Newsletter: City Pulse Istanbul “Form-Craft-Activism” spotlights the labor behind making Also this week: A century-old lokanta, cartoonists and labor cinema By Nazlan Ertan In Izmir and Istanbul, reporting on culture
Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know A potential French deployment to Greek Cyprus comes amid Turkey’s growing concerns of strategic encirclement in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey
Turkey advances gas pipeline plan to northern Cyprus as East Med rivalry grows The Turkish energy minister said the country's oil and natural gas pipeline operator, BOTAS, has started the engineering work for the pipeline. Turkey
In first, Libya’s rival armies to join drill in Turkey: What to know The move follows the first joint exercise inside Libya amid renewed international efforts to unify the country. Turkey
Analysis Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Newsletter: City Pulse Istanbul Contemporary art takes over restored Byzantine cistern By Nazlan Ertan In Izmir and Istanbul, reporting on culture
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
Istanbul's African community squeezed between small jobs, huge discrimination A new photo book highlights the bleak reality of Istanbul's African community in terms of employment and discrimination. Turkey