NATO members took important decisions during the April 3-4 summit, celebrating the Alliance's 60th anniversary. Following intense negotiations to ameliorate Turkey's reservations, on April 4 NATO leaders named Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Ramussen as their new Secretary-General. Turkey's agreement sparked controversy in Turkey as... MORE

For many people in the West, mention of the “Assyrians” brings to mind the relentless empire-builders of northern Iraq who conquered most of the Middle East, including Egypt and large parts of Anatolia, in the period stretching between the 20th to 7th centuries B.C. Few... MORE

The local elections in Turkey on March 29, widely regarded as a referendum for the ruling Justice and Democratic Party (AKP) as well as for its Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, raised questions over whether democratic reforms will now be initiated. Oli Rhen, the EU... MORE

Official data released after the local elections in Turkey shows that the global financial crisis has affected the economy more severely than the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has acknowledged. Turkey's economic growth dropped sharply in the last quarter of 2008, and its exports... MORE

The mixed results of the Turkish local elections on March 29 raised questions over the future direction of the governing Justice and Development Party's (AKP) policies (EDM, March 31). The government is unlikely to call a snap election, but the relative decline in the AKP's... MORE

Turkey's local elections on March 29 produced mixed results, with the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) emerging victorious, yet underperforming compared with earlier elections. The AKP received a 38.86 percent share of the vote, while the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Action... MORE

Turkish President Abdullah Gul's visit to Iraq might be regarded as a turning point in Turkey's Kurdish issue, perhaps more than its implications for improving Turkish-Iraqi ties (EDM, March 24). On the plane to Baghdad, Gul reportedly used the word "Kurdistan" to describe the Kurdistan... MORE

On March 17, Congressmen Adam Schiff, George Radanovich and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Frank Pallone and Mark Kirk introduced a resolution to the U.S. House of Representatives co-sponsored by over 70 House colleagues to recognize the Armenian "genocide" of 1915. The resolution is identical to... MORE

Discussions over the replacement of the current NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, scheduled to step down on July 31, has intensified, ahead of the Alliance's April 3-4 Summit. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, supported by key European allies, has emerged as the... MORE

The United States Treasury Department added the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (Parti bo Jiyani Azadi la Kurdistan - PJAK) to its list of designated terrorist groups on February 4. [1] Operating on the Iranian-Iraqi border under the umbrella of the Kurdistan Workers Party (Parti... MORE