Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran war shadows Turkey’s COP31 summit World leaders began arriving in Antalya on Wednesday to take part in the COP31 climate conference, which Turkey is hosting for the first time. By Gabrielle Debinski In New York City, reporting on the Middle East
Turkey’s banking watchdog chief submits resignation amid fund scandal Turkey’s government is facing growing criticism over regulators’ failure to prevent a fund scandal involving more than $20 billion. Turkey
Explainer Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal. Turkey
Newsletter: FutureVerse Does Middle East have Nvidia problem? Nvidia shares tumbled this week as the company launched an independent investigation, sparking fallout that could reach all the way to the Middle East. By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Analysis Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions? By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Newsletter: City Pulse Istanbul Nisantasi beyond the shop windows By Nazlan Ertan In Izmir and Istanbul, reporting on culture
Turkey’s Moral Majority Tests Its Power With a series of moves such as the limitation of alcohol sales and a kissing ban, perceived as strong signs of social paternalism following the military tutelage, Turkey is being dragged into a refreshed Kulturkampf. Turkey
Turkey and Syria’s Kurds Edging Toward an Uneasy Peace? Fresh fighting between Syrian Kurdish groups and Arab opposition fighters in Syria's Kurdish region is threatening to spread. Iraq
Social Divisions Hinder Saudi Rights Movement Ideological and social polarization is preventing a strong Saudi rights movement from emerging. Saudi Arabia
Jordan Deals With Backlash From Iraq, Syria Jordanians may be becoming more xenophobic as the Hashemite Kingdom deals with pressures from Iraq and Syria. Jordan
Davutoglu Cautiously 'Not Pessimistic' On Syria Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says US-Turkish policies on Syria are now synchronized. Syria
Turkey Puzzled by US Stance On Exxon-KRG Oil Deal Ankara questions US concerns over its arrangement with ExxonMobil for energy exploration in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Iraq
Syria’s Conflict May Already Be in Lebanon Following recent conflict in Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, it is becoming ever more apparent that Syria’s conflict, as represented between Jabhat al-Nusra and Hezbollah, is already in Lebanon. Lebanon
Turkey’s Clash of Civilizations Turkey’s secular and democratic identity should not be compromised for religious orthodoxy. Turkey
Misreading The 'Syria Transition Act' In Turkey The Senate Foreign Relations Committee bill does not signal the imminent arrival of US arms to the Syria opposition. Syria
Iran’s UN Ambassador Welcomes Geneva II Conference on Syria Mohammad Khazaee, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, discusses Iran’s position on Syria in an email interview with Al-Monitor. Turkey
Turkish-Kurdish Leader Cautious, Hopeful on Peace Plan Ahmet Turk, a pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party member, draws attention to a new legislation bringing municipalities under direct tutelage of governors, and argues that is in direct contradiction to the government’s Kurdish initiative. Turkey
AKP Wages Jihad Against Alcohol in Turkey The AKP’s draft law of aggressive alcohol restrictions aims not only to engineer an Islamic society but to prevent possible losses in its conservative electoral base. Turkey