President Erdoğan marked the United Nations' 81st anniversary by renewing his call for a Security Council "based on justice, equality and solidarity," arguing its inaction has let the Gaza war drag on. He also repeated Türkiye's ambition to turn Istanbul into a UN hub.
Türkiye's foreign ministry said Greece violated the Turkish minority's rights by installing appointed muftis in Komotini and Xanthi instead of recognising the minority's own elected religious leaders. Ankara called on Athens to "put an end to their attempts to impose appointed muftis," reviving a dispute over the Treaty of Lausanne, which governs the minority's status.
Pakistan said it has finished ratifying the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement it signed with Türkiye and Saudi Arabia in August, with Saudi Arabia also done. Islamabad called the pact "defensive in nature" and said it aims at regional security. Türkiye, the pact's third signatory, has announced no ratification step of its own; its parliament was expected to vote this month on approving any troop deployment under the agreement.
Hundreds of thousands marched in Paris on Saturday in a second nationwide wave of protests over the cost of living, pensions and housing, a week after a first round of unrest brought more than 2,000 arrests. Police said nearly 2,400 people were arrested this time, including close to 1,000 in Paris, and nearly 1,000 security personnel were injured. The same weekend saw Italy protest against rearmament and the cost of living, Spain protest for higher pensions, and Portugal protest for affordable housing.
Thousands of students, professors and opposition supporters marched in Tirana on Saturday demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation, burning pillows he had placed outside his office as a goodwill gesture before heading to the education ministry. Police deployed 2,500 officers with tear gas and water cannon; more than 300 protesters and officers were injured and dozens were detained. Rama, who on 18 October blamed his conservative opponents for the violence, this time pointed to "foreign actors," naming Russia and Iran, over unrest that began with university tuition fees and a Kushner-linked coastal luxury-hotel project.
Jordan Bardella was re-elected unopposed as leader of France's far-right National Rally with 98.98% support at the party's congress in Orléans on Saturday. He urged members to help "lead Marine Le Pen to the Élysée," a day before she addresses supporters on the next phase of her 2027 presidential campaign.
President Trump said the United States is considering a military strike on Iran within days, or could instead "finish the job" through a deal, after interim talks between Washington and Tehran broke down. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed American negotiators for the collapse, while Iran's leadership said it remains open to a final agreement.
Israel's military launched what it calls a counterterrorism operation across the West Bank, centred on Hebron, after an attack at a checkpoint killed two Israeli soldiers on Friday. Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a full lockdown and vowed to "destroy this place, to change it completely": house raids, mass arrests and demolitions were planned to run for several days. By Saturday, hundreds of homes had been searched and roughly 300 Palestinian families displaced in one Hebron neighbourhood, days before Tuesday's parliamentary election.
Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, tasked with sounding out a possible "middle" government, held what she called "an honest and good conversation" with Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson, finding common ground on rural policy. She repeated that the Centre Party will not sit in or support a government that includes the Sweden Democrats, and said Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson remains the likeliest prime minister. Ringqvist reports back to parliament's speaker by 26 October.