The upcoming elections are set to be the biggest challenge for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with polls showing that the opposition has a slight advantage.

On the one hand, there is a strategic “pull” toward a greater possibility of Damascus, Moscow, Tehran and Ankara working together to push US forces out of northeast Syria. On the other side, the power dynamic with Russia may be shifting in Ankara’s favor lately

Dr Şebnem Korur Fincancı was found guilty of “spreading terrorist propaganda” and sentenced to almost three years of jail, while other Central Committee members of the Turkish Medical Association still face charges in court

Unions have questioned the policy of linking wage hikes to inflation, claiming that official inflation rates are unreliable. They also warned against government attempts to impose a “strike ban”

Şebnem Korur Fincancı, elected president of the Turkish Medical Association, remains imprisoned after her arrest in October, as the professional organization faces pressure from the government

The move is being seen as part of the larger political persecution unleashed by Erdoğan’s government, which is likely to face a stiff challenge in the upcoming national elections

Last week’s meeting between Syria and Turkey in Moscow show that Russia’s standing in the West Asian region is far from defined by the Ukraine conflict

Turkey has played a key role in prolonging the war in Syria by aiding anti-government forces and by launching repeated incursions into country under the pretext of targeting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) forces

Consistently high inflation has led to a decrease in purchasing power, and a majority of the working class are struggling to meet their basic needs in Turkey

Turkey claimed that it was targeting the YPG, the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Party (PKK), which it blamed for attacks in Istanbul last week. The PKK has denied any responsibility for the attacks

Dr Şebnem Korur Fincancı was detained on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda after she spoke about alleged use of chemical weapons by the Turkish army against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq

The new alliance, the Union of Socialist Forces, has resolved to put an end to the conservative rule in Turkey led by Erdoğan and the AKP, as well as defend secularism and withdraw from NATO