Holidays are defined by traditions — those we keep and those we break. And nothing could be more traditional than a roast turkey on Thanksgiving. This year, nearly 250 million turkeys will be raised to satisfy American demand. But how traditional is the turkey? The fact is, we don't know. The first Thanksgiving included venison, the Wampanoag people brought plenty. And the colonists shot some wild fowl, but there probably weren't any sweet potatoes, and definitely no cranberry sauce. Thanksgiving didn't become a national holiday until Abraham Lincoln's time, what was traditional when the tradition was new?

Ramita Navai is a reporter who spent two weeks undercover in Syria. She tells The Takeaway about her experience and she's also the star of the upcoming Frontline documentary "Syria Undercover." Today the New York Times is reporting that Turkey is sheltering members of the Free Syrian Army, an armed opposition group attempting to bring down the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The group has been staging attacks inside Syria and plotting those same attacks from a camp that is being actively guarded by the Turkish military. Turkey says it is protecting the group out of humanitarian concern, but the move underscores the changing political landscape of the region.

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Sunday, killing at least 250 people and leaving thousands homeless. The quake decimated the city of Van, near Turkey's border with Iran. Rescue workers continue to search for survivors. Over a thousand people have been injured. This crisis comes coupled with a Turkish military operation in Iraq. Turkish troops have been pursuing Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq since militants of the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, killed 24 Kurdish soldiers last week. The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Libya on Wednesday to meet with leaders of the National Transition Council, saying that the U.S. has "an enduring commitment to support the Libyan people as they chart their country's future." French President Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron also arrived on Thursday morning. Elsewhere in the region, diplomatic ties have broken down between Israel and its closest Arab allies, Turkey and Egypt, as the Palestinian Authority makes a bid for statehood before the United Nations.

Egyptian protesters surrounded Israel's embassy in Cairo on Saturday, prompting Israel to deploy military jets to rescue their diplomats there. A clash between police and demonstrators ensued. The protests were in response to Israel's military killing five Egyptian policemen on the Gaza border last month, as Israeli forces pursued militants who had killed eight Israelis.

In a live national address this morning, Syrian president Bashar Assad accused "saboteurs" of trying to smear the world's image of the country, by protesting his rule for the past three months. Assad also made an appeal to the thousands of Syrians who have fled to the border of Syria and Turkey to return to their homes, saying that the biggest danger facing the country is the threat of an economic collapse. Anthony Shadid reports from Beirut for our partner, The New York Times. He speaks with us about President Assad's speech, and whether or not it will change the course of events in Syria. 

Thousands of Syrian refugees spilled into Turkey as a violent government crackdown unfolded over the weekend.  The crackdown was carried out by elite Syrian troops in reaction to reports of dozens of military defections in the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour.

About a thousand Syrians crossed the northern border of the country into Turkey overnight. They are fleeing a possible assault from the Syrian Army, which is believed to be led by Syrian President Bashar Assad's younger brother. The troops have surrounded the town of Jisr al-Shughour, close to the Turkish border, with heavy forces and tanks. The Turkish government has already built one camp to house the Syrian refugees, and is currently building another. 

Hundreds of people are fleeing the northern Syrian city of Jisr al-Shugor, in anticipation of an expected military assault there. The BBC's Owen Bennett Jones speaks with us from the border of Syria and Turkey. 

Syria's cabinet passed a draft law on Tuesday lifting the country's 48-year emergency rule, the unfairness of which has been a rallying cry for those in the country who want reform. The cabinet was under pressure to ease the emergency rule, but immediately after the supposed concession, the body passed a law that requires Syrians to seek permission to protest from the Interior ministry. The political upheaval sweeping across North Africa and the Mideast has been compared to a contagious virus, but Syria just may be the most contagious country of all. Syria is centrally located, bordering Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon.

Every year, millions of families across America do two things on the fourth Thursday in November ... gorge themselves and watch football. Yesterday saw six of the biggest teams in the league go at it: New England took on Detroit, New Orleans went head to head with Dallas, and Cincinnati went up against New York.

Voters in Turkey passed a package of 26 constitutional reforms on Sunday, which included changes to the judiciary, giving more control to parliament to appoint judges, and making the military more accountable to civilian courts.

Israel is holding hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists, who were halted on their way to Gaza by the Israeli Navy. It is being reported that after warnings from Israeli ships not to go any further towards the Gaza shoreline, Israeli militarymen were lowered from helicopters and boarded the flotilla, resulting in at least nine deaths and dozens more wounded.

What’s in a word? Well if the word is “genocide,” then it has the potential to do a lot of diplomatic damage between the U.S. and Turkey. Today the House Foreign Affairs Committee votes on a resolution to formally recognize a World War One-era massacre of Armenians by Turkish forces as genocide. 

We take a look at what's ahead in our weekly agenda segment with Marcus Mabry, international business editor for The New York Times, and Rob Watson from the BBC. 

As Iran's political turmoil continues, many Iranian opposition supporters have fled to neighboring Turkey. They're escaping what Amnesty International last week described as the worst human rights situation inside Iran in twenty years.  BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne has just returned from meeting members of the Iranian opposition in exile in Turkey, some of whom still fear for their safety.

It’s Thanksgiving Day! We're talking turkey and all the fixins’ that go with it. What is the proper way to carve a turkey? What do you do if your guests show up late? And how can we stay away from that dreaded canned cranberry sauce? Here to help solve some of these dilemmas, as well as give some helpful tips, are food writers Kim Severson and Julia Moskin from our partner The New York Times.

• Washington Takeout: Washington Examiner White House correspondent Julie Mason says that the first family's decision to stay home for the holidays has the Washington press corps on high alert.
• Business Takeout: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story reports that the president's plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions is worrying some in the private sector.
• Turkey Takeout: Food contributor and New York Times food writer Kim Severson answers listener questions on cooking Thanksgiving turkey

President Obama is on his second full day of his visit to Turkey. He finished his trip with a town hall meeting with students and an appeal to Turkish youth. The President said he understands the frustrations felt in the Muslim world about some of America's actions and that he wants to turn the page. So how are Turks reacting to the new President? Are they ready to turn the page and renew ties with America? To help answer that question, we are joined by journalist Asli Aydintasbas, who wrote an op-ed in yesterday's New York Times, and Jeff McAllister, BBC political commentator.

For more, read Asli Aydintasbas' op-ed piece, Turkey in Full in the New York Times.

Here is Al-Jazeera's report on the protests that greeted President Obama's visit to Turkey:

If Turkey succeeds in its bid to join the European Union, it would become the most populous state in the EU. But European countries are divided over the issue of allowing a predominantly Muslim country gain such a powerful role. Nowhere is the debate over this more heated than in the Netherlands, where an increasing Muslim population has caused a populist backlash and a string of high profile murders in recent years. We talk to the Dutch Minister for European Affairs, Frans Timmermans, who is in the U.S. to promote the economic benefits of tolerance.


This 2008 news report from Russia Today documents the increasing divide over the growth of Islamic communities in The Netherlands.