Yazidi students abandon Arabic script with eye toward Europe

Yazidi refugees in Turkey are struggling to restart their children’s education, and many are now learning the Latin alphabet with the hope of one day starting new lives in Europe.

Iraq

Ankara needs to explain its turnaround in dealings with PKK

As confrontations persist between Turkish government forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party, the government has remained mum about the reasons for the breakdown of the Kurdish peace process.

Syria

Death sentences passed on Turkey's hungry bears

Rather than feeding hungry wild bears, officials charged with preserving ecological life have decided to kill 15 of them.

Turkey

What's the greatest risk to Turkey's economy?

Regional and domestic volatility is threatening Turkey’s finances while the country’s political and financial uncertainties worry global investors.

Turkey

Erdogan’s war backfires

For the first time in 13 years, Turkey is headed into elections in an environment of bloody conflict with the PKK — a deliberate political choice on the part of the government.

Turkey

Has Syria's Arab-Kurdish rivalry reached a breaking point?

The establishment of a safe zone on the Turkish-Syrian border is likely to further deepen the divide between the Arabs and Kurds in the area.

Syria

Will Erdogan’s big gamble pay off?

Surveys suggest there is no certainty that early elections will produce the results Erdogan is banking on for his leadership ambitions.

Turkey

Is Erdogan afraid of poking the IS bear?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has done little to censor the latest Islamic State video criticizing his government; does this mean that the ruling AKP could stand to benefit from publicizing the threat posed by the group?

Syria

Is Nusra cooperating with Syrian opposition to support establishing safe zone on Syria-Turkey border?

While the establishment of a safe zone along the Syria-Turkey border promises better living conditions for Syrian refugees, the politics and security concerns involved portend thinning prospects.

Syria

Orwell’s 1984 comes to life in Erdogan’s 2015 Turkey

Turkey’s president has called on community leaders in villages and neighborhoods to report on “terrorists” in their communities.

Turkey

Syria’s lords of war

Car dealer and amateur astronomer Hatim Ali Staiti became a warlord and now commands a notorious militia known for fighting for the regime.

Syria

Security Council: Syria 'largest humanitarian crisis in the world'

UN, Russia and Iran coordinate new diplomatic effort on Syria; what did Zarif tell Nasrallah?; Egyptian government rejects mediation with Muslim Brotherhood; did US-trained force coordinate with Jabhat al-Nusra?

Qatar