Mr Erdogan's touch was in evidence in Van as he and his vivacious wife, Emine, handed out toys to ragged children.

ECONOMIST: Turkey

In neighboring Turkey on Sunday, Emine Erdogan, wife of Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke to the country's Saban newspaper about her counterpart in Syria, al-Assad's wife, Asma.

CNN: Children killed in bus attack in Syria