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
Turkish Parliament extends troop deployment to Libya The measure, which extends Turkey's presence in Libya by 18 months, had the backing of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party. Turkey
PKK remains thorn in side of Turkish-Iraqi relations The Iraqi government needs Turkey to counterbalance Iran and help alleviate Baghdad's economic problems, but the Kurdish issue, which has long strained bilateral ties, might further snag progress in economic and strategic projects. Iraq
Russia treads lightly in Syrian deadlock Moscow is reacting with marked restraint to the escalation around Ain Issa, even seeming to play along with Ankara, though Turkey and the Syrian National Army have no reason to conduct offensive operations in the area. Syria
Mountain of debt growing under the rug in Turkey Turkey’s loan expansion has helped resuscitate the economy, but at the expense of an alarming surge in consumer and corporate debt. Turkey
Europe human rights court calls on Turkey to release Demirtas Europe’s top human rights court ruled Wednesday for the "immediate release" of Selahattin Demirtas, former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who has been imprisoned for more than four years in Turkey on terror-related charges. Turkey
Germany opposes arms embargo against Turkey Greece has called for European leaders to apply stronger pressure on Ankara over its actions in the eastern Mediterranean, but the appeals have largely fallen on deaf ears. Turkey
Is Turkey on course of foreign policy shift with pan-Turkist flavor? Ankara appears to be mulling a US-friendly foreign policy revision to counter Iran and Russia in the Caucasus and Black Sea regions, but such a shift will not be without geopolitical risks elsewhere. Turkey
KRG asks US forces to deploy along Kurdish-controlled part of Iraqi-Syrian border In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s deputy chief of staff outlined why the Kurdish region's government wants US forces stationed in and around the Fish Khabur border crossing. Iraq
Somalian opposition irked by Turkish support ahead of presidential elections Turkey’s support to Somalia, a focal point of Ankara’s Africa outreach, has become increasingly controversial as the Somalian opposition fears that the president could use it to rig the upcoming elections. Turkey
Turkey sentences former opposition MP to 22 years in prison A Turkish court Monday sentenced Leyla Guven, a deputy with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) who was stripped of her parliamentary seat and legal immunity in June, to more than 22 years in prison on terrorism-related charges. Turkey
Turkey’s Kurdish party target of tug of war between Islamists, ultra-nationalists As Turkey's ruling party and its nationalist ally face a deeper legitimacy crisis, pressure on Kurdish politics is intensifying. Turkey
Iraq, KRG, Turkey find common ground in response to PKK Kurdish group increasingly isolated; meanwhile, Syrian Kurds boxed in by Turkey, Russia and Assad. Iraq