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
Breaking | Last Updated: November 5, 2026, 3:56 pm 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
How Ankara, Washington plan to achieve regional energy security US Vice President Joe Biden was in Ankara last week, and Cyprus and energy security joined Turkey's attempted coup and the Islamic State as discussion topics. Syria
Has Turkey’s Gulenist witch hunt spiraled out of control? The Turkish government’s post-putsch witch hunt is seeking to eliminate Gulenists from both government offices and public life, pushing the limits of rationality and upending hundreds of thousands of lives. Turkey
Biden’s diplomatic triage in Turkey Ankara reconsiders its Syria policy amid strains in US-Turkey ties and a reset in Iran-Turkey diplomacy. Syria
How glorification of martyrdom produces child suicide bombers in Turkey A majority of Turkish children are exposed to Islamic education and media indoctrination that glorifies martyrdom. Turkey
Has Turkey really stepped into 'Syrian quagmire'? Political developments in the region will determine the fate of the recent Turkish incursion into Syria. Syria
Was wedding blast in Gaziantep revenge for IS defeats in Syria? Some suspect the Aug. 20 suicide bombing of a Kurdish wedding party in southern Turkey was the work of the Islamic State avenging its recent losses in Syria. Syria
What's Turkey really up to in Syria? Many observers think Turkey's true goal in entering Syria is to prevent the Kurds from dominating northern Syria, not to fight the Islamic State. Syria
Will Turkey's Jarablus win lead to showdown with Kurds? Turkey’s incursion into Jarablus and demands that Kurdish forces retreat have shaken the balance of power in the region. Syria
Turkey is in its own post-9/11 fury Just like the United States after the 9/11 attacks, the Turkish state has a right to defend itself; but now, just like the US government after 9/11, Turkey may be seriously overreacting. Turkey
Why Iran isn't rattled by Turkey-Russia turnabout Post-coup Turkey raced to patch up ties with Russia, but Iran does not seem concerned that the rapprochement will be at its expense. Syria
Will Egypt offer asylum to Gulen? If the United States ever agrees to extradite Fethullah Gulen to Turkey, he has avid supporters who would welcome him in Egypt. Egypt
Did Turkish government see Gaziantep attack coming? Turkish officials apparently ignored intelligence information that warned of the Aug. 20 wedding massacre in Gaziantep. Syria