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
Lavish religious ceremonies in Turkey draw angry criticism Conservatives' extravagant religious rituals have drawn harsh criticism from every quarter. Turkey
Turkey sees greater partnership with Qatar than is apparent Turkey's commercial gains from its partnership with Qatar have been modest and the media fanfare over fresh bilateral accords is hard to comprehend. Saudi Arabia
Turkey-Libya agreement shakes up eastern Mediterranean Ankara is establishing a clear path to fulfill its eastern Mediterranean energy ambitions through an maritime boundary agreement with Libya’s internationally recognized government. Turkey
Turkey flirts with buying even more Russian missile systems Turkey seems to be offering a compromise to the United States to avoid sanctions for Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 fighter jets — even as Turkey is in talks to buy more. Turkey
Meet the actor who won Turkey's first Emmy Award for best performance Haluk Bilginer, a veteran actor whose roles range from King Lear to drifters, received an Emmy Award for best acting performance. Turkey
Turkey bets on NATO as escape route in S-400 crisis In a move to buy time, Erdogan is taking the S-400 crisis to NATO grounds, as Ankara’s testing of the Russian-made system the week before a NATO summit shows Ankara still has maneuvering room. Syria
Acrimony erupts ahead of NATO summit as Turkey stalls defense plans Turkey is impeding a military plan to defend Poland and the Baltics to force the alliance to support its military operation in Syria. The spat underscores political divisions that are shaking NATO ahead of its anniversary summit this week. Turkey
Despite stepped-up military actions, Turkey still faces jihadi threats Ankara’s past haphazard policies complicate crackdown on IS; Iran hard-liners gain from protests; Syrian Kurds may not give up sales of Syrian oil to Damascus. Iraq
Former top Turkish minister promises new party by year-end Ali Babacan, once a confidant of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says he’s building a mainstream political movement to restore the country’s international reputation and bolster its democratic credentials, but analysts wonder if it can draw enough support to challenge the ruling party. Turkey
Turkish-Saudi animosity spills over into cultural sphere A new multimillion-dollar series on a Saudi TV channel broadcast across the Middle East depicts Ottomans as tyrants who ravaged the Arab world. Saudi Arabia
Why this TV series causes high drama between Cairo, Ankara After a decade of Ottoman splendors shown in popular Turkish soap operas, "Kingdoms of Fire" casts Selim, the Grim as the villain. Saudi Arabia
US sanctions on Turkey 'inevitable' after apparent S-400 radar test US officials are expected to impose sanctions on Turkey following reports that Turkey is testing its Russian S-400 radars in Ankara. Turkey