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
Why is Turkey buying more gas than it needs from Iran? Why does Turkey want to double its gas imports from Iran when it's already importing more gas than it consumes? Turkey
Erdogan counting on elections to recoup from scandals Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is banking on the polls, not the courts, to vindicate himself from the current allegations of corruption. Turkey
Turkey’s warring personality cults In the absence of well-grounded institutions, politics in Turkey often devolves into a battle of personalities, as we see now between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen. Turkey
Sisi not Egypt’s civilian Messiah Whoever becomes Egypt’s next president must do three things, including bringing all political parties together if Egypt is to be able to rebuild its economy and political institutions. Egypt
Barrel bombings cause mass evacuation in east Aleppo An exclusive first hand report on how fearful residents, along with opposition forces, have fled east Aleppo en masse as the Syrian government's barrel bombing campaign shows no sign of relenting. Syria
Turkmen caught between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Turkmen are getting pressure from the Turkish government to work more closely with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq. Iraq
Turkey’s Armenians in crisis over patriarch A rift over the spiritual leadership of Turkey’s Armenian community exposes the Turkish state’s political machinations in dealing with this minority. Turkey
Erdogan enraged The corruption probe and alleged phone leaks between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his advisers raise grave concerns about Turkey’s political direction. Turkey
Another sensational scandal rocks Turkey Pro-government dailies are reporting a massive wiretapping scandal. Turkey
The peril of escalation in Syria Edward Dark writes that Aleppans will pay the price for any escalation in the war; the UN Security Council votes for humanitarian assistance and calls for greater cooperation to confront al-Qaeda in Syria; 16 female journalists cover the Middle East; and exorcism in the Gaza Strip. Palestine
Turkey's elections likely to increase political turmoil Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to keep the heat on his political opponents heading into the March 30 local elections. Turkey
Is Muqtada al-Sadr retiring or repositioning? After Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr declared his intention to withdraw from politics, signs suggest that it may have been a move aimed at political repositioning before the upcoming elections. Iraq