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’s Clash of Civilizations Turkey’s secular and democratic identity should not be compromised for religious orthodoxy. Turkey
Misreading The 'Syria Transition Act' In Turkey The Senate Foreign Relations Committee bill does not signal the imminent arrival of US arms to the Syria opposition. Syria
Iran’s UN Ambassador Welcomes Geneva II Conference on Syria Mohammad Khazaee, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, discusses Iran’s position on Syria in an email interview with Al-Monitor. Turkey
Turkish-Kurdish Leader Cautious, Hopeful on Peace Plan Ahmet Turk, a pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party member, draws attention to a new legislation bringing municipalities under direct tutelage of governors, and argues that is in direct contradiction to the government’s Kurdish initiative. Turkey
AKP Wages Jihad Against Alcohol in Turkey The AKP’s draft law of aggressive alcohol restrictions aims not only to engineer an Islamic society but to prevent possible losses in its conservative electoral base. Turkey
Turkey’s Syria Policy: No Easy Answers Turkey’s Syria policies were not wrong, but poorly presented. Syria
Iraq to Simplify Visa Procedures For Foreign Oil Workers The Iraqi government has announced that it will simplify entry-visa and residency-permit procedures for foreign oil workers, following complaints that the current lengthy process deters investors. Iraq
Is Gulen Movement Against Peace With PKK? The Gulen Movement in Turkey is not against the peace process with the PKK, but is not on its bandwagon either. Turkey
Washington Relaxed About Prospect Of Erdogan Visit to Gaza US President Barack Obama seems confident that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won’t upset the Turkey-Israel rapprochement. Palestine
Vulgarity on Rise in Turkish Political Discourse Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the first to place CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the same boat of the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Turkey
Erdogan’s ‘Plan C’ Under Way If "plan C" means a constitutional process driven by Turkey's ruling AKP, yet marred by high tension, two interesting scenarios emerge. Turkey
As Assad’s Forces Take Control Of Qusair, What Comes Next? Now that the Syrian regime’s forces control half of the city of Qusair near Lebanon’s northern border, the balance seems to once again be shifting in the Syrian conflict. Israel