Analysis Iraq’s Zaidi offers economic promise for Turkey but unknowns loom Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, is expected to sustain growing economic and strategic ties with Turkey thanks to his business-oriented approach, though uncertainty over his political stance could test cooperation on sensitive issues. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Newsletter: City Pulse Istanbul “Form-Craft-Activism” spotlights the labor behind making Also this week: A century-old lokanta, cartoonists and labor cinema By Nazlan Ertan In Izmir and Istanbul, reporting on culture
Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know A potential French deployment to Greek Cyprus comes amid Turkey’s growing concerns of strategic encirclement in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey
Turkey advances gas pipeline plan to northern Cyprus as East Med rivalry grows The Turkish energy minister said the country's oil and natural gas pipeline operator, BOTAS, has started the engineering work for the pipeline. Turkey
Analysis Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Can raw meat dish rescue Turkey from export slump? By aggressively marketing raw “meat” ball appetizers to Europe and China, Turkey hopes to find new sources of foreign currency. Turkey
Is this the last nail in coffin of women, minors' rights in Turkey? An AKP-led parliamentary commission releases a draft report on how to protect the sanctity of the family in Turkey by providing controversial suggestions. Turkey
Back home after clashes, Kurds in Turkey's Sur find only debris Some look for their homes, others for the bodies of relatives as Kurdish civilians are finally allowed to return to devastated neighborhoods in Diyarbakir after months of clashes between Kurdish militants and the security forces. Turkey
How Turkey plans to boost home sales to foreigners Preparations are underway to offer work permits in addition to residency to buyers of real estate in Turkey, and citizenship could be next on the table. Turkey
This woman may be biggest opposition to Erdogan Meral Aksener, a rare female heavyweight in Turkish politics, may be the long-awaited leader to thwart Erdogan’s authoritarian ambitions. Turkey
Why an old-fashioned novel is trending among Turkey's youth A romantic Turkish novel first published in 1943 has finally been translated into English this month after becoming a social media sensation, coinciding with the third anniversary of the Gezi Park protests that shook Turkey and its ruling party. Turkey
US, Kurds to clear path toward Raqqa, with or without Turkey Because of Turkey's objections to Kurdish involvement, operational plans against the Islamic State keep changing. Syria
Expect repercussions from deadly Latakia attacks All players in the Syrian war are scrutinizing the recent bloody assaults on Syrian civilians and the range of results that are likely. Syria
Turkey's Islamists, nationalists both silent on Israeli weapons flow to Azerbaijan Turkey’s Islamist and ultra-nationalists are curbing their opposition — at least outwardly — to Israel, which is supplying Azerbaijan with weapons to fight Armenia. Israel
An autopsy of the new Turkish government The new Turkish government under Prime Minister Binali Yildirim includes and excludes some curious names. Turkey
Can Erdogan afford to scuttle the refugee deal with EU? Although Erdogan still says EU cannot order Turkey around, he may well soften his bluster if he gets the presidency he wants. Turkey
Erdogan irked as major players snub humanitarian summit Turkey was expecting representatives from "all" countries to attend the first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul. Syria