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
Turkey, Armenia hold 'constructive' first round of normalization talks Following talks in Moscow on Friday, representatives for the two countries agreed to meet again without preconditions. Turkey
Erdogan accused of criminalizing opposition ahead of critical polls A controversial probe into the opposition-led Istanbul municipality might be the prelude of a campaign to criminalize and sideline Erdogan’s potential opponents in the upcoming presidential race, critics say. Turkey
Turkish teen suicide revives secular-pious debate The debate over the place of Islam in public life remains among the most contentious in Turkey. Turkey
Kazakhstan crisis challenges Turkey's leadership of Turkic union The unrest rattling Kazakhstan has reflected the irrelevance of Turkey and the Organization of Turkic States chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey
Turkey’s middle class put on austerity footing amid skyrocketing prices Staggering price increases are forcing Turkey’s middle class to cut on spending in myriad fields, from shopping and transport to dining and travel. Turkey
Turkish Netflix series turns cameras on pogroms, hidden Greeks "The Club," whose first season woke the ghosts of Turkey’s Jewish community, turns its lens on Turkey’s Greek Orthodox Community and the pogroms of 1955. Turkey
Journalists in Turkey see media domain narrowing as elections approach Media workers under pressure mark Working Journalists Day and fear further clampdown on independent journalism. Turkey
Turkey caught off guard in Kazakhstan as Russia emerges on top Ankara has offered "all kinds of support" to help restore order after the central Asian nation was rocked by violent protests. Turkey
Turkish court approves release of two jailed Bogazici students Berke Gok and Perit Ozen were among 14 students arrested in October 2021 for protesting the government-appointed rector at Istanbul’s Bogazici University. Turkey
Erdogan hopes fence-mending trip to Saudi Arabia eases financial woes Following normalization with the UAE in November, Erdogan plans to pursue reconciliation with Saudi Arabia next month, pressed by financial woes at home, as both sides appear ready to leave the Khashoggi affair behind. Turkey
Rights groups, world politicians urge release of student protesters in Turkey European parliamentarians and rights groups are calling for Turkey to end the detention of two students behind bars for three months for protesting the government-appointed rector of Bogazici University. Turkey
Turkish and Armenian envoys to meet in Moscow next week The two representatives will meet to discuss normalizing relations between the neighboring countries for the first time in decades. Turkey