World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (April 27, 2011)

The Los Angeles Times published an article on situation in Libya. According to the agency, Frustrated at their inability to break the military deadlock in Libya and to stop the shelling of civilian areas, NATO commanders are expanding their air war by launching strikes against military command facilities and other regime buildings used by Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi and his top aides. President Obama and the leaders of France and Britain have called on Gaddafi to step down, but other members of the alliance, including Turkey, oppose making the overthrow of Gaddafi an aim of the military campaign. The decision to widen the air war comes in response to growing concern in Washington and other NATO capitals that hitting Gaddafi's military in the field has not stopped his forces from killing civilians in rebel-held areas.

According to the same agency, Syria's upheaval is showing the potential to affect issues as broad as Iran's conflict with the U.S. and its allies, and as narrow as water rights. It may ultimately change the balance of power. The author states that the unrest roiling Syria, a linchpin state in the Middle East, is shaking the region in ways that even the revolution in Egypt did not, threatening to upend some longstanding alliances and encouraging neighbors to scramble for sudden advantage. Turkish Prime Minister expressed his deep concern at the events in Syria. Syrian opposition figures and Turkish democracy activists appeared together on Tuesday on Al-Jazeera television live from Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, condemning Assad's regime.

The New York Times agency informs its readers that two American citizens who have spent 19 months in detention in Iran, accused of espionage and illegal entry, will appear in court for a third time in May, according to their lawyer. Joshua F. Fattal and Shane M. Bauer, both 28, will attend a court session on May 11. On two previous occasions, judges have delayed a verdict in the case, citing the absence of a third American, Sarah E. Shourd, 32, who was released on bail last September for medical reasons and returned to the United States. The three were arrested near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan in June 2009.
The same agency also published a piece on the economic situation in Turkey: according to its author, the country's economy, which crashed in 1994 and 2001 and was set back by the global financial crisis, is showing signs of overheating. The author concludes that a new fall is likely to happen.

The Washington Post cited the Associated Press Agency stating that “with upheaval in Syria spreading and the crackdown by President Bashar Assad growing more violent, Israel has begun bracing for change in an authoritarian regime that has been a potent yet familiar enemy for four decades”. The article points out that the situation in the region has forced Israeli leaders to carefully calibrate their public statements. Israelis do not want to be seen as opposing the forces of freedom, but Israel has come to view moves toward democracy with suspicion, having watched Hamas and Hezbollah rise to power through internationally recognized elections.