More than 1,000 people have been detained following mass protests in Turkey over the jailing of opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu.

The popular mayor of Istanbul had emerged as the most likely candidate to end President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's two-decades-long rule before he was arrested last week along with other opposition figures and charged with corruption.

Erdoğan has long been "removing checks on his own power and manipulating state institutions to give his party electoral advantages", said Foreign Affairs. But with this "brazen act of political suppression, the Turkish government has taken a momentous step towards full-fledged autocracy".

What did the commentators say?

Turkey is "nearing a point of no return", said The Economist. Until last week, its government could still be classed as a "competitive authoritarian regime" by political scientists. Erdoğan does wield "unchecked executive powers and de facto control over the courts and most of the media", but Turkey's elections had "remained mostly free". With the detention of İmamoğlu, his top advisers and other opposition officials, "what remains is close to naked autocracy".

During his more than two decades in power, Erdoğan has "dismantled Turkey's democratic institutions, consolidating his control into a system of one-man rule", said Foreign Affairs. He has stacked the judiciary with loyalists and "muzzled" the media, with 90% of news outlets now owned by pro-government businesses.

Erdoğan has jailed political rivals in the past and İmamoğlu is certainly a threat. He is widely seen as the only candidate capable of unifying a fractured opposition and defeating Erdoğan at the ballot box.

By sanctioning İmamoğlu's arrest, Erdoğan has "crossed the line that separates Turkey's competitive authoritarian system from a full, Russian-style autocracy in which the president handpicks his opponents and elections are purely for show".

Soner Çağaptay, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that İmamoğlu's detention is a "decisive moment" in Turkish political history. "From that point on," he told Politico, the country is in "an authoritarian system, sadly".

What next?

The question now is whether Turkey's biggest protests in over a decade will "escalate into a real crisis" for President Erdoğan, said Sky News.

While some countries have been quick to condemn the Turkish government's attack on democracy, there is unlikely to be any major international pressure given the precarious state of world affairs. With global events "bolstering his leverage over the west, Erdoğan is well placed to act with impunity, knowing that his strategic importance will likely shield him from serious repercussions", said Massimo D'Angelo on The Conversation.

This means any attempt to force the president to change course will have to come from inside Turkey. Despite his arrest, İmamoğlu was confirmed over the weekend as the Republican People's Party's presidential nominee for the election scheduled for 2028. Under the constitution Erdoğan is barred from running again, although he could get around this by calling an early vote, which Al Jazeera said was now "likely".

The president is playing a "high-risk, high-reward game", said Foreign Affairs. "If he succeeds, he'll head into the next election against an opponent he chose himself, effectively securing his rule for life."

What happened

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested Wednesday morning, days before he was slated to be chosen as his opposition party's presidential candidate in Turkey's next election. Istanbul's governor banned public gatherings in the city for four days after the detention of Imamoglu, widely seen as the top political challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but protesters still flooded the streets in a "display of public anger not seen in years," the BBC said.

Who said what

The arrest marked a "dramatic escalation" in Erdogan's "crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices in Turkey," The Associated Press said. Ozgur Ozel, the head of Imamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP), called the arrest a "coup attempt against our next president." Imamaoglu said in a social media post shortly before his arrest that "we are facing great tyranny" but "the will of the people cannot be silenced."

The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office ordered the arrest of Imamoglu and about 100 other people on allegations of membership in a criminal organization, bribery, fraud and data theft, among other charges. Imamoglu was also accused of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan People's Party, evidently because the CHP had an informal deal with an alliance of left-wing and pro-Kurdish parties to avoid competing with each other in the 2024 local elections. Imamoglu won reelection last year and his party made significant gains against Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party nationwide.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters it was "at best, presumptuous and inappropriate" to link the arrests to the Erdogan government, insisting the judiciary acted independently. Imamoglu faces multiple lawsuits and other efforts that could disqualify him from seeking the presidency, including Istanbul University's decision Tuesday to invalidate his diploma, citing alleged irregularities in an intercollegiate transfer in 1990.

What next?

The next scheduled presidential election is in 2028. Erdogan is term-limited and could run again only by calling early elections or amending the constitution. Jailing Imamoglu "shows a level of desperation" that could backfire on Erdogan by making his chief rival a "political hero," Soner Cagaptay at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy told The Associated Press. "I think Erdogan is in trouble and not Imamoglu."

Last month's sudden and tumultuous overthrow of Syria's longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad marked a moment of seismic upheaval in a region already straining under the weight of spiraling wars and geopolitical strife. Years in the making, Assad's ousting now leaves Syria in a state of fragile uncertainty, as the various insurgent factions who helped bring Syria to this point vie for control moving forward, often with the backing of international partners keen to capitalize on a regional power vacuum.

In the middle of these intersecting vectors of influence and interest lies the Syrian Democratic Forces, an American-backed military group of Kurdish-led fighters that controls approximately one-third of the country after helping the U.S. fight ISIS in the region. The SDF's accumulated power has placed it — and Syria's ethnic minority Kurdish community at large — at the center of a fight for the country's future. The regional powerhouse Turkey is threatening to eliminate the military group as part of a broader anti-Kurdish enterprise, and the U.S. is pondering if and how to best support a proven ally.

'Uncertain future'

For more than a decade, the Kurdish SDF was "America's most reliable partner in Syria," The New York Times said, not only recapturing territory formerly held by ISIS but detaining "around 9,000 of its fighters." Turkey, though, views the group as "allied with the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party which has fought the Turkish state for decades." With Turkey maneuvering to "make itself a key player as its southern neighbor stabilizes," that country has increasingly threatened direct military action against Syria's Kurdish forces unless they "accept Ankara's conditions for a 'bloodless' transition," Al Jazeera said.

Syria's new post-Assad leadership, worried about the country's "uncertain future," last month "took steps to dissolve the different rebel factions and unite them under the new Syrian army," National Public Radio said. The SDF did not participate in that unification process, claiming that while it "wasn't opposed to joining the Syrian military in principle," any such action "required negotiations with Damascus." Crucially, the Syrian National Army — the group most closely aligned with Turkey, "is interacting with the new Syrian leadership in Damascus to integrate into a unified army," said Foundation for the Defense of Democracies research analyst Ahmad Sharawi. The question then is whether or not any future unified army "will participate in an offensive against northeastern Syria and SDF-controlled areas."

Securing US 'interests and reputation'

There are 2,000 American troops in the country, and "most U.S. objectives in Syria have been accomplished." Those goals include mitigating the threat from ISIS, staunching the use of Syria as a conduit for Iranian influence in Lebanon and deposing the Assad regime, said Steven Simon and Joshua Landis at Foreign Affairs. "Only the fate of Syrian Kurds remains unresolved."

While the bulk of Syria is "awash with armed groups" in the wake of Assad's ouster, the northeast region under SDF control has been an "island of stability amid the chaos" thanks in no small part to the Kurds who have "sacrificed greatly to support the U.S.-led war on terror," said Georgetown University security studies professor David Phillips at The Hill. As "allies and friends with whom we share strategic interests and values," America's "interests and reputation" demand the United States support them against any potential Turkish aggression. A "best-case scenario for the Kurds," said The New York Times, would be American support that enables "leverage with the new government in Damascus to pursue a fully autonomous state." A worst case scenario for the Kurds: "Inflamed conflict with Turkish-backed fighters, be forced to cede control of at least some of their oil-rich territory" and "if President-elect Donald J. Trump decides to withdraw U.S. troops," the SFD could "lose vital help on the ground."

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was a "humiliation" not just for the deposed president himself, but for the Russian and Iranian regimes who supported him.

No decision has yet been made on whether the UK government will remove Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that toppled the old regime, from a list of banned terrorist groups, said the BBC. But with the Middle East facing a moment of reckoning, it is not just Britain that is scrambling to adjust to the new post-Assad era.

Russia

The fall of Assad is undoubtedly a significant "blow to Russia's prestige", said the BBC's Russia editor Steve Rosenberg. It will also have wider strategic and military consequences for Moscow.

In return for its support in shoring up the regime during the decade-long civil war, Syrian authorities awarded Russia 49-year leases on the air base in Hmeimim and naval base in Tartous, giving Moscow an "important foothold in the eastern Mediterranean".

The liberation of Damascus "reflects a likely catastrophic loss of Russia's significant investment in the Assad regime", said R. Clarke Cooper, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Losing the two military bases would "damage Moscow's ability to manoeuvre in Africa and the Mediterranean", which may in turn "have a strategic impact on Russian influence across the world".

Iran

Assad's fall may have come as a shock to the international community, but perhaps not its closest ally in the Middle East. Iran had "lost faith" in Assad well before his fall from power, and had refused to send more forces to support his faltering regime, said the Financial Times.

Like Moscow, Tehran has been quick to open up a "direct line of communication" with rebels in Syria, said Reuters. But there is also "little doubt" it remains hugely concerned "about how the change of power in Damascus will affect Iran's influence in Syria, the lynchpin of its regional clout".

For many, the end of Assad marks the final nail in Iran's much-vaunted "Axis of Resistance" that informally united Syria and armed groups like Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Yemen's Houthi rebels and a number of smaller groups in Iraq.

Syria's leading rebel faction, the Sunni Islamist HTS, may not seem a "natural partner" for the Shi'ite Iranian regime, said Haaretz, but geopolitical interests, especially in the Middle East, are a "dynamic, flexible concept that depends on utility and necessity. And if Syria doesn't find solutions to its needs elsewhere, Iran might well become the address."

Israel

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed credit for the Syrian uprising that toppled Assad, calling it "the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran".

He may have anticipated this outcome or at least hoped for it, David Rigoulet-Roze, from the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, told France 24, but it does not come without significant risks for Israel.

The Economist said that, until last week, Israel's "long-standing strategy had been to rely on Assad to maintain the tense peace on the border and not to allow Syria to become another launching-pad for attacks on Israel".

Now that he is gone, "Israel's main concern, aside from the regime's strategic weapons falling into hostile hands, is chaos in Syria that would allow organisations affiliated with Iran to launch rockets and drones".

Sensing both a threat and an opportunity, Israel has wasted little time protecting its strategic interests. It has launched hundreds of air strikes on locations throughout Syria, destroying what Israeli military officials said were "strategic warehouses" containing chemical weapons as well as long-range missiles and anti-aircraft systems.

Israeli troops have also seized more territory in a buffer zone near the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, a move the UN said on Monday constituted a violation of a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria.

Turkey

If Russia and Iran have seen their influence diminished by the events of the past week then Turkey is the "main winner", said Seyed Hossein Mousavian, from Princeton University, in Middle East Eye.

Turkey has heavily backed HTS, which looks set to play a major role in any future Syrian government. With Assad finally gone, Ankara "may hope to resolve the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey, exert more effective control over the Kurds and strengthen its role in the Palestinian issue, as well as cement alliances with like-minded groups in the region", said Mousavian.

The transition of power in Damascus is "set to reshape the balance of power in the region", said The Telegraph, with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "probably emerging as a major beneficiary".

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AK Party (AKP) suffered their worst defeat in more than two decades in local elections on Sunday.

The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) retained mayoral seats in the key cities of Istanbul and Turkey's capital Ankara, and gained 15 new seats across the country. Many were in cities seen as traditional "strongholds" of Erdoğan and the AKP.

For the CHP, Sunday's vote was a "make-or-break moment for a movement still reeling" from Erdoğan's momentous victory in presidential elections last May, said Politico. 

The greatest triumph for the CHP was in Istanbul, where the party's Ekrem Imamoğlu clinched a second term as mayor. Imamoğlu is now widely viewed as Erdoğan's main presidential challenger, after "winning the city which catapulted the current president to national prominence when he won the mayorship 30 years ago". 

What did the commentators say?

"Less than a year ago, Turkey's main opposition parties were in a slough of despond" after Erdoğan, the country's authoritarian leader, "comfortably" won a third term, said The Guardian.   "Years of clientelism, culture wars and overwhelming media dominance appeared to have rendered Erdoğan's strongman politics all but unassailable at national level." 

It is hardly surprising then that the CHP's "spectacular and unanticipated turnaround" in Sunday's local elections "prompted wild celebrations into the early hours".

The "drubbing" for the AKP came as Turkey's long-running economic crisis "finally became too much for many voters to bear", said the Financial Times. Erdoğan, whose "unorthodox" economic policies have been blamed for triggering rapidly rising inflation, has historically resorted to populist handouts ahead of elections. This included a month of free natural gas for voters before last spring's presidential election, which he won despite an attempt by a six-party opposition alliance to defeat him. 

Since then, however, Erdoğan has resisted offering another raft of populist measures and instead stuck to his government's economic policies "in an attempt to finally extinguish the inflation crisis with a return to a more orthodox economic approach". Known as a "shrewd politician and unforgiving campaigner", Erdoğan also made "a series of missteps that amplified the scale of AKP's loss". In particular, he underestimated the impact of the smaller parties that hold sway over conservatively religious voters. 

"In the streets of Istanbul, as well as on social media, people already talk about 'the beginning of the end' for Erdoğan," said Daniel Thorpe in The Spectator. The election results have proven that the president is "not invincible", but whether the end of his 22-year rule is in sight "is too early to say".

What next?

Whether the CHP's success will last until the next presidential election "remains to be seen", said The Telegraph. "Before heading to polling stations, some Turks spoke of voting for what they considered the lesser of two evils; others, disillusioned by the country's deeply divided political landscape, didn't bother to vote at all." Turnout, at 76%, was lower than the 87% for last year's presidential elections. 

While Sunday's results have "revitalised the opposition", said the FT, Erdoğan "remains one of Turkey's most popular politicians," and enjoys largely unchecked power. There is "ample" time for the AKP to regroup and for Erdoğan's controversial economic programme to "bear fruit" ahead of the next presidential election, in 2028.

But Sunday's "stinging rebuff" to the ruling party "may dissuade Erdoğan from seeking further constitutional change to allow him to run for yet another term as president", said The Guardian. Turkey has undergone a "relentless erosion of democratic checks and balances on Erdoğan's watch". And while the governing coalition led by the AKP is not big enough to change the constitution again on its own, "a stellar result in Sunday's elections could have tilted political momentum its way". 

Strengthening the president's stranglehold over Turkish politics would have been "a disaster for Turkish democracy". Instead, there is reason to hope that "Erdoğan's star may finally be on the wane".

What happened

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered a political setback Sunday after the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) flipped or held Turkey's five biggest cities, including Istanbul, and took the largest share of votes nationwide for the first time since the 1970s. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu beat the candidate of Erdogan's Justice and Development party (AKP) 51% to 40% despite a push by Erdogan to win back control of Turkey's most important city.

Who said what

"Istanbul has given its message," Imamoglu told supporters. "Turkey will blossom into a new era in democracy as of tomorrow." Erdogan, who won reelection in 2023, said he and his allies are disappointed and "will examine the reasons for this setback."

The commentary

This was "the most decisive opposition victory of the last quarter century," Selim Sazak of Ankara's Sanda Global consultancy told The Wall Street Journal. The unexpectedly large win will "inject new life into the CHP" and cement Imamoglu as opposition star, Selin Nasi, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, told Politico. "He is the only politician who succeeded in beating Erdogan three times."

What next?

Imamoglu will be a strong presidential contender in 2028. Erdogan said this would be his last term, but critics said a victory in this election "would have encouraged him to revise the constitution so he could stand again," the BBC said. "After such a dramatic defeat that is looking very unlikely."

Turkey surprised observers this week when it reversed course and approved Sweden’s bid to join Nato.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously blocked Stockholm’s application, accusing it of hosting Kurdish militants, but he U-turned by “linking his support for Sweden’s Nato bid with Turkey’s own application to join the EU”, said Politico.

Some commentators believe this signals a shift in Ankara’s relations with the Europe and the US but others suggest it is in fact the West that is changing its position.

What did the papers say?

Analysts said that in his “third decade in power and final term in office”, the “Turkish strongman may be on a conciliatory path with the West”, noted CNN.

By backing Sweden’s Nato bid, Ankara is “signalling a recalibration in ties with the West, which have been strained for a while now”, Mehmet Celik, editorial coordinator for the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper, told the broadcaster.

Turkey is “forging new paths in Europe, also resuming talks with Greece”, agreed Al Jazeera, “after more than a year of tensions between the historic foes”.

The bid for EU membership was an “audacious move” that “caught even close observers by surprise”, said Politico, but “it has zero chance of happening any time soon”, as although EU leaders made a “careful public show” of “treating the Turkish leader’s request seriously”, membership of the bloc was “discarded almost instantly”.

Nevertheless, “officials are considering where they could cooperate more with Turkey” and “if anything comes from it, that’s a win in Erdogan’s book”. If nothing changes, a former European Commission official told the outlet, that gives the leader “another reason to fuel nationalism”.

Erdogan’s “dexterous political manoeuvre” was “the latest in a series of decisions that have ‘de-escalated’ tensions between Ankara and the West”, said the Financial Times.

Yet “deep scepticism lingers” over whether this is “part of a broader foreign policy shift” because the “change of tone” comes as Ankara is “desperate to lure back foreign investors who have fled during a years-long economic crisis”.

Turkey’s current account deficit reached a record $37.7bn in the first five months of 2023, and Erdogan is “hoping international inflows” will help finance the “yawning gap”.

However, the Daily Sabah said the “claim of a shift in Türkiye’s position is unfounded” as “Ankara has consistently maintained its stance” and “the West is actually the one undergoing a revision in its position”.

“It is not Türkiye that has distanced itself, closed doors and shown hostility, and now seeks closeness”, it said, as Joe Biden “was even talking about unseating the president of Türkiye before taking office”. Yet “it seems that they have accepted the reality that they will have to spend another five years with Erdogan, whom they couldn’t remove,” the paper argued.

What next?

Following the Nato U-turn, there are three fronts that Turkey will be looking for progress on: relations with the EU, arms from the US, and a mediatory role in the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Progress has already been confirmed on the second front. “Hours after Ankara said it would allow Stockholm into the bloc”, Washington announced it will proceed with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, the “likely trade-off for Ankara’s green light”, said Al Jazeera.

A senior EU official said the breakthrough over Sweden would “open space for work in a multitude of areas”, said the Financial Times. Turkey has “long sought an upgrade to Turkey’s customs union with the EU, visa liberalisation and extensions of its multibillion-euro migration deal with the bloc”, and Erdogan “raised all these topics” in a recent meeting in Brussels.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference this week, Erdogan claimed that Turkey could act as a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict in Ukraine. However, Russian media said that Vladimir Putin currently has no plans to speak with Erdogan.

Mehmet Ozalp, professor in Islamic studies at the Charles Sturt University explains the drive behind Erdogan’s election win despite a worsening economy and now chronic hyperinflation.

Recep Tayyib Erdogan will remain president of Turkey for another five years after winning Sunday’s run-off election over his long-time rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. If he serves the full five-year term, he will have held power for 26 years – almost the entire history of Turkey in the 21st century.

What is astonishing is how the majority of Turkish people elected Erdogan despite a worsening economy and now chronic hyperinflation that would likely bring down any government in a democratic country.

So, how did Erdogan win the election and, more significantly, what is likely to happen in the country in the foreseeable future?

Free but far from fair

The election was free in that political parties could put forth nominees on their own and carry out campaigns. Parties also had the right to have representatives in every polling station to ensure the votes were counted correctly. And voters were free to vote.

However, the election was far from fair.

First, a potential leading rival in the race, Ekrem Imamoglu, was sentenced in December to more than two years in prison on a charge of “insulting public figures”.

Imamoglu, the popular mayor of Istanbul, dealt Erdogan’s party a rare defeat in the 2019 Istanbul elections. Polls had shown he could win against Erdogan in the presidential election by a comfortable margin.

Some argue the court ruling was politically motivated. With Imamoglu out of the picture, the opposition had to coalesce behind Kilicdaroglu, the weakest of all possible high-profile candidates.

Erdogan also has an almost ubiquitous grip over the Turkish media, engineered through Fahrettin Altun, the head of media and communication at the presidential palace.

Turkish media are either directly owned by Erdogan’s relatives, such as the popular Sabah newspaper managed by Sedat Albayrak, or controlled through managing editors appointed and monitored by Altun. Some independent internet news sites such as T24 practice self-censorship in order to remain operational.

With this massive media control, Erdogan and his men ensured he had the most television airtime. Erdogan was depicted in the media as a world leader advancing Turkey by building airports, roads and bridges. He was put in front of dozens of journalists on TV, but all the questions were prepared in advance and Erdogan read his answers through a prompter.

Altun also orchestrated a massive smear campaign against Kilicdaroglu. The opposition leader received minimal airtime, and when he was in the media, he was depicted as an inept leader unfit to rule the country.

Altun not only controlled the conventional TV channels and print media, but also social media. On Twitter, a very influential platform in Turkey, Altun used bots and an army of paid trolls and influencers to seek to control the dialogue.

And it worked. Sufficient number of voters were swayed through confusion and fear that the country would be far worse if Kilicdaroglu was elected.

Lastly, there was the potential for fraud due to the non-transparent way the election results are processed. Once each ballot box is counted, the ballot and result sheet are transported by police in cities and the military in regional areas to the electoral commission. Both the police and military are under Erdogan’s tight control.

The results are then reported only through the state-owned Anadolu Agency, while in the past they were reported by multiple independent agencies.

Even if no evidence of fraud emerges in this election, the spectre could put in doubt the integrity of the entire electoral process.

Staunch support from religious voters

There are two other factors that were decisive in the elections.

The first is the support Erdogan received from Sinan Ogan, who was third in the first round of the presidential election two weeks ago, with 5.2% of the votes. Erdogan persuaded Ogan to throw his support to him.

The second and most important factor was the way Erdogan was viewed in an almost mythical fashion by conservative and religious voters. For them, Erdogan is a religious hero and saviour.

The religious population in Turkey has long suffered persecution in the name of secularism. For them, Kilicdaroglu and his Republican People’s Party symbolised that persecution. Although Kilicdaroglu abandoned the party’s previous strict secular policies, these voters never forgave it for preventing Muslim women from wearing the head scarf in educational and state institutions and keeping religion out of public life and politics for decades.

The conservative and religious right in Turkey sees Erdogan as a world leader and a hero who struggled against ill-intentioned forces, both internally and externally, to make Turkey great again.

What is likely to happen in Turkey post-election?

Turkey desperately needed a change of government and a breath of fresh air. Now the social, political and economic suffocation is likely to get worse.

Erdogan had promised a Turkish revival by 2023, which is the 100th anniversary of the republic’s founding. Turkey was supposed to enter the top 10 economies in the world by then. However, Turkey barely sits in the top 20, at 19th.

The economy has experienced a significant downturn in the past three years. The Turkish lira has plummeted in value, leading to a dollar-based economy.

But dollars are hard to come by. The Turkish Central Bank kept the economy afloat by emptying its reserves in the last few months for the elections. The Central Bank has been running a current account deficit of US$8-10 billion dollars every month, and its reserves last week fell into the negative for the first time since 2002.

Now Erdogan has to find money. He will resort to high interest foreign loans and embark on a diplomatic spree of the oil-rich Muslim countries to draw some of their funds to Turkey. The uncertainty around how successful these endeavours will be and their likely short-term gain may throw the Turkish economy into recession.

For the people of Turkey, this could mean massive unemployment and a reduced cost of living. The inflation rate had reached a 24-year high of 85.5% last year, and may go even higher, as the cash-strapped government continues to print digital money to pay for its large bureaucratic workforce.

On foreign policy, Erdogan will continue to try to become a regional power independent of NATO, the European Union and the US. He will likely continue to strengthen Turkey’s ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has been a worry for Turkey’s Western allies.

What does the future hold?

This will be Erdogan’s absolute last term in office, according to the Turkish constitution, and it could possibly be cut short.

The 69-year-old president has many health problems. He is becoming increasingly physically frail, finding it hard to walk, and his speech often slurs. In coming years, his health may get worse and he may have to hand over his presidency to a trusted deputy.

The other possibility is that potential leaders in his party could decide to carry out a party coup to topple Erdogan before his term is up, so they can garner public support ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

While there may be some political stability in post-election Turkey for now, the country will be in economic, social and political turmoil for the foreseeable future.

Mehmet Ozalp, Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has defied the polls to lead his main rival in the first round of voting in Turkey’s make-or-break presidential election.

With just over 99% of ballot boxes opened, Turkey’s election council confirmed that Erdoğan had received 49.4% of votes, while his main rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, had scored a disappointing 44.96%. Third-placed candidate, the ultranationalist Sinan Ogan, won 5.2% of the vote.

The Guardian reported the near-complete results “strongly suggest” the election will go to a run-off on 28 May since neither of the two leading candidates received more than 50% of the vote. However, short of an outright victory for Turkey’s long-time leader and with Erdoğan’s People’s Alliance, led by his own Justice and Development (AK) Party, predicted to easily secure a majority in parliament, “it was the worst result the country’s opposition could have imagined”, said The Economist.

International attention has unsurprisingly focused on the geopolitical ramifications of the election, although for most Turks it is the country’s economy that has been the main concern in the run-up to polling day.

What did the papers say?

In the first decade of his 20-year rule, Erdoğan “rode an economic boom – driven in part by manufacturers and exporters from conservative Anatolian heartlands that supported his ruling AK Party – turning Turkey into one of the buzzing emerging markets to watch”, said Politico.

Over his second decade, “the story was exactly the opposite”, said the news site, “as the president took absolute control over monetary policy and insisted on his unorthodox theory that high interest rates cause inflation. Prices raged out of control and debates over the cost of staples, from onions to cucumbers, have figured prominently in the run-up to the 14 May election.”

Reuters said these “unorthodox and heavy-handed polices” have sparked a series of currency crises, double-digit unemployment, a cost-of-living catastrophe, annual inflation hitting 85% last year and, crucially, foreign investors abandoning Turkish assets in droves.

“Suffering from a massive credibility gap, a victorious Erdoğan would not be able to lead Turkey towards a rapid economic recovery,” said Middle East Eye (MEE). An intervention from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would become “absolutely necessary”, it said.

On the campaign trail, the president hinted that he could assemble a new team to try to stem the economic bleeding and attract all-important foreign investment, but a win in the run-off combined with a parliamentary majority would see his low-interest rate policy continue and “capital restrictions expanded to full-scale controls”, said the Middle East Institute.

By contrast, Kılıçdaroğlu has “a highly visible and experienced team that could quickly stabilise the economy”, said MEE. He has indicated he would “shift back toward orthodox economics if he wins”, Bloomberg reported. That would mean a near-term rate hike that could rise as high as 30% to try to tame inflation, “though a full overhaul of the central bank’s toolkit might take longer”, added the financial news site.

“Whoever comes to power, the main issue will be the economy and it is going to be a tough first six months,” said Uğur Gürses, a former central bank official, told Politico.

What next?

Given that polls repeatedly showed the economy was the number one issue for voters, this election should have been a “shoo-in” for Kılıçdaroğlu, said the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “all the more so because most of Turkey’s economic problems were the result of policies Erdoğan took despite economists’ warnings and stark evidence that they were failing”.

Yet this has proved not to be the case. Erdoğan appears to have fallen just short of an absolute majority, meaning the country will head to a run-off in two weeks. Politico’s second-round “Poll of Polls” data suggests both candidates are neck-and-neck although these will have to now be taken with a large pinch of salt as the first round of voting defied pollsters’ expectations.

Much could depend on how voters who favoured third-placed Sinan Oğan react. The ultranationalist has styled himself as a potential kingmaker and his hardline stance against Kurdish parties means his supporters are expected to back Erdoğan.

It could still go either way. Effectively voters will be choosing the man “who will be piloting the Turkish economic balloon”, said Haaretz. But “whoever wins will have the misfortune of watching it crash to the ground, regardless of what policies he chooses to undertake”.

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Julia O’Driscoll, Harriet Marsden and Jamie Timson.

This episode was recorded before third-party candidate Muharrem İnce withdrew from the Turkish election on Thursday afternoon. His absence is thought likely to increase the chance that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will lose.

You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped wherever you get your podcasts:

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In this week’s episode, we discuss:

Turkish election

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is facing his biggest political challenge yet, as voters prepare to go to the polls in the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections this Sunday. With the economy in crisis and the country still reeling from February’s deadly earthquake, latest predictions indicate that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu may have enough support to bring an end to Erdoğan’s more than 20 years in power.

Prison maternity care

The inquiry into the death of another newborn in prison, Aisha Cleary in her 18-year-old mother’s cell in HMP Bronzefield Prison in 2019, has further intensified calls for the UK to stop imprisoning pregnant women, due to safety concerns for both mother and baby. In light of evidence that pregnant women behind bars are reportedly seven times more likely to suffer a stillbirth, and face multiple barriers accessing adequate maternal care, is it justifiable to imprison them? Considering the UN recommends non-custodial sentences for pregnant women, what alternatives could the UK consider?

Cleopatra

The casting of British actor Adele James as the eponymous Queen Cleopatra in Netflix's latest docudrama has caused consternation in Egypt. The country's ministry for tourism and antiquities said that "Queen Cleopatra had light skin and Hellenistic (Greek) features" while James has "African features and dark skin". Cleopatra's heritage is in fact up for debate with historians unable to say exactly what she looked like, but is it healthy to view the past through a modern lens? And what does it say about us when we attempt to reduce one of the most powerful women of all time to her skin colour?

Turkey heads to the polls next week for the most tightly contested and important presidential election in a generation.

The vote on 14 May, which coincides with parliamentary elections, could define the course of the country for decades and have huge ramifications for the region, the war in Ukraine and the future course of Nato and the European Union.

A reported case of gastroenteritis has “disrupted Erdogan’s attempts to seize momentum in the run-up to Turkey’s most important election in generations”, said Al Jazeera. These elections are about “legacy and history, which seem to be catching up with the most powerful Turkish leader since Kemal Atatürk”, said The Observer.

Who is Erdogan up against?

The presidential election, held every five years, sees the candidate who receives more than 50% of the first-round vote elected. If no one reaches the majority threshold a second-round run-off is held between the two highest-polling candidates, this year scheduled for 28 May.

According to Politico, 2023 is “expected to be the most hotly contested race in Erdogan’s 20-year rule” as he faces a neck-and-neck race against the main opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and presidential nominee for the six-party Nation Alliance bloc.

The 74-year-old Kilicdaroglu “cuts a starkly different figure than the incumbent” said The Independent. “Where Erdogan is a mesmerising orator, the unassuming Kemal Kilicdaroglu is soft spoken,” the paper added. As the “polarising Erdogan has grown increasingly authoritarian, Kilicdaroglu has built a reputation as a bridge builder and vows to restore democracy,” The Independent continued. This has earned him the nickname the “Turkish Gandhi”.

Having defied expectations to unite the opposition behind him, polls give Kilicdaroglu a “slight edge” but there are many intangibles that could sway the result either way.

A record turnout is predicated this year with nearly five million first-time voters, many of whom have only ever known Erdogan as leader, expected to cast their ballot. “Turkey’s demographics are also expected to play a role”, said CNN, with most of the provinces struck by the February earthquake being strongholds of Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), leading to claims that at least a million displaced voters could be denied the chance to vote.

In his favour is the decision by former presidential candidate and centrist Homeland Party leader Muharrem Ince to stand, potentially drawing enough votes away from Kilicdaroglu to carry Erdogan through to a run-off. The Financial Times reported Erdogan is “counting on diaspora support as he battles to cling to power”, courting German Turks and increasing the number of polling stations across Europe in search of votes. There is also a big unknown around supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which has backed Kilicdaroglu and are expected to play a “decisive role” in the elections, said CNN.

The parliamentary elections are also too close to call, although Erdogan’s AKP currently holds a slight lead.

Where will the election be decided?

In the 20 years since coming to power, Erdogan and AKP have “left a deep mark on the country – expanding the role of Islam in the traditionally secular state and growing Turkey’s influence abroad”, said Foreign Policy. “But years of unorthodox economic policy and a deadly February earthquake have undermined confidence in the government, leading many voters to question the reputation for competent administration that has traditionally been central to the AKP’s appeal.”

Even before the earthquake, Turkey had been struggling with a long-running currency crisis that last year saw inflation hit 85%. Voters also list the country’s slide into authoritarianism as a key concern. Tapping into these fears, The Independent said the Nation Alliance has “vowed to roll back Erdogan’s efforts to concentrate vast powers in the president’s hands” while the coalition has also pledged “to reinstate a parliamentary democracy with checks and balances, to return to more conventional economic policies and to fight corruption”.

Erdogan has instead “focused on listing his achievements, including the construction of millions of new houses, and his push to resurrect Turkey’s military might”, reported Al Jazeera.

What happens next?

If, as current polls suggest, Erdogan loses the vote by a small margin, “it opens up the possibility for him to contest the results”, said CNN, “and if past experience is a gauge, then the president and his AK Party may not take a defeat lying down”.

“Much of the anxiety surrounding Turkey’s presidential contest – and how Erdogan will respond to its results – is a consequence of his unique position in Turkish political history,” said Foreign Policy. “It is hard to imagine Erdogan gracefully accepting defeat because it would be unprecedented: no Turkish president has ever been directly voted out of office”.

Were he to cling on to power, “the fear in the West is that he will see this as his moment to push toward an increasingly religiously conservative model, characterised by regional confrontationalism, with greater political powers centred around himself,” said Politico.

The news site added that the election “will also weigh heavily on security in Europe and the Middle East”. The candidate who is elected “stands to define: Turkey’s role in the NATO alliance; its relationship with the US, the EU and Russia; migration policy; Ankara’s role in the war in Ukraine; and how it handles tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean”, it concluded.

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected to power 20 years ago, he did so by capitalising on public outrage over the government response to a devastating earthquake.

Now three months away from another election and following another similarly catastrophic earthquake, there are obvious parallels as Erdoğan’s political opponents line up to criticise the president’s “autocratic style for hindering relief work”, writes Mark Almond, director of the Crisis Research Institute in Oxford, for The Telegraph.

Hopes of finding survivors from last week’s earthquakes “are fading as rescue operations draw to a close”, said The Times, with the “true scale of this disaster still emerging”. The death toll stood at more than 33,000 across both Turkey and Syria on Sunday, with the UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths saying he expects it to rise to at least 50,000.

“It is going to be a big challenge for Erdogan, who has established a brand for himself as an autocratic figure but an efficient one that gets the job done,” Soner Cagaptay, a Turkey expert at the Washington Institute, told AP News.

The “pressure on Erdogan is massive”, agreed Al-Monitor. Among the ten Turkish provinces that are in the disaster zone, “seven (Adiyaman, Malatya, Kilis, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa) are controlled by mayors from Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP)”. The earthquake “hit home with Erdogan’s core constituency, and he needs to show them he can deliver with an election looming”, said the website.

What did the papers say?

The 68-year-old leader is facing “the strongest opposition yet to his presidency”, said CNN, with Erdoğan’s political rivals already criticising the government’s response to the earthquake.

“Let me be very clear; if there one person responsible for this process, it is Erdogan,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, said in a video address last week. “For 20 years, this government has not prepared the country for an earthquake.”

One of the country’s most eminent civil engineers, Professor Mustafa Erdik of Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University, also indirectly blamed Erdoğan, saying: “We allow for damage but not this type of damage – with floors being piled on top of each other like pancakes. That should have been prevented and that creates the kind of casualties we have seen,” he told the BBC.

Erdoğan, for his part, has said the response to last week’s earthquakes – which he described as the “strongest in the history of this geography”, according to AP News – has been hampered by poor weather and the destruction of a key airport.

“It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster,” Erdoğan said, promising that “we will not leave any of our citizens uncared for”.

The Turkish authorities have now made several arrests of those responsible for building some of the now destroyed housing, including detaining one of the contractors who built luxury developments in Hatay, one of the provinces worst affected by the earthquakes.

But this has “seemingly done little to put the public at ease”, said The Spectator’s Gabriel Gavin. With frustrations growing over what critics say was a delayed response to a preventable disaster, Twitter was blocked for many users across Turkey last week “as officials sought to dampen tensions and halt the spread of alleged ‘misinformation’”, he added.

What next?

While officials say the extent of the destruction is not yet clear, “they believe rebuilding will stretch Türkiye’s budget”, said the Daily Sabah. The country has already been coping with “soaring inflation and depreciation in the Turkish lira”, the website added.

Erdoğan has also implemented emergency powers to deal with the earthquakes. But some observers worry that the powers could also be used to clamp down even further on critical media, while a Turkish official told Reuters that authorities could consider postponing this year’s election, because of the “serious difficulties” resulting from the earthquakes.

If the elections do go ahead in May, the three-month state of emergency gives Erdoğan the power to “lavish public spending” in the affected areas, Hamish Kinnear, Middle East and North Africa analyst for risk-intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, told AP News. He added that he believed an Erdoğan victory was still likely as the president has the “levers of state at his command and Turkish politics was hardly a level playing field before the earthquake”.

On top of this, with less than 100 days to go before the election, Erdoğan’s rivals “have yet to put forth a candidate to run against him”, said AP News.

The most popular option is Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul. But in December, İmamoğlu was convicted of insulting election officials and his prison sentence, if upheld on appeal, will ban him from politics. Critics accuse Erdoğan of “influencing the judiciary to prevent rivals such as İmamoğlu from running, an allegation the government has denied”, said The Washington Post.

Amid the wrangling over the elections, the country’s geopolitical importance is not to be overlooked, said Almond in The Telegraph. If Turkey “descends into a political crisis after a disputed election amid the rubble and hardship left by the earthquakes, the shock waves will surely spread West”, he wrote.

Elections in 2022 swept the far-right to power in Sweden, Italy, Hungary (and most recently Israel), while leftist leaders in South America won in Columbia and Brazil.

Elsewhere, Emmanuel Macron managed to hold off a challenge from populist Marine Le Pen in France, while the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos won a landslide victory in the Philippines.

“This year’s elections are less clear-cut – and instead overlap in surprising ways,” said Foreign Policy. “This may be in part because they are overwhelmingly parliamentary as opposed to presidential, which makes term limits much less of a factor.”

Fears of a global populist wave have receded somewhat, but “democracy is on the ballot in a number of nations” this year, said The Conversation, “while common themes – such as the handling of inflation and corruption – may determine how incumbent governments and presidents fare at the ballot box”.

Here are five elections around the world to look out for in the year ahead.

Thailand (7 May)

In Thailand “the military’s quotidian role in political life is due to face a reckoning” as the country’s autocratic leaders hope to consolidate power, said Foreign Policy.

The 7 May vote will be only the second since the military rewrote the constitution in 2017 to give it greater influence in selecting the legislature. With incumbent former army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, from the pro-military Palang Pracharat Party, deeply unpopular, Pheu Thai, Thailand’s main opposition party with links to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is seen to have the best chance of forming the next government, according to the latest polls from Bloomberg.

Yet despite this, Foreign Policy said that “observers are not optimistic that they will prevail. Instead, they surmise that the most likely election scenario will involve the military-monarchy complex once again finding a way to further dilute the will of the people – and wrest power from those parties the majority of Thais support.”

Turkey (18 June)

“People in Turkey tend to call every presidential election historic – but the June 2023 election will truly be historic,” said Ahmet Kuru, professor of political science at San Diego State University, for The Conversation.

The lengthy rule of the increasingly autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has governed Turkey since 2003 first as prime minister then since 2014 as president, “could be put to its toughest test” on 18 June, said Time magazine.

Erdoğan has lost support in recent years as his economic reforms have failed to turn the country around, leading to massive inflation and a collapse in the currency. This in turn has prompted a further crackdown on the opposition and press.

“The 2023 presidential election will be fought over politics, economics and religion,” said Kuru. “If Erdoğan wins, he will frame himself as the second founder of Turkey, after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. If he loses, his political, business, and religious allies will face the risk of being expunged.” The stakes could not be higher.

Poland (expected October or November)

“Probably the most pivotal and important election of 2023 in emerging Europe” is Poland’s parliamentary vote, expected in October or November, said Craig Turp-Balazs in Emerging Europe.

The ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) is expected to face its biggest opposition since retaking power in 2015 in the face of mounting public anger to its increasingly illiberal policies and economic stagnation. However, the government’s strong response to the war in neighbouring Ukraine, including accepting millions of refugees, has won it support both internationally and at home.

“As usual, the extent to which the country’s opposition is able to unite and galvanise the anti-PiS vote behind a clear, coherent alternative will be crucial,” said Turp-Balazs. He noted that “in the previous two elections, in 2015 and 2019, the opposition appeared divided and weak, handing PiS easy victories”.

Pakistan (12 October at the latest)

Last year was a tumultuous one for Pakistan, which faced a perfect storm of political, economic and environmental crises.

In April 2022, the former cricketer turned populist prime minister Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote and replaced by Shehbaz Sharif of the centre-right Pakistan Muslim League (PML) until this year’s elections, which have to be held by 12 October.

Opinion polls are hard to gauge “but it appears that Khan continues to be the darling of public opinion – and a thorn in the side of Pakistan’s security establishment”, said Foreign Policy. It cites his “unique” willingness to challenge the Pakistani military, which effectively rules the country.

Time magazine said “the big question-mark is when elections will take place – especially since Khan is pressuring the government to hold them earlier”.

“Khan has been gaining a lot of popularity, so politically speaking, the sooner the elections happen, the better for him,” said Michael Kugelman in the Time article.

Argentina (29 October)

The country may still be basking in World Cup glory, but 2023 promises to be a gruelling year for Argentina in the run-up to elections in the autumn.

With sky-high inflation, low growth and one of the highest debt-per-capita ratios in Latin America, the economy looks set to dominate the campaign. President Alberto Fernández and his powerful vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, have both been plagued by corruption scandals, with the later sentenced to six years in jail last month over bribery charges.

“Some are even predicting that the combination of mishandling the economy and the corruption scandal could bring an end to Peronism, the political philosophy that has governed Argentina for much of last 70 years,” said Eduardo Gamarra, professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University, for The Conversation.

The opposition party of former president Mauricio Macri is similarly divided and struggling to agree on a candidate. “These political and economic circumstances may favour a third contender,” suggested Gamarra, specifically Javier Milei, “a populist libertarian who has been rising in the polls and whose brusque style has drawn comparisons with Donald Trump”.

Sweden has set itself on a collision course with Turkey after the new centre-right government refused to meet the conditions required for approval of its application to join Nato.

Speaking at a Swedish defence summit on the weekend, the country’s new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said concessions had been made but now Turkey wanted “things that we can’t and won’t give them”.

Last summer in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan initially blocked plans to fast-track Finland and Sweden’s applications, demanding the two countries renounce their support for Kurdish “terrorist” organisations before joining the military alliance.

What concessions have Sweden and Finland made to Turkey?

The two Nordic countries have made joining Nato their top foreign policy objective. However, Turkey, which joined Nato during the alliance’s second expansion in 1952, opposed Finland and Sweden’s membership because of its long-standing allegation that Helsinki and Stockholm back “terrorist organisations” in Iraq and Syria.

It referred to the countries’ support for two Kurdish militias in the Middle East: the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and People’s Defence Units (YPG).

The YPG “spearheaded the campaign against Isis in Syria”, the Financial Times (FT) said, receiving “weapons and training from the US-led anti-Isis coalition”. This was “supported by Sweden”, which has a large Kurdish diaspora of some 100,000 people.

The group, however, has close ties with the PKK, which has “waged a bloody armed struggle against the Turkish state since the 1980s” and has been “recognised as a terrorist organisation by Sweden as well as the EU and the US”, said the newspaper.

Western backing for “groups that are affiliated” with the PKK has “long been a source of anger in Turkey”, the FT added, “both among officials and the public”.

However, under a new three-way agreement signed last July, Finland and Sweden confirmed they would not support the YPG/PYD, and the group known in Turkey as FETO, and stated that they deemed the PKK “a proscribed terrorist organisation”.

Finland has also agreed to reconsider an embargo on weapons exports to Turkey, following a similar move by Sweden last year. Allowing permits for arms exports was interrupted in 2019 due to Turkey’s military operation in Syria against Kurdish fighters, but on Monday Finnish Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen implied that “in principle and in theory”, such a ban on arms sales no longer exists.

Euractiv said “allowing arms to be sold to Turkey again could be beneficial to Finland’s hopes of quicker ratification of its Nato application”.

So what is the hold up?

Reuters reported that Ankara has “expressed disappointment with a decision late last year from Sweden’s top court to stop a request to extradite a journalist with alleged links to Islamic scholar Fetullah Gulen, blamed by Turkey for an attempted coup”.

Kristersson insisted that while Sweden was living up to commitments made last July, it had to follow the law on deportations, “which is a judicial process in Sweden with no role for the government”, reported the FT’s Nordic and Baltic correspondent Richard Milne.

Opinion polls have shown Swedes do not favour offering too many concessions to Turkey. In a survey for daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter last week, 79% of the public said they wanted Sweden to stand up for the rule of law even if that delayed its Nato membership.

When will Sweden and Finland’s bids be approved?

The Nordic countries’ application has already been approved by 28 out of the 30 existing Nato members, with Hungary’s parliament expected to ratify their membership in the coming weeks.

However, France24 said Erdogan is expected to hold firm and “is unlikely to retract its condition, at least not before the all-important presidential elections scheduled in June”.

That a Nato member “close to the abyss in any assessment of human rights and democracy measurements, prevents two of the most democratic countries in the world from getting the protection they deserve” is both “ridiculous and incomprehensible” said former NBA player turned Turkish human rights activist Enes Kanter Freedom in TIME magazine.

“This despite the fact that, as a Nato member, it should be clear that the expansion of Nato to include Finland and Sweden will put Nato in a stronger position. With enlargement, the Baltic Sea becomes almost a Nato lake,” he added.

It means the “Swedish-Turkish tug of war is set to continue”, said France24. However, the news service said, “perhaps the most revealing statement at that Swedish defence conference was not Kristersson’s refusal to override the Supreme Court – but rather Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s suggestion that the alliance has already extended its security umbrella to the two Scandinavian countries”.

“It is inconceivable that Nato would not act if the security of Sweden and Finland were threatened,” he said.

Turkey has announced a “national rebrand” that will dispense with its 100-year-old anglicised name in favour of being known as “‘Türkiye”.

The move, announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month, will “primarily impact how foreign nations and publics address the country”, according to The i news site, “as well as the labelling of exported goods”.

It has been interpreted as a signal that the government in Ankara is “no longer trying to appease Britain” by altering its national title “for the ease of an English-dominated diplomatic landscape”.

‘National rebrand’

Domestically, the country has already made the switch. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been renamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Türkiye.

The Turkish government is now in the process of officially changing its internationally recognised name with the UN, which could be changed with a “simple notification to the UN registry”, Middle East Eye said.

However, the letter “Ü”, which isn’t in the nominal Latin alphabet, “could be a problem”, said the news site. A possible solution could be “using ‘U’ instead of ‘Ü’ in the new name”.

Erdogan said that the decision to switch names “represents and expresses the culture, civilisation and values of the Turkish nation in the best way”, the BBC reported. But some have said the change is part of an effort to “distance the country’s links to the bird”, reported the Daily Mail, as well as the “dictionary definition of ‘something that fails badly’”.

“The association with the bird genuinely annoys Erdogan and the people around him,” said Selim Koru, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “It’s not a surprise given the government’s sensitivity to how the country is perceived and fondness for nationalist rhetoric. That is at the centre of this policy as well.”

Turkey is by no means the first country to change its name. Here are a few of the other notable “national rebrands”.

Republic of Macedonia to Republic of North Macedonia

This one was not so much a rebrand as a way to end a three-decade diplomatic dispute with Greece. North Macedonia “finally assumed its place on the map of western Balkan nations” in 2019, reported The Guardian.

As the result of the name change the country could finally join Nato, “a long-held dream for the small, multi-ethnic country which only narrowly escaped civil war in 2001”.

Successive Greek governments “insisted the landlocked state’s determination to be known as Macedonia implied territorial ambitions against the Greek region”, leading to Greece vetoing Macedonia’s membership of Nato in 2008.

The dispute dated back to the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991 when Macedonia declared its independence, but Greece “objected to its new neighbour’s name”, the BBC said.

Both Northern Macedonia and northern Greece were part of the Roman province of Macedonia, both of which “claim the heritage of Alexander the Great two millennia earlier”, said the broadcaster.

But the name change ended the 27-year dispute, ultimately lifting Athens’s veto on the nation’s bid to join Nato, which it joined as the 30th ally in March 2020.

Kingdom of Swaziland to Kingdom of Eswatini

To celebrate the 50th birthday of Africa’s last absolute monarch, King Mswati III, the Kingdom of Swaziland became known as the Kingdom of Eswatini in April 2018.

King Mswati III had “long complained that people outside of Africa confused his country with Switzerland”, said National Geographic.

And there is at least one similarity – Eswatini “is also landlocked and has some mountains”. The southern African nation is “much smaller, smaller than Wales, and located on the eastern border of South Africa, just south of Kruger National Park”.

Czech Republic to Czechia

The country’s official name is still the Czech Republic, but “Czechia” became its shortened geographical name in July 2016.

The name was chosen by Czech leaders as a “one-word alternative name of their country” with the purpose of making it “easier for companies, politicians and sportsmen to use on products, name tags and sporting jerseys”, said The Guardian at the time.

But it’s fair to say that the new name hasn’t really caught on. At the time, critics of the name complained that it sounded “ugly”, while others said it was too close to Chechnya, “making it prone to confusion”, said the paper.

Cape Verde to Cabo Verde

In 2014 the nation made up of ten islands off the Western coast of Africa registered the new name of Cabo Verde with the UN. The move reverted the nation’s official moniker “back to its original Portuguese name”, according to National Geographic.

“Portuguese explorers came upon the peninsula now called Cap-Vert, the westernmost peninsula in Africa and a Senegalese port, in 1444”. They then “christened it ‘Cabo Verde’, which means ‘green cape’”, before using “the same name for the islands to the west, which became the country of Cabo Verde”.

The name eventually became anglicised, which created problems with “cumbersome” translations when the country sent official diplomatic cables or created tourism brochures, said The Boston Globe.

The name change was also part of a national rebrand. “When you say United States, people think: powerful, of the economy, the country of invention, of dreams,” said Mario Lucio de Sousa, the minister of culture for Cape Verde in 2014. “When you talk about Cabo Verde, people think of sun, the beach, nice people, smiles, working people, but, as of now, something intangible.”

Upper Volta to Burkina Faso

A former French colony, the landlocked West African nation gained independence under the name Upper Volta in 1960. In 1984 it was renamed Burkina Faso by president Thomas Sankara, becoming one of a host of nations that renamed their country in an attempt to break from its colonial past.

“We changed the name because Upper Volta was a colonial name not from us but from the French Government, and because we are more than just a location on the river Volta,” a spokesperson for the country’s Mission to the UN told The New York Times.​

Correction, 28 February 2022: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Czechia as a Balkan nation.

Donald Trump regularly “bullied and humiliated” Theresa May calling her “spineless” on Brexit, according to one of the journalists behind the Watergate scandal.

Carl Bernstein investigated the calls of the president with world leaders for four months, finding that “Trump was consistently underprepared, repeatedly outplayed by US enemies and abusive to allies”, the Daily Mirror says.

The reporting revealed that Trump was “deferential to the Russian and Turkish presidents”, while “abusing the leaders of America’s allies, taking a particular dislike to women”, The Times adds.

“He’d get agitated about something with Theresa May, then he’d get nasty with her on the phone call,” a source told Bernstein.

The president’s conversations with May were described as “humiliating and bullying”, while another source said: “He clearly intimidated her and meant to.” Bernstein reports that the US president also labelled May “a fool” for her pro-Remain stance on the European Union and support for Nato.

The Telegraph notes that Bernstein’s reporting found that Trump also “denigrated” German Chancellor Angela Merkel - whom he called “stupid” - while remaining “cordial - even reverential” with Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

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The president’s grip on geopolitics in phone calls led senior officials to conclude that “the president himself posed a danger to the national security of the United States”, Bernstein writes for CNN.

The calls led senior Trump aides to believe he is “delusional” in his dealings with other leaders, two sources told Bernstein, who adds that Trump believed he could “charm, jawbone or bully almost any foreign leader into capitulating to his will, and often pursued goals more attuned to his own agenda than... the national interest”.

Trump is currently under pressure to respond to reports that Russia paid members of the Taliban to target US troops in Afghanistan. The president initially described the reports as “fake news”.

A ceasefire in the northwest Syrian province of Idlib has come into effect under a deal struck by Russia and Turkey following more than six hours of talks in Moscow.

Announcing the truce, which began at midnight on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “I express hope that these agreements will serve as a good basis for a cessation of military activity in the Idlib de-escalation zone [and] stop the suffering of the peaceful population and the growing humanitarian crisis.”

His Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, promised support for “Syrians in need”.

But many analysts are predicting that the deal will not last long. Sky News’ Moscow correspondent Diana Magnay warns that “ceasefires in Syria tend to be short-lived affairs and there’s no reason this will be any different”.

Indeed, Russia and Turkey agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone back in 2018, seven years after Syria’s popular uprising turned into civil war, but violence quickly resumed.

All the same, the new deal offers hope for the three million Syrians believed to be trapped in the province, the last opposition-controlled region in Syria.

The fighting has been “catastrophic” for the local population, says The Guardian.

More than 900,000 people have been displaced since the forces of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad began an offensive in December backed by Russian air strikes - the largest wave of displacement since the war began, in 2011.

Many of those displaced are living in makeshift camps at Idlib’s border with Turkey, which already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees and is refusing to take any more. That refusal, in turn, has sparked concern in Europe of a renewed influx of migrants.

Meanwhile, 60 Turkish troops have been killed in the region since last month alone.

The violence has also resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. At least 16 people killed by Russian air strikes while sheltering in a farm near the Idlib town of Maarat Misrin shortly before the ceasefire talks began on Thursday.

An eye-witness told The Times: “It was horrific, tens of people, mostly women and children, were there. The dead bodies were everywhere."

On a political level, the fighting has caused tension within Turkey’s parliament, with a fist fight erupting this week as opposition parties challenged Erdogan’s Syria strategy.

Last summer, Ankara’s refusal to cede ground to Assad’s army in Idlib was blamed for the continuation of the civil war, which is believed to have claimed the lives of as many as 400,000 people.

On a wider scale, the crisis has also brought Turkey perilously close to war with Russia. However, Moscow is keen to maintain strong ties with Turkey in order to offset US influence in the region, whatever the fate of the new peace deal.

Turkey has agreed to a ceasefire in northern Syria, to let Kurdish-led forces withdraw, at a meeting between US Vice-President Mike Pence and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Under the terms of the deal, all fighting will pause for five days, and Washington will help the withdrawal of Kurdish-led troops from what Turkey terms a “safe zone” on the border.

The agreement could halt “the latest bloodshed in Syria’s long war”, reports The Guardian, but CNN says it “appears to give Turkey everything it wants,” forcing the Kurds, “America's one-time allies in the fight against Isis” to cede “a vast swath of territory”.

Donald Trump welcomed the deal. “Great news out of Turkey!” he wrote on Twitter, just before Pence announced the deal. “Millions of lives will be saved.”

He later told the media that the ceasefire was “a great day for civilisation”, and praised Erdogan as “a hell of a leader”.

However, there are doubts about whether the Kurdish YPG will fully comply with the agreement. Many Syrian Kurds feel that the deal gives Turkey what it sought from the start: removal of Kurdish-led forces from the border.

“Our people did not want this war,” the Kurdish political leader Saleh Muslim told local television. “We welcome the ceasefire, but we will defend ourselves in the event of any attack… Ceasefire is one thing and surrender is another thing, and we are ready to defend ourselves. We will not accept the occupation of northern Syria.”

Commander Mazloum Kobani of the Syrian Democratic Forces said that although Kurdish-led forces would observe the agreement in the area where fighting has been fierce, he had “not discussed the fate of other areas”.

The news of the ceasefire came after a report in The Times that Turkey has used white phosphorus against Kurdish civilians during the offensive. Kurdish leaders have accused Turkish forces of using the chemical, which is banned for use on civilian targets by the Geneva and Chemical Weapons conventions.

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Donald Trump is fending off mounting criticism as the death toll mounts from a Turkish bombing campaign which has forced tens of thousands of Kurds to flee.

Two days into the offensive against the Kurds in north-east Syria, Turkish troops have surrounded the border towns of Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad. International pressure is growing for Turkey to halt the attack, in which residential areas have been shelled and civilians killed.

Trump has been condemned for his decision to pull US troops out of the area, effectively allowing Turkey to launch its assault. The Kurdish militias of the Syrian Democratic Forces said Washington’s move meant they had been “stabbed in the back”, The Guardian reports, and an elderly Kurd civilian said “betrayal leaves the bitterest taste”.

The former top American general overseeing operations in the Middle East, Joseph Votel, has questioned the wisdom of Trump’s withdrawal. “The abrupt policy decision to seemingly abandon our Kurdish partners could not come at a worse time,” he wrote in The Atlantic.

The US president has sought to deflect the criticism, arguing that Turks and Kurds had been fighting for centuries, “and, bizarrely, that the Kurds had not helped the US in the second world war, at the Normandy landings”, says The Guardian.

A senior US official struck a different tone, saying the Turkish invasion “endangers our allies in the fight against terror... and creates tremendous insecurity for the entire region”.

Even some Republicans have admitted that Trump’s withdrawal effectively gave Turkey a green light, and are planning to introduce sanctions against Turkey with a bill in the House of Representatives. Congresswoman Liz Cheney said Turkey must face “serious consequences for mercilessly attacking our Kurdish allies” in the region.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is unrepentant in the face of international censure. He has said he will “open the gates” for Syrian refugees in his country, allowing 3.6 million to migrate to Europe if the continent’s leaders label Turkey’s military campaign in north-eastern Syria an “occupation”.

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Turkish forces this week launched a long-anticipated assault against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), prompting an outcry from the international community.

The offensive comes after Donald Trump announced on Sunday that US troops would be withdrawing from the Turkey-Syria border.

Both Ankara and the Kurds are close allies of the US, but the Turkish authorities have long viewed the Kurds both within Turkey and in neighbouring Iraq and Syria as a disruptive presence.

The Turkish allegations centre around the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish far-left militant and political organisation that Ankara views as a terrorist group. For decades, Turkey has been planning an incursion into Syria to create a so-called buffer zone, but the US presence in the region has helped to prevent an all-out conflict.

However, Trump’s decision to withdraw, shortly after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, paved the way for a Turkish assault - prompting allegations that the US has “betrayed” the Kurds and the SDF, who have played a pivotal role in helping US forces defeat the Islamic State in the region.

President Erdogan says the goal of the incursion is “to destroy the terror corridor” that he claims Kurdish forces are trying to establish on his country’s southern border, and to bring peace to the region.

However, critics argue that Washington’s decision to effectively leave the Kurds to the mercy of Turkish forces will “undo progress made against Isis, betray a military ally that had lost tens of thousands of fighters and trigger further conflict”, reports the i news site. The move is merely “the latest betrayal of many” against the Kurds, the newspaper adds.

But who exactly are the Kurds and where do they fit in the tangled web of interests in the Middle East?

Who are the Kurds?

The Kurds were originally “one of the indigenous peoples of the Mesopotamian plains” and the highlands in what are now southeastern Turkey, northeastern Syria, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran and southwestern Armenia, says the BBC.

Today, they form a “distinctive community, united through race, culture and language”, the broadcaster continues. That said, the Kurds remain a diverse ethnic group.

They do not have a shared language, instead speaking a range of dialects from the Kurdish language family, such as Kurmanji, Sorani, Xwarig and Laki.

Nor do they have a common religion. The majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but within the group there are large communities of Christians, Zoroastrians, Yarsanis and Yazidis, as well as a significant Jewish population.

Do they have a country?

Currently, the Kurds do not have an official state. The Irish Times reports that up to 30 million Kurds reside in a region commonly known as Kurdistan, a vaguely defined area spanning parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

This splintered existence is a result of a series of treaties signed by the Allies in the wake of the First World War, when the Middle East was carved up into numerous countries without taking into account tribal and ethnic differences. Various Kurdish groups have been fighting for autonomy within their respective countries ever since.

Kurds have long been suppressed and denied basic rights, particularly in Syria, where as many as 300,000 Kurds have been denied citizenship since the 1960s. Kurdish land has also been “confiscated and redistributed to Arabs” in an attempt to "Arabize" Kurdish regions, says the BBC.

Since the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011, Syrian Kurds have sought to consolidate their claims over Kurdish-majority districts in the country, known collectively as the de facto autonomous region of Rojava.

Why were the Kurds at the forefront of the fight against Isis?

In 2015, in a move aimed at stemming the rapid spread of Isis across Syria, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab soldiers formed the SDF, an armed group backed by US, British and French special forces. The Kurdish contingent of the alliance is known as the People’s Protection Unit (YPG).

Syrian government forces had cornered the Kurds in Rojava using military force for decades, but after they withdrew from the region to focus on fighting Isis elsewhere, the SDF found itself face-to-face with the terrorist group in northern Syria. During years of bloody fighting, the SDF lost as many as 11,000 soldiers and were ultimately credited as a key player in the eventual defeat of Isis.

Isis currently holds no territory, but multiple sources have claimed that there are still tens of thousands of jihadist fighters in hiding in both Iraq and Syria - and warn that the withdrawal of US troops may pave the way for a resurgence for the terrorist group.

CNN reports that Turkey’s incursion into Kurdish territory may see “thousands of terrorists” and two SDF-controlled holding facilities for displaced Isis members being left unguarded.

Why is Turkey invading now?

Tensions between Turkey and the Kurdish ethnic group date back decades, beginning with a conflict between Turkish and Kurdish forces within Turkey.

Kurds currently comprise around 15% to 20% of the population of Turkey, based mainly in the east and southeast of the country near the borders of Iraq and Syria. Although the Turkish state has long oppressed Kurdish people within its own borders, tensions didn’t come to a head until 1978, when Kurdish militant Abdullah Ocalan founded far-left insurgent group the PKK, which launched an armed conflict against Turkey in the hopes of establishing an independent Kurdish state.

The conflict within Turkey has resulted in the deaths of at least 40,000 people, and Ocalan has been held in prison by Turkish authorities for the past 20 years.

As a result of the insurgency, Turkey, the US and the European Union all view the PKK as a terrorist group, and President Erdogan has “made it clear that his ultimate goal is to eliminate” the organisation, CNN says.

In addition, while the PKK has not played an active role in the Syrian Civil War, the Turkish government has expressed concerns over the group’s ties to the YPG, which is an active combatant in the conflict.

The leaders of both organisations have attempted to downplay the link, but Turkey nevertheless views Kurdish YPG fighters in northeast Syria as terrorists too.

In a tweeted message this week, President Erdogan’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, warned: “YPG militants have two options: They can defect or we will have stop them from disrupting our counter-Isis efforts.”

In a subsequent message on Twitter, Erdogan said his latest mission, dubbed Operation Peace Spring, would “preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and liberate local communities from terrorists”.

The Week’s daily round-up highlights the five best opinion pieces from across the British and international media, with excerpts from each.

1. Afua Hirsch in The Guardian

on the method behind Donald Trump’s madness

Trump’s ‘go back’ racism is crude, but may be dangerously effective

“Trump is turning on these congresswomen quite deliberately, having calculated that, regardless of their policies – which are centred substantially on addressing class inequality – US voters aren’t ready for a Democratic party which looks like them. Yet it would be wrong to be dismissive of rhetoric as racist as this. Its intended purpose is certainly to play on the fears our racialised pasts have deposited in the present. But that can be a very reliable political strategy.”

2. Josh Campbell for CNN

on WikiLeaks

Julian Assange falsely billed himself as a truth defender

“For his part, Assange has continued to deny any connection to the Kremlin. But with so many now obvious connections uncovered between WikiLeaks and Russia, coupled with Assange's own documented desire to hurt Hillary Clinton, how can anyone continue to take him seriously as a righteous pursuer of transparency operating in the public interest? Undeniably, an American candidate for the highest office in the land -- in this case, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- was the victim of a sophisticated influence operation launched by a hostile foreign government. That government appears to have been secretly aided by a group that has billed itself as a defender of the truth.”

3. Daniel Finkelstein in The Times

on the real legacy of the moon landings

Moon mission put a rocket under the West

“Alongside the magic of the moon landing, when we celebrate the 50th anniversary we are celebrating the achievements of a generation who took seriously their duty to protect the liberal democratic capitalist system and to make it a beacon of the world. We are celebrating their belief in science and progress in a free society and their confidence that, with enough will, there is nothing possible that we can give up as impossible. The cliché is right. If we can send a man to the moon, we can do anything. Defeat poverty, conquer disease, find a technological solution to climate change. And, with confidence, liberal democracy need not retreat.”

4. Con Coughlin in The Daily Telegraph

on Turkey’s ever-closer ties with Russia

Erdogan’s gone too far. It's time to throw Turkey out of Nato

“The days when Turkey had a genuine interest in cementing its ties with the West by joining the European Union are long gone. Instead, we have a country that openly associates with those who wish to do us harm. Consequently, now that Mr Erdogan has demonstrated that he feels more at home in Moscow than he does in Brussels, we should acknowledge where Turkey’s true interests lie, and terminate its Nato membership.”

5. Gabrielle Noel in The Independent

on the fallacy of virginity

Miley Cyrus is right – there is no such thing as virginity

“We should reject any system that nullifies someone’s right to body autonomy the way virginity does. All women deserve to be respected and protected, not just the ones having sex the way everyone has decided they should.”

Turkey's ruling party has lost control of Istanbul after a re-run of the city's mayoral election.

With nearly all ballots counted, the candidate for the main opposition party, Ekrem Imamoglu, has won 54% of the vote. His unexpected victory in March had been annulled after the ruling AK party complained of irregularities.

Binali Yildirim, the Turkish president's chosen candidate, has attracted 45% of the vote.

The result means Turkey's largest city will not be governed by Erdogan's AKP party for the first time in a quarter of a century.

It also has huge national significance. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has tweeted his congratulations to the winner, had previously said “whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey”.

The Times agrees, saying this morning that Istanbul is a “bellwether for national power”.

The Guardian calls the result “a landmark victory in a country where many feared democracy was failing,” while Sky News describes it as “a major blow for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan”.

In a victory speech, Imamoglu said his win marked a “new beginning” for both the city and the country.

“We are opening up a new page in Istanbul,” he said. “On this new page, there will be justice, equality, love.”

As his supporters chanted: “Mayor again! Mayor again!” he added: “You have protected the reputation of democracy in Turkey with the whole world watching," he told the crowds outside the headquarters of the Republican People's Party.

He added that he was willing to co-operate with Erdogan, saying: “Mr President, I am ready to work in harmony with you.” However, there is doubt that the president will cooperate with him.

Hundreds of supporters of Imamoglu gathered on the streets of his stronghold, Besiktas. “The cautious optimism that was prevalent during the early stages of vote counting has given way to a mood of total jubilation,” says Cagil Kasapoglu. One reveller told The Guardian: “This has brought people hope.”

The Times says that Turkey’s “faltering” economy is “a key factor in Mr Erdogan’s slipping popularity”. It points out that a 30% collapse in the value of the lira over the past year has left many businesses struggling to repay foreign currency debt.

CNN adds that “a political system that has in recent years skewed toward one-man rule and allegations of municipal corruption,” led to the backlash against Erdogan.

The BBC's Turkey correspondent focuses on the role of the winner, explaining that Imamoglu “gave people the profoundly positive message they craved and rebuffed smears with smiles”.

The international community has condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he announced that local elections in Istanbul will be re-held following an opposition victory in the city.

Erdogan - who has ruled Turkey since 2003 - suffered several dramatic defeats during the nationwide votes on 31 March, including the loss of capital Ankara. But arguably the most significant was that in his hometown of Istanbul, which his Justice and Development party (AKP) had controlled for 25 years and was viewed as a pro-Erdogan stronghold.

The result shocked commentators, both at home and abroad. The Guardian asked if it was “the beginning of the end for Erdogan”, while The New York Times said Turkey had been hit by a “political quake”.

The AKP has contested the Istanbul defeat, making unproven claims of voter fraud and irregular counting practices.

Now, the Turkish political establishment - which has consistently cracked down on civil liberties in recent years - has escalated the crisis.

The country’s Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) announced this week that the Istanbul mayoral election results will be annulled, with a re-run taking place on 23 June.

Listen to The Week’s digital team discuss the issue on The Week Unwrapped podcast here:

So what does the controversial decision mean for the future of Turkey?

What happened?

Erdogan launched his political career as mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s. He co-founded the AKP in 2001, which won power the following year and has claimed victory in every general election since, with Erdogan serving first as prime minister and then, from 2014, as president. The March mayoral election was expected to be another easy victory for the strongman.

Indeed, the AKP was so sure of an Istanbul win that hours before the final results were announced, the party put up victory posters featuring Erdogan and candidate Binali Yildirim that thanked the city, the BBC reports.

But a nationwide drop-off in support, fuelled by a financial crisis, saw the AKP lose control of five of Turkey’s six largest population centres including Istanbul, the biggest of all.

The election of Ekrem Imamoglu, from the centre-left Republican People’ Party (CHP), as Istanbul mayor was immediately contested by the AKP. Nevertheless, following a partial recount, Imamoglu was sworn in last month.

The AKP continued to allege voting irregularities, with Erdogan telling members of his party the Istanbul recounts had revealed that “15,000 AKP voters’ electoral will had been usurped”, The Irish Times reports. Imamoglu claimed victory with a narrow margin of 13,000 votes.

“I sincerely believe there was organised corruption and full illegalities and irregularities in the Istanbul municipality election,” said Erdogan.

Following more than a month of pressure from the president, the election commission this week annulled the Istanbul’s mayoral vote and ordered a re-run.

What was the reaction?

The opposition says the unprecedented move shows that Turkey is now under a “plain dictatorship”. In televised statements, Imamoglu said: “We have won this election with the sweat of millions of people. You are the biggest witness to that sweat, you are our biggest comrades.

“You may be upset now, but don’t lose your hope. We are here. Do not give up.”

CHP members have claimed “the AKP pressured and threatened YSK judges with prison if they voted against a re-run” in Istanbul, reports Reuters. Erdogan denies the allegations.

The New York Times reports that following the vote, Erdogan made a “last-ditch appeal” to the commission using “far from overwhelming” proof that banned officials and voters had taken part in the election. The appeal was thrown out by the 11 judges of the YSK.

However, this week the council, “whose independence has been questioned”, voted by seven to four in favour of the re-run, a decision that appears to have been based on similarly flimsy evidence, the newspaper says.

The YSK also took aim at the CHP in the wake of the announcement, criticising the party for making claims about council members that included “insults, threats, and smears”, and vowing to perform its duties without being affected by “libels”.

Meanwhile, Erdogan hailed the verdict as a victory for democracy. “We see this decision as the best step that will strengthen our will to solve problems within the framework of democracy and law,” the president told the Turkish parliament.

But the international community has accused Erdogan of allowing his country to become increasingly authoritarian. Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the EU, said it was an “outrageous decision” that “highlights how Erdogan’s Turkey is drifting towards a dictatorship”.

Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Mass, called the re-run “incomprehensible”, while the French government urged the Turkish authorities to show “respect for democratic principles, pluralism, fairness [and] transparency”, the BBC reports.

In the Daily Sabah, a pro-Erdogan English-language newspaper based in Istanbul, Ozan Ceyhun retorts that the “European social democrat executives and politicians” criticising the Turkish leader are “becoming laughing stocks”.

“Turkey is a democracy, and governments come and go with elections... since it is going to be a fair election, everyone’s conscience is going to be clear,” Ceyhun writes. “Where is the problem? Leave Turkey alone.”

Haaretz reports that over in the US, the Donald Trump administration has “appeared to treat the decision to cancel the Istanbul election results as a legitimate move”. A statement issued by the US State Department said: “Turkey has a long, proud democratic tradition. We urge Turkish authorities to carry out this election in keeping with its laws.”

What next?

The CHP has already ruled out the possibility of boycotting the election.

“We will never compromise on our principles,” Imamoglu told a crowd in Istanbul. “This country is filled with 82 million patriots who will fight... until the last moment for democracy.”

In the meantime, Erodgan is trying to stave off further economic disaster in his already debt-stricken country.

The Turkish lira plummeted to a seven-month low on Tuesday following the vote re-run decision, says Bloomberg, which adds that on top of a huge pile of debt restructurings, lenders “now face the threat of higher interest rates and weaker capital levels”.

The lira’s slump “also makes it pricier for companies to repay their foreign-currency borrowings and could derail efforts to lift the economy out of recession, which is key for those repayments”, the financial news site says.

As Axios notes, Turkey has “completely reversed an incredible economic expansion” that had seen “significant growth and plummeting unemployment” since 2009. And “things will get worse before they get better”, the news site warns.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed a controversial decision to re-run Istanbul’s mayoral election, amid domestic protests and growing international condemnation.

Thousands of people gathered across Turkey’s most populous city following the country’s election authorities ruling on Monday to annul the Istanbul municipal vote, more than a month after an opposition candidate was elected as the city's mayor.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the CHP's candidate, was officially declared Istanbul's mayor by the city’s election authorities in mid-April after weeks of wrangling over the result. It followed a partial recount which saw him beat his rival by just 13,000 votes in a city of 10 million eligible voters.

Now, the country's Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) announced that the election would be re-run on 23 June, a decision the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) called an act of “plain dictatorship”.

Politico says Imamoglu's victory, combined with heavy loses from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), “had been heralded as the end of an era, with Erdogan's conservative political movement losing control of Istanbul for the first time in a quarter century”.

Since the 1990s, when Erdogan launched his political career there as mayor, the AKP and its predecessor have consistently won in Istanbul's local elections. Furthermore, CNN says Erdogan served as the face of AKP's local election campaigns this year, “and the elections were widely seen as a referendum on his government”.

However, if the opposition win was unexpected, the blow-back from the government has been more intense than even hardened opposition figures anticipated.

Erdogan has repeatedly called for the Istanbul election to be cancelled, alleging widespread “irregularities” in the vote. He has since doubled down on his claim the result had been rigged, telling a parliamentary meeting of his AKP on Tuesday that “thieves” had stolen the “national will” at the ballot box and re-doing the vote was the “best step” for the country.

“The YSK's ruling — made under intense pressure from the government — marks a turning point for Turkey” says Politico. “In past years, the country's elections were considered unfair but nevertheless competitive, an assumption now called into question by the decision to annul a previously validated opposition victory”.

The opposition sees the move by the electoral authorities as bowing to Erdogan’s pressure, but the BBC's correspondent Mark Lowen says the president was “never going to take the loss of Istanbul lying down”.

With 16 million residents, the city is “Turkey’s economic engine and controls a major chunk of public spending” reports The Guardian, and Erdogan has often claimed “whoever wins Istanbul wins Turkey”.

“But it’s a strategy fraught with risk,” writes Lowen. “The Turkish lira - which has lost more than 30% over the past year - has slumped again. An economy in recession can hardly cope with more uncertainty. After all, it was economic woes that lost Istanbul for Erdogan in the first place”.

What's more, Imamoglu is continuing to gain popularity and a re-run could further widen his win and prove hugely embarrassing for Erdogan.

There is also the international implications of such a seemingly blatant attempt to re-cast a major election.

The European Parliament has said the ruling would end the credibility of democratic elections in Turkey, while the continent’s most powerful countries, Germany and France, have both come out strongly against the decision.

Turkey’s hopes of joining the European Union are growing ever dimmer after lawmakers in the European Parliament this week voted in favour of suspending accession negotiations.

The Foreign Affairs Committee called on the European Commission and member states on Wednesday to formally halt the talks, citing Turkey’s disregard for human rights and civil liberties, influence on the judiciary, and disputes over territory with Cyprus and other neighbours.

The resolution was adopted with 47 votes in favour and seven against.

Committee chair Marietje Schaake said the Parliament had sent a “crystal clear” message that EU leaders “attach consequences” to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “grip on power”.

“Cooperation between the EU and Turkey on such issues as security, trade and migration is key, but needs to always be conditional on respect for human rights and democracy,” she added.

Criticising the decision, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said: “It is absolutely unacceptable that the non-binding, advisory draft report is calling for a total suspension of our accession talks to the EU.

“We expect the necessary corrections to be made and the final report to be more realistic, impartial and encouraging. Only such a report will be taken into consideration by our country.”

Such demands appear unlikely to be met, with the EU report suggesting that Turkey’s proposed membership is “impossible at this stage”.

So following decades of negotiations, is this the end of the road for Turkey’s European dream?

Where did it begin?

Turkey has been trying to obtain full membership to the EU - previously known as the European Economic Community (EEC) - since 1987. After making a series of policy reforms, Turkey was declared eligible to begin talks in 1997, and formal negotiations began in 2005, after then-prime minister Erdogan abolished the death penalty.

Subsequent talks have stalled on a number of occasions, as Turkey attempts to iron out what the EU sees as discrepancies between its own political values and those of Ankara.

One of the key stumbling blocks is the issue of Cyprus. Turkey invaded the island just five days after the Cypriot government was overthrown in a military coup orchestrated by the nationalist Greek government in 1974. Turkey still occupies the northern half of the island, which it refers to as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Currently, no countries other than Turkey recognise the republic as a sovereign state. The EU is calling on Ankara to open up traffic from the Greek Cypriot part of the island under a deal known as the Ankara protocol, while Turkey says the EU should end its blockade of the Turkish Cypriot enclave, Reuters reports.

The Cyprus issue is mentioned in the new European Parliament report, which says the committee welcomes “the efforts under the auspices of the UN secretary general to resume negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus” and “asks the EU and its member states to play a more active role in bringing negotiations to a successful conclusion”.

What is the issue now?

Turkish pro-government newspaper Daily Sabah says the EU has “frequently accused Turkey of drifting away from European values and democracy” in recent years, particularly in the wake of a failed coup d’etat against Erdogan in 2016.

In the year following the overthrow attempt, Erdogan’s proposals to expand his powers and reinstate the death penalty saw the European Parliament again calling for accession talks to be suspended.

At the same time, Swedish lawmakers accused Turkey of war crimes against its Kurdish community, reports The Independent.

This week’s decision by the Foreign Affairs Committee appears to have been dictated by similar issues, indicating that little has changed.

But Turkey has also distanced itself from Europe in recent years. In 2017, Erdogan told BBC World’s HardTalk programme that his country was ready to “stand on its own two feet”, with the majority of Turkish people no longer “wanting the EU any more”.

Anger over the EU’s stalling has also led to accusations of xenophobia against the Muslim-majority nation. An op-ed in the Daily Sabah this week says: “Turkey’s anti-terrorism policies have been highly criticised by its Western counterparts, which are actually the same policies that make the European continent more secure.

“Full membership possibility has been left out, but to be honest, is this the real reason behind it or should we read between the lines?”

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has firmly rejected Saudi Arabia’s claim that the death of Jamal Khashoggi was not premeditated.

Khashoggi, a journalist and prominent critic of Riyadh, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October to collect documents for his forthcoming wedding. Turkish officials have claimed that Saudi agents murdered him and disposed of his dismembered body.

“Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a ferocious murder,” Erdogan said today, underlining that the killing was not accidental, but meticulously planned. “This kind of brutality is against the collective human conscience.”

Erdogan’s address comes after Riyadh’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir told Fox News on Sunday that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had known nothing of any plan to kill Khashoggi, a move described by The Guardian as “an attempt to ease growing Western doubts about the credibility of the Saudi position”.

According to Sky sources, remains of the journalist have been found, with the body cut up and his face disfigured.

What have the Saudis said?

The Saudi regime initially said Khashoggi had left the consulate unharmed, before admitting at the end of last week that he was dead. They said he had been killed in a fight, a claim that was met with “widespread scepticism”, says the BBC.

“Until this point - for 18 days - the authorities had maintained that the Saudi critic was last seen leaving the building alive,” the broadcaster adds.

Jubeir's comments, describing the incident as murder for the first time, are among the most direct yet to come from a Saudi official.

“We are determined to find out all the facts and we are determined to punish those who are responsible for this murder,” he said.

“The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority. There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up.”

What is Turkey saying?

Until recently, Turkish President Recep Erdogan had remained largely silent on the case. However, Turkey's pro-government newspapers “have released information detailing a 15-member Saudi team that purportedly arrived in Istanbul to confront Khashoggi at the consulate”, says Al Jazeera.

Today Erdogan claimed that Saudi officials searched out rural areas outside Istanbul the day before Khashoggi’s murder. He said Saudi’s suggestion that the killing was a rogue extradition operation gone wrong was unsatisfactory and Turkey’s investigation was ongoing.

“To blame such an incident on a handful of security and intelligence members would not satisfy us or the international community,” Erdogan said. “Saudi Arabia has taken an important step by admitting the murder. As of now we expect of them to openly bring to light those responsible - from the highest ranked to the lowest - and to bring them to justice.”

The Turkish president referenced the “sincerity” of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in the investigation so far but did not mention his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who, it has been claimed, “was probably aware of and possibly even ordered the silencing of his prominent critic”, says The Guardian.

But there were “few new details in Erdogan’s speech, which fell short of the expectations he himself had set by claiming it would reveal the ‘full naked truth’”, says The Guardian’s Martin Chulov.

What has the world’s reaction been?

Western governments have become “increasingly dismissive of the often conflicting accounts of the journalist’s death provided so far”, says The Guardian.

Donald Trump told The Washington Post that there had been “deception” and “lies” in Saudi Arabia's explanation - a U-turn on his previous claim that their narrative was credible.

Trump added that he would “love” it if the crown prince was not responsible for the murder. The US president also raised the possibility of imposing sanctions but that said halting an arms deal with Saudi Arabia would “hurt us more than it would hurt them”.

The UK, France and Germany have issued a joint statement expressing shock at Khashoggi’s death and demanding a full explanation, saying: “Nothing can justify this killing and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt spoke to Jubeir on Sunday to emphasise the British view that “nothing can justify this killing” and that the claims about Khashoggi died were not regarded as credible.

The Turkish lira has hit record lows after dropping almost 9% in early trading on Monday, fuelling fears that the country’s economic downturn may trigger a global crisis.

Turkey’s economy has been in dire straits since mid-2017, largely thanks to extremely high inflation rates, trade tariffs from the US and government borrowing from foreign countries. The lira fell by a fifth against the dollar last week alone, but “even before the current crisis dropping, the lira was the world’s worst performing currency, by almost 50% against the dollar in the past 12 months”, The Guardian reports.

This weekend Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Turks to help support the lira by selling their dollars and euros. “If there are dollars under your pillow, take these out,” he told supporters at a rally in the northeastern Turkish town of Unye.

“If there are euros, take these out … immediately give these to the banks and convert to Turkish lira and, by doing this, we fight this war of independence and the future. Because this is the language they understand,” Erdogan continued.

The BBC reports that the current crisis is “pushing up prices on everyday items” but adds that exchange rates will now work in favour of tourists heading to the country.

However, experts paint a bleaker picture, warning that global markets may face major ramifications as investors try to assess the impact of the crisis on European banks that have lent money to Turkey.

What has happened in Turkey?

A combination of factors have led to the current crisis in Turkey.

The currency was hit hard by a failed coup against Erdogan in 2016, starting a lengthy period of decline that was accelerated by a controversial referendum last summer that made Erdogan a “dictator in all but name” and by the subsequent appointment of his son-in-law to head the Finance Ministry.

The Guardian reports that the country is “running a current account deficit, combined with high levels of debt in the private sector and significant foreign funding in the banking system”.

Inflation reached an annual rate of 15.9% in July – more than five times the average rate for wealthy nations – and “government borrowing in foreign currencies has risen dangerously high”, the newspaper adds.

Now, the lira has plumbed new depth, after US President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that he had approved the doubling of tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium following the detention in Turkey of US evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson on terrorism charges.

On top of this, investors are worried that Turkish companies that “borrowed heavily to profit from a construction boom” may “struggle to repay loans in dollars and euros, as the weakened lira means there is now more to pay back”, further exacerbating the slide, the BBC adds.

What does this mean for the world?

Experts have warned that this may not be a localised crisis. This morning other emerging market and high-yielding currencies tumbled across the board, “despite the fact Turkey accounts for just one percent of the world economy”, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The crash saw European markets fall sharply when markets opened, particularly in countries with banks exposed to the Turkish currency, such as Spain’s BBVA, Italy’s UniCredit and France’s BNP Paribas. On Friday, the FTSE fell 75 points, while Germany’s Dax ended the day down 2%.

Reuters reports that emerging market currencies continue “to reel as investors worry about contagion”, exemplified by the South African rand, which dropped 3.1% this morning, while the Russian rouble dropped 0.8% and the Mexican peso 1.5%.

Elsewhere, the euro fell to as low as $1.1365, a 13-month low, before recovering to trade down 0.2% to $1.1382. The dollar, which has rallied in the Turkish lira crisis, gained 0.1% to 96.463 against a basket of major currencies, Reuters adds.

The yen surged 0.6% to 110.265 after earlier hitting a six-week high of 110.11, and the Swiss franc rose 0.5% to $1.1288.

But why the knock-on effect?

“For a start, it is a relatively big country, with a population of 80 million and an economy four times as big as neighbouring Greece,” says economics expert Larry Elliott. “What the financial markets are looking for are not diplomatic moves that demonstrate Turkey’s geopolitical importance but rather economic measures to prevent a potentially ruinous tsunami of selling over the coming days.”

Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has slightly stemmed the lira’s plummet by announcing that his government has drafted an economic action plan to ease investor concerns. Meanwhile, the country’s banking watchdog said that it had limited swap transactions.

All the same, the “big fear in the market is that we are headed for a full-blown emerging market crisis”, said Ulrich Leuchtmann, an FX strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

Growing tensions with the west and concern over central control of monetary policy has seen the Turkish lire tumble to a record low against the dollar, in a possible boon to holidaymakers.

It follows news the Trump administration is to review Turkey’s duty-free access to the US market, a move that could affect some $1.66 billion (£1.28 billion) of Turkish exports.

Fears of retaliatory trade tariffs have exacerbated the sell-off in the lire which has lost 27% of its value this year alone.

The currency has been on the downward slide for months as relations with the West have steadily worsened and amid growing concern about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's drive for greater control over monetary policy.

The Financial Times reports that in his push to keep Turkey’s economy growing, “the president has repeatedly demanded that the bank keep credit cheap, even with inflation stuck in the double digits since the start of the year”.

In a speech on Friday, Erdogan said Turkey was “face to face with an economic war”. He added: “Do not fear, we will emerge victorious”, urging Turks to cash in their under-the-mattress gold, euros and dollars to bolster the currency and “show their resistance to the world”.

“The best bet now is to expect further weakness in the lira” Per Hammarlund, chief emerging markets strategist at SEB, told Reuters.

“They should be doing more to support the lira, but in my view this will continue for a while longer and the lira will take another beating here” he added.

However, the record low lire could prove good news for travellers journeying to the country this summer, with foreign currencies stretching much further than previous years.

Mesut Ozil has been challenged to speak out against racism in Turkey by a fellow German-Turkish professional who is known for his pro-Kurdish views.

Ozil retired from international football at the weekend after posting an incendiary message on social media in which he accused the German football authorities of “racism and disrespect”.

Although the Arsenal midfielder won widespread support for his decision, former Germany youth international Deniz Naki has accused Ozil of hypocrisy for his failure to speak out against alleged racism in Turkish football.

Banned and a prison sentence

The 28-year-old Naki represented Germany at Under-19 level before playing for Bundesliga side St Pauli and Genclerbirligi of the Turkish Super League.

He subsequently signed for Turkey Second League side Amed but as Goal.com reported last January he was banned from playing professional football in the country for three years for spreading “separatist and ideological propaganda”. He was also given a suspended 18-month prison sentence.

The decision to ban Naki came shortly after an unknown gunman opened fire on him as he drove. Claiming his assailant was either a Turkish government agent or a right-wing Turkish radical, he added: “I am a walking target in Turkey because of my pro-Kurdish stance.”

Racists and fascists

Following Ozil’s well-publicised retirement announcement, Naki challenged him to show similar courage in condemning racism in Turkey.

“In your statement, you are justified in responding to the racism you have encountered and your reasons for leaving the national team,” wrote Naki on Instagram. “But why you are not showing this response when there are more and more racist and fascist attacks in Turkey on me or on Kurdish or other minority footballers?”

Goal.com says that Naki also used social media to ask Ozil “where he stood on Turkey’s treatment of Kurdish people within its borders, where the Turkish government has banned the use of the words ‘Kurds’, ‘Kurdish’ and even ‘Kurdistan’”.

Embarrassing questions

There were further embarrassing questions asked of Ozil, questions that if he doesn’t respond will weaken his position as a self-appointed anti-racism ambassador.

“In Turkey, a footballer’s career was ended: a person standing for peace was labelled as a terrorist,” wrote Naki. “What was your reaction in this regard?”

Naki’s reaction may have been prompted by comments from the president of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, who on Tuesday said he has spoken to Ozil to offer his support.

“Such a racist treatment towards a young man who has given his all to the German national team for his religious beliefs is unacceptable,” Erdogan told reporters in parliament.

Fight all fascism

Such rank hypocrisy was too much for Naki, who warned Ozil: “Those who will welcome you with open arms on your next trip to Turkey will be exactly the same people who have racially attacked me. There is no distinction between fascists, they are the same everywhere, in every country.

“I urge you not only to fight against fascism and racism in Germany, but also against any kind of it in the world. I urge you to bring attention to the Kurds in Turkey facing racism and also to combat it.”

Ozil has yet to respond to Naki’s questions but The Washington Post believes that he must. “If he is bothered by the perception that he is taking Erdogan’s side in the Turkish debate, and if it is racism to which he objects, he could reach out to Naki,” commented the paper.

“A photo of the two young men, walking arm in arm, would send the strongest message against Islamophobia and racism in sports - a message that needs to be heard not only in Germany but also in Turkey.”

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a second term, following a fiercely fought election campaign.

Turkish state media has reported that with 99% of the votes counted, Erdogan has secured 53% of the votes, giving him a first-round win, with his closest rival Muharrem Ince on 31%. Voter turnout for the election was reportedly 87%.

“We have received the message that has been given to us in the ballot boxes. We will fight even more with the strength you provided us with this election,” Erdogan said in his victory speech in the capital, Ankara.

“I hope nobody will damage democracy by casting a shadow on this election and its results to hide their failure,” he continued.

Was the election fair?

CNN reports that Erdogan declared himself the winner before the results were announced, leading to opposition claims that “state media and the election commission had manipulated the results and saying it was too early to be sure of the outcome”.

Halk TV, a Turkish nationwide TV channel, spoke to the opposition CHP’s candidate Muharrem Ince via WhatsApp. Ince told the network that the election was not a fair race, The Guardian reports.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Erdogan and his AKP party “used state resources to ensure victory” adding that “the media is almost totally pro-Erdogan after years of co-option and censorship”.

The paper also alleges that on election day, ”there were reported cases of fraud, including ballot stuffing, [such as] an incident where a car filled with ballots was pulled over heading to a polling station near the southern city of Urfa.”

What does the victory mean?

The BBC says that in winning the election, Erdogan will “assume major new powers under Turkey's new constitution”.

Those new powers include the ability to “directly appoint top public officials, including ministers and vice presidents; The power to intervene in the country's legal system; and the power to impose a state of emergency”. The role of prime minister of Turkey has also been removed.

The opposition candidates had pledged to overturn the new powers, which were narrowly passed by referendum last year, if they won.

The citizens of Turkey will head to the polls this Sunday to choose their president and parliament in what is likely to be one of the most consequential elections in the country’s history.

Having endured five general elections in the past 11 years, along with a multitude of contentious referendums, the people of Turkey are no strangers to exercising their democratic rights. However, this year’s general election looks set to be one that may permanently shape the future of the Turkish state.

Why is this election so significant?

The eyes of the world are upon what The Independent calls “the most important election in the country’s history”.

The significance of this election dates back to April 2017, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a referendum on a controversial constitutional change - one that would see the office of prime minister abolished and the existing parliamentary system of government replaced with a presidential system.

Erdogan won the vote with a narrow margin, turning the largely ceremonial role of president into one of all-encompassing executive power. It is this change that effectively makes the victor of Sunday’s election “a dictator in all but name”, The Guardian reports.

Although the next general election was originally scheduled for November 2019, in April Erdogan announced that the vote would be brought forward by almost 18 months, a move seen as an attempt to consolidate his already considerable power.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, given that “he has won every vote in his 15 years in power”, the BBC says. However, with Turkey suffering an economic slump, and with unexpectedly strong resistance to the Erdogan regime, the plan may backfire, suggests CNN.

Is there serious opposition?

After an unbroken path to victory at every past election he has contested, Erdogan is now facing “his toughest political challenge yet”, CNN says.

“For the first time in more than a decade, [voters] have an array of strong candidates to choose from”, while the incumbent’s popularity has waned in recent months following a harsh economic slump and a growing sense of unrest over what some see as his creeping authoritarianism, the news site continues.

An April report by Amnesty International - whose Turkish chairman, Taner Kılıc, has been in prison for more than a year - described a “suffocating climate of fear” in the country, claiming the government had “deliberately and methodically set about dismantling civil society and had nearly destroyed Turkey’s legal system in its pursuit of dissidents”.

As a result, the opposition parties have united against Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), says Time magazine. “The anti-Erdogan camp used to be composed of disparate groups, including Turkish and Kurdish nationalists, seculars and even some Islamists, and Erdogan’s luck was that the gap between those opposition factions was often wider than the gap separating them from Erdogan,” the magazine explains. That is no longer the case.

The leftist-secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) in particular has made major waves in recent months, with its leader Muharrem Ince drawing “what looked like the largest crowd in the elections period yet”, albeit in the famously liberal coastal city of Izmir, CNN reports.

But who will win?

“Erdogan is hoping to win outright,” says the BBC, and realistically, the chances of a victory for Ince or any other party in the anti-Erdogan bloc remain slim.

However, the electoral system of Turkey may mean the contest goes to the wire. If no candidate secures 50% of the vote, there will be a run-off vote, on 8 July, between the top two candidates.

At present, Erdogan leads opinion polls by 23.6 points. But Ince, in second place, is 17.7 points ahead of the third-placed candidate, meaning he may be able to deprive Erdogan of a majority and push him to a second vote.

“While he’s likely to win the run-off, the AKP might not win a majority in parliament,” says Washington DC-based think tank the Brookings Institution.

“Such an outcome could theoretically offer Turkish democracy a second chance, with a humbled and diminished Erdogan learning to compromise in a political context of cohabitation with the parliamentary opposition.”

The arrest of a man who tortured a puppy has seized the political agenda ahead of elections in Turkey next Sunday.

The puppy, whose paws and tail had been chopped off, was found last Wednesday in a forest in Sapanca, in the northwestern province of Sakarya. The mutilated animal was taken to a vet but died during surgery two days later.

A construction worker was arrested over the weekend in connection to the crime, as images of the puppy went viral across the country.

Following a public outcry, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged that Turkey’s animal rights laws would be amended following the 24 June vote.

“Whether at home or on the street, we will take the law into consideration and evaluate it. This operator was arrested today. The authorities in Sapanca ordered his arrest,” said Erdogan, who is battling to win a second term.

“There is nothing acceptable about this, but it is very important to show this awareness.”

The issue “has been taken up by rival politicians in the close-run contest, in which the country’s strongman president is standing on a platform that would see his powers enhanced”, says Sky News.

United front

The shocking cruelty case has prompted “a rare show of unity among Turkey’s political parties and presidential candidates, who have been trading barbs for weeks ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential elections”, says Reuters.

Both government officials and opposition politicians condemned the act and have called for stricter measures against people found guilty of mistreating animals.

Animal rights groups say Turkey’s punishments for animal cruelty are too lenient. An “amendment to animal rights legislation has been on the parliament’s agenda for months, but little progress has been made”, adds the news agency.

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News says many people prosecuted in Turkish courts for torturing, tormenting or killing animals receive only minor penalties.

The new government bill was sent to the parliament in April, and proposes that animals “are not property”, in what is being described as a landmark change of perspective in Turkish law.

But the head of a leading animal rights group in the country said the new legislation still gives local authorities a “license to kill” stray animals.

“Under the current law, municipalities are collecting animals, poisoning them, mass-killing them or transporting them to wild places with no food resource, condemning them to death. Some of them, such as the municipality of [the Central Anatolian province of] Kayseri went even further by burying around 800 stray dogs alive. They would still be able to do this even after the new bill becomes law,” Metin Yıldırım, the chair of the Association to Protect Stray Animals and Environment, told the Turkish daily Birgun.

Although the new bill proposes heavier jail sentences, “these sentences would still be light enough to be turned into fines”, adds the Hurriyet Daily News.

Erdogan weakened

Under constitutional reforms adopted following a referendum in April 2017, the Turkish electorate each get two votes: one is for the new president, while the other decides which parties will have seats in parliament.

President Erdogan has “not lost an election in 16 years, but the forthcoming elections are likely to be the most difficult of his political career”, says Deutsche Welle.

Ozer Sencar, owner of Turkish opinion research institute Metropoll, told the German newspaper that he has never seen Erdogan run such a bad election campaign.

According to Sencar, Erdogan “no longer determines the agenda or presents any vision for the future. When he appears in public he seems weak and lacks passion”.

“He’s never made so many mistakes in his speeches,” Sencar added.

There is a very real possibility “that Erdogan will win the presidency but lose parliament to the opposition”, says The Guardian.

It will depend on “whether the opposition can draw away conservative and nationalist voters, as well as Kurdish voters angry about Erdogan’s alliance with the nationalists”, the newspaper adds.

A row has erupted between the Turkish and German football federations after Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan were photographed with Recep Erdogan during his state visit to Britain.

The president of Turkey - a talented footballer in his youth - posed with the Arsenal midfielder and the Manchester City star in photographs that were then tweeted by Turkey’s ruling AK Parti.

It wasn’t just the fact that the pair, along with Everton and Turkey striker Cenk Tosun, had allowed themselves to be used for publicity by a man with a dubious record in human rights, but that Gundogan signed a shirt for Erdogan bearing the inscription, “with respect for my president”.

That hasn’t gone down well in Germany for whom Gundogan plays his international football. The president of the Bundesliga, Reinhard Grindel, criticised the trio for participating in an “election campaign stunt”, a reference to the 24 June elections that are expected to result in a comfortable victory for Erdogan.

He added: “The German Football Association [DFB] of course respects the special situation for our players with migrant backgrounds, but football and the DFB stands for values that Mr Erdogan does not sufficiently respect. Therefore, it is not a good thing that our internationals have let themselves be exploited.”

That drew a swift response from Grindel’s counterpart, Turkish Football Federation (TFF) president Yildrim Demiroren, who said: “It was very disturbing for me to read the tweets posted by the German Football Association president in his social media account, which includes detrimental statements about our President Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The DFB president’s remarks are unacceptable.”

Describing the meeting between players and Erdogan as “only natural”, Demiroren added: “Footballers of any nationality will always be welcomed by our president, especially when they are the ones who want to have such a meeting.”

Yasin Aktay, a senior Erdogan adviser, went further, accusing Germany of “Erdoganphobia” and “Islamophobia”, adding: “He is the publicly-elected president of Turkey. He represents the whole of the Turkish public in that position. This reaction shows that German authorities have an irrational fanaticism against Erdogan.”

Gundogan has come in for the sharpest criticism in Germany in light of what he wrote on the shirt. Message boards have been inundated with angry football fans questioning where his allegiance really lies.

The City player has issued a statement defending his actions. “Should we have been disrespectful to the president of the homeland of our families?” he asked. “It was never our intention to make a political statement with this picture, let alone campaign [for Erdogan]. As Germany internationals, we own up to the values of the DFB and are aware of our responsibility. Football is our life, not politics.”

The timing of the row has been unfortunate, erupting on the day that Germany head coach Joachim Low named both Ozil and Gundogan in his preliminary, 27-man World Cup squad.

Asked about the meeting, Low replied: “We told them that this has not been the best idea. But I am also sympathetic towards them. Two hearts sometimes beat in players with an immigrant background.

“It’s not that easy, and both have said they did not want to make a political statement. Both have done a lot for integration in Germany. It will be a lesson for them.”

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised Britain as “an ally and a strategic partner but also a real friend” as he began a three-day state visit yesterday.

Erdogan is scheduled to meet the Queen and Prime Minister Theresa May during the trip, which has been condemned by human rights campaigners.

Speaking in Reading at the annual Tatlidil British-Turkish forum, Erdogan said a strategic partnership between Turkey and the UK was a “necessity” for the interests of both countries.

As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, the Turkish leader wants to increase trade and security ties, saying Turkey is ready to “cooperate more with the UK… post-Brexit in every field”.

But does the UK really want such a close partnership?

The visit may be viewed as “the cooing up of two EU castaways”, Faruk Logoglu, a former Turkish ambassador to the US, told The Times.

The UK has lost favour over Brexit, while Erdogan has faced strong criticism from EU leaders over his response to a failed coup in 2016: tens of thousands of public employees were fired, thousands more people jailed without formal indictments, and the media muzzled.

General elections are scheduled to take place in Turkey on 24 June, when Erdogan is expected to radically increase his power. The vote will be held under a state of emergency that limits freedom of expression. “A photo opportunity with the Queen will surely be given the expected all-favourable spin by the government-controlled media,” says Logoglu.

Despite criticism of his rule, the UK has maintained close ties with Erdogan’s government, says The Times, signing defence deals worth a total of about £750m since the failed putsch.

Logoglu argues that it is “post-Brexit UK that stands to make real gains from this visit, with new lucrative contracts”. Erdogan has said he wants to boost trade from $16bn (£11.8bn) to $20bn (£14.7bn) a year.

Turkey’s long borders with Syria and Iraq also make the country a “vital ally for the UK in counterterrorism and intelligence-sharing”, says the Financial Times.

But “human rights campaigners, opposition politicians and exiled Turkish businessmen have called on Britain to denounce the Turkish government’s systematic arrest of journalists, opposition politicians and human rights campaigners in an anti-terrorist dragnet”, The Guardian reports.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has accused May of “essentially rolling out the red carpet for a man with a disregard for human rights, who is responsible for alarming oppression and violence”.

Cable has called on the Tory government to “use this visit to speak out against Erdogan’s unacceptable disregard for liberal, democratic values”.

Diplomats says British ministers regularly raise concerns about Turkey in private. Nevertheless, Green Party leader Caroline Lucas says that Erdogan’s visit makes the UK look “increasingly willing to cosy up to repressive leaders from across the world”.

Turkey’s president has announced that the country will send a ship to Cyprus to begin exploratory gas drilling, just days after ExxonMobil, a US energy company, sent its own survey vessels to the region.

“As tensions flare” over the resources from the ethnically divided island, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said he “will not tolerate” reserves being used by Greek Cypriots while his country is involved with other military conflicts, The Guardian reports.

“Hopefully it has been instructive for some who saw an opportunity to act unilaterally when Turkey is engaged in anti-terrorism operations elsewhere,” Erdogan said.

He said the self-proclaimed Turkish republic of Northern Cyprus should have a right to the island’s natural resources adding that the areas designated for drilling fall under Ankara’s maritime jurisdiction.

Turkish warships were ordered to stop any drilling attempts made by ENI, an Italian energy company that had been commissioned by Cyprus’s government – in what was considered “a brazen act of brinkmanship”.

Erdogan said the Turkish warships that tried to prevent the ship from drilling “served as a lesson to some”, the Associated Press reports.

“Optimism had mounted over the east Mediterranean’s potential as a gas-producing hub after geological surveys pointed to vast reserves around Cyprus,” says The Guardian. The resources have the potential to decrease Europe’s – and Turkey’s – energy dependence on Russia.

Four foreign energy firms have so far been licensed to survey for oil and gas in areas off Cyprus’ southern coast.

Cypriot government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said their strategy “is to keep calm and go on.

“We cannot accept Turkey interfering and creating problems in what, as underlined by the EU, is a sovereign right to exploit our natural wealth.”

The first visit by a Turkish president to Greece in 65 years has exposed long-held grievances and highlighted the divide between the two countries on a host of issues.

Beginning his historic two-day visit in Athens, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went on the offensive, attacking the border treaty between Greece and Turkey. He raised the contentious subjects of ethnically divided Cyprus, the rights of Muslim minority in north-eastern Greece and airspace violations.

Just hours earlier, Erdogan had accused Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of breaking a “personal promise” to extradite eight Turkish servicemen accused of involvement in the failed coup last year.

After giving verbal assurances the men would be sent to Turkey, the Greek government is in a bind. The servicemen have requested political asylum and “EU and Greek law forbids extradition to a country where an alleged offender would be at risk of torture”, says The Times.

Later, in what the BBC described as a “tense” opening exchange, Erdogan said the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which set the present-day borders between the two countries after the First World War, was not being applied fairly.

The Treaty is seen as a cornerstone of peace in the region, and Erdogan’s remarks drew a sharp rebuke from Tspiras and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

“The Treaty of Lausanne defines the territory and the sovereignty of Greece, and of the European Union, and this treaty is non-negotiable,” Pavlopoulos said, “it has no flaws, it does not need to be reviewed, or updated.”

The visit, which was meant to reset bilateral relations, has led to angry protests from left-wing Greeks and exiled Kurds, alarmed by Turkey’s growing bellicosity and a domestic crackdown on the oppostion since last year’s failed coup.

The two countries, nominally allies in Nato, have clashed on many occasions since Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. They almost went to war in 1996 over a group of uninhabited islands in the Aegean Sea and have been locked in an uneasy ceasefire in Cyprus since the 1970s.

Although relations have improved in recent years, Reuters says “many Greeks believe Turkey has territorial aspirations against their country”.

Yet despite their uneasy history “the Greeks are acutely aware that geography means they must coexist with Turkey and stand to benefit most if Ankara remains anchored to Europe”, says The Guardian.

Both governments hope the visit will mark a new chapter in bilateral relations, with joint infrastructure projects being signed off, the BBC’s Mark Lowen reports from Athens.

Konstantinos Filis, research director of the Athens-based Institute of International Relations, told DW that “economic and security issues will be the focus of the visit” and “controversial topics will be ignored.”

However, Thanos Dokos, director of the Athens-based Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy think tank, said he did not expect meaningful political progress between the two Mediterranean countries, dismissing the much-vaunted visit as “a public relations exercise and photo opportunity”.

A Turkish court has sentenced 40 people to life in prison, after finding them guilty of plotting to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during last year’s attempted military coup.

Judge Emirsah Bastog read out guilty verdicts for 42 of the 47 defendants in a courtroom in Mugla, in southwest Turkey, near the luxury resort where Erdogan narrowly escaped being seized by a team of rogue soldiers on 15 July last year.

“The court sentenced 40 to life in prison, with some receiving aggravated life sentences, reducing the possibility of parole,” The Guardian reports.

Among those sentenced was Ali Yazıcı, Erdogan’s former military aide, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the failed coup.

“No verdict was given for three who were tried in absentia, including US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating the coup,” Reuters reports.

“Outside the court in Mulga, supporters of President Erdogan waved banners calling for the death sentence - which was abolished in Turkey in 2004, when the country was seeking admission to the EU,” the BBC says.

The failed coup led to a number of arrests, including high-ranking members of the military.

The crackdown has since broadened significantly, with 50,000 arrests made so far. The Erdogan government appears to be purging dissidents from within the judiciary, academia, military, police, civil service and the media.

With only days to go before Turkey votes on a major constitutional shake-up that would give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extensive new powers, the polls are on a "knife edge", says The Independent.

A few percentage points will decide the outcome of Sunday's vote, with the most recent polls showing the Yes campaign on 51 or 52 per cent.

One recent study of 17 national television channels showed that 90 per cent of campaign coverage was given to Yes supporters, The Economist reports.

If Turkey votes Yes in the referendum, the role of president – currently a ceremonial head of state – would be endowed with a host of executive powers, similar to the office of president in France and the US.

Crucially, if the reforms are approved, the country's electoral calendar will be reset. This would allow Erdogan, who is currently halfway through his first term as president, to circumvent the country's current two-term presidential limit and run for two more five-year terms until 2029.

Erdogan and his supporters argue that the new constitution would give Turkey the strong leader it needs to tackle internal violence, corruption and a sharp economic downturn.

However, the No campaign, led by the opposition Republican People's party, say the reforms undermine Parliament and effectively make Erdogan a dictator.

The Council of Europe has called the proposed changes "a dangerous step backwards" for a country that was once proof that secular democracy could thrive in a majority-Muslim state.

A spate of deadly terror attacks by both Kurdish separatists and Islamists, as well as chaos over the Syrian border, has seen Turkey drift away from Western liberalism in recent years.

The failed coup by army officers last July has pushed this tendency into overdrive, bringing out "an increasingly authoritarian streak" in Erdogan, says CNN.

Under the guise of restoring stability, Erdogan's government has cracked down on civil liberties and arrested almost 50,000 activists, journalists and other supposed subversives.

Erdogan's response to the failed coup "has gone far beyond what is reasonable", says the Economist, and the referendum is the final straw – a Yes vote would effectively make him a "21st-century sultan".

Turkey has suspended 12,800 police officers from duty, a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his intention to extend the country's state of emergency by 90 days.

Authorities claim those suspended were directly linked to Fethullah Gulen, the self-exiled Muslim cleric the Turkish government believes was behind July's failed military coup.

Police officials said those suspended, who include 2,523 police chiefs, were allegedly "in cohesion with or connected to" Gulen's movement, reports the New York Times.

There are around 250,000 members of the Turkish police force in total.

By extending the state of emergency, President Erdogan will continue to hold the extraordinary powers he assumed following the attempted coup, including the power to make decisions that cannot be overturned by the Constitutional Court, Turkey's highest legal body.

"The extension means we are still taking certain steps to address vital challenges to our democracy," said a Turkish official.

About 100,000 people in the military, civil service, police and judiciary have been sacked or suspended in the post-coup crackdown and some 32,000 people arrested for their alleged role in the abortive putsch, reports Reuters.

Erdogan has suggested he favours an indefinite extension of such powers, something human rights groups have condemned, believing he is using the uprising as a "pretext to curtail all dissent and to intensify his actions against suspected Kurdish militant sympathisers", says The Independent.

"The government is using the coup to hush up its critics. It's not explicable within the legal framework," one prominent Turkish lawyer told the BBC.

Euphrates Shield: Turkey sends troops and tanks into Syria

22 August

Turkey has launched a major ground offensive in Syria, sending armoured vehicles, artillery and special forces soldiers to join opposition groups attempting to root out Islamic State (IS) militants.

The offensive, known as Euphrates Shield, is a joint operation with the Free Syrian Army to take back Jarabalus, an IS-occupied town which at its closest point lies only yards from the Turkish border.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Turkish forces opened up artillery bombardment and air strikes on Jarabalus, while tanks and armoured vehicles rolled over the border to join 500 fighters from anti-Assad opposition groups.

Within the first few hours of fighting, Turkish media reports, the Free Syrian Army captured the neighbouring village of Kaklijah and was expected to move on to Jarabalus.

Turkey's new offensive marks a significant escalation of its intervention in the Syrian conflict, something the US-led coalition and Nato allies have long urged. The renewed effort begins days after a child suicide bomber killed at least 54 people at a wedding in Gaziantep, the latest in a string of deadly attacks on civilians in Turkey that is blamed on IS.

"Daesh should be completely cleansed from our borders, and we are ready to do what it takes for that," foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, ahead of the operation.

However, it is not only IS strongholds in Turkey's sights – the government is equally concerned with Kurdish fighters attempting to consolidate their territorial gains near the Turkish border, Bloomberg reports.

After a violent 30-year battle to contain its own Kurdish separatists, Turkey is keen to keep the Kurdish militias battling IS away from their own front door.

In a speech in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the operation as an effort to "protect Syria's territorial integrity" against both IS empire-building and Kurdish ambitions to carve an autonomous homeland out of the war-torn nation.

Turkey wedding bomber 'could be as young as 12 years old'

22 August

A bomber who killed more than 50 people at a wedding in Turkey on Saturday was no older than 14 and could have been as young as 12, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It is not yet known whether the boy blew himself up or the bomb was detonated remotely.

Speaking on TV yesterday, the President blamed Islamic State for the attack in the southern city of Gaziantep, which has so far claimed the lives of 51 and injured nearly 100.

Mahmut Togrul, an MP from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, told Reuters one of its members had been getting married when the bomber struck. The bride and groom were among those hurt, but their injuries are not serious, says Turkish media. Most of the victims are believed to be Kurdish.

A destroyed suicide vest has been discovered at the scene.

At least 12 people were buried yesterday, but other funerals have been delayed due to the difficulty of identifying the bodies. Security sources say DNA forensics would have to be used.

Turkish authorities have "issued a media blackout on coverage of the attack until the investigation is completed", says The Independent.

The blast is the deadliest terrorist incident in the country this year and follows a string of attacks blamed on IS or claimed by the outlawed Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK) or its radical offshoot, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks.

Questions are being asked about why Islamic extremists would target a predominantly Kurdish area, but "some analysts have pointed to IS having recently lost swathes of territory in northern Syria to Syrian-Kurdish fighters as a possible motivator for revenge attacks against Kurds", says The Guardian.

Since the last IS attack on Istanbul's airport in June, in which more than 40 people died, the jihadists have lost the former Syrian stronghold of Manbij. "If the bomb was the work of IS, there will speculation it was a revenge attack, intended as a show of strength by a group on the defensive," says the BBC's Mark Lowen.

Erdogan said the perpetrators were trying to "provoke people by abusing ethnic and sectarian sensitiveness". He also refused to differentiate between IS and the PKK or followers of Fetullah Gulen, the cleric blamed for last month's failed coup.

Sweden accuses Turkey of legalising child sex

16 August

Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom has accused Turkey of making the decision to "allow sex with children under 15", sparking a war of words between the two countries.

Wallstrom's statement, made on her official Twitter account, comes after Ankara withdrew a criminal code provision that punished all sexual acts involving children under the age of 15.

However, despite the annulment of the criminal code, Turkey's age of consent remains at 18 years of age. Turkish lawmakers say they brought the petition against the code because they were concerned that the current statute offered no distinction between cases of sexual acts with a teenager compared to those with younger children, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Turkey responded angrily to the allegation, with the foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu telling reporters it was "unacceptable."

"A foreign minister should not tell lies and should not adopt an approach accusing Turkey," Cavusoglu said. "Yes to criticism but this is a slander, a lie."

Deputy prime minister Mehmet Simsek also took to Twitter to denounce Wallstrom's accusation and the head of the Swedish mission in Ankara was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry to explain the comments.

"The uneasiness and disappointment that we have felt were expressed during the meeting," Turkish diplomatic sources told the Hurriyet Daily News.

A similar headline was displayed on a news ticker at Vienna airport by Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung but removed after complaints from Ankara, The Local reports.

The issue has increased tensions between Turkey and Sweden and Austria, as Turkish officials continue to face strong resistance in their ongoing bid for membership of the European Union.

Turkey's President Erdogan heads to Russia for a fresh start with Putin

9 August 2016

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey is to use his first official visit overseas since last month's failed coup to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and "cement a sharp turnaround in relations" with the country, says the Wall Street Journal.

Today's summit in St Petersburg is the first time the leaders have met since Ankara apologised for the downing of a Russian fighter jet over Syria last year.

Kremlin insiders say talks are likely to focus on the Syrian conflict, regional trade, energy, a potential gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey and the resumption of Russian charter flights to Turkey.

"Our countries have a lot to do together," said Erdogan.

Signs of the thaw began yesterday, when Turkish authorities unblocked the website of the Sputnik news agency, a Kremlin-funded news service.

Putin may see an opportunity to rekindle the Russia-Turkey relationship after Erdogan last week accused the West, and the US in particular, of supporting terrorism in Turkey.

However, Faruk Logoglu, a former Turkish ambassador to Washington, said he doubted the meeting would mean a full embrace of Russia or lasting damage to US ties.

"The Turkish-American relationship is like a catholic marriage: there is no divorce. Both sides need each other," he said.

Turkish officials have been "scrambling to deny that the meeting is a sign of the country turning its back on the West", says the Daily Express.

However, the stand-off between Ankara and the EU looks set to deepen after Austria threatened to use its veto to block further talks on Turkish membership in response to what it sees as Erdogan's crackdown on democratic freedoms.

The move "could jeopardise the EU's controversial migrant deal" and the Turkish government has already threatened to withdraw from the agreement "if its citizens are not granted visa-free travel to the Schengen Area by October", says the Daily Telegraph.

Erdogan backs return of death penalty in Turkey

8 August

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has said he will bring the death penalty back into law if it is approved by parliament.

Speaking to an estimated one million people at the largest pro-government rally since last month's failed military coup, the country's leader said he would not stand in the way of the death penalty being reintroduced.

The rally was attended by religious leaders and two of Turkey's three opposition parties, says The Guardian, but "the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy party, or HDP, was not invited".

Last week, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned bringing back the death penalty would "end [Turkey's] EU membership hopes", the Daily Telegraph reports.

But Erdogan was defiant. "They say there is no death penalty in the EU," he said. "Well, the US has it, Japan has it, China has it, most of the world has it. So they are allowed to have it. We used to have it until 1984. Sovereignty belongs to the people, so if the people make this decision I am sure the political parties will comply."

He also said he plans to cleanse Turkey "of all supporters of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen", whom Erdogan blames for the failed coup, despite the cleric's denials.

Erdogan assumes control of Turkish military

8 August 2016

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday introduced sweeping new powers to bring the country's military further under civilian control following the failed military coup on 15 July.

The latest decree is the third issued during a three-month state of emergency declared after the attempted putsch. It gives both the President and Prime Minister "the authority to issue direct orders to the commanders of the army, air force and navy", the Washington Post reports.

Erdogan told the A Haber TV station this weekend that he will also take direct control of Turkey's MIT intelligence agency and the chief of the general staff's headquarters.

In the two weeks since the attempted coup, the Turkish government has dismissed 66,000 public sector workers, detained 1,800 members of the military and cancelled up to 50,000 passports. Several journalists have been detained and 142 media outlets shut down.

Yesterday's decree also hands the government far-reaching legal powers, including the authority to imprison suspects for 30 days without charge and to listen in on all conversations between suspects and their legal representatives.

The crackdown has "caused concern among Turkey's western allies", particularly with Germany, Sky News reports. Yesterday, a German court prevented Erdogan from making a televised address to a rally by pro-government Turks in Cologne.

Turkey's EU affairs minister, Omer Celik, criticised the German court's decision.

Erdogan has "stepped up his attacks on nations criticising his actions, telling them to 'mind your own business'" and renewed calls for the US to extradite Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric Turkey blames for the failed coup, the Daily Telegraph says.

Erdogan's popularity soars amid Turkey's post-coup purge

21 July

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey declared a three-month state of emergency last night, as he stepped up the purge of soldiers and academics following last Friday's failed military coup.

"More than 50,000 state employees have been rounded up, sacked or suspended in the days since the coup attempt," says the BBC.

Turkey's government yesterday formally charged 99 generals and admirals accused of involvement in the attempted takeover.

It has also "reportedly banned Islamic funerals for dead coup supporters and warned imams not to carry out the ceremonies", says the Daily Mirror.

Academics can no longer travel abroad for work-related trips for the foreseeable future, while those currently overseas have been ordered to return home.

The latest developments follow the sacking of more than 21,000 private school teachers, the forced resignations of 1,577 university deans and the closure of 600 state schools.

Erdogan has also gutted the leadership of the security forces, detained a third of the military high-command, suspended 8,777 interior ministry personnel and police and revoked the licences of 24 radio and television companies.

"All the viruses within the armed forces must be cleansed," he said.

As more and more teachers, journalists, police and judges are "caught in a net the authorities are casting wider by the day", the government purge of vast section of Turkish society is "increasingly looking like a witch-hunt to suppress dissent", says CNN.

However, Erdogan's popularity has soared, even as basic civil liberties are dramatically curtailed.

The President's domestic appeal "perplexes some western observers, who know him mainly for his increasingly authoritarian actions", says Patrick Kingsley in The Guardian.

Unusually, that support is drawn from the religiously conservative lower-classes, who have felt increasingly marginalised in modern, secular Turkey. Even Erdogan's critics agree that, since he assumed power in 2003, the economy has grown steadily, the country's infrastructure has improved and the health system has been radically reformed.

Erdogan's supporters "are able to swallow his authoritarianism partly because they feel it is justified", says Kingsley.

In the past, the President has presented the suppression of opposition parties and dissenting voices as a legitimate response to threats to remove him for power. Now those threats have been realised, he appears to have been vindicated.

Turkey blocks WikiLeaks after AKP emails are published online

20 July

Turkey has blocked access to WikiLeaks after the online publication of thousands of emails linked to officials in the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

A trove of nearly 300,000 messages sent between 2010 and 2016 was made public.

WikiLeaks says the material was obtained a week before last Friday's attempted coup and it had pushed forward its publication in response to the post-coup purges being carried out by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

More than 50,000 people have been detained, fired or suspended in the wide-ranging crackdown on alleged dissenters. Yesterday, the purge was extended to education workers, with academics banned from travelling abroad and thousands of university deans and teachers forced to resign.

"Turkey extended the clear-out to the education sector because it says it wants to root out supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it accuses of organising the attempted putsch," says the BBC.

The published material has been verified, says WikiLeaks, and its source is in no way connected to the attempted coup or to a rival political party or state.

The website also claims its infrastructure came under attack after it announced on Monday that it was going to publish the documents. While it could not locate the source of the attack, "the timing suggests a Turkish state power faction or its allies", it says.

This isn't the first time internet access has been blocked in Turkey - social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have routinely been shut down in response to political events. "Critics and human rights advocates see [this] as part of a broader attack on the media and freedom of expression," says Reuters.

The ban on WikiLeaks came as the country's national security council prepared to hold its first meeting since the failed takeover last week. "It will be the president's first chance since the coup attempt to sit and talk in person with all key members of the government and armed forces," says the BBC.

Turkey feels economic impact of failed coup

19 July

The military phase of last Friday's failed coup attempt in Turkey may be over, but the economic ripples are still spreading.

Istanbul's National 100 stock exchange has fallen by seven per cent since the weekend, despite the government moving to calm fears by saying it had consulted the central bank and the Treasury and decided on "all necessary measures", reports the BBC.

The lire is down by more than five per cent and there are fears last week's events, and the revenge crackdown by President Recep Tayyip Erodgan, could hit tourism, which is crucial to the country's economy.

Shares in tourism-related companies have been the worst hit since Friday, with airport operator TAV down by 17.34 per cent and Turkish Airlines falling by 12.58 per cent.

Some 2.5 million Brits visit Turkey each year, but the number has been in steady decline after a series of terrorist bombings. Visitor numbers in May were down 35 per cent on last year.

The World Bank had already downgraded its growth forecast for next year from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent.

EU leaders have called for "restraint and moderation" after Erdogan ordered the arrest of 7,500 military personnel, police and judges.

Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders said the Turkish president's reaction to the attempted coup needed to be "proportionate."

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has given his support to the EU's call for a restrained response.

Erdogan's revenge: 6,000 arrested in Turkey after failed coup

19 July

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has detained more than 6,000 people in what has been described as a "revenge mission" for Friday's failed coup.

The attempted overthrow by a faction of the Turkish military calling itself the Peace Council began on Friday evening, when tanks blocked bridges in Istanbul and the entrance to the city's Ataturk airport. Presidential buildings and the Turkish parliament were attacked and TV stations were overrun by soldiers and forced off air.

The group pledged "to ensure and restore constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms".

Erdogan urged his supporters onto the streets and, throughout Friday night and Saturday morning, tens of thousands of protesters and military forces loyal to the Turkish leader suppressed the coup, leaving at least 265 dead.

Sources inside the regime say the total number of arrests includes 2,839 soldiers, while arrest warrants have been issued for 2,745 judges.

The Daily Telegraph says this is "widely expected to mark the start of a purge of opposition forces" and that the "revenge mission" raises fears for the future of democracy in the region.

Erdogan himself has described the uprising as a "gift from God" because it will "be a reason to cleanse our army", while his justice minister, Bekir Bozdag, warned those involved in the coup will "pay a heavy price" and has called for the death penalty to be reintroduced.

The Turkish President has blamed Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is living in self-exile in Pennsylvania, for masterminding the attack and demanded that US authorities hand him over. But Gulen, who has been accused of choreographing the 2013 corruption scandal that engulfed senior Turkish ministers, suggested the uprising might have been staged by the government in a bid to consolidate the president's position and purge dissident voices.

Lina Khatib, the head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House think-tank, told the Sunday Times that Turkey was likely to enter a period of "long-term unrest as even those Erdogan opponents who rejected the coup in the name of democracy see their rights curtailed in the name of stabilisation".

The mass arrests are "presumably a bid to secure Erdogan's grip on the Turkish state", says Patrick Cockburn in The Independent, and the Turkish leader may be "using the coup to eliminate the most powerful officials seen as loyal to Turkey as a secular state".

Infographic by www.statista.com for TheWeek.co.uk.

Turkey coup attempt: Erdogan reasserts control

16 July

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey appears to have weathered a coup attempt after a night of violence in Ankara and Istanbul that claimed at least 90 lives.

The attempt to seize control was backed by a faction of the Turkish military which said it wanted "to ensure and restore constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms".

Erdogan has been accused of undermining his country's tradition of secular government.

The attempted coup "began on Friday evening when tanks took up positions on key bridges in Istanbul", says the BBC. "Troops were seen on the streets and low-flying military jets were filmed over Ankara, the capital."

Presidential buildings and the Turkish parliament were attacked, and TV stations, including CNN Turk, were overrun by soldiers and forced off air.

Erdogan, who was on holiday in Marmaris, used an iPhone to broadcast a video message urging Turks to oppose the revolt. Many came out onto the streets to support him.

This morning he returned to Istanbul and appeared in person, denouncing the coup attempt and insisting that his government was in full control.

"However," says CNN, "the sounds of fighting were still being reported in Ankara and Istanbul after the chaotic attempt by members of the military to wrest control from Erdogan."

Sources inside the regime say that 1,563 soldiers have been arrested for their part in the insurrection.

One of the suicide car bombers who killed at least 37 people in Ankara yesterday is thought to have been a female militant from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a senior Turkish government official has claimed.

The attack took place in Guven Park in the Kizilay district, a transport hub that is home to many administrative buildings, including the justice and interior ministries. Several vehicles were reduced to burnt-out wrecks, including a bus, and 125 people were being treated in hospitals for injuries.

No group has yet claimed responsibility, but anonymous Turkish officials have pointed the finger at militant rebels. "According to initial findings, it seems that this attack has been carried out either by the PKK or an affiliated organisation," one security official told Reuters.

A senior government official also told news agencies that two terrorists were believed to be responsible, one of them a female PKK member. She is said to have been born in 1992 and came from Kars, eastern Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the attacks and sought to reassure Turks. "Our people should not worry," he said. "The struggle against terrorism will for certain end in success and terrorism will be brought to its knees."

He suggested that militants were targeting civilians because they were losing their struggle against the Turkish army.

Terror attacks "do not diminish our will to fight against terror, but further boost it", he said.

The attack is the third in the city in less than six months. Three weeks ago, a deadly blast targeting military personnel claimed the lives of 29 people.

Turkey is now facing multiple security threats, says the BBC's Mark Lowen. "The country that was the stable corner of the Middle East and the West's crucial ally in a volatile region is now at a dangerous moment."

At least ten people, including nine German nationals, have been killed and 15 injured after a suspected Islamic State suicide bomber attacked central Istanbul.

The blast struck the tourist area of Sultanahmet near the historic Blue Mosque in Turkey's most populous city this morning. At least two of the injured are in a critical condition.

Eyewitnesses described how bodies were scattered across the square. "It was difficult to say who was alive or dead," said one.

A German tourist told AFP how she managed to escape the attack with her daughter. "We went into a nearby building and stayed there for half an hour. It was really scary," she said.

Many of those injured are also believed to be German tourists and Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed "serious concern" about the casualties.

"Today Istanbul was hit. Paris has been hit, Tunisia has been hit, Ankara has been hit before," she said. "International terrorism is once again showing its cruel and inhuman face today."

There was a "high probability" the bombing was orchestrated by Islamic State due to the targeting of foreign tourists, said senior security officials.

Addressing the nation shortly after the bombing, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack had been carried out by a Syrian suicide bomber.

Turkey had become a "top target for all terrorist groups in the region", he added, vowing to continue "fighting against all of them equally".

The country's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus later said the suspect was not on a militant watchlist and was thought to have recently crossed into Turkey from Syria, the BBC reports.

The bombing comes just months after Turkey suffered the deadliest terrorist attack in its history, when a suspected IS militant killed more than 100 people at a peace march in the capital.

Turkish police have raided a news magazine and detained one of its senior editors over a mock-up on its cover depicting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan taking a selfie at a soldier's funeral.

Nokta magazine was searched by counterterrorism police and copies of its latest edition were seized after the cover was published online, Reuters reports.

The image relates to comments made by Erdogan at the funeral of a Turkish soldier who died fighting Kurdish militants. "How happy is his family and all his close relatives, because Ahmet has reached a very sacred place," he was quoted as saying in the Turkish press.

An Istanbul prosecutor's office said the magazine now faced charges of "insulting the Turkish president" and "making terrorist propaganda". Nokta's editor-in-chief Cevheri Guven later tweeted: "Once they accuse you of terrorist propaganda, anything can happen."

The image was inspired by a similar photomontage of Tony Blair by British political artists Peter Kennard and Cat Phillipps. Explaining their cover, Nokta said: "Erdogan said martyrdom is a cause for happiness.

"People take selfies when they feel happy. Our cover is ironic and carries a high dose of criticism."

Engin Altay, deputy head of the opposition Republican Peoples' Party's (CHP) in Turkey, condemned the raid as "unacceptable" and accused Erdogan of being a "dictator" for cracking down on media critical of the government.

"Dictators become more and more cruel, anxious and intolerant when they start to feel like they are losing power," he told Deutsche Welle. "Criticizing Erdogan has become the biggest crime in Turkey."

In the last two weeks alone, three foreign journalists have been arrested and deported from Turkey, the headquarters of independent newspaper Hürriyet have been attacked by crowds that included one of Erdogan's own MPs and police have raided a company that includes another opposition media group.

The media crackdown coincides with escalating violence across the country and the deterioration of a fragile peace deal with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"Never has there been a greater need for independent and impartial media scrutiny, for journalists to shed light on the dark," says Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Turkey's ruling party has lost its parliamentary majority following a shock general election result, dashing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans to change the constitution and extend his powers.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has dominated Turkish politics since it first emerged in 2002, but only managed to secure 41 per cent of the vote in Sunday's poll. That translates to 258 seats in Turkey's 550-seat parliament.

President Erdogan had been seeking a clear majority in order to amend the country's constitution and turn Turkey into a presidential republic, a move which would have required a two-thirds majority.

"The results show that Turkish citizens want Erdogan to act in line with his position as a neutral president, Deniz Ulke Aribogan, a professor of political science at Istanbul Bilgi University, told Al Jazeera. "They don't want to see him rallying as if he is the leader of the AK party."

The AKP's worst election result in over a decade was the result of a slowing economy, stark policy divisions within the party as well as the rise of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic party (HPD), the Financial Times reports. Erdogan's government is also facing increasing criticism for its growing authoritarianism and clampdown on free speech.

The progressive HPD party crossed the ten per cent threshold and will enter parliament for the first time after appealing to voters with its message of equality, gay rights and environmental concerns. The result means the Kurdish minority has finally gained a "significant voice" on the national stage, reports the BBC's Mark Lowen.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) looks set to become the largest opposition party, with 25 per cent of the vote, while the right wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) comes in third on 16.5 per cent. The result sees a record number of women in parliament, with an estimated 96 female parliamentarians in the grand national assembly, up from 79 in 2011.

Despite the results, the ruling party remains defiant, with Prime Minister Ahmet] Davutoglu insisting that the AKP is the "real winner" of the election. "Those who lost should not try to benefit from this," he warned. "The AKP will continue to be on duty."

The party is now expected to turn its attention to securing a coalition agreement, but senior party officials are predicting a minority government and an early election, The Guardian reports. Burhan Kuzu, AKP deputy and head of the parliamentary constitution commission, said snap elections looked inevitable. "No government will emerge from this scenario. Not even a coalition," he predicted.

With the holidays upon us, leaders across the world have been delivering their annual Christmas messages. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has honoured the grieving families of the two hostages who died in last week's Sydney siege, while Pope Francis launched a "blistering attack" on Vatican bureaucracy...

David Cameron, Prime Minister of the UK

Cameron reflected on the "very Christian values of giving, sharing and taking care of others". He also paid tribute to the armed forces, NHS workers fighting Ebola, emergency service personnel and charity workers. "This Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Christ with friends, families and neighbours," he said, "let us think about those in need at home and overseas, and of those extraordinary professionals and volunteers who help them."

Tony Abbott, prime minister of Australia

Less than two weeks after two hostages died in the Sydney cafe siege, Abbott urged Australians to think of families who have loved lost ones and to reach out to anyone who might have had a difficult year. "The last fortnight has been a heartbreaking time for our country," he said. "The thoughts and prayers of everyone are with those who are grieving this Christmas."

Pope Francis

The Pope's Christmas message to cardinals, bishops and priests was described by the Religion News Service as a "blistering attack" on Vatican bureaucracy. He listed the 15 "Ailments of the Curia", including "existential schizophrenia", the sickness of those living a double life and "spiritual Alzheimer's", which affects those who forget they are supposed to be joyful men of God. "The Curia is called on to always improve itself and grow in communion, holiness and knowledge to fulfill its mission. But even it, as any human body, can suffer from ailments, dysfunctions, illnesses," he warned.

Benigno Aquino III, President of the Philippines

As millions prepare to celebrate Christmas in the disaster-weary islands of the Philippines, Aquino urged the country to open its hearts to those who are still affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 7,300 people in 2013, and Typhoon Hagupit earlier this month, which killed dozens more. "The past year brought another seemingly insurmountable challenge... But we have soldiered on. Through our solidarity and His benevolence, we gained the strength and wisdom to lead our people away from peril," he said.

Joachim Gauck, President of Germany

Following a series of rallies against immigration and Islam across Germany, Gauck used his Christmas message to call for understanding and openness in accepting refugees. "That we react with empathy to the plight around us, that most of us don't follow those who want to seal off Germany – that is for me a truly encouraging experience of this year," he said. Gauck added that solutions to wider problems could not be found "with eyes full of fear".

Michael D Higgins, President of Ireland

Last year, Higgins came under fire for failing to mention God, Christ or Christianity in his Christmas message, says The Independent. This year, he "elliptically" referenced the Christmas story and its values in reminding Ireland of the power of hospitality, but managed to avoid mentioning Jesus. "The story of Bethlehem, of the homeless Joseph and Mary anticipating the birth of their child, is at the heart of this holiday," said Higgins, "and it invites us to reflect on how we relate to the stranger, the vulnerable in our midst."

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey

Erdogan, who has been accused of pushing an increasingly Islamist agenda, wished Christians his "sincere greetings" for Christmas and highlighted the significance of "tolerance" in the country. "As we have always lived together in unity and solidarity throughout history, we shall continue to regard the diversities in our country as a source of richness; and we shall continue to build up the future together on the basis of respect for each other," he said.

The Islamic State surge into the Turkish-Syrian border town of Kobane appears to have been halted by US air strikes, but many believe it is "only a matter of time" before the town falls to the jihadists.

The US-led coalition launched its heaviest round of air strikes yet, hitting IS positions, destroying several armoured vehicles and forcing militants to take cover.

Clashes between Kurdish forces and IS militants continue, but without the intensity of Monday's fighting.

"With jets overhead for long periods, IS clearly had to spend time under cover to avoid being hit," reports the BBC's Paul Adams. "At times, Kobane seemed eerily quiet."

However, Adams says the Kurdish YPG is "outnumbered and outgunned" by IS and only a ground operation or significant military assistance from Turkey could carry any guarantee of success.

Ankara's inaction sparked protests by thousands of Kurds in Turkey yesterday, which descended into a riot. Turkish police used water cannon, tear gas and allegedly fired live ammunition.

Local media said 14 people had been killed, including one man who was reportedly shot in the head by police. As clashes broke out in the western cities of Ankara and Istanbul, curfews were imposed in at least five Turkish provinces.

If Kobane does fall, Turkey is "likely to face a massive backlash from its Kurdish population", says The Guardian. It would give IS full control of a long stretch of the Turkish-Syrian border and provide a direct link between its positions in Aleppo and Raqqa.

Turkish parliament has authorised the government to take military action against IS, but so far it has made no move to get involved in the fighting

It apparently wants to see the US take more definitive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well as IS.

Speaking at a refugee camp for Syrians on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said air power alone could not defeat IS. The "terror will not be over... unless we co-operate for a ground operation", he said, giving no further details.

Islamic State flag raised in key town on Syria-Turkey border

07 October

The black flag of Islamic State (IS) has been raised on buildings and hills in the eastern suburbs of Kobane, a key town on the Syria-Turkey border.

Areas around Kobane have been under siege from the militants for weeks, with around 160,000 residents seeking refuge in Turkey.

Yesterday the militants entered the eastern districts amid fierce fighting, prompting a further 2,000 civilians to flee across the border. Residential neighbourhoods were pummelled by tank rounds and mortar shells, with Kobane now besieged on three sides.

Asya Abdullah, a co-leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, told BBC's Newshour programme yesterday that there were still thousands of civilians in the city. "If [IS] are not stopped now, there will be a big massacre," she said.

Kurdish YPG fighters are "hopelessly out-gunned" by IS, which looted cutting-edge US weaponry from Iraqi army bases in Mosul in June, says The Times.

The US and its allies have targeted the militants with air strikes over two nights, destroying a number of tanks and anti-aircraft guns, but Kurdish leaders say that without ground intervention IS will take full control of Kobane within days.

Turkey is yet to intervene to stop Kobane's fall to the militants. Karwan Zebari, a representative of the Kurdish regional government, told the BBC it would be "catastrophic" if IS seized control of the town. "I think Turkey's interests, national security, is at stake here as well," he warned. "It's important that Turkey steps up and assists these Kurdish fighters in repelling this IS momentum."

US forces have begun to launch strikes with Apache helicopters, which many see as a significant escalation in the war against IS.

At least 14 Turkish tanks have taken up defensive positions on their side of the border. The country's defence minister, Ismet Yilmaz, said Nato had drawn up a strategy to defend Turkey in the event of attack.

According to preliminary results, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become Turkey's first directly elected president with almost 52 per cent of the vote in what is being called a milestone in the country's politics.

Erdogan has been Turkey's prime minister and leader of the Justice and Development Party for over a decade, but now he is set to take over as the country's president. The role used to be largely ceremonial, but Erdogan has said he wants to increase the powers held by the president in order to create a "new Turkey."

He remains a hugely popular but extremely controversial figure in Turkish politics. As his supporters continue to celebrate his victory on the streets, we look at the man facing the overwhelming challenge of uniting a deeply polarised country.

Why is he such a controversial figure?

Religion. His opponents accuse him of having strong Islamist leanings in the region's "most secular democracy". Many of them worry that he is "harbouring a secret agenda to turn Turkey into a religious state", Al Jazeera reports.

Censorship. He has also been criticised by human rights groups for attacks on freedom of speech after he blocked Twitter across Turkey earlier this year because of criticism and allegations of corruption being made by users of the site.

Corruption. The president has faced ongoing and widespread allegations of corruption, particularly in the run-up to the election. His opponents told the BBC that they believe he won "through chicanery, cheating, deception and trickery".

Sexism. Gulin Sonuc, a resident of the Kadikoy district told Al Jazeera she would not be voting for Erdogan because of his party's "backwards" views of women's role in society. "Erdogan once said he did not believe men and women are equal", she said. "Recently, [Deputy Prime Minister] Bulent Arinc said women should not laugh in public. Another MP once said [a] rape victim having [an] abortion was worse than the rapist. These all prove their backwards mentality".

Why has he received such strong support then?

Despite the criticism against him, Erdogan is the most popular and powerful ruler Turkey has seen since the country's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was president in the 1930, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Erdogan has been credited with boosting the country's economy and improving standards of living. By reforming and modernising the country "faster than any of his predecessors" the people of Turkey have enjoyed "unprecedented prosperity".

Why should the West care who's in charge?

The US and the UK have been keeping a close eye on the politics in Turkey because of its "key geopolitical position", explains the BBC's Mark Lowen in Ankara. Turkey, located in between the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Ukraine, is seen as a crucial Western ally in an increasingly volatile region.

TURKISH forces shot down a Syrian fighter jet after it "violated Turkey's airspace" on Sunday.

Syrian authorities confirmed that the MiG-23 had been destroyed, but said that the pilot had ejected safely. An unnamed spokesman quoted on Syrian state TV accused the Turkish military of "blatant aggression".

Speaking at a rally in northern Turkey before local elections at the end of March, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that any incursion of its borders warranted a "heavy response".

"If you violate our border, our slap will be hard," he said. Syrian officials insist that the plane had been over Syrian territory when it was shot down.

Why was the plane operating in the area?The Syrian military is fighting a coalition of rebel forces for control of the last remaining border crossing with Turkey still in Syrian governmental hands, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Syrian state news agency Sana said that the downed plane had been pursuing "terrorist gangs" along the border, the government's term for rebels battling the Assad regime.

Turkey claims that two Syrian MIG-23 jets were monitored heading north from Syria for 80 nautical miles, and were warned to turn back four times once they got to within 10 nautical miles of Turkish airspace. According to the Turkish Air Force one of the planes continued to fly for one-and-a-half kilometres into Turkish airspace before it was intercepted and shot down.

Why is the Syrian-Turkish border significant?Syria's bitter civil war that erupted from protests during the Arab Spring in 2011 has left 100,000 people dead and 6.5 million people displaced, according to UN statistics. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled into Turkey to escape the fighting, many of whom have come across the border crossing where the incident took place.

Turkey cut ties with Syria in 2011 and has broadly supported the rebels in the conflict since then. Rebels operating near the border have benefitted from Turkish logistical and military support, the New York Times says, but the Turkish government has denied providing arms to the fighters.

What are Turkey's broader goals?Dr Peter Newman, professor of security studies at Kings College London, told BBC radio news that "Erdogan has never made a secret of the fact that he wants to see Assad fall and that he wants to support the opposition in the Syrian conflict".

The two countries do not get on, adds James Reynolds of the BBC. "Turkey and Syria share a border and a mutual hatred - but also a desire not to engage each other in all-out war. Instead, the two sides have been involved in occasional skirmishes and confrontations," he says.

However, Nidal Kabalan, a former Syrian ambassador to Turkey, said the incident was "a flagrant violation of international law" and an attempt by Prime Minister Erdogan to distract from his own internal problems.

"We do not want the Turkish army to be involved in the adventures of the Turkish government, which seems to be in dire straits following the accusations of bribes and corruption," Kabalan told the BBC. "The Turkish government is facing serious problems. With eight days before the local elections it might be thinking of exporting its own problems abroad."

THE RIOTING that has gripped Turkey for the past three days seemed to come straight out of the blue. The country had been doing well, personal incomes doubling in the ten-year reign of the current prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of the moderate Islamic Justice and Development Party, the AKP. By the time the weekend was over, 1,700 people had been arrested for taking part in demonstrations – riots according to the authorities – in 67 cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The immediate cause of the protests was a patch of green. Gezi Park is one of the green spaces close by Taksim Square in Istanbul. The mayor of Istanbul, a close buddy of the prime minister, had said the park would be cleared to make way for a replica of an old Ottoman barrack building and a shopping mall. And that did it. Hundreds, swelling to thousands, of young people headed for the Taksim Square area on Friday night. The protesters say the demolition of Gezi Park was a development too far by the increasingly autocratic prime minister and his AKP cronies.

• Violent unrest in Turkey - in pictures

AKP was formed out of two banned Islamic parties, forbidden under the secularist tradition of Turkey's constitution laid down by the founder of the modern nation, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

A successful general in the First World War, notably at Gallipoli, Mustafa Kemal brought Turkey out of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The new nation was to be secular and western-looking, with an overt commitment to equality of opportunity for women. The paradox was that he made the army the guarantor of the state through a security council. There have been periodic military coups since Ataturk died in 1938. But the adage was "the army was always willing to march back to the barracks at the right time".

Though Ataturk was raised in the army, he believed in parliamentary democracy. When the dictators of Europe, Mussolini and Hitler, and the 'iron' monarchs of Romania and Yugoslavia "were donning their uniforms, Ataturk was putting his back in the wardrobe". Now Erdogan, described by some commentators as the most powerful political figure in Turkey since Ataturk, is accused of being high-handed and autocratic, criticised by moderate Islamic supporters and secularists alike. He has proposed a ban on the public sale of alcohol, he wants to name a projected new bridge over the Bosphorus after a reactionary Ottoman Sultan, and he's said to be aiming to become Turkey's next president – but with enhanced executive powers. Gezi Park was the last straw, too, because of the unsavoury whiff of sleaze beginning to swirl round the AKP party. Turkish Islamists now quip that the mujahids, or holy warriors, of yesteryear have become the muteahhids, the construction tycoons, of today. The demonstrations have come at tricky time for Turkey, given its ambiguous relations with the EU and its increasing entanglement with the crisis in Syria and Lebanon. The protests have united the old secular elites and the moderate Islamists who don't like what they see as the anti-democratic tendency of the AKP. One of the protests in Ankara demanded that the Erdogan government stop supporting the insurgents against Bashar el-Assad. This suggests that the wave of opposition is very different from the Arab Spring demonstrations of two years ago.

Erdogan shows no sign of backing down over Gezi Park, taunting the protesters by saying he could bring "tens of thousands" of supporters onto the streets, that his opponents are "alcoholics" and their use of Twitter "a curse" and a means of "extreme lying". The mild-mannered head of state President Abdullah Gul, a co-founder of AKP, has told the prime minister and the Istanbul mayor to cool it – and not to let "the accumulated energy" of the protests boil over.

Erdogan had won friends for seeking reconciliation with the revolutionary Marxist Kurdish Peoples Party, the PKK, until recently seen as terrorists. Today, he is only making enemies – and the trouble could deepen. The protesters want their say about what kind of state Turkey is to be – and they don't want to trade supervision by the military with the autocracy of Erdogan's alliance of Islamists and developers.

The European Parliament has voted to freeze EU membership talks with Turkey in response to the crackdown launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after this summer's failed coup.

MEPs voted by 471 to 37 to halt talks, with politicians from across the political spectrum lining up to condemn the "disproportionate repressive measures" introduced in the wake of the abortive military takeover in July.

European politicians are concerned about Erdogan's persecution of opponents, says the BBC. "Roughly 120,000 Turks were dismissed or suspended from their public sector jobs, 40,000 were arrested, scores of journalists were rounded up and opposition pro-Kurdish MPs were detained," it says.

But some EU analysts have criticised the decision, "saying it would only push Turkey to harden its position on issues like human rights and the death penalty, while endangering cooperation on limiting refugee flows to Europe", reports the New York Times.

Erdogan dismissed the vote as "worthless" and "of no value at all", while deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus warned Europe's partnership with Turkey was at stake.

He said: "With this vote, the European parliament will freeze itself out of any constructive dialogue with Turkey and raise further serious questions over Europe's reliability as a partner."

Wednesday's resolution is non-binding, but coming ahead of a crucial meeting of EU ministers next month, it is "powerfully symbolic" and "likely to add to recriminations over a landmark migration deal the EU and Turkey agreed in March", reports The Guardian.

The EU and Turkey agreed to speed up membership talks after Ankara promised to cut the number of refugees fleeing to Greece in return for financial aid and visa-free travel for its citizens across the bloc.

Erdogan told a conference in Istanbul earlier this week: "We have made clear time and time again that we take care of European values more than many EU countries, but we could not see concrete support from western friends... None of the promises were kept."

Turkey first applied to join the EU in 1987, but accession talks did not begin until 2005, "even though Ankara's aspirations to become part of the bloc date back to the 1960s", reports Sky News.

"European leaders are unlikely to adhere to the MEPs' vote," says the BBC's Mark Lowen, "but, for now nobody expects that Turkey's decades-long dream of EU accession will become a reality."

Here are some of the pros and cons of Turkey joining the EU:

Refugees

The EU has had to rely on Turkey's co-operation as it struggles to cope with the worst refugee crisis since World War II. In March, a deal was agreed to allow one Syrian refugee from a Turkish camp to be admitted to Europe for each irregular migrant sent to Turkey from Greece.

In return, the EU promised fresh discussions on Turkish membership and visa-free travel for Turks, as well as £2.3bn of refugee aid between now and 2018.

However, the deal, which was criticised by the United Nations as a violation of refugees' human rights, is already at risk of coming apart at the seams.

Security

The rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria put Turkey at the centre of a conflict that has global consequences. Some European officials, including French foreign affairs minister Laurent Fabius, and their US counterparts believe allowing Turkey to become a member of the EU would create a strong ally in the fight against terrorism in the region. But critics such as Conservative MP David Davis argue the open movement laws could create a passageway both in and out of Syria for jihadists and new recruits.

Employment

Allowing Turkey to join would provide a fresh influx of workers for Europe. The country has a young and increasingly well-educated population and some argue the ageing EU cannot afford to block this demographic from its workforce. But at a time when many governments are under increasing pressure to reduce high levels of immigration, allowing millions more workers to cross their borders is not expected to be high on their agenda.

Culture

Turkey's geographic position at the crossroads between Europe and the East allows it to provide a much-needed bridge between western and Islamic worlds at a time of heightened tensions between the two. Many argue that Turkey is better equipped to mediate in the Middle East than European countries. During the 2009 crisis in Gaza, its diplomats were able to talk directly to the Hamas leadership and the country also has comparatively good relations with Israel. But leaders in a number of powerful EU nations, including Germany, are wary of allowing Turkey into the bloc, arguing that "the cultural, political and geographic differences may be too vast", reports the Wall Street Journal.

Economy

The Turkish economy is growing and it is also the country across which key pipelines deliver large supplies of oil and gas from Asia. Free trade between EU countries is one of the bloc's greatest advantages and granting Turkey membership would create a whole new market for European goods. However, others point to the recent economic crisis in Greece and warn that Turkey is not yet rich enough to join, saying that taxpayers in wealthier countries would be forced to subsidise it.

Adherence to EU laws

Countries hoping to join the European Union are required to achieve a certain standard of democracy and human rights. Since it first applied for membership, Turkey had made some gains towards these, including abolishing the death penalty and introducing tougher laws against torture, as well as moderate reforms to help women.

However, the government is considering reinstating the death penalty amid calls for the execution of the plotters of July's failed coup.

There are also growing concerns about Erdogan's widespread crackdown on media freedom and other human rights. The breakdown of a fragile ceasefire between the state and the Kurdistan Workers' Party led to some of the worst violence since the 1990s. Turkey's territorial claim to northern Cyprus is another ongoing bone of contention for Europe, as is its refusal to recognise the Armenian genocide of 1915.

"[Turkey] is waging war on an ethnic minority," writes Paul Mason in The Guardian. "Its riot police just stormed the offices of a major newspaper, its secret service faces allegations of arming IS, its military shot down a Russian bomber."