God Morgon · Monday, 5 October 2026

Türkiye

Izmir's independent mayor reportedly set to join AK Party on October 7

Media reports say Cemil Tugay, mayor of Izmir, Türkiye's third-largest city, who quit the CHP in June over a court-ordered leadership change, will join the ruling AK Party, with President Erdoğan expected to welcome him at the party's parliamentary group meeting on October 7. The report follows Tugay's September 30 meeting with Erdoğan, and the move would give AK Party a foothold, by defection rather than election, in a city that has been a CHP stronghold for decades. Neither Tugay nor AK Party has confirmed it.

Source: Daily Sabah · Sunday, 4 October 2026

Bribes hidden in flower vases: corruption probe widens in CHP-run districts

Istanbul prosecutors have detained 13 more suspects in Ataşehir, an Istanbul district, adding to earlier detentions in the CHP-run Mediterranean city of Mezitli, and allege municipal officials took cash hidden among flowers in a vase and as gift cards from luxury stores in exchange for zoning permits. One suspect is accused of taking 5 million lira for a single permit, another of amassing 28 million lira in illicit gains. Dozens of mayors from the main opposition CHP have now been investigated or jailed since 2024.

Source: Daily Sabah · Sunday, 4 October 2026

Turkish auto exports near $4 billion in September as overall exports hit $26 billion

Automotive sales abroad reached $3.94 billion in September, keeping cars Türkiye's top export sector, as Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said total exports for the month hit $26 billion, a 15.4% annual rise and just short of the all-time monthly record of $26.3 billion set in December 2025. Exports for January through September reached $211 billion, up 5.2% on the year.

Source: Daily Sabah · Sunday, 4 October 2026

Europe

Latvia's United List on course for a record 42 seats, but a majority still eludes it

The United List, the party of Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, took 35.3% of the vote and a projected 42 of 100 seats in Saturday's election, the largest number any single Latvian party has won since independence. That falls short of the 51 needed to govern alone, leaving Kulbergs to negotiate a coalition in a fragmented parliament where the populist Suverēnā vara and Latvija pirmajā vietā parties also gained ground.

Source: LSM (Latvian Public Broadcasting) · Sunday, 4 October 2026

Merz makes surprise Kyiv visit, pledges 1.35 billion euros more in German aid

Chancellor Friedrich Merz travelled to Kyiv by train on Sunday with Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and German defence and energy executives, pledging 1 billion euros for joint long-range weapons production and 350 million euros to repair Ukraine's damaged power plants. Merz told Vladimir Putin to 'stop this senseless war' and said Germany was ready for talks, while warning that the 'barbaric attacks' on civilians must stop first.

Source: Euronews · Sunday, 4 October 2026

French school protests escalate: nearly 5,000 arrests, 78 staff hurt since late September

Between 400 and 500 French secondary schools were fully or partly shut on October 5 as students kept up protests over crumbling buildings, overcrowded classes and teacher shortages that began two weeks earlier in Créteil. Nearly 5,000 people have been arrested since the movement started, 78 education staff have been injured, and a 59-year-old teacher was doused in petrol and beaten by an unidentified attacker in La Ciotat. A third national mobilisation day was planned for October 6.

Source: Euronews · Sunday, 4 October 2026

The World

Brazil heads to runoff as Flávio Bolsonaro edges Lula in first round

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, standing in for his father Jair Bolsonaro, who is imprisoned over his attempt to seize power by force, took 47.04% of Sunday's vote to President Lula da Silva's 45.15%, short of the majority needed to win outright. The two meet in an October 25 runoff after a vote marked by 21.08% abstention, the highest share in a first round since 1998.

Source: Rio Times Online · Monday, 5 October 2026

Four African leaders warn Ethiopia over the Nile and Red Sea

Meeting in New Alamein on October 4, Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Eritrea's president Isaias Afwerki, Somalia's president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued a joint declaration calling for 'dialogue, not confrontation', insisting Red Sea access must stay with coastal states, and warning Ethiopia against 'unilateral measures' on the Nile, a reference to its giant dam project. The other three also backed Sudan's military-led government, a day after Ethiopian forces said they had retaken Tigray's capital Mekelle from TPLF rebels, who say they have only relocated, not surrendered.

Source: Al Jazeera · Monday, 5 October 2026