Of all the variables that dictate the fate of nations, demography might just be the most decisive. The pace of populations—how they grow, change and decline—helps shape a country’s political outlook, its internal makeup, and its place in the world. It can also provide useful insights into a nation’s foreign policy priorities. Turkey is a case in point. In late April, TurkStat, Turkey’s official statistics agency, released its latest survey of the country’s population. That study found that the national fertility rate, at 2.08, remains more or less stable. The trend, however, isn’t uniform. In the country’s west, birth rates generally fall significantly below the 2.1 live births per woman needed for “replenishment.” Births in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast, by contrast, are significantly higher. In other words, Turkey’s Kurdish minority is growing, while the rest of the country is not.
DAYTON -- Democratic candidate for governor Ed FitzGerald visited the Ahiska Turkish American Community Center on Wednesday to talk about the stakes in the 2014 election. New Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and other Dayton area political leaders joined FitzGerald at the event, which is campaign called the first in a series of events focused on putting Ohio's middle class first. We were at the event and will bring you more from FitzGerald's visit tonight at 6 on ABC 22 News and at 6:30 on FOX 45 News. 
Chairman of Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu continued his Washington talks on Tuesday, as part of his first visit to the US as the chairman of Turkey's main opposition party. Kilicdaroglu came together with the US House of Representatives Majority Leader Congressman Eric Cantor, a meeting in which the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Ed Royce, CHP Deputy Chairmen Faruk Logoglu and Sezgin Tanrikulu were also present. 
TCA commemorated the 90th Anniversary of Turkish Republic Day on October 29. On this day in 1923, the newly recognized Turkish parliament proclaimed the establishment of the Republic of Turkey and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who led the Turkish National War of Liberation, was unanimously elected as its first president. This year, as the 90th Anniversary of Turkish Republic Day is being celebrated, we express our sincere appreciation to the various organizations and friends of the Turkish-American community who delivered congratulatory messages marking this important milestone. 
ISTANBUL — Riot police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets in day-long clashes that lasted into the early hours Wednesday, battling protesters who have been occupying Istanbul's central Taksim Square and its adjacent Gezi Park in the country's most severe anti-government protests in decades. The crisis has left Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan looking vulnerable for the first time in his decade in power and has threatened to tarnish the international image of Turkey, a Muslim majority country with a strongly secular tradition, a burgeoning economy and close ties with the United States. 
The Turkish American leadership expresses its sincere commendations for the forthright action of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who apologized to the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a mishandled Israeli military operation that resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish civilians, including a Turkish American, on a cruise ship, Mavi Marmara, in the eastern Mediterranean. The ship was heading for Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. We had called upon Turks to reserve judgement, neither condemning nor condoning Israel, and calling upon a multilateral commission of inquiry. Please see ATAA Release.
Mexico City, 14 March 2013—Arab States could reap a major “demographic dividend” if they can convert their advances in education into employment opportunities for youth, says the 2013 Human Development Report. But a failure to accelerate job growth could further exacerbate social and economic tensions in the region, the Report warns. The 2013 Human Development Report— The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World—is being launched in Mexico City today with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. 
An average of more than 50,000 people slept each night in New York City's homeless shelters for the first time in January, a record that underscores an unsettling national trend: a rising number of families without permanent housing. New York City's homeless population reached a record 50,000 reported individuals in January, and is indicative of a troubling national trend. Michael Howard Saul explains. Photo: Getty Images. Families have become a larger share of the nation's homeless population, growing 1.4% from 2011 to 2012, after their numbers fell as the economy emerged from recession.
The Turkish Coalition of America’s 16th Congressional Delegation completed its visit to Turkey on February 24th. Since 2009 TCA has taken more than 155 members of Congress and senior staffers to Turkey and surrounding countries. This delegation, comprised of 14 Congressional staffers, first visited Ankara where the group had the honor of participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The delegation also participated in high-level meetings with U.S. and Turkish officials, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economy, members of Parliament and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). These meetings allowed the staffers to engage in an active dialogue on the current state of U.S.-Turkey relations, Turkey’s foreign policy, and its booming economy. Meetings were also held with the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund and the Eurasian Research Center. 
AA - Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that Turkish-US relations were one of the main pillars of Turkish foreign policy. According to the web site of the Turkish Presidency, Gul, Kerry and an accompanying delegation on Friday discussed bilateral and regional relations in detail. President Gul, congratulating Kerry for having been assigned the position of US Secretary of State, stressed that Kerry's visit came at a time when many critical developments were taking place in the region. 
AA- US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday attended the commemoration ceremony for the Turkish guard killed at the bomb attack to US Embassy in Ankara. Kerry soon after arriving in Ankara went to the embassy to attend the ceremony for Mustafa Akarsu, the Turkish guard who was killed by terrorist attack on February 1. The ceremony took place in the garden of the diplomatic compound and Kerry decorated Akarsu family with Thomas Jefferson Star which is rarely given for the heroic actions on behalf of US government. 
From 24/7 Wall St.: Three years ago, 24/7 Wall St. published the net worth of every American president, from Washington to Obama. We have updated our numbers to reflect the earnings of the still-living presidents. One thing remains clear: it pays to be president, especially after leaving office. 24/7 Wall St. examined the finances of all 43 presidents to identify the richest. 
