The FINANCIAL -- Ruth Ellen Gruber, an award-winning American journalist who was deported from Poland in 1983 during the Martial Law era has been decorated with one of the country’s highest honours.

The FINANCIAL -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed hope for a favorable UN Security Council outcome that would grant full membership to Palestine and recognize its statehood, as he had requested the US president to reconsider a predicted US veto of the Palestinian bid.

The FINANCIAL -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated that an Israeli raid on a Turkish aid ship last year, which resulted in the deaths of eight Turks and a Turkish-American, was a cause for war and said Turkey can even go to war if necessary.

The FINANCIAL -- Senior White House official has said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Barack Obama agreed during a meeting on Tuesday to build up pressure on Syria’s embattled president to produce a result that would meet Syrian people's demands.

The FINANCIAL -- The French and US presidents planned to heap pressure on their Palestinian counterpart Wednesday in a concerted push to persuade Mahmoud Abbas to end his bid for full UN membership and to instead seek upgraded status in the world body.