NAT da Polis

Fifteen million Kurds in Turkey's big cities want Ankara to intervene decisively to save the city of Kobane. Erdogan fears the disintegration of the country and stokes nationalism.

School reform begins this year by introducing compulsory Islamic religious education to all grades, including Arabic, to help students understand the Qur'an. For 200,000 Syrian Christian refugees in Turkey, this will be a problem.

With 52 per cent of the vote, most Turks are betting again on a strongman who rules in an authoritarian style and uses instrumentally their vote. Divisions within the opposition helped his success. Although he promises to be the president of all, he will have to deal with the economy and the demand for civil rights.

The electorate seems unfazed by allegations of corruption against the prime minister, his staff and family. The weak alternative of secular Kemalists, who candidate a Muslim. The novelty of a Kurdish candidate.

The Ecumenical Patriarch arrives today in Rome to take part in the prayer meeting with Pope Francis, Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas. The scope of the prayer meeting goes beyond immediate results.

In an interview with AsiaNews , the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople reveals the future steps to strengthen unity between Catholics and Orthodox. In addition to the appointment of Nicaea, the first truly ecumenical council , in the autumn the next meeting of the Catholic-Orthodox Joint Commission will be held in Jerusalem, where everyone "must commit themselves without hypocrisy".

"We need shared responses, without confessional distinctions, to meet the challenges and tragedies that affect the whole Christian world," the Ecumenical Patriarch told AsiaNews. When Athenagoras travelled to Constantinople for his inauguration, he asked to fly over the Vatican. Nicaea was the first "truly ecumenical" council, whose 1,700th anniversary will be marked in 2025. Bartholomew calls on Christians to meet then "to celebrate the undivided Church."

The ruling AKP party’s infamous project to regain Turkish Muslims votes and presidency for Erdogan. The Ecumenical Patriarchate refuses to "barter" for opening of Halki Theological School. West only concerned with gas pipelines; in Turkey no one dares to voice any criticism.

The unions not aligned to the government attempted to reach the square, focal point of last year’s anti-Erdogan protests, to honor the victims of the 1977 massacre. The premier first "invited" the public not to demonstrate, and then deployed 40 thousand policemen to stop them. Approximately 150 arrests and hundreds injured.

In his Easter message, the Ecumenical Patriarch writes, "Unfortunately, the annihilation and suppression of the weakest by the strongest dominates in the secular pyramid of today's reality." However, "History [. . .] has proven that real progress cannot exist without God."

The elections take place in a highly tense climate after Gezi Park protests and the corruption scandals involving AKP ministers and even the prime minister's son. Erdogan's wrath against Twitter and Youtube, but especially against Fetullah Gulen. Conflicting predictions: the opposition says that the AKP will lose up to 15% of the vote. The ruling party is hoping for a solid 38%. Almost no women candidates.

A group of youth break into a church. After causing mayhem, they stole sacred objects and left two pro-Kurdish party flags. The incident could be a pre-election provocation. The police refuses to act. Patriarch Bartholomew reacts with pain and anger.