Nation & World

Peter said officials “are beginning to ask questions about who ordered the fierce police crackdown on peaceful demonstrators that triggered the massive anti-government reaction.”

Al Jazeera and Haaretz are live blogging the action today. Al Jazeera has posted stunning pictures of the aftermath. Haaretz reports that by around 1:30 p.m. local time, protesters began entering Taksim Square.

Haaretz reports:

“The protesters at Taksim Square represent all sectors of Turkish society. Though flags hanging from poles and walls of buildings around the plaza are mostly of left-wing radical groups, some protesters did not identify themselves as supporters of the left. Their only demand, they said, is democracy Despite the secular dominant majority, some of the demonstrators identified as Muslims. A few men with beards and women wearing veils said they identified as members of the “radical Muslims,” a religious organization that opposes [Prime Minister] Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

As we’ve reported, these mass protests — what some are calling the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan — began as peaceful demonstrations opposing the redevelopment of a city park.

During the day, yesterday, the government took an unrelenting stance.

“The Taksim project will go ahead,” Erdogan said. “If you bring 100,000, I’ll bring out a million.”

Eventually, police retreated and protesters celebrated. The Telegraph reports that Erdogan sought a resolution. The paper reports:

“Speaking at a rally on Saturday, Erdogan acknowledged: ‘It is true that there have been some mistakes, extremism in police response.’

“But he added: ‘I call on the protesters to stop their demonstrations immediately.’

“The interior ministry promised legal action against police officers who had acted ‘disproportionately.'”

Protesters rejected those talks. “We are still ruled by a prime minister who thinks people are lambs and declares himself the sultan,” 19-year-old law student Batuhan Kantas told the Telegraph.

We’ll leave you with a video that’s made the rounds on the Internet. It sums up the last few days in 70 seconds:

The person who made it, Memento Mori, has some other great videos on his Vimeo page.

— Missiles. Syrian President Bashar Assad has told Al-Manar TV, a channel owned by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, that the first shipment of Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles has arrived in Syria, The Guardian reports.

As we wrote Tuesday, “the European Union’s decision to end its embargo on arming the opposition in Syria has been followed by sharp criticism from Russia’s foreign ministry and word that Russia will follow through on plans to deliver anti-aircraft missiles to President Bashar Assad’s military.”

— Talks. “Syria’s opposition will not participate in proposed international peace talks in Geneva next month, its leader has said.” That report from al-Jazeera adds that “George Sabra, the head of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), on Thursday said the opposition was suspending their participation until the international community intervened to end the siege in Qusayr, a town in Homs province near the Lebanese border.”

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, “Russian, U.S. and U.N. officials will meet next week to discuss ways to bring the warring sides in Syria together for a peace conference, Russian news agencies quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying on Thursday. ‘Preparations for the international conference on Syria will be discussed’ at the three-way meeting in Geneva on June 5, Interfax quoted the unidentified Russian ministry source as saying.”

According to the BBC, “Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the [Russian] missiles were a ‘stabilizing factor’ that could dissuade ‘some hotheads’ from entering the conflict.”

Russia has been one of Assad’s few foreign friends since the start of protests against the Syrian president’s regime in March 2011 and during the sectarian civil war that has followed. As NPR’s Corey Flintoff reports from Moscow, Russia says the weapons it has delivered and the missiles it will be sending are part of arms deals that were signed before the conflict began.

From London, NPR’s Philip Reeves says that Russian diplomats believe the EU’s decision undermines the chances of a possible peace conference aimed at ending Syria’s civil war. From Moscow, Corey adds that “Russia’s foreign ministry acted as if the Europeans were sabotaging Russian and U.S. efforts to bring the warring parties to the bargaining table.”

Just two weeks ago, British Prime Minister David Cameron was hailing Russia’s agreement to take part in such peace talks. That was “a real breakthrough,” Cameron said.

Though EU ministers have agreed to end their nations’ embargo on arming the Syrian opposition, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Monday that his nation has “no immediate plans to send arms to Syria.” The Associated Press adds that “no other EU member appeared to have immediate plans to send arms to the rebels.”

Related:

— In Damascus, A View Of Syria’s War Turned Inside Out.

— McCain Meets With Rebels In Syria.

The latest corpses to be recovered were so badly decomposed that they were being sent to a lab for DNA identification, police said, according to The Associated Press.

Several people, including the building’s owner, have been arrested in connection with the disaster, which many survivors say was due to negligence.

The April 24 collapse of Rana Plaza, where apparel was made for several Western retailers, has sparked an international outcry over substandard working conditions in Bangladesh, where workers have some of the lowest wages in the world and the garment industry is largely unregulated.

On Wednesday, a European Union delegation was dispatched to the country to urge the government to “act immediately” to improve working conditions, the AP says.

The BBC says:

“Officials say about 2,500 people were injured in the collapse and that 2,437 people have been rescued.

“Bangladesh has shut down 18 garment plants for safety reasons since the Rana Plaza disaster, the Bangladeshi textile minister has confirmed.”

In a joint news conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday, Obama said the two leaders “very much share the view that we are going to maintain a strong deterrent” against North Korea.

“We’re not going to reward provocative behavior, but we remain open to the prospect of North Korea taking a peaceful path,” he said.

“So far, at least, we haven’t seen actions on the part of the North Koreans that would indicate they’re prepared to move in a different direction,” he added.

He said he’s never spoken directly to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whose actions seem to be leading his country to a dead end.

Obama’s talks with newly installed President Park show that the North has “failed again” to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, he said.

The president spoke of the “deep friendship” and the “great alliance” between the two countries.

Park’s visit, her first abroad since becoming president in February, marks the 60th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korean alliance and comes amid ramped up rhetoric from North Korea, including threats to attack South Korea and the United States with nuclear missiles.

As we reported Monday, however, North Korea appears to have moved two medium-range missiles off launch standby in the country’s east — a move that could signal a toning down of tensions.