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
Political missteps in Libya cause Turkey's economy to stumble Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP government's backing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya is inflicting billions of dollars of economic losses on Turkey and eroding its political influence in Libya and Saharan Africa. Turkey
Turkey allows building of first new church in a century Syriac Christians, who speak the language of Jesus, will finally have a church in Istanbul, but why now? Turkey
Turkish, Greek warplanes tangle in mock dogfights over Aegean The Aegean Sea overheated in 2014 because of frequent mock dogfights between Greek and Turkish warplanes, which require serious diplomacy and confidence-building measures to calm down. Turkey
Turkey's new legal definitions lead to increase in arrests A new legal provision to facilitate police action against government opponents in Turkey has victimized scores of people in a short period of time. Turkey
Turkey's internal Kurdish tensions flare Deep-rooted strains between secular-nationalist Kurds and Islamist Kurds may reignite in the wake of the civil war in Iraq and Syria. Turkey
Russian crisis worries Turkish businesses Hopes that Western sanctions against Moscow would benefit Turkey appear to have been premature. Turkey
Who is benefiting from the Erdogan-Gulen split? The Turkish government’s onslaught against the Gulen community has opened the door to public jobs and economic benefits for other religious groups. Turkey
Belly dancing men make comeback in Turkey The impact of Ottoman cultural revival is seen in the increasing popularity of male belly dancers in Turkey. Turkey
Turkey, Iran at war over trucking A 1994 transportation accord has fueled Turkish-Iranian rivalry for economic and political influence in Central Asia. Iraq
Turkey registers Syrian refugees Turkey has collected the biometric data of at least 1.4 million Syrians as the refugees move closer to citizenship. Syria
The massacre Turkey hopes Alevis will forget The government is obstructing memorial observances for the 1978 anti-Alevi massacre in Maras, hoping it will be forgotten. Turkey
Foreigners put brakes on investment in Turkey Foreigners invested only $9.1 billion in Turkey in the first nine months of the year, dashing hopes for a year-end total of $16 billion, while Turks invested $4.2 billion abroad. Turkey