The Washington Post published an article headlined “Iran's response to Middle East protests is muted”. According to the author, the fact that Iran has not responded to protests in Bahrain is surprising. The reason is that Iranian leaders decided the most effective way to become more influential is to do nothing and wait, the author believes. He thinks that Iran is interested in this regional unrest and doesn’t feel it’s necessary to interfere.
The New York Times also published devoted to Iran’s foreign policy. The article is entitled “British Link Iran to Rockets Found in Afghan Province” and written by the NY Times correspondent in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The author reports that, according to the recent statement by the British Foreign Secretary, there are now certain proofs that Iran is supplying the Taliban with weaponry. “Iran appears to be interested in keeping Afghanistan unstable, in part because it is a way to undermine the United States, which it views as an archenemy,” the author concludes.
The Guardian published several articles devoted to the recent scandal involving Prince Andrew. The Duke of York was accused of too close ties with the leaders of Azerbaijan, including the country’s President, Ilham Aliyev, who is considered to be responsible for series of human rights violations, and some other notorious Middle Eastern countries. According to the Guardian, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has held private talks with the Prince about the mounting scandal over his trade dealings with autocratic rulers.
Turkey’s Hurriyet published an article devoted to the bill recently proposed by the members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the aim of which is to take measures against the production and consumption of alcoholic spirits in the country. According to the author, a lot of people in Turkey are worried, as they consider such measures to be a part of an anti-secular policy by the AKP. At the same time as the authors of the bill disclaim the will to violate individual freedom, they underline that measures are necessary to prevent serious health problems, says the author.
The Turkish newspaper Milliyet has recently published an article devoted to the situation surrounding press freedom in the country. According to the author, there was never any press freedom in Turkey. Still, he thinks that now the situation is worse than ever. He says that the AKP leaders have established a system in which an undesirable article cannot even be published, while before 2002 almost every article could be published, even though its author could have been persecuted.
