ISIS kills a Turkish soldier; For some Turkish leaders, A pretext to go to war in Syria…

Turkey’s key air base poised to host anti-ISIL coalition aircraft As Obama and Erdoğan finalized a deal, the İncirlik military base in southern Turkey is expected to open to anti-ISIL aircraft in early August Turkish soldier killed in clashes with Isis across Syrian border World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk Turkey is building a ‘modular wall’ along part … Read more

Eurosphere agenda: biggest-ever Eurovision…”Juncker greets Orbán with ‘Hello dictator!”…

Stage set for biggest-ever Eurovision  BBC News | Europe | World Edition Sweden, Russia and Italy are among the favourites to win the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place in Vienna later. Juncker greets Orbán with ‘Hello dictator!”  EurActiv.com European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker teased Hungarian Premier Viktor Orbán over his strongman reputation Friday, jokingly … Read more

For the record, Cypriot Turks may have elected a promising president…

Is Mustafa Akinci the best hope yet for a solution to the Cyprus problem? | George Kyris  World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk by George Kyris After 40 years of separation, the election of a moderate to lead the Turkish Cypriots gives cause for optimismWhen Mustafa Akinci took to the podium for his first speech as the … Read more

AKP’s attempt to control Northern Cyprus did not work, a unionist candidate, Akıncı, wins the elections…

Akinci wins North Cyprus election BBC News | Europe | World Edition Mustafa Akinci sweeps to victory in North Cyprus’ presidential elections after pledging renewed urgency in seeking a peace deal on the island. High hopes for peace as Akıncı elected as new president of Turkish Cypriots A leftist moderate promising to press for a peace deal … Read more

Turkey’s education council is a failure… ends up with Ottoman language classes polemic…

Turkey’s education council ends, but debate lingers on The education council’s controversial decisions ‘enligthen education’s future,’ according to the education minister, despite harsh opposition criticism Ottoman language classes to be introduced ‘whatever they say,’ vows Erdoğan President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has waded into the heated debate over the possible inclusion of Ottoman language classes in the high … Read more

New EU foreign policy chief Mogherini in Turkey to encourage [possibly in vain] for anti-ISIL fight…

EU to press Turkey for help in anti-ISIL fight New EU foreign policy chief Mogherini makes her first visit to Turkey with ISIL on top of her agenda EU to press Turkey over IS militants BBC News | Europe | World Edition EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is in Turkey to urge it to participate fully … Read more

So police state style. No court orders will be needed to block sites or record web traffic…

New Bill Allows TIB to Control Internet Traffic Data After the passing of a new omnibus law, Turkey’s Telecommunication Authorities are now able to control internet traffic information and it will be passed onto related officials through judges – a type of information that could be only be requested within an investigation. News in Turkish … Read more

Mostly Kurdish bit, a little EU negotiations on the new cabinet agenda…

Key corruption probe targeting President Erdoğan’s son dismissed The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office has ruled that there are no legal grounds for the prosecution of 96 suspects, including President Erdoğan’s son Bilal Erdoğan, on allegations off corruption Turkish PM Davutoğlu mandates Arınç over Kurdish peace bid With the minor Cabinet reshuffle, the dossier on the Kurdish resolution … Read more

EFD Rights Watch: Digital analysis of Istanbul on #MayDay by ANONYMOUS (@Crypt0nymous) and more…

Digital analysis of Istanbul on #MayDay This article intends to draw attention to the unwarranted and disproportionate violence conducted by the police. Additionally to clarify how the Turkish Government is determined to silence the public. Teargas and Water Cannons for Istanbul’s Labor Day Protesters from Global Voices Online by Stratos Moraitis Teargas enveloped Istanbul as … Read more

Eurosphere roundup: Google faces European privacy probe… Headscarf debate in France… Cyprus…

Google faces European privacy probe from BBC News | Europe | World Edition Six European data protection bodies are to launch coordinated investigations into Google’s privacy policy   Islamic headscarf debate rekindled in France from BBC News | Europe | World Edition Court ruling tests power of French secularism Slovenia dismisses Cyprus comparisons from FT.com … Read more