Mustafa Akyol, Al-Monitor
Erdogans ambitions are more about power than doctrine. For power, he needs to sustain popular support, and for popular support, he needs to use religion, but only to a certain extent. While religious symbolism has broad appeal in Turkey, a Quran-thumping Islamic state does not. Various polls bear this out. The most recent survey of the political inclinations of Turkish society was conducted in 2013 by the Pew Research Center, which found that only 12% of all Turks support... Читать дальше...
Vivienne Walt, Fortune
The number of Iranian startups has rocketed, from almost none at the beginning of this decade to at least 400 in Tehran alone, according to TechRasa, a local equivalent of TechCrunch, which tracks the sector. These startups occupy a tiny portionless than 1% of GDP, by some estimatesof Irans oil-dominated economy. But their impact is potentially huge. If they succeed, they could foster a different vision of what the country could be, and help reverse years of brain drain... Читать дальше...
Jennifer Hattam, CityLab
A new documentary follows some of the citys famous felines as they navigate the ever-changing urban environment.
Ramesh Thakur, Japan Times
Constituencies that want more public resources directed at dwindling public and social services do not believe that the case for submarines has been made persuasively. They question the need to buy expensive naval toys that have not fired a shot in anger since 1945, when more hospital beds, for example, are required around the country on a daily basis. They are also apprehensive about cost overruns and costly delays in project completion.
Armin Rosen, Tablet
An Azeri defense plane recently landed in Israel according to a Haaretz report, providing a window into the Jewish States foreign policy strengths.
Omar Al Muqdad, National
It’s becoming more obvious that the world powers find it much easier to think of dividing the country than exerting pressure on Mr Al Assad to step down. Of course, it’s easier to move to plan B when Mr Al Assad is growing only more defiant and showing no willingness to make any concessions. Those who are leaning towards the idea of partition cannot have imagined how a fragmented Syria would affect the world in general and the region in particular. Having to deal with... Читать дальше...
Dalibor Rohac, Politico EU
As Europe slowly but surely runs out of options, the tendency will be toward a revival of thoughtful reformist thinking and leadership.
Jeffrey Simpson, Globe and Mail
Call the Prime Minister’s line of thinking a bet. It consists of believing that more discussion, more “inclusion” of interested parties in review of projects, more time, more criteria considered – all of this additional scrutiny will enhance, not obstruct, pipelines (and other large projects) into becoming socially acceptable so that the government can give them the green light.
Chris Alden & Ross Harvey, Project Syndicate
When countries keep their stockpiles they signal that they anticipate being able to sell ivory in the future. This undermines the credibility of demand-reduction efforts; if the trade is likely to be legalized one day, any stigma associated with ivory consumption will be eroded.
James Verini, The New Yorker
Four decades of Belgian colonial government fostered little development and a lot of ethnic animosity. In 1961, the first elected Prime Minister was assassinated; in 1965, another was killed. In 1972, as many as three hundred thousand Hutus were killed by the Tutsi-led army. (This “first genocide,” as it is sometimes called, passed almost without notice outside Burundi, but did incense Richard Nixon. “I’m tired of this business of letting Africans eat”—meaning kill—“a... Читать дальше...
Tatia Lemondzhava, FP
The main goal of these measures appears two-fold. First, they are designed to limit the exposure of the Russian population to the outside world at a time when the Kremlin is at pains to maintain the facade of resilience and victory-against-adversity it has crafted through its media. Second, they aim to redirect a significant portion of the nearly billion Russian tourism cash flow back into the country to help prop up its struggling economy.
Jim Wyss, Miami Hd
Ever since Nicols Maduro put on Venezuela’s tri-colored presidential sash on April 19, 2013, people have been wondering how long he might get to wear it. And as the 53-year-old, mustachioed former union organizer begins his fourth year in power, speculation that this year might be his last is once again hitting fever pitch. At issue is a recall referendum that could potentially end Maduro’s term and trigger new elections. And polls show a vast majority in the ailing country favor doing just that.
David Ignatius, Wash Post
The battle for Mosul, about 35 miles north, must begin with the seizure of such Islamic State positions along the Tigris River. But the Iraqi army isn’t ready yet to take a small, well-fortified village such as Al-Nasr. So it’s hard to imagine that Mosul itself could be cleared by the end of the year, as the Obama administration has hoped.
