Turkey inks $5.1B in climate loans at COP31: What to know Ankara can count 10 loan deals worth $5.1 billion with four multilateral development banks so far at the UN climate summit, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Thursday. Turkey
Explainer Bilal Erdogan, floated as father’s possible successor, visits Lebanon: What to know Bilal Erdogan, the son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is in Lebanon for a three-day visit that will include meetings with officials and religious leaders, as well as stops in Sunni-majority cities. Lebanon
Turkey hosts Libya’s Hifter, Erdogan meets Tripoli PM as unity push gains pace Ankara is expanding ties with Libya’s eastern leadership while seeking to protect its agreements with Tripoli under a potential power-sharing arrangement. Turkey
Watchdog urges Turkey to tighten digital asset rules for $144B crypto economy A review of Turkey’s crypto-asset regulations by the Financial Stability Board acknowledged significant progress made by local authorities but called for further measures to address potential risks. Turkey
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran war shadows Turkey’s COP31 summit By Gabrielle Debinski In New York City, reporting on the Middle East
Newsletter: FutureVerse Does Middle East have Nvidia problem? By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Morsi Is Not Arab World’s Mandela In response to Tawakul Karman's recent article in Foreign Policy, Bassem Sabry and Hani Sabra write that Mohammed Morsi is no Nelson Mandela. Egypt
Are Gul, Erdogan Playing 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' With Egypt? It appears Turkey’s president and prime minister are playing a "good cop, bad cop" routine on Egypt, but their differences are real. Turkey
Pardon My Turkish: Battle for 'Halal' Words Being politically correct takes another unexpected turn in Turkey as a new vocabulary permeates the social scene, further deepening political fault lines. Turkey
Turkey’s Syrian Kurdish Gamble: A Double Edged Sword Turkey’s efforts to contain Syrian Kurdish autonomy while pursuing peace with its own Kurds could backfire. Syria
Turkish Fans Ponder Football Without Freedom The Turkish government fears political dissent will find its way to football games, so one major club takes controversial measures to prevent it. Turkey
Russia’s Course in Syria Unchanged Al-Monitor’s coverage of US and Russian policies toward Syria; the protests in Egypt; and the return of reformist and Islamic chic in Iran. Egypt
Turkish Pilots Abducted At Gunpoint in Beirut Two Turkish Airlines pilots were kidnapped in Beirut early Friday, Aug. 9, to put pressure on the Turkish government to help release nine Shiite Lebanese hostages in Syria since May 2012. Lebanon
Erdogan Looks West Given Ankara’s misadventures in the Middle East, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s best option to fulfill his vision of a democratic Turkey is to pivot to the West. Turkey
Control, Halt, Delete: Gulf States Crack Down on Online Critics The Gulf states’ heavy-handed response to online criticism was entirely predictable and shows no signs of abating. Legacy: Gulf
Controversial Turkish Surgeon Odd Man Out in Ergenekon Trial A famous surgeon’s unexpected release in the Ergenekon trial deepens Turkey’s political fault lines. Turkey
Erdogan Prepares to Face Post-Ramadan Challenges Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be walking on eggshells after Ramadan to balance the popular reaction to the Ergenekon verdicts and Kurdish demands to advance the negotiation process. Turkey
Kurdish National Congress Seeks Unity Amid Divisions The Kurdish National Congress, to be held in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on Aug. 24, will seek a common agenda for Kurds divided over the war in Syria. Iraq