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
Kurds draw pride from defense of Kobani Al-Monitor's visit to the besieged Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani found Kurdish fighters optimistic about their chances of reclaiming the town and expelling Islamic State forces. Syria
WikiLeaks sheds light on Turkey’s mysterious ‘Annotators’ Were the "Annotators" really terrorists connected to al-Qaeda? Or were they victims of a conspiracy by the “parallel state”? WikiLeaks offers some hints. Turkey
Turkey’s high court could pull rug from under AKP Turkey's Constitutional Court is to rule on an electoral threshold issue that some believe could end the Justice and Development Party's 12-year rule. Turkey
EU decision boosts Russian, UN diplomacy on Syria Russia, the United Nations and Iran lead diplomatic initiative in Syria; Iran and Turkey discuss counterterrorism; al-Qaeda-linked group advances in Syria; Aleppo’s radicalization; Hamas seeks to rebuild ties with Iran. Israel
Critics condemn AKP's tough police overhaul proposals For some, the AKP-drafted internal security legislation is needed to preserve Turkey's public order; for others it is a chaos package that will allow arbitrary action by the state. Turkey
Syrian authorities halt ferries to Turkey It’s become even harder for Syrians to flee the war-ravaged country after Syrian authorities stopped the ferry service between Tartus and the Turkish port city of Mersin. Syria
Nepotism flourishes under AKP Turkey’s main opposition party has revealed a list of government workers who got public jobs through corrupt channels and created a website for citizens to report other cases. Turkey
Erdogan continues to consolidate power Turkey remains a parliamentary system under its present constitution, but there is little preventing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from taking steps to fulfill his ambition of becoming the country’s paramount leader. Turkey
Gulenists defeated on first anniversary of corruption probes A year after the December 2013 corruption probes, Erdogan’s government continues to grapple with the ghosts of the covered-up scandals, while the Gulen community stands defeated in the open war it launched on the government through the probes. Turkey
Israeli attack intensifies Syrian anger, despair Syrians on social media mock “right to respond”; US says Syrian rebels will not overthrow Assad; Syrian patriarch pleads for peace; Russia steps up diplomacy; Jumblatt sees no future for Assad; Turkey’s shadow government; Qatar and Turkey draw congressional ire over support for Hamas. Qatar
Energy deals may make Turkey irreversibly reliant on Moscow Despite the celebratory sentiment in Ankara after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit, Turkey’s energy dependence on Russia is bound to further increase with nuclear power plant projects. Turkey
Shadow government set up in Erdogan’s white palace Worried about corruption investigations and intent on holding on to power, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is setting up a shadow government. Turkey