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
Turkey’s Twitter 'Fenos' Work to Marginalize Critics Women journalists, in particular, face the wrath of pro-AKP pundits. Egypt
Erdogan’s Doublethink Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s approach to police and military actions is an Orwellian case of "doublethink." Turkey
Turkey Stalls on Reconciliation With Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the Turkish conditions for restoring relations between the two countries, but is Ankara willing to move forward? Israel
Environmental Crisis Looms in Turkey The Turkish media is ignoring possible ecological disasters for fear of angering Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey
Erdogan’s Top Economic Adviser Takes Heat from Business A controversial tax probe at Turkey’s largest business conglomerate adds to the woes of economy chief Ali Babacan. Turkey
Turkish Diplomat Discusses Missteps in Syria In an interview with Taraf, veteran Turkish diplomat Yasar Yakis speaks about Turkey's position toward Syria and his views on recent Kurdish developments in northern Syria. Syria
Erdogan Seeks Informers Is Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government encouraging people to report on each other? Turkey
Can the Kurds Redeem Erdogan’s Faltering Image? If Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan can achieve a peace deal with the Kurds, he will have earned a place for himself in the history books. Turkey
Is Audit of Koc Companies Erdogan’s Revenge for Gezi Park? Police-accompanied tax audit raids against three companies of Turkey's largest industrial group, Koc, is putting into deeds Erdogan’s threats against capital owners he holds responsible for the Gezi Park events. Turkey
Erdogan Threatens to Settle Score With The Times Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to “do what we can in the legal sphere” against the British daily The Times for publishing an advertisement denouncing his government. Turkey
Has Turkey Made U-Turn On Syria’s Kurds? The leader of the Democratic Union Party of Syria (PYD), Salih Muslim, says Turkey has given the green light for autonomy for the Kurds in Syria. Syria
Turkey’s Missed Opportunities Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan might wish to retract some of his foreign policy decisions. Turkey