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 to end draft — for those who can pay A proposed bill to change Turkey's conscription practices has stirred fierce debate and warnings from military experts. Turkey
Voters’ economic confidence dips ahead of key Istanbul vote Turkey’s consumer confidence index, which also reflects voter confidence, has plunged to a record low ahead of a critical rerun of the mayoral election in Istanbul next month. Turkey
EU slams Turkey on human rights in annual report In a progress report on would-be EU member Turkey, the European Union slammed the country's human rights record as an endless stream of damning accounts emerges. Turkey
Who are the heroes, hustlers and innovators of Kurdish wedding music? In marathon-like Kurdish weddings that can last for days, local wedding singers steer their audiences between folk songs, national anthems and even techno music. Syria
Ankara backs some Turkmens in Iraqi politics, shuns others By ostracizing Turkmen politicians who supported the 2017 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey could be shooting itself in the foot. Iraq
Polls show opposition candidate ahead as Istanbul rerun nears Ekrem Imamoglu, who won the election as Istanbul mayor in March before he was forced to step down, has expanded his support ahead of the doover election on June 23. Turkey
Syrians head home from Turkey for holiday The Bab al-Salama border crossing in Aleppo’s countryside opened for Syrian refugees coming from Turkey to spend Eid al-Fitr at home with their families. Syria
Can Russia, France work together to settle Idlib? Moscow, Paris and Berlin have recently intensified talks over Syria's Idlib, but so far there's been more disagreement and defeated expectations than consent and progress. Jordan
Garbage collectors of Ankara discover sound of music in trash Members of The Tin Band, made up of municipality trash collectors, use recycled instruments they find in bins to give public concerts. Turkey
Can Russian, Turkish military-technical cooperation go beyond S-400 production? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan boasted that Turkey will co-produce the S-500 missile system with Russia following completion of the S-400 deal, but existing realities put this into question. Turkey
Whispers become tweets as Turkish artists speak out against AKP Turkish artists, authors and entertainers have begun openly expressing their political views after years of silence, angered by the Istanbul election turmoil and encouraged by the winning opposition candidate to speak up. Turkey