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This article talks about the next eight countries trying to gain entry into the EU. The most likely country to join the EU is Croatia and they may be approved as early as 2011. Each of the countries that applied as some internal issues they have to work out before they will be admitted. The process of being admitted is interesting to me because the countries first have to submit and application, get confirmed as a candidate, and then they begin talks. In the case of Turkey, the process has been going on since 1987.

I had no idea that it was this difficult to become a member of the European Union - being confirmed as a candidate can take more than a decade. Poor Turkey began the process 23 years ago, and is expected to require at least 10 more years to be fully prepared for membership. What an endeavor!

I think this is very interesting and I cannot agree with Jack more. When these countries are thinking only with their pocket books it is hard to be genuinely welcoming to other nations. In my opinion, making Turkey wait 20+ years to join is far too long and a bit ridiculous especially when you compare it to the time other countries had to wait. Croatia joined in less than 5. Very unfair...

"Istanbul (CNN)One of the world's most volatile regions was roiled further Tuesday when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border. Turkey said it hit the plane after it repeatedly violated Turkey's airspace and ignored 10 warnings. "

If you're on break and don't have time to really read the article: - one of the two pilots was killed in the Russian jet that was shot down (they were military personnel) -Putin says this will result in "serious consequences" in reference to the relationship between Russia and Turkey -There are no ISIS members in this area so it makes the people who are allied with the USA in the fight against ISIS are enemies too, which takes the focus away from defeating ISIS -NATO called an emergency meeting which indicated the severity of the situation as far as international diplomacy goes and it seems like more officials (President Obama included) think that there is a high risk for this incident to lead to an escalation or a breaking point in the Middle East for the current tension between countries.... so essentially the takeaway is: this is really bad

Turkish foreign minister Davutoglu announces that Turkey will stop sending weapons to Syria. Businessmen who support Assad's regime will have their assets frozen in Turkey. Turkey is hoping that these sanctions will persuade Assad to stop the violent crackdowns

Mevlut Cavusoglu has declared that the Turkish government will now aid the Iraqi Kurdish forces, known as pesh merga, into the Syrian town of Kobani. Forces of international powers are feeling pressure to push back against the Islamic State rather than making Iraqi Kurdish forces to fight alone against ISIS. The U.S. has already begun airdropping supplies to the Kurdish forces, but Turkey has refused the Kurdish forces to move through Turkey in the past, because Kurdish forces have threatened the autonomy of Turkey in the past. Yet, desperate times call for desperate measures and many International powers are claiming that ISIL/ISIS is picking up steam in their counter-attacks.

"Some democratic countries like Turkey, which has a growing relationship with China, were not invited to the gathering, while democracies with authoritarian tendencies like far-right Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil and Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi's India, which has antagonistic ties with Beijing, were included.  Turkey is both a NATO ally and the Middle East's most powerful democracy. But for Washington, it is not Turkey's democratic system but the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's more independent political mindset - which sees no problem acquiring Russian S-400s against Washington's protests due to Turkey's air defence needs - that is a problem. "

Turkey as potential mediator in Middle East peace talks.

The Islamic State lays siege on the city of Kobani, and refugees flee to safety. Turkey must decide whether or not to take action. Understandably, the country has delayed this decision for quite a long time since there are many related risks.

Interesting to build off the article Sam posted previously on Merkel. Some of the initial buzz seems to have quieted down; however, the problem is still very real. Angela Merkel of Germany on Sunday explicitly linked accelerating Turkey's effort to join the European Union to Turkish cooperation in clamping down on the flow of refugees from Turkey to Europe.

"As soon as such a claim is proved, the nobility of our nation requires [me] to do this," Erdogan told reporters at the climate change summit in Paris on Monday. But, he added, if the allegations are untrue, then Russian President Vladimir Putin should resign. "I am asking Mr. Putin, would you remain?"

Just to expand on what Scott said, I found this graphic that, as a visual learner, really helped me understand what's going on right now.

"Ankara "

Along with the Olympics a couple years ago, the World Cup this year, and now this conference, I think that Russia is doing what Nazi Germany did with the Olympics in the 30s: show off the country as prosperous to distract from all the atrocities they commit. 

Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was last seen in the Saudi Consult in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, to obtain legal documents for his upcoming wedding. In the consult, he was murder, and his body dismembered as a response to his critical stance on the Crown Prince. Now Turkish prosecutors have filed a second indictment on six suspects. The charges on two of these suspects carry life sentences, and the charges on the four other suspects carry a five-year sentence.

The Turkish president has called on Turks abroad to show their support for his regime in response to the recently attempted coup. This has caused many German Turks to stage rallies, which in turn has caused some Germans to doubt their loyalty to German ideals such as democracy and liberalism.

Assad continues to claim that his regime will prevail in shutting down the now 18 month old rebellion despite a series of recent defections, international sanctions, and the constant outflow of refugees to Turkey and other neighbors. He also has denied rumors that he has gone into hiding. He's generally trying to present himself as firmly in power.

Should other countries or NATO intervene militarily in Syria? Why did former UN Secretary Kofi Annan resign from his post as mediator in the Syrian conflict? Was he right to resign?

Map of Iraq, including province names

Another great source! United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees.