Politics

Turkey and Israel are holding diplomatic talks in an effort to ‘normalise’ the relationship between the two countries, after relations deteriorated six years ago following the murder of 10 Turkish pro-Palestinian activists near the Gaza strip in 2010.  Turkish newspaper Hürriyet says that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has confirmed that “Israel and Turkey will publish a statement about this in the coming days.” Ejpress.org reports: Turkey has repeatedly insisted on three conditions for normalisation: the lifting of the Gaza blockade, compensation for the Mavi Marmara victims and an apol

Submitted by Andrew Bacevich via TomDispatch.com,

Police in riot gear have taken over Turkey’s opposition newspaper Zaman in a midnight raid using tear gas and water cannons. Turkey’s highest-circulating newspaper is now under state control in another blow to press freedom in President Recep Erdogan’s Turkey. Business Insider UK reports: The government takeover of Today’s Zaman was evidently in response to Erdogan’s perception of the paper as a front for the Gülen movement — a social movement led by the Turkish scholar and preacher Fethullah Gülen that is openly critical of Erdogan’s government.

The U.S. is to deploy the B-52 Stratofortress long-range strategic bomber to the Middle East to fight ISIS. The huge nuclear capable jet-powered bomber is made by Boeing and can drop 32 tons of conventional bombs simultaneously. Russia Today reports: The B-52s will replace several Rockwell B-1 Lancer supersonic strategic bombers, which had been striking terrorist positions near Kobani, Syria for several months and have now returned to their base in Texas, the Air Force Times reports. Defense officials also confirmed the information to Fox News.

Late last month, Norwegian PM Erna Solberg proclaimed that if she became convinced that Sweden’s refugee crisis was set to spiral out of control or “break down” (as she called it), she may be prepared to close her country’s borders altogether in what would quite possibly amount to a contravention of Norway’s duties under the Geneva Convention and a move that would almost surely trigger a rash of human rights violations. 

(Solberg)