Special to WorldTribune.com A group of academics who criticized Turkish military action against Kurds in the country’s southeast were briefly detained by Turkish security forces. The 27 academics were part of a group of 1,000 signatories of a published document critical of the military campaign against Kurdish PKK forces. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) jihadist who killed 11 tourists in Turkey on Jan. 12 had registered as a refugee one week before the bombing. CCTV footage released on Jan. 13 shows 28-year-old ISIL jihadist Nabil Fadli registering as a refugee with Turkish immigration authorities. Fadli blew himself up in Sultanahmet Square […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey is continuing to press its brutal siege on the Kurdish de facto capital. Kurds represent about 20 percent of Turkey’s population, and Kurdish fighters have been the only successful fighting force against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). The months-long battle for Diyarbakir, a walled city on the Tigris […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The Egyptian government has asked Israel for clarification on talks aimed at repairing relations between Jerusalem and Turkey. Egypt is calling on Israel not to give in to Turkey’s demands on the lifting of the naval blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, senior clerks in Jerusalem told Haaretz on Jan. 7 on condition of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey Predictions that events in Saudi Arabia will be key to regional developments in 2016 have much merit. A number of analyses and New Year predictions have centered lately on what events might happen during 2016 involving Saudi Arabia. Certainly, several recent events might lead to such conclusions, to wit: […]
Special to WorldTribune.com East-Asia-Intel.com The U.S. government has sent NATO ally Turkey a message expressing “serious concerns” over Ankara’s decision to choose a Chinese state-run weapons firm to co-produce an air and missile defense system known as the Red Flag-9 or HQ-9. China is still under sanctions by the U.S. and most European Union nations. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com ANKARA — Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, alarmed by the military coup in Egypt, was said to fear a similar scenario in Turkey. Diplomatic sources said Erdogan was the only NATO or Middle East leader to have openly sided with the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt’s military. They said the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey A mere two and a half years ago the Middle East and North Africa were organized in the following categories: Democracies: Israel and Turkey Traditional monarchies: The gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Jordan Oman and Morocco Secular dictatorships: Yemen, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt and Syria, of which Libya and Syria […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey It has been said that history repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce. The interminable European economic/financial crisis neatly illustrates that saying. Mishandled from the beginning by a clueless set of politicians and bureaucrats, the most recent episode descends into a melancholy comedy of intentional and unintentional […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Gerald Robbins The culprit in last week’s suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara was not, as expected, an Islamic terror group bent on attacking American interests. Rather, a Marxist organization known as the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party Front claimed responsibility. The group’s communiqué explained the assault as a response […]
