Turkey

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July 2008
- Turkey Indicts 86 for Coup Plot
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jul 14, 08 8:22 AM CDT
  
  Prosecutors today indicted 86 secular Turks—including high-ranking ex-military officials—on terrorism charges for their alleged involvement in plots to topple the Islamic-rooted government. The suspects, believed to include at least one former general and an opposition politician, are accused of having plotted to provoke a military coup to topple PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. More »
- Turkey Detains 4 in Attack on US Consulate
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jul 10, 08 7:14 AM CDT
  
  Authorities have apprehended four people in connection with yesterday’s attack on the US consulate in Istanbul, according to a Turkish news agency. The assault left three policemen and three shooters dead, with another assailant escaping in a getaway car. It’s unclear if the driver is among the four apprehended. The shootout has officially been declared a terrorist attack. More »
- Turkey Suspects al-Qaeda in US Consulate Attack
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jul 9, 08 11:51 AM CDT
  
  Turkish police say they suspect al-Qaeda is behind today's attack on the US consulate in Istanbul. So far, no one has claimed responsibility, but a police official confirmed the suspicion to the AP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists on the investigation. More »
- 6 Killed in Shootout at US Consulate in Istanbul
  
  newser | CNN | Jul 9, 08 4:35 AM CDT
  
  At least six people were killed today in a shootout when gunmen opened fire outside the American consulate in Istanbul, CNN reports. Three of the dead were police officers manning a security post outside the consulate. Three gunmen were also killed, according to Turkish officials. No consulate employees or US citizens were killed, authorities said. More »
June 2008
- Turkey's PM Could Fall Over Headscarves
  
  newser | American | Jun 20, 08 7:16 PM CDT
  
  Turkey's secular judges want to oust the ruling party for its moderate, and popular, stance on religion freedoms, Mustafa Akyol writes in the American . On paper, the judiciary seeks to punish the incumbent AKP party for crimes such as nepotism and corruption. In reality, Akyol writes, the AKP's support for headscarves in Turkish universities is what sparked judicial rage. More »
April 2008
- Turkey Eases Controversial 'Insult' Statute
  
  newser | Financial Times (UK) | Apr 30, 08 8:06 AM CDT
  
  The Turkish parliament has approved changes to a notorious law that makes it a crime to "insult Turkishness," reports the Financial Times . Ankara legislators today amended the notorious Article 301, reducing the maximum sentence and requiring the justice minister to approve all prosecutions. But while nationalists are outraged, civil rights lawyers call the changes cosmetic at best. More »
- Turkey Rounds Up Experts to Revise Islam
  
  newser | McClatchy Newspapers | Apr 27, 08 3:04 PM CDT
  
  Ankara has gathered a team of experts to parse through Muhammad's words and deeds and decode them for modern-day Muslims, McClatchy Newspapers reports. Their planned 5-volume set will point out anachronisms—no, Muslims need not brush their teeth with a twig—and will likely remove lines about women being bad luck or stupid. "Those definitely cannot be the words of the prophet," one scholar said. More »
- Court Could Outlaw Turkey's 'Islamist Government'
  
  newser | Reuters | Apr 1, 08 3:35 AM CDT
  
  Turkey's top court has agreed to hear a case that could outlaw the nation's ruling party and bar its president and prime minister from politics, Reuters reports. The AK Party is accused of trying to undermine Turkey's secular constitution and establish an Iran-style Islamic state. The case pits Turkey's popularly elected government against the country's secular elite, including army generals. More »
March 2008
- Kurds Battle Riot Police in Turkey
  
  newser | BBC | Mar 22, 08 7:42 PM CDT
  
  Thousands of Kurds battled police with rocks and fires in Turkish cities today, the BBC reports. Dozens were injured, including almost 40 demonstrators and 15 officers, as cops arrested more than 130 people. One policeman and three protesters are in intensive care. Sparked by Turkey's strikes on Kurdish rebels in Northern Iraq last month, the clashes erupted during Kurdish spring festivals. More »
- 16 Arrested in Plot to Kill Turkish Laureate
  
  newser | AFP | Mar 21, 08 10:47 AM CDT
  
  A nationalist party leader, a veteran journalist, and a top academic have been arrested over a plan to kill dissident Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. The leader of the Workers’ Party and former rector of Istanbul University, along with a general, and retired colonel, are among 16 who were detained over plans to kill the Nobel laureate and several senior Kurdish figures. More »
February 2008
- Turkey Pulls Out of N. Iraq
  
  newser | Reuters | Feb 29, 08 8:57 AM CST
  
  Turkey pulled its troops out of northern Iraq today, ending a controversial offensive that had Washington and Baghdad on edge, Reuters reports. In a statement, Turkey said it had made its point. “There was no question of completely liquidating” the PKK, the military said, “but Turkey has shown the organization that northern Iraq is not a safe haven for them.” More »
- Booze and Beats Don't Mix in Turkey
  
  newser | Independent (UK) | Feb 28, 08 6:47 PM CST
  
  Singer Aslizen Yentur thought it was a joke when Turkey's top music channel axed shots of a wine bottle-laden table from her video. It wasn't, and now Turkey's broadcasting watchdog is drafting a bill to make scenes that encourage drinking illegal—supposedly to align with EU norms, the Independent reports. But critics charge the government is really trying to steer Turkey toward religious populism. More »
- Turkey Bombs Rebels in Iraqi Mountains
  
  newser | Associated Press | Feb 23, 08 3:28 PM CST
  
  Fighting continued in semiautonomous Kurdistan today as Turkey’s air and artillery forces let loose a hail of bombs in the mountains of northern Iraq, the AP reports. The strikes are ratcheting up tension between Turkey and the US-backed Iraqi government: Iraq’s foreign minister today told Turkey to get out “as soon as possible.” More »
- Dozens Dead in Turkish Ground Raid
  
  newser | Associated Press | Feb 23, 08 6:39 AM CST
  
  Turkish forces pursued Kurdish militants in northern Iraq for a third day today, with the Turkish military reporting least 24 militants and five Turkish soldiers killed since they sent troops across the border to attack separatist strongholds Thursday night. At least 20 other Kurds died in the air assault that has accompanied the ground raid, the AP quoted the Turkish military as saying. More »
- Turkey Lifts Head Scarf Ban
  
  newser | New York Times | Feb 9, 08 1:05 PM CST
  
  Turkey’s parliament today lifted the decade-old ban on wearing Muslim head scarves in college, the New York Times reports, a major salvo in the growing battle between Turkey’s growing devout middle class and entrenched secular elite. Proponents of the ban, who fear women will soon be forced to wear the scarves, will likely appeal to their secular allies on the Constitutional Court. More »
- Turkish PM Tries to Quell Anger Over Fire
  
  newser | Der Spiegel | Feb 7, 08 8:03 PM CST
  
  Turkish PM Recep Erdogan today visited the site of a questionable Sunday fire in Germany that killed nine ethnic Turks and inflamed tensions between the country, Der Spiegel reports. Charges that the fire was arson, and that rescue workers were slow to respond, have captured headlines in Turkey; Erdogan mourned the loss but tried to quell the anger. More »
January 2008
- Prof Guilty of Insulting Turkish Founder
  
  newser | BBC | Jan 28, 08 10:31 AM CST
  
  A Turkish court today handed a political science professor a 15-month suspended sentence for insulting the country's founder. Attila Yayla had suggested that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was not as progressive as official portrayals indicate. The conviction heightens scrutiny of the country's commitment to freedom of expression as it pursues EU membership, reports the BBC. More »
- Turkey to Lift Head Scarf Ban at Universities
  
  newser | Der Spiegel | Jan 25, 08 4:54 PM CST
  
  Turkey is expected to do away with a 2-decade-old ban on women wearing head scarves at the nation’s universities as early as next week. The prospect alarms the country’s secular elite, who see the country on a slippery slope to Islamist rule, Der Spiegel reports. “The logic is one of fear,” explains the director of a Turkish think tank. More »
December 2007
- Turkey Hits Kurds With Air Strikes
  
  newser | BBC | Dec 22, 07 3:33 PM CST
  
  Turkey bombed Kurdish rebel targets in Northern Iraq today, claiming strikes on "infrastructure" but no fatalities, the BBC reports. Ten planes reportedly attacked the al-Amadiyah region, which Kurdish officials say is abandoned for fear of military strikes. Turkish officials said the militant PKK "suffered heavy losses in terms of its infrastructure and its human resources." More »
- Publisher Faces Prison for Book on Armenians
  
  newser | Guardian (UK) | Dec 5, 07 11:03 AM CST
  
  A Turkish publisher goes on trial today in Istanbul for violating that country's controversial law against "insulting Turkishness." Ragip Zarakolu is accused of contravening the notorious Article 301 by publishing a book by a London-based author promoting reconciliation between Turks and Armenians. The trial of a relatively moderate publisher is further damaging Turkey's hopes of being invited to join the EU. More »