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
How Turkey's pollsters missed the mark on election predictions There are several reasons why all the major polling agencies performed so dismally in predicting the results of Turkey's Nov. 1 elections. Turkey
Why Syria's youngest refugees need more than just food aid The Syrian refugee children spread in Syria’s neighboring countries are at risk of becoming isolated and violent and need extensive psychological rehabilitation. Jordan
Will AKP victory change Turkey's foreign policy? If the new Turkish government fails to take advantage of its electoral mandate to make necessary revisions in foreign policy, events on the ground might force its hand anyway. Egypt
Analyzing Turkey's election 'earthquake' Turkey’s election results surprised even the AKP brass, while the MHP and HDP lost considerable ground. Turkey
Turks divided over plans to introduce Arabic-language teaching Turkey's Ministry of National Education has announced that Arabic courses will be offered to students starting in second grade, prompting some to call this an attempt to "assassinate secularism." Turkey
How the AKP dominated yesterday's election in Turkey While the Justice and Development Party was projected to win in Turkey’s Nov. 1 polls, a concurrence of factors led to an unexpected sweeping victory. Turkey
Turkey’s dispiriting elections Erdogan offers an uncertain democratic future for Turkey; Syria Contact Group avoids divisions over Assad’s fate; Iranian and Russian support pivotal in Syrian military campaign to retake Aleppo. Syria
Islamic State creeps in on Kurdish stronghold The discovery of an Islamic State cell in Diyarbakir, Turkey’s main Kurdish city, stokes fears that the extremist group is seeking to further fuel Kurdish-Turkish ethnic tensions. Turkey
Forget online dating, now the Turkish government will find you a spouse Struggling to recover decreasing youth support for the AKP, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu gambles on the sexual frustration of bachelors by promising to play matchmaker for the desperate. Turkey
Turkey reconsiders security priorities The recent raid on Islamic State safe houses in Diyarbakir has shed light on the organization's activities in Turkey and prompted Turkey to reconsider its top security priorities. Turkey
Turkey's peace pipe to Cyprus The water pipeline slated to reunify Cyprus faces strong opposition on environmental, cultural and political fronts from both Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Turkey
Congress muted ahead of Turkish elections The US is largely staying silent ahead of this weekend's controversial snap poll. Turkey