Syria Video and Transcript: President Assad's Interview with Russia Today

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RT: There are many people who were convinced a year ago that you would not make it this far. Here again you are sitting in a newly renovated presidential palace and recording this interview. Who exactly is your enemy at this point?

BA: My enemy is terrorism and instability in Syria. This is our enemy in Syria. It is not about the people, it is not about persons. The whole issue is not about me staying or leaving. It is about the country being safe or not. So, this is the enemy we have been fighting as Syria.

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Turkey Special: A Tangled Situation --- Ankara, The Kurds, and US Messages

Recep Tayyip ErdoganAn intervention from the US Ambassador, a challenge from Washington's top military commander --- what is “Erdogan’s country” to do now? Facing the Americans, Iraq's Barzani, and the PKK --- all in the context of the evolving Syrian crisis --- will Ankara change its tough-on-Kurds inside Turkey? Will it make a move regarding Syria's Kurds? Or will it try to gain time until Ankara can see a clearer message from Washington following the US elections?

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Turkish Plane is Shot Down --- What Next?

See also Bahrain Snap Analysis: When Police Attack Marchers Who Carry Flowers...
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Nothing Certain but Death & Protests

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2135 GMT: Egypt. Supporters of Presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq and the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces have gathered today at the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier in Nasr City, raising Egyptian flags and banners such as "Egypt Above All" while chanting "Long live Egypt," "The people and the military are one hand", and "The people want Ahmed Shafiq."

Egypt Independent reports hundreds of demonstrators but images indicate a far larger crowd.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Two-Step of Protest and Detention

Bahraini police charge a protest march in Manama on Saturday

See also Iraq Analysis: Kurdistan's Contest with Prime Minister al-Maliki Heats Up
Egypt Feature: Cairo Cuts Gas Supplies to Israel --- Will the Power Play Backfire?
Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Two-Step of Protest and Detention

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1912 GMT: Egypt. In a sign of more tension between political factions, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the Egyptian Parliament suspended the sessions of its lower house on Sunday for a week to protest SCAF's refusal to dissolve the Cabinet.

The legislature’s speaker, Saad el-Katatni of the Muslim Brotherhood, announced the decision on Sunday after lawmakers spoke in a televised session against the Government of Prime Minister Kamal El Ganzouri.

A "senior Government source" said the dismissal of the Cabinet was unnecessary as it will only last until 30 June. The source said El Ganzouri met on Saturday with Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of SCAF, to discuss the crisis. although The source said Tantawi did not mention any dismissal or reshuffle to Ganzouri.

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Turkey Live Coverage (28 March): Any Outcome from Tehran Talks?

1845 GMT: Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi reportedly said that Iran was ready to share its experience on nuclear energy with Turkey. 

As mentioned earlier, at the Nuclear Security Summit in the South Korean capital Seoul, Erdogan said that Turkey was determined to provide about 10% of its electricity from nuclear facilities by 2030.

1800 GMT: Due to Iranian President Ahmadinejad's suffering from gastrorrhagia, the scheduled meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan postponed.  

1645 GMT: The co-chairman of BDP, Selahattin Demirtas is speaking to Turkish HaberTurk channel now. When asked what BDP's role in the Kurdish problem, Demirtas said that BDP can only facilitate the solution of the problem yet it can only be solved between the government and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) at the end of the day. Therefore, Demirtas argued that sidelining Kandil and dialogue with the outlawed organisation would produce nothing. 

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Turkey Live Coverage (15 March): Refugees Flowing from Syria

1900 GMT: Rakel Dink, wife of Hrant Dink (a Turkish citizen of Armenian decent) who was murdered due to his writings in the bilingual newspaper Agos, said that the Dink case is Turkey's face-off case and criticized that the government for "responding with gas bombs to tears." Dink continued:

My mind has always been stuck in the pre-murder period. All signs are already taking me there. Those threats... These were not just to scare.Those increasing number of protests in front of Agos since 2005 and a Prime Minister, an Interior Minister, a Justice Minister, an intelligence, a police who had not seen all. 

1825 GMT: According to a high Dutch administrative court verdict, Turkish citizens visiting Netherlands on business need no visa and they can stay for up to three months.

1745 GMT: Having Armenia decided to withdraw from the Eurovision song contest which will be held in Azerbaijan this year, Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagıs said: 

Turkey would prefer Armenia to pull out of Nagorno-Karabakh, rather than from the Eurovision song contest. I think they should revise their decision.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Crushing the Opposition?

1936 GMT: A prominent activist Facebook Page reports that 106 people have been killed today in Syria, most of whom were killed in Idlib province. There are unconfirmed reports that the city of Idlib has fallen to Assad military forces today. We'd note that the city has been nearly impossible to get any information out of for the last 24 hours or so.

The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria have not released numbers for several hours, but at their last tally, they had confirmed 49 deaths.

1929 GMT: Despite the violence, this is an extremely impressive protest in the Qusour neighborhood of Homs:

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Turkey Live Coverage (8 March): Erdogan's Kurdish Problem

1620 GMT: The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) MP Nursel Aydogan has said that there will be more deaths unless meetings between the State and PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) take place. Aydogan added:

The pathway towards peace and freedom shall be opened. And its way, as we have expressed before, is going through Imrali (the small island where PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is imprisoned). Just as there were meetings, dialogue and negotiations between PKK and the state for a year, we express that meetings with Imrali shall re-start and the door of the pathway leading to the solution of the problem shall be opened.

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Turkey Analysis: As 10,000 Soldiers Pursue Kurds Inside Iraq, What Does "Big Revenge" Mean?

The curiosity of Prime Minister Erdogan's statement was in its emphasis. Instead of a focus on operations against the Kurdish Communities’ Union (KCK), with the arrest of hundreds of Kurdish politicians, or ongoing military action against PKK militants, Erdogan implicitly blamed “external powers” for using PKK.

Doing so, he was trying to divert the public’s attention from domestic political debates. But this is also a move in foreign policy: according to many experts, columnists, and academics in Turkey, Erdogan is targeting Iran and Syria.

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Turkey Feature: Erdoğan at UN --- A Blast at Israel, A Criticism of Assad, and a Warning to Cyprus

Israel's rulers must make a choice. They must see the fact that the real security comes with the real peace. They must see that it is not possible to maintain the state of conflict in the Middle East permanently. It is necessary to show that Israel is not above the law.

The most important step to be taken in this matter is the Palestine's taking part in the UN. Turkey's support to Palestine is unconditional.

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