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
Breaking | Last Updated: November 5, 2026, 3:56 pm 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
Washington’s Afghan plan diplomatic godsend for Ankara A US peace plan for Afghanistan, involving intra-Afghan talks in Turkey, could offer Ankara a chance to raise its international profile and break the ice with Washington. Turkey
Turkey aims to vaccinate 50 million by fall, health minister says Turkey, a country of 89 million people, has so far administered more than 10.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine. Turkey
Turkey, Russia, Qatar push for unlikely new Syria peace track The trilateral meeting between the countries is meant to push for a political solution to Syria's 10-year-long conflict. Turkey
Is Turkey-Egypt maritime agreement dead in the water? Turkey's efforts to secure a demarcation agreement with Egypt in the eastern Mediterranean seem fruitless as Cairo remains indifferent to Ankara's signals. Egypt
Kurdish forces blame Turkey for Euphrates River water drop in northeast Syria The Syrian Democratic Forces claim Turkey caused a drop in the Euphrates River water level that will harm residents and their economic activities in the areas they control in northern and eastern Syria. Syria
Kurdish stamp commemorating pope's visit to Erbil fans Turkish conspiracy fears Ankara is furious over a commemorative stamp design featuring a map of Iraqi Kurdistan that includes chunks of Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast provinces. Turkey
Pandemic, domestic woes dim Istanbul’s economic luster Istanbul’s economy is estimated to have shrunk about 3% last year, even as Turkey’s gross domestic product grew 1.8%. Turkey
Turkish journalist attacked after criticizing nationalist figure Turkish journalist Levent Gultekin was attacked by two dozen assailants outside his workplace Monday evening in the latest act of violence against critics of Turkey’s nationalist party. Turkey
Former Halkbank executive resigns as head of Istanbul stock exchange Borsa Istanbul CEO Mehmet Hakan Atilla stepped down Monday in a move possibly linked with the impending US trial of Turkey’s Halkbank, where he was convicted of helping Iran skirt US sanctions. Turkey
Is Ankara on mission impossible over S-400 conundrum? Confusion reigns in Ankara on how to manage the S-400 crisis, as pressure to satisfy Moscow along with Washington makes it a tall, if not impossible, order. Turkey
Online ‘auctions’ of Yazidi captives speak of ongoing Islamic State activity in Turkey The rescue of a 7-year-old Yazidi captive in Ankara raises questions about how hard Turkey is trying to tackle Islamic State militants in the country. Iraq
Is Turkey challenging Egyptian influence in Guinea-Bissau? Amid regional warnings of Turkey's growing role in West Africa, including Guinea-Bissau, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a call from Umaro Sissoco Embalo, president of Guinea-Bissau, to discuss ways to develop cooperation in the economic and security fields. Egypt