Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty The U.S. arrest of Iranian-born Reza Zarrab reverberated in Turkey on March 22 as the well-connected gold trader was at the center of a bribery scandal that once engulfed Turkey’s leadership. The U.S. charges that Zarrab helped the Iranian government and businesses get around economic sanctions […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Istanbul residents believed an attack was coming after a similar terrorist strike in Ankara, a leader of Turkey’s Jewish community said. “This is what everyone was talking about on the street,” said Eyal Peretz, who heads the Arkadash organization. “Everyone talked about how a terror attack was about to happen.” Three Israelis […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Syria’s Kurds on March 17 declared areas under their control a federal region, sparking an immediate backlash from Syria’s government, Turkey and the United States. More than 150 delegates from Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian and other parties meeting in Syria agreed to create a “federal system” unifying territory run by Kurds across several northern Syrian provinces. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Turkish troops have entered Syrian territory, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov, in comments to Ren-TV on March 13, said Moscow has evidence that Ankara has sent troops to Syria and is conducing a “creeping expansion” on the border with Syria. Related: Erdogan denies reports Turkey is secretly collaborating with […]
Special to WorldTribune.com One of the few remaining independent voices that routinely published viewpoints opposite of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been taken over by the Turkish government. Zaman, Turkey’s best-selling opposition newspaper, came under government control on March 4 as Erdogan’s government continued its assault on press freedom. Protesters opposed to the takeover were […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The European Union has agreed to pay Turkey an additional 3 billion euros to help Ankara deal with the Syrian migration crisis. The agreement was made during a EU migration summit in Brussels on March 7, according to a report by Reuters. The agreement included a proposal that “Turkey would take back […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Insulting the president in Turkey is a crime. Apparently, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn’t like being insulted – and a lot of people are doing it. “The justice ministry has allowed 1,845 cases on charges of insulting Erdogan to go ahead,” Bekir Bozdag said, responding to questions in parliament. “I am unable […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey Israel is wisely keeping out of the fray in Syria, but it may be challenged all the same. There are more than two dozen state and non-state actors battling over the prostrate body of what used to be Syria, one of the artificial entities carved out in the Middle […]
Special to WorldTribune.com President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will not cease its attacks on Kurdish forces even though the Kurds have been the only consistently effective ground force against common foe Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). Erdogan on Feb. 17 said Turkey would continue shelling Kurdish targets in Syria to prevent the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey and Russia risk setting off an “accidental war” which threatens to bring NATO into the equation, analysts say. “Both Russia and Turkey are looking to position for strategic advantage,” Tim Ash, head of emerging-market strategy at Nomura in London, said on Feb. 15. “The risk is of an actual Russo-Turkish military […]
