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’s central bank cuts rate again despite nosediving lira Erdogan’s push for lower interest rates despite Turkey’s tumbling currency and soaring inflation is an economic gamble that he is unlikely to win. Turkey
Turkish, Israeli presidents speak after Israeli couple freed After the phone call between the two presidents, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also called Erdogan, a first between the two leaders. Turkey
Erdogan lost in foreign policy maze of his own making As talk of early elections grows louder, Erdogan needs to steer Turkey out of its international isolation to bolster his weakened position at home. Turkey
Erdogan envisions alliance of Turkic-speaking states The recent summit of Turkic-speaking states has fueled Ankara’s ambitions to lead a Turkic regional economic and security complex, but major geopolitical, economic and institutional hurdles remain. Turkey
Turkey's war of attrition against Syria's Kurds Alongside shelling and drones, Turkey is weaponizing water supplies in northeast Syria, turning an already horrible situation into a nightmare Syria
Why was cosmopolitan Istanbul so threatening to Turkish identity? A new Netflix series has kicked off conversations on long-hushed questions about Turkish identity. Turkey
Netflix series awakens ghosts of past for Turkey's Jews "The Club" explores the old wounds of Turkey’s minuscule Jewish community, from lost Ladino songs to the wealth stolen by a draconian 1942 tax. Turkey
Erdogan woos Armenia with regional cooperation proposal A transport corridor for Azerbaijan via Armenian territory — a plan that has stoked Turkey’s strategic ambitions in the region — remains on paper a year on, but that’s not the only obstacle to normalization between the three neighbors. Turkey
Israel seeks release of couple arrested for espionage in Istanbul In an incident that threatens to further strain Turkey-Israel relations, Jerusalem is working to secure the release of an Israeli couple arrested in Istanbul Friday after reportedly taking photos of a presidential residence. Turkey
Airlines suspend Belarus-bound travel for Middle East migrants Turkish Airlines and Iraqi Airlines restricting flights to Minsk for citizens of Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Turkey
Turks demand protection after woman killed with sword In the wake of a headline-making femicide in Istanbul, activists and politicians have revived calls to return to the Istanbul Convention. Turkey
Turkish Airlines denies fueling Belarus-Poland migration crisis After EU officials threatened to blacklist airlines facilitating travel for asylum-seekers amassing at the Poland-Belarus border, Turkish Airlines denied links to the bloc’s latest migration crisis. Turkey