The violence between Kurdish groups and the Turkish government has escalated. Elements of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed 14 Turkish policemen in response to bombing by the government against PKK strongholds. At one time Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan was quite committed to ending the long-term conflict between the government and Kurdish parties. But after the recent elections in which the Turkish parties secured sufficient seats in Parliament to deny Erdogan’s party, the AK, a majority of seats, Erdogan reversed his cooperative stance and seems intent on using anti-Kurdish sentiment to regain the majority in Parliament.
There are currently about 4 million Syrian refugees in the world (not counting the Syrians who are still in Syria but who have left their homes). While the media has paid the most attention to the refugees who are trying to get to Europe, the vast majority of those refugees are in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan (one in 4 people in Lebanon are Syrian refugees, although I suspect that the number is closer to 1 in 3). The Los Angeles Times has a breakdown of where the refugees are.
In response to reports that Russia is building a military base in Latakia, Syria in order to help maintain the power of President Assad, Bulgaria has closed its airspace to Russian planes. The Russians clearly regard the move as unfriendly and deny that there are Russian soldiers in Syria. It is more than likely that Bulgaria made the move at the request of the US.
World Politics News 
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