International aid work is more dangerous than ever. While attacks on aid workers declined in 2014, they remain not far below the unprecedented level of attacks the previous year, according to the Aid Worker Security Report.

The European Union is facing increasing pressure to speak out against the erosion of media freedom in Turkey following the forced take-over of the country’s largest-circulation newspaper, but few expect it to take a bold stance toward Ankara while trying to assure its help in dealing with the migration crisis.

The Amnesty International report reflects current systemic problems in the United States and deterioration in the human rights situation in Turkey, Russian Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov told TASS on Friday, commenting on the organization’s report.

Istanbul is set to host a global meeting focused on humanitarian aid to Somalia, which is scene to persistently high and alarming levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, with an estimated 4.7 million people - nearly 40 per cent of the Somali population - in need of humanitarian assistance.

Inside a big, shiny, spanking clean structure equipped with an advanced computer system are activists working for The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, known by its Turkish acronym IHH. They are coordinating the extensive activity involved in transferring aid to the Syrian refugees and setting up camps on Syrian soil.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent visit to three Latin American countries - Peru, Ecuador and Chile - is a continuation of an earlier focus on the region that started in February last year with visits to Cuba, Colombia and Mexico. It is no coincidence that Turkish TV dramas entered the Latin American market almost exactly at the same time.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday embarks on a major tour of Latin American countries in a bid to expand Ankara's ties outside its traditional sphere of influence.