After a Turkish prison, the potent symbol of a lingering kiss

When he was released from prison after midnight late last month, Kadri Gursel walked straight to his wife, Nazire, and embraced her. Their lingering kiss in front of the prison, and a soldier’s shy glancing away, was caught on camera by a Turkish photographer and sent round the world. The kiss came to stand for […]

U.S. still seeking explanation for arrest of staff in Turkey: ambassador

ANKARA (Reuters) – The United States is still seeking an explanation from Ankara for the detention of staff at U.S. missions in Turkey which led Washington to stop issuing visas and triggered a diplomatic crisis, the U.S. ambassador said on Wednesday. Ambassador John Bass said the decision to suspend granting visas was not taken lightly, […]

Turkey urges U.S. to review visa suspension as lira, stocks tumble

Turkey urged the United States on Monday to review its suspension of visa services after the arrest of a U.S. consulate employee sharply escalated tension between the two NATO allies and drove Turkey’s currency and stocks lower. Relations between Ankara and Washington have been plagued by disputes over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, […]

U.S.-Turkey tensions boil over after arrest of consulate employee

When they met last month in New York, President Trump hailed what he called his “personal relationship” with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said the United States and Turkey were “as close as we have ever been.” Erdogan called Trump “my dear friend Donald.” Close observers of Ankara and Washington would have been ­forgiven […]

U.S. and Turkey announce tit-for-tat travel restrictions, a sign of deteriorating alliance

The increasingly strained alliance between Turkey and the United States took a sharp downward turn Sunday when both governments abruptly announced they were canceling most visitor visas between the countries, sowing confusion among travelers and exposing a widening rift between the NATO partners. The crisis began when the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, the Turkish capital, […]

World waits as votes are tallied in Kurdish independence vote

As votes continue to be tallied from the Iraqi Kurdish referendum election held on Monday, major powers in the region and around the world brace for the almost certain reality of a “yes” vote for Kurdistan independence. The Iraqi government has firmly said they will not negotiate with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over talks […]

The Kurds are holding an independence referendum and everyone’s mad about it

Rare is the issue that brings Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the U.S. all to the same side, but the question of independence for the Kurdish people seems to have done it. Today the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq is holding an advisory referendum on whether it should be fully independent. It’s a vote […]

Turkey extends troop deployment mandate, pressures Iraqi Kurds on vote

Turkey’s parliament voted on Saturday to extend by a year a mandate authorising the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq and Syria, stepping up pressure against an independence referendum in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region in two days’ time. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey would take security, economic and political steps in response to the […]

Syrian activist and her American journalist daughter killed in their Istanbul home

A prominent Syrian activist and her journalist daughter were found dead in their Istanbul apartment late Thursday, according to Turkish media reports. Police discovered the bodies of 60-year-old Orouba Barakat and 23-year-old Hala Barakat, a U.S. citizen, after friends and family in Turkey and Syria raised the alarm following several days without contact, according to […]

In schools, Turkey drops evolution and adds jihad

Students in Turkey begin school this week with a revamped curriculum courtesy of the Erdogan government, which removes the theory of evolution from biology courses, as well as teaches the concept of jihad as the ‘love of homeland.’ The new guidance also reduces the emphasis on Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey’s secularist founder who instituted […]