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
Water war could leave Turkish Cyprus high and dry A fight over profits has disrupted the water supply from Turkey to Turkish Cyprus less than three months after a unique water pipeline was inaugurated, threatening to leave Turkish Cypriots with neither water nor vital financial aid from Ankara. Turkey
Could Iran-Saudi conflict provide Turkey 'graceful exit' from Syria? Turkish reactions to the Jan. 2 execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr are quite telling for the future of Ankara’s regional policy. Saudi Arabia
Kurds on hunger strike for bodies of dead relatives Kurdish families have launched a hunger strike to get the bodies of relatives killed while fighting with the security forces in Turkey’s conflict-ravaged southeast. Turkey
The real problem with Erdogan's Hitler comment The official "correction" of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reckless reference to "Hitler’s Germany" reveals more about Erdogan's real agenda than the reference itself. Turkey
Was Syria intervention worth it for Russia? While Moscow's military involvement in the Syria crisis has led to an increasingly important role for Russia in regional and global politics, critics wonder whether or not the costs will outweigh the benefits. Syria
Has Turkey’s regional power grab come to an end? Turkey is forfeiting its claims for regional supremacy by joining the Saudi-led Sunni alliance and making friendly overtures toward Israel. Saudi Arabia
Has Ankara abandoned Iraq’s Turkmens? Shiite Turkmens of Iraq, feeling that Turkey has failed them, are fighting with Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units. Iraq
Iraqis see fake Syrian passport as golden ticket to Europe Iraqis are buying forged Syrian passports to try to increase their chances of winning asylum in European countries. Iraq
First the Middle East, now Central Asia slipping away from Turkey Having lost influence in the Middle East, Turkey finds itself increasingly isolated from Central Asia and the Caucasus after its dust-up with Russia in Syria. Turkey
Saudi-Iranian crisis complicates Ankara’s regional plans Islamists and secularists alike want Turkey to stay out of the Iranian-Saudi conflict. Saudi Arabia
Three faiths, three commanders The Popular Mobilization Units, initially identified as a Shiite militia, is changing the course of the battles in Iraq with participation of Sunnis and Christians. Iraq
Is Turkey heading to partition? Turkey is losing Kurdish minds and hearts at a dramatic pace — the first outcome of the war raging in the Kurdish movement’s urban strongholds amid unprecedented destruction and civilian deaths. Turkey