Newsletter: City Pulse Istanbul Nisantasi beyond the shop windows Also this week: Hopdaddy burgers, Ara Guler’s photographs and Istanbul’s apartment stories. By Nazlan Ertan In Izmir and Istanbul, reporting on culture
Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in UNSG poll as Nusseibeh places fourth The Costa Rican candidate received 12 encourage votes in Thursday's UN Security Council straw poll. United Arab Emirates
Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Turkey
Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift? A dispute over religious dress in schools has exposed deeper tensions between the two allies, with energy, arms sales, Israel and financial interests adding to the strain. Turkey
Is Moscow using the S-400 against Turkey? Ankara denies the suggestion from Moscow that a second batch of S-400s is headed for Turkey and says it is an effort to stall Turkey’s talks with the United States and Europe. Turkey
Turkey’s ruling alliance to ease election threshold, but opponents smell trap An agreement between the AKP and the MHP to cut the vote baseline to enter parliament from 10% is seen as a bid to undermine the opposition. Turkey
What Erdogan missed in skipping Baghdad conference The Turkish president’s absence from the regional summit in Baghdad underscores the urgent need for Turkey to mend fences with Iraq and rethink the cost of its confrontational policies in the region. Turkey
Qatar in talks with Taliban, Turkey to reopen Kabul airport Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said there is “no clear indication” of when flights will resume at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Qatar
Turkish dissident columnist attacked by unknown assailants The assault on the vocal dissident comes at a time of tightened grip on artists, singers, and dramatists. Turkey
Turkey’s record growth rate belies murky economic prospects Eager to woo back disgruntled voters, Erdogan appears bent on stimulating economic growth at the risk of stoking Turkey’s currency troubles. Turkey
Iraqi Kurdish leader helps ease Turkey-UAE tensions Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani helped facilitate a recent phone call between Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey
Turkey’s Family Ministry moves to turn down K-pop Turkey is full of young fans of Korean pop music, angering conservatives who claim the K-pop movement encourages homosexuality. Turkey
Turkey won't accept 'refugee burden' from Afghanistan Turkey, which already hosts more than 300,000 Afghans, has warned it doesn't have the resources to accept additional migrants from the war-torn country. Turkey
Are Syrian jihadis ready to take the fight to Afghanistan? Afghanistan revives terror challenges for Washington; Russia anticipates security vacuum; Erdogan senses an opportunity. Syria
Turkey’s targeted killings signal new strategy against Syrian Kurdish forces A series of Turkish drone strikes targeting senior Kurdish figures in northeast Syria appears to be the prelude of an attrition strategy to further restrict the main Syrian Kurdish group in the region and hamper its autonomy project. Turkey
Turkey, Taliban hold talks in Kabul as airport security in doubt Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara hasn't decided whether to provide the Taliban with technical assistance at Kabul's international airport. Turkey