Global Voices Online

Writing on the blog of the US-based Ari Foundation, Selvin Akkus comments on the current state of Armenian-Turkish relations. The blogger says that despite the lack of political will from the governments of both countries, people living in the respective territories of the two estranged neighbors share many cultural similarities.

Israel is the world's largest consumer of pistachio nuts, but recent reports reveal that illegal imports from Iran may be its primary source. Jewschool's Shalom Rav jokes: “Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Israeli snacking habits will attest that Israel will be hard pressed to give up their pistachio addiction, no matter where the nuts actually come from. For its part, Israel claims it gets most of its pistachios from Turkey (yeah, right!).”

Desmond McGrath of A Fistful of Euros writes about football and politics: “Part of the fun of football is the way in which it overturns the international order of power politics.”

Talk Turkey reports that Turk Telekom completed the fifth largest IPO of the world (and the largest in Turkey) by selling 15% of its stake for a total of $1.9 billion (2.4 Billion Turkish).

Turkish blogger Metin writes about the plight of a Turkish barber who has been sentenced to be beheaded in Saudi Arabia for “using God's name in vain.”

Blogian comments on the misrepresentation of the words of a journalist partly of Turkish descent speaking in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, by the local pro-opposition A1 Plus news agency. The blog says that a combination of factors such as anti-Turkish sentiment and sexism might have something to do with what it considers to be the twisting of words by The Economist's Amberin Zaman who coincidently also happens to be the wife of the acting U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.

Unzipped says that a football match staged in Armenia between the country's Under-19 football team and one from Turkey was a historic occasion. Although neighbors, Armenia and Turkey have not established diplomatic relations.

A view on Ukrainian politics - from The Turkish Invasion.