Istanbul votes in crucial mayoral re-run

Ivan Duque has issued an apology after police cadets were pictured dressed in Nazi-style uniforms as part of "cultural exchange." The head of the academy has been sacked.

Estonia's recently-elected president is urging caution over the situation at Belarus's borders with the European Union. Thousands of migrants hoping to enter the EU and claim asylum there, mainly from the Middle East, are camped at the borders. Asked by FRANCE 24 how dangerous he judges the tensions to be, Alar Karis said: "I think it's a threat. It's a border of the EU and of a NATO state. We should be very careful and cautious about what's going on Of course the sad thing is that there are innocent people in between that they are using as a shield."

The US embassy said it was "deeply concerned" that Bulgaria's reelected president said Crimea was "currently Russian." In a statement, the embassy said the EU and NATO "have all been clear" that "Crimea is Ukraine."

United Arab Emirates General Ahmed Naser al-Raisi has criminal complaints against him in five countries. The decision was announced amid the global law enforcement agency's annual gathering in Istanbul.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Friday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

Opposition leader and former president Mikheil Saakashvili says charges against him for his role in suppressing a 2007 protest are "trumped up." Amnesty International called his arrest "political revenge."

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hosted his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the Presidential Villa Abuja.⁣ ⁣The South African President who is accompanied by a delegation of ministers and business leaders is on a state visit expected to reinforce South Africa’s bilateral relations with Nigeria as well as strengthen partnerships directed at African development and cooperation in multilateral forums.⁣

Gambian President Adama Barrow has comfortably won re-election, the electoral commission said on Sunday, though he may face a legal challenge from opposition candidates who rejected the results because of unspecified irregularities. Barrow received around 53% of Saturday's vote, far outstripping his nearest rival, political veteran Ousainou Darboe, who won about 28 percent.

A whistleblower issues a "damning account" of the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying tens of thousands of Afghans were left behind to die. Meanwhile, there's disappointment in the US after the Justice Department closes an investigation into the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till. Plus: Angela Merkel marks her last day in office, Berlin techno DJs apply for World Heritage status and the French city of Rouen votes on replacing a Napoléon statue with one of a woman.

Chinese private investment in Uganda is growing while Westerners are losing appetite to put money to work in the country, President Yoweri Museveni told Reuters, pledging to step up efforts to tackle corruption which has made slow progress. Museveni, in power since 1986 and one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, said Uganda was working to sign a number of deals with Chinese private sector lenders in sectors from agro- and fertilizer-processing, minerals processing or textiles.

Lawmakers in the United States have voted to raise the government's borrowing limit by $2.5 trillion, narrowly avoiding a catastrophic default. The Senate passed the measure 50-49. The new debt ceiling will give the US government enough space to borrow until 2023, after the midterm elections. Focus in Washington will now return to whether President Joe Biden can get his $1.75 trillion social spending plan, "Build Back Better", passed by the end of the year.