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
Does Erdogan want his own Islamic state? Erdogan is willing to not abolish Turkey’s constitutional secularism, as some fear, but rather to use religion in the most effective way. Turkey
US and Syria's Kurds: Love on the rocks? PKK violence is complicating US relations with Syria’s Kurds just as Turkey steps up its cooperation against the Islamic State. Syria
Mad love, amnesia or fear? How Erdogan pulls it off President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political fortunes have not suffered from his contradictions, questionable denials and attacks on opponents. Turkey
Will Ankara’s new culture plan lead to more censorship of the arts? In Turkey, where freedom of expression is curtailed, the AKP’s sustainable cultural development program finds little enthusiasm. Turkey
Will Turkey bid farewell to secularism? Ismail Kahraman, the speaker of the Turkish parliament, has caused a sensation by proposing a constitution that avoids any reference to secularism as the ruling party continues to promote its Islamist agenda. Turkey
Erdogan’s wrath against satire expands into Europe After jailing and suppressing journalists in his country, will Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s onslaught on free speech in Europe backfire? Turkey
Will Turkey ask NATO for help defending against IS rockets? Turkish citizens are calling on their government to boost its feeble response to IS shelling from Syria. Syria
Why Turkey's anti-tobacco efforts went up in smoke Smoking and drug abuse are on the rise among Turks, and experts blame worsening poverty levels and faltering measures on the government’s part. Turkey
Erdogan, Davutoglu shed tears for Gaza, but do little else Turkey as well as the oil-rich Gulf states have still not fulfilled their pledges to help with the reconstruction and development of Gaza. Legacy: Gulf
What Turkey can learn from coup plot case dismissal The judgments rendered in the Ergenekon coup-attempt case have been dismissed after nine years because of errors in merit and procedure. Turkey
Is Islamophobia on the rise in Turkey? A researcher in Turkey’s southeast says radical Islamist groups and the bloodshed in Syria have fueled estrangement from Islam in the Kurdish-majority region, where Islamist-secularist tensions have simmered for decades. Turkey
How will Turkey's military use its restored standing? Does the collapse of the coup attempt case enhance Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s power, or is it the resumption of the cycle that governed civilian and military relations during the last decades? Turkey