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
Iraq's elections weaken PKK in Sinjar Iraq's October elections may have strengthened the Iraqi Kurdistan administration's hands in the Yazidi enclave of Sinjar. Turkey
In troubled US-Turkey relations, F-16 deal seen as path for dialogue US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Sunday to discuss an F-16 fighter jet purchase, which analysts see as an avenue for “positive” dialogue amid bilateral tensions. Turkey
Turkey's Erdogan backs out of Glasgow climate summit Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan made the last-minute decision to skip the UN climate summit on Monday, saying British authorities failed to meet his security demands. Turkey
Turkey eyes five new targets for possible offensive in Syria Turkey has ramped up military activity on the ground in Syria following a parliamentary extension of the government's mandate to carry out cross-border operations. Yet, such an operation still seems unlikely without Washington and Moscow’s approval. Turkey
Intel: Pentagon holds 'productive' talks with Turkey over F-35 dispute All eyes are on next week's Glasgow summit as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to talk F-35s and F-16s with US President Joe Biden. Turkey
Syrians to be deported for eating bananas 'provocatively' in Turkey As tensions soar between Turks and their country's 4 million refugees, a viral trend of young Syrians posting videos of themselves eating bananas has ended in some set to be deported. Turkey
With F-16 deal in limbo, Erdogan-Biden meeting postponed to Glasgow Following a diplomatic row this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters Tuesday he would seek to confirm a divisive F-16 deal with US counterpart Joe Biden at the COP26 conference in Glasgow. Turkey
Turkey’s parliament votes to extend mandate for troops in Iraq, Syria The main opposition CHP announced an hour before the session that it would vote against the motion. Turkey
Turkish media erupts with news of Iran spy arrests — three weeks late The victorious headlines ran in all the pro-government print news media, which are in desperate need of good news amid the deepening economic crisis. Turkey
Turkey’s spy-bust bombshell unlikely to further worsen ties with Israel The Turkish media may be abuzz with reports about the foiling of a Mossad-run spy ring, but Israel appears unimpressed, and observers see no further deterioration in the already frosty bilateral relations. Turkey
Erdogan backpedals on threat to expel 10 Western ambassadors After threatening to expel 10 foreign envoys, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday appeared to de-escalate a diplomatic row sparked by the ongoing imprisonment of Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala. Turkey
Turkey sends mixed signals over Syrian mercenaries in Libya Turkey’s withdrawal of a limited number of Syrian militia from Libya is aiming to sidestep potential accusations of spoiling the election process in the war-torn nation as December elections near. Turkey