REUTERS | By Dmitry Zhdannikov | MAY 25, 2018

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Russian state oil major Rosneft signed a deal to help Kurdistan develop its gas reserves and build a gas pipeline, expanding the company’s dominance in the energy sector of Iraq’s semi-autonomous region. 

Nytimes.com | By Soner CAGAPTAY

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has called for snap elections on June 24, almost a year and a half before the scheduled date in November 2019. He is expected to win because he has, once again, managed to stack the odds — militant nationalism, strong economic growth, a post-coup state of emergency that allows him to deploy security forces to crush his opposition and almost complete control of the Turkish media — in his favor.

Al-monitor.com | Amberin Zaman (Turkey Pulse)

The limits of Turkey’s balancing act in Syria are being exposed as the prospects of a military confrontation between the United States and Russia over Syria continue to grow.

Economist.com

Female Kurdish fighters are celebrated for their battlefield prowess

Ft.com | David Gardner

rudaw.net | March 05/2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bernard-Henri Levy believes directly showing the contribution of the Kurdish Peshmerga to a select group of congressmen through his documentary, 'Peshmerga,' will speak to the "beating heart of American democracy" and not the White House.

Nytimes.com | By TIM NEVILLE

Ancient fortresses, crisp mountain streams, curious people and healing cities: Travelers are discovering the Kurdish region of Iraq, a place of great beauty, haunted by war.

Wsj.com | By Bernard-Henri Lévy

The Turkish president has the insolence to style his ethnic-cleansing campaign ‘Operation Olive Branch.’