Worldcrunch
ISTANBUL – For days now, people from every social circle are in the streets of cities across Turkey protesting the government’s plans to bulldoze Taksim Gezi Park. Among those I have observed are Kemalist nationalists, conservatives, anti-capitalist Muslims, Peace and Democracy party supporters, the Grey Wolves and other ultra-nationalists, homosexuals, transvestites, elderly people, and leftist […]
ISTANBUL – “The media have sold out! The media have sold out!” several thousand protesters chanted in front of NTV offices. Their beef with the Turkish news channel was that it had stayed silent too long about what was going on in and around Gezi Park in Istanbul. The protesters feel the press has let […]
ISTANBUL – This does not look like the semi-official demonstrations that preceded the May 27, 1960 Coup d’état where chants of “the military and the people walk hand-in-hand” were heard. This does not look like those political rallies intolerant to the lifestyle of religious people, where the demand of “We do not want a headscarved […]
In the southern Turkish town of Reyhanli, near the Syrian border, anger is rising against Prime Minister Erdogan’s support of Syrian rebels.
ISTANBUL – To understand the current stage of Turkey’s so-called “Kurdish problem,” rather than political analysis we are better off relying on the fundamentals of chemistry: The law of conservation of mass tells us that “nothing can be created out of nothing, and nothing can ever be completely destroyed.” Therefore, promoting the concept that “there […]
DONETSK SETS ULTIMATUM FOR UKRAINE FORCES Pro-Russian groups in the region of Donetsk have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Ukrainian armed forces, threatening to take the region by force if they don’t leave, RT reports. This comes as acting President Olexandr Turchynov said the government forces had destroyed two rebel military bases, in Kramatorsk and […]
KIEV LAUNCHES NEW ASSAULT IN EASTERN UKRAINE The Ukrainian military launched an offensive against pro-Russian militants just outside the eastern city of Sloviansk, sending armored vehicles and a helicopter, according to RTÉ, with Ukraine’s Interior Ministry reporting at least five dead on the pro-Russian side. According to AFP, civilians in the town hall have been […]
Families of the Turkish citizens killed three years ago in the raid of the Mavi Marmara say that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s apology means nothing to them.
After jailed rebel leader Ocalan’s call for Kurds to lay down their arms, a closer inspection of his words show real signs of hope to end three decades of bloodshed.
AL-JAZEERA, HURRIYET, TODAYS ZAMAN (Turkey) Worldcrunch ISTANBUL – Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan has called upon the armed PKK forces to recognize a ceasefire and withdraw from Turkey, reports Hürriyet. In what may turn out to be a historic announcement in the nearly three-decade-long conflict between Kurdish separatists and the Turkish government, Ocalan’s written […]
The killing of three Kurdish activists in Paris shines new light on a longstanding fact of a millions of people spread across large swaths of terrritory, but with no nation of their own.
SOUTH SUDAN CEASEFIRE TALKS BEGINGovernment and rebel representatives of South Sudan have both confirmed the beginning of ceasefire talks in neighboring Ethiopia, almost a month after the alleged coup attempt from soldiers loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar. Read more from Al Arabiya. STATE OF EMERGENCY IN N.Y. AS COLD CONTINUESNew York Gov. Andrew […]
HÜRRIYET (Turkey) Worldcrunch ISTANBUL – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on his nation’s families to have at least three children, Turkey’s daily Hurriyet reports. Erdogan used a speech to declare that the strength of a nation lies within its families, which must be fortified with more children. “One or two children means […]
ISTANBUL – Members of the Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have joined more than 700 Turkish citizens on the 60th day of a hunger strike aimed at drawing attention to the imprisonment of Kurds linked to an alleged terrorist organization. Some 65 prisoners linked to the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), which Turkey, the […]
ANKARA – Turkish opposition groups plan to defy a government ban of a rally outside parliament to mark Turkey’s Republic Day. The Oct.29 rally has been banned by the Ankara Governor’s office, who claim to have received intelligence that warns of mass provocation at the rally. If the banned protest takes place as planned, legal […]
ISTANBUL – “Will we go to war with Syria?” That is the singular question on everyone’s mind these days. We journalists are being pounded with it every day from friends and close relatives — but how can we give a direct answer? I say talk of war between Turkey and Syria is overblown and I […]