According to New York police, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, of Uzbek origin, drove his pick-up truck at pedestrians and cyclists on Oct. 31, killing eight people and wounding 11.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım is scheduled to travel to the U.S. on Nov. 7-9, where he will speak to U.S. Vice President Michael Pence. The trip comes at a time when U.S.-Turkey relations are going through an almost historic low.
The Istanbul 27th Criminal Court is due to hold another hearing in the trial of four members of the center-left Cumhuriyet newspaper on Oct. 31.
The Republic of Turkey marked its 94th anniversary on Oct. 29, at a time when it is experiencing major problems in its strategic choices in foreign relations.
Istanbul’s 35th criminal court released eight human rights activists after a hearing that ended late on Oct. 25. They had been arrested on July 5 during a seminar titled “Defending human rights in difficult times” at a hotel on the Istanbul island of Büyükada, after their translator told police that the activists were engaged in “subversive activities” against Turkey.
Turkey and Iraq have decided to upgrade their relations in “all fields” including joint fight against terrorism. The Oct. 25 visit to Ankara of Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi was full of praise for the cooperation between the two neighbors, including from Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan.
A possible “weak and irresolute” stance of the Chinese President Xi Jinping was suggested as the “second biggest threat to world security” (after unilateral decisions by U.S. President Donald Trump) by the Eurasia Group during the Munich Security Conference back in February.
Turkey-U.S. relations have hit a low with the latest visa crisis, which broke out after the U.S. suspended visa applications in Turkey in retaliation to the arrest of two Turkish employees of its Istanbul Consulate.
Resistance to the will of President Tayyip Erdoğan from within his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) has started from where it should have actually been expected: The municipalities.
