South Korea called on Saturday for deeper cooperation with Japan on a China-led development bank, while Japan remained cautious about the lender, which it and ally the United States have held back from joining.

• May 23, 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the United States for blocking an Egyptian-led drive on a possible Middle East nuclear weapons ban at a major United Nations conference, an Israeli official said on Saturday.

• May 23, 2015

Russia's foreign ministry has warned its citizens traveling abroad of the risks posed by U.S. law enforcement bodies and special services, which it said were hunting for Russians around the world.

• May 22, 2015

Looking over their shoulders at Russia, the European Union and six former Soviet neighbors patched up their differences to renew vows of cooperation in the interests of peace and security at a summit on Friday.

• May 22, 2015

Lebanon's Hezbollah says the Middle East is at risk of partition and sees no end to the war in Syria, where it is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad against insurgents supported by his regional enemies.

• May 21, 2015

President Barack Obama on Thursday pledged to elevate Tunisia as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, a gesture that recognizes the country's democratic progress after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

• May 21, 2015

The Internet is the most important front in China's ideological battle against "Western anti-China forces", the country's military newspaper said on Wednesday, adding that online controls were essential to the government's survival.

• May 20, 2015

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics
15 April – 15 May 2015
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• The Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) looks set to be a king maker in June’s parliamentary elections, though its leader vows its election platform is “the nightmare of the sultan”—in reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
• The HDP makes a bold play to connect with voters outside of its core Kurdish constituency that, if successful, may siphon votes away from the Republican People’s Party (CHP). If it fails, however, the party risks being shut out of parliament entirely.
• After many years of competing interests, Saudi-Turkish political cooperation has the potential to impact the entire region.
• While the Turkish Stream project grabs headlines, progress on the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) draws the interest of potential new suppliers from Iraq and Iran.

• May 20, 2015