Turkish protestors defy May Day ban, dozens detained
ISTANBUL — Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Istanbul on Thursday in May Day rallies, confronting riot police officers to protest, lashing out against a government mired in a corruption scandal and accused of imposing a creeping authoritarianism in Turkey.
Turkey’s premier gets push from party in local elections
ISTANBUL — Even as he faced sweeping anti-government protests last summer and a corruption investigation that challenged his rule, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held close to the notion that voters had put him in office and would do so again.
Hundreds of police officers are reassigned in Turkey
PARIS — About 350 police officers in Ankara, the Turkish capital, were removed from their posts overnight, Turkish news outlets reported Tuesday, the largest single purge of the police force since a corruption investigation plunged the government into crisis last month.
Turkey announces proposals aimed at mending relations with Kurds
ISTANBUL — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a package of measures Monday that appeared intended to revive the stalled peace process with the country’s ethnic Kurds, who have fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
Kurdish rebel group to withdraw from Turkey
ISTANBUL — The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the main Kurdish rebel group in Turkey, said Thursday that it would withdraw all of its forces from the country by May 8 as part of a peace agreement to end a 30-year conflict with the Turkish state.
Syrian opposition meets with British officials
ISTANBUL — Syria’s political opposition widened its outreach Monday, sending representatives to Britain as the Syrian government withstood signs of further isolation over an uprising that is increasingly resembling a prolonged armed struggle to oust President Bashar Assad.
Turkey Angry Over Congress’ Vote on Armenian Genocide
Turkey reacted angrily Thursday to a House committee vote in Washington to condemn the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during World War I as genocide, recalling its ambassador from Washington and threatening to withdraw its support for the Iraq war.
Observant Muslim Voted In as Turkey’s Newest President Tues.
An observant Muslim with a background in Islamic politics was voted in on Tuesday as president, breaking an 84-year grip on power by the secular establishment and ushering a new religious middle class from Turkey’s heartland into the center of the staunchly secular state.