Last week, the Turkish government took steps to mend relations with both Israel and Russia. Now, Turkish People's Democratic Party (HDP) parliamentary group leader Idris Baluken suggests that Ankara may very well be carrying out secret negotiations aimed at mending ties with Syria as well.

Last Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Moscow over the Su-24 pilot who died after being shot down over Syria by a Turkish warplane in November 2015; the same day, Ankara and Tel Aviv agreed to mend relations, ruined in 2010 following an Israeli raid on a Turkish humanitarian aid ship destined for Gaza which resulted in the deaths of 10 Turks.

Now, according to HDP parliamentary group leader Idris Baluken, Ankara may be trying to mend relations with Damascus as well. Late last month, the lawmaker tabled a parliamentary question on the secret talks allegedly being held between Syrian and Turkish officials in third countries.

The report is that Bernie Sanders just won a string of concessions from the Hillary Clinton camp on the 2016 party platform. Wall Street reform, banking reform, regulations on hedge funds, criminal justice reform, greater opposition to the death penalty, and let's fight for a $15 minimum wage. Sanders is "winning some big victories," says Greg Sargent in the Washington Post: "it looks as if this process is going better for progressives and Bernie supporters than previously suggested."

But guess what's not in the concessions? Where are Clinton's redlines? You guessed it. Vox says the sticking points are Trans Pacific Partnership, stronger measures to slow global warming, and Israel Palestine.

Earlier in negotiations, the party rejected an amendment from [James] Zogby that would have called on an end to Israel's "occupation and illegal settlements" in Palestine, according to the Associated Press. That fight symbolizes a clear divide between Sanders and Clinton, who is generally viewed as much more pro-Israel.

Here's that draft as of July 1. Notice how supportive it is of Israel. Not a word of criticism. Jerusalem is the capital forever. And Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is wicked - and anti-democratic.

A strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States because we share overarching strategic interests and the common values of democracy, equality, tolerance, and pluralism. That is why we will always support Israel's right to defend itself, including by retaining its qualitative military edge, and oppose any effort to delegitimize Israel, including at the United Nations or through the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement.

We will continue to work toward a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiated directly by the parties that guarantees Israel's future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognized borders and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity. While Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations, it should remain the capital of Israel, an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths. Israelis deserve security, recognition, and a normal life free from terror and incitement. Palestinians should be free to govern themselves in their own viable state, in peace and dignity.

President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to the Australian SBS TV channel in which he criticized the double standards of the West- openly attacking the Syrian government politically, but continuing to deal with it through back channels-calling for a more humanitarian and less costly solution to refugee crisis through stopping support to the terrorists.

The US government today claimed it has killed between 64 and 116 "non-combatants" in 473 counter-terrorism strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya between January 2009 and the end of 2015.

This is a fraction of the 380 to 801 civilian casualty range recorded by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism from reports by local and international journalists, NGO investigators, leaked government documents, court papers and the result of field investigations.

While the number of civilian casualties recorded by the Bureau is six times higher than the US Government's figure, the assessments of the minimum total number of people killed were strikingly similar. The White House put this figure at 2,436, whilst the Bureau has recorded 2,753.

Since becoming president in 2009, Barack Obama has significantly extended the use of drones in the War on Terror. Operating outside declared battlefields, such as Afghanistan and Iraq, this air war has been largely fought in Pakistan and Yemen.

Whenever President Vladimir Putin stresses Russia's «all-embracing and strategic partnership» with China, one can hear the proverbial howls of anger emanating from the neocon/neoliberalcon axis in the Beltway.

As he met Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijng this past Saturday, Putin even allowed himself an understatement; «To say we have a strategic cooperation is not enough anymore. This is why we have started talking about a comprehensive partnership and strategic collaboration. Comprehensive means that we work virtually on all major avenues; strategic means that we attach enormous inter-government importance to this work».

Why understatement? Because this really ventures way beyond a stream of business deals.

Deals, of course, matter; in Beijing, China and Russia advanced 58 projects worth $50 billion. These include a $6.2 billion loan from Beijing to build the 770 km-long high-speed railway between Moscow and Kazan and $12 billion in loans to build an LNG plant in the Russian Arctic.

The reactions of the Turkish-Israeli rapprochement deal have been met with a plethora of emotions. Some Palestinians have argued that despite Turkish rhetoric, national self-interest would always supersede that of the Palestinian people. Others have reflected sentiments of disillusionment at the about turn taken by Turkey which appears to be diametrically opposed to its erstwhile stance on the Palestinians issue. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's profile in the solidarity community skyrocketed with his stance vis-à-vis Shimon Peres in his 'one minute' display. There is another grouping that views the by-product of the agreement to be beneficial to the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip and are adamant in depicting a silver lining.


The actual text of the agreement has not filtered into mainstream circulation as yet, however the terms contained therein are gradually surfacing. An extensive exposé emerged in the leading Israel publication Haaretz which painted a shocking picture of the deal. There is not a shadow of doubt that one of the crucial motivators behind this deal was economics. Israel's Netanyahu alluded to this crucial aspect on the 27th June 2016 stating that the deal has "immense implications for the Israeli economy". Haaretz ventured to shed further light on the matter by alluding to a gas pipeline deal between Turkey and Israel. Turkey is viewed as the gateway to Europe and the portrayal of Turkey is a lucrative incentive for both countries. Interestingly, the first gas fields were found off the coast of the Gaza Strip in the early 2000's. This was viewed even by the Israeli regime as property of the Palestinian people. In 2011, Israel National News ran a story titled "PA Claims Israel Steals Gas in Exploration of Gaza Waters" which would come as no surprise as the State of Israel is premised on the dispossession of Palestinian natural resources which include but are not limited to land and water resources. In 2012 the fields of Tamar Field and the Leviathan Field were found off the coast of Haifa. Judging from Israel's dubious history of dispossession, it would not be far-fetched to suspect that part of the gas being alienated by Israel via this Turkish gas deal may actually belong to the Palestinian people. Knowledge of this possibility and the existence of these fields are within the grasp of the Turkish leadership which compounds the treachery.

But then, once in a lifetime the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme. Believe that a further shore is reachable from here. Believe in miracles." (Seamus Heaney, 1939-2013, "The Cure at Troy.")

In an astonishing revelation, the Daily Telegraph has established that Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague will examine the Chilcot Inquiry Report in to the Iraq invasion - due to be released on Wednesday 6^th July:

" ... for evidence of abuse and torture by British soldiers but have already ruled out putting Tony Blair on trial for war crimes ..." (1)

Whilst the Report is "expected to strongly criticize" Blair's role in the illegal invasion:

"It means individual soldiers could be prosecuted for war crimes but not Mr. Blair."

This, in spite of the fact that it is now confirmed that Blair's commitment to George W. Bush's determination to invade Iraq was made personally, a year before the assault, at a meeting at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, without the knowledge of Parliament. The ICC however, whilst considering the introduction of a crime of aggression, thus bringing illegal invasions in to their legal remit - to which Bush and Blair's actions would seemingly be relevant - would "not apply retrospectively."

Thus, currently the:

"decision by the UK to go to war in Iraq falls outside the Court's jurisdiction."

Whilst any British or US soldier responsible for the litany of appalling crimes committed in Iraq should be pursued relentlessly - which has broadly been less than the case to date - the ultimate responsibility for the whole tragic disaster for which both countries' leaders and military brass will surely be haunted throughout history, lies with those at the political top. Their blatant mistruths led to the invasion and its bloody, inhuman, ignorant, culturally clueless, unending aftermath. Of the ICC decision, Reg Keys, who stood against Blair in the 2005 election and whose twenty year old son, Tom was killed in Iraq said: "It makes me very angry. They don't call him Teflon Tony for nothing."

The first Turkish ship with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip arrived in Israel a week after Turkey and Israel reached an agreement normalizing their diplomatic relations that were suspended in 2010 after a deadly IDF raid against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.

The Lady Leyla container vessel, carrying more than 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, reached the Israeli port of Ashod after departing on Friday from the Turkish city Mersin, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported Sunday. It took Lady Leyla 35 hours to reach its destination, the agency added.

The delivery, which comes days ahead of the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, includes food packages, toys, clothes and shoes to the people in Gaza, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries suffered a setback after an incident in 2010 when Israeli troops attacked the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara aid ship in international waters, killing eight Turkish and one Turkish-American activists.

The six ships sent by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH) were carrying humanitarian and construction supplies to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Georgia confirmed on Monday that the alleged terrorist behind the recent suicide bombing attack in Istanbul, was backed by former Georgian President.

Georgia's minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the occupied territories, accommodation and refugees confirmed on Monday that Akhmed Chatayev, the alleged mastermind behind the recent suicide bombing attack in Istanbul, was backed by former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, adding that Tbilisi may open an investigation into the issue.

A growing rift is developing within the EU amid reports European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker is under pressure from German officials to resign following the British exit from the EU.

The pressure on Juncker comes as member states remain divided on whether to accelerate EU integration or take a more pragmatic approach to centralizing power in the wake of the UK's referendum decision.

As debate continues on the EU's future in the face of growing Euroskepticism, a German government minister told the Sunday Times newspaper that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had come to view Juncker as "part of the problem" with the EU.

​"Juncker has time and again acted against the common interest, and his reaction to the British referendum has been very damaging," the source said.