch reporter working in the Kurdish region of Turkey.
by John Hayward8 Sep 2015, 11:58 AM PST0

Turkish authorities arrested Dutch journalist Fréderike Geerdink for the second time this year, allegedly to shield her from the dangers of covering Kurdish-Turkish tensions. Geerdink specializes in Kurdish relations, human rights, and women’s rights.
by Mary Chastain8 Sep 2015, 8:52 AM PST0

Supporters of Turkey’s Islamist ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) attacked the headquarters of major newspaper Hurriyet on Sunday night. In response, the government is seeking not to investigate the attacks, but Hurriyet, for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
by Frances Martel8 Sep 2015, 7:05 AM PST0

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Marxist terror group, has claimed 31 Turkish soldiers were killed in the latest clashes with national authorities, a death toll Turkey denies. Violence continues unabated in PKK-controlled areas, as Turkey’s government vows to eradicate the Kurdish group.
by Frances Martel7 Sep 2015, 10:25 AM PST0

A swarm of angry pro-Justice and Development Party protesters led by an Istanbul member of Parliament attacked Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper with stones, shouting “God is great” and asserting that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would continue ruling the country regardless of the upcoming election’s outcome.
by Frances Martel7 Sep 2015, 9:04 AM PST0

Following the viral spread of images depicting the bodies of drowned Syrians on a Turkish beach–including a three-year-old boy named Alan Kurdi–the Canadian left has sprung to attention to decry what they describe as the Conservative government’s inaction towards assisting migrants and war refugees.
by Robert Kraychik7 Sep 2015, 8:35 AM PST0

Two British reporters working for US-based media outlet Vice News who were detained for several days on terror charges in Turkey have returned to Britain after being released, the company said on Sunday. “VICE News is pleased to confirm two
by AFP7 Sep 2015, 6:13 AM PST0

A federal judge refused late Friday evening to block the transfer of a dam to two Native American tribes. Montana lawmakers had launched an emergency petition to block the transfer. It is feared that the tribes intend to contract with Turkey for access to uranium to make “yellow cake” and/or nuclear weapons.
by Chriss W. Street7 Sep 2015, 4:00 AM PST0

As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees languish in camps or risk their lives to reach Europe, questions are being asked about why wealthy Gulf states have accepted so few. By the end of August, more than four million Syrians
by AFP7 Sep 2015, 2:12 AM PST0

Turkish police raided the offices of opposition paper Bugün after the publication ran a story that claimed Turkey sent weapons to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Syria. The paper included pictures that allegedly show the weapon exchange.
by Mary Chastain4 Sep 2015, 9:39 PM PST0

Last Thursday, Turkish authorities arrested two British journalists working for VICE News, Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury, along with their assistant Mohammed Ismael Rasool, an Iraqi based in Turkey, and a driver who was working for them at the time of their arrest.
by John Hayward4 Sep 2015, 9:01 PM PST0