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
Years after coup, purged civil servants feel trapped in Turkey More than 130,000 dismissed civil servants continue to fight for their jobs and basic rights in post-coup Turkey, including those acquitted of their original charges. Turkey
Could fragile cease-fire lead to peace in Libya? The warring parties in Libya agreed to a cease-fire, but the process remains fragile. Turkey
Africans in Istanbul victims of unemployment, red tape "We love it," say many members of the African community in Turkey, but add that there are few jobs — at least for them. Turkey
Ottoman archives help Palestinians reclaim their land The Palestinian Authority is heavily relying on Ottoman archives to prove ownership of thousands of dunams of lands claimed by Israel in the West Bank. Palestine
Erdogan's ties with Turkish army gets alarmingly personal The extraordinary personalization of Turkey’s civilian-military relations is deinstitutionalizing the Turkish military structure and causing internal power struggles within the army ranks. Turkey
Turkey’s ruling party blasts Australian camel cull After a Turkish government spokesman condemned the killing of overpopulated camels in Australia, critics pointed out the ruling party's record has been anything but friendly to the environment and animal rights. Turkey
Ankara struggles to adapt to new geopolitical reality after Soleimani’s killing After a brief wait-and-see period in the wake of Qasem Soleimani’s killing, Turkey appears inclined to try a mediator’s role between the United States, Iran and Iraq. Syria
Putin, Erdogan demand cease-fire in Libya Turkey and Russia have ordered a cease-fire be reached in Libya in a sign that neither wants a confrontation in the oil-rich North African state where they support opposing sides. Turkey
Turkish-Russia partnership in Libya likely to be to Moscow’s advantage Analysts say any Turkish-Russian “partnership” in Libya could end up working more to Moscow’s advantage than Ankara’s, as was the case in Syria. Syria
Ankara divides Syrian rebels on fighting in Libya Turkey’s plan to recruit mercenaries from Syria for the Libyan battlefield is gaining traction but appears to creating rifts among the Syrian opposition as fighters are lured to Libya by Turkish promises of money and more. Syria
What has Erdogan learned from Soleimani's killing? As tensions between Tehran and Washington escalate, Turkey has to make difficult choices. Turkey
Iraq's Kurds weigh opportunities, risks in wake of Soleimani killing Can the Kurdistan Regional Government help out the United States as it faces Iraqi anger over the Soleimani killing, and does the KRG want to risk doing so? Iraq