AKP Survives

In a somewhat surprising verdict, Turkey's 11-member constitutional court fell one short of the seven votes needed to ban the country's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The party will, however, have its state funding cut in half. This is officially a warning, but it also weakens the group politically, suggesting the secularist forces on the court may have feared popular outrage on the AKP's behalf similar to what happened last year in the controversy over Abdullah Gul's presidential nomination.