Erstellt am: 16. 11. 2011 - 15:42 Uhr

Turkey's symbolic sanctions

Reality Check: Turkey sanctions Syria, Chinese dissident Yeliang Xia, "Occupy" protesters return, major changes in Cuba, Denmark - the Arctic superpower

After being suspended from the Arab League, and King Abdullah of Jordan calling for President Assad to stand down, Turkey is now weighing in on Syria. Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, understandably angry at the attacks on the Turkish embassy in Damasucs by pro-Assad demonstrators, is warning Assad that his violent crackdown on opposition protesters in Syria is putting him close to the list of leaders that "feed on blood".

However, apart from colourful rhetoric, there is not all that much more that Turkey can do. It has introduced some largely symbolic sanctions, and threatened to cut off its power supplies to Syria's grid. However, as trade between Turkey and Syria is in decline and Syria only gets around 7% of its electricity from Turkey, these won't have much impact. Turkey has also cancelled its oil exploration projects in Syria - but has stressed it is keen not to do anything that will cause suffering to Syrian civilians.

Turkey has the longest border of any of Syria's neighbours, and even though Turkey is not in the Arab League, it will clearly have to be a part of any negotiations or agreements struck with the Syrian government and the Arab world. Jonathan Head tells Elizabeth Alcock about the key role Turkey could play in the Syrian crisis.

Change inevitable in China

Chinese dissident Yeliang Xia may not be as high profile as Ai Weiwei or Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, but then he doesn't try to be. Although an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, he sees himself more as a back-room boy, an architect of change rather than a political actor. He's recently been attending an event at the Salzburg Global Seminar, and John Cummins caught up with Xia to find out about his vision for change in China.

"Occupy" activists resume their protest

After several "occupy" sites were cleared by police yesterday, today many protesters are trying to re-establish their camps. In New York's Zuccotti Park, they are being allowed to continue their protest, but not to set up tents or stay there overnight. Our Washington D.C. correspondent, Priscilla Huff, tells Riem Higazi about the conflict of interest between freedom of speech and public health and safety.

Changes in Cuba's property laws

Changes in the property laws mean Cubans will now be able to buy and sell their homes. Cuba expert Simon Reid-Henry discusses the wide reaching social and economic implications of this move by Raoul Castro that could indicate major changes in Cuba.

The politics of the Arctic

Writer and journalist Martin Breum explains why Denmark is a super-power in the Arctic.

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