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 Elections: Deepfakes, disinformation ‘misdirect’ voters ahead of runoff False claims and montage videos have featured heavily in campaign leading to Sunday’s presidential rerun. Turkey
Al-Monitor/Premise Turkey poll: Erdogan, Kilicdaroglu statistically tied in election runoff The poll found the economy, refugees and justice stand out as the top three issues that the country faces, with 71% of respondents favoring an imminent return of refugees in the country. Turkey
Turkey Elections: Fears of internet restrictions mount with over a dozen under Erdogan With a critical presidential election runoff on Sunday, Turks are on high alert for potential censorship and internet shutdowns. Turkey
Turkey Elections: Far-right Victory Party throws support behind Erdogan challenger As Turkey enters the final stretch to the presidential runoff, the political tone has gotten harsher with name-calling and libel suits. Turkey
Turkey Elections: Runoff becomes tug of war over Syrian refugees As Turkey heads for its presidential runoff, the opposition and the government are in a race to send Syrians and other refugees back home in an effort to woo nationalist voters. Turkey
Turkey Elections: Currency fears grow ahead of presidential runoff Turkey’s foreign exchange crunch has become so grave that the authorities would even go for limiting cash withdrawals from credit cards to keep the Turkish lira from plunging. Turkey
Turkey Elections: Ogan’s endorsement boosts Erdogan in Sunday’s runoff The endorsement from Sinan Ogan, who received more than 5% in first round of vote, bolsters the president’s chances of winning Sunday's poll. Turkey
Turkey Elections: Far-right Sinan Ogan throws support behind Erdogan It remains unclear how the far-right politician's endorsement will impact the outcome of the consequential presidential runoff as his electoral partners rejected to toe his line. Turkey
Turkey’s new parliament: 50 shades of nationalism, conservatism Turkey has ended up with the most nationalist and conservative parliament in its modern history, and where women, LGBT groups will face an uphill battle. Turkey
Turkey Elections: Erdogan, Kilicdaroglu court far-right endorsement ahead of runoff Far-right candidate Sinan Ogan's endorsement remains particularly critical for President Erdogan's rival, with merely nine days to go until the presidential election runoff. Turkey
Turkey's Erdogan says polls mark East-West fault line A post-election Turkey may well become the "locus for the fault line between the liberal West and the illiberal East" instead of a bridge, as Erdogan has claimed during his time in office. Turkey
Turkey Elections: Erdogan rival ups nationalist tone, vows to send refugees home Casting for nationalist votes in the presidential election runoff, opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu takes a sharpened tone on refugees. Turkey