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
LGBT Turks Seek to Capitalize On Gezi Good Will While record numbers participated in Turkey's annual LGBT pride parade, some still doubt whether this atmosphere will help them in their fight for acceptance. Turkey
Turkey’s Syria Refugee Crisis Turkey struggles to handle an increasingly taxing Syrian refugee crisis. Turkey
What Did Turkey Lose When EU Lost Nabucco? Turkey has lost an opportunity to redefine the implicit rules of the energy sector for itself and other transit countries. Turkey
It's the Egyptian Identity, Stupid The first Egyptian revolution was about freedom, justice and dignity, but the new wave of protests is about defending Egyptian identity. Egypt
Will Sheikh Tamim Rebalance Qatar’s Foreign Policy? In the first article of a two-part series, Qatar’s new emir will likely follow his father's course, but Qatar’s may be forced to adjust its approach to international affairs. Qatar
Turkey's Political Fallout On Iraqi Kurdish Crude Relying upon Ankara as a sole energy transit route without an agreement with Baghdad may further delay the Kurdistan Region’s energy production potential. Iraq
Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Process On a Knife’s Edge The killing of a Kurdish protester by Turkish security forces has heightened fears that the fragile peace between the government and the PKK may be coming to an end. Turkey
Turkish Kurds Find Common Ground With Protesters A visit to Turkey’s Kurdish southeast reveals common ground between the Gezi Park protesters and Turkish Kurds. Turkey
Turkish Media a Casualty Of Erdogan’s Policies Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's policies have eroded the credibility of Turkey's mainstream media. Turkey
AKP May Have Gotten Message From Gezi Park The Justice and Development Party (AKP) may be coming around to the notion that participatory, not majoritarian, democracy is the answer for Turkey. Turkey
New Syrian Institution Helps US Deliver Humanitarian Aid A senior US aid official tasked with coordinating humanitarian assistance to Syria says he is “all for” prolonging the Syria war if it leads to a “democratic Syria.” Syria