Turkey

Doctors, nurses and an ambulance driver are among 47 people on trial accused of causing the deaths of 10 infants as part of an alleged scheme to defraud Turkey's social security system.

The expulsion of former prime minister Antonis Samaras from the ruling New Democracy party, and its potential impact on the government, is the main issue dominating the political agenda this week.

Turkey reportedly denied permission for Israeli President Isaac Herzog's plane to fly through its airspace en route to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the COP29 climate summit. Herzog did not attend the event.

The decision came amid heightened tensions over Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

An Istanbul court late on Saturday formally arrested a Turkish journalist over his social media posts on prosecutors investigating a mayor from Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), his lawyer said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday called on the Muslim world to apply pressure for an arms embargo against Israel, reminding that Türkiye has garnered support from 52 countries in this regard.

On Saturday, November 9, Yiannis Boutaris passed away.

The businessman, oenologist, and former mayor of Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris, took his last breath tonight at a private clinic in the city, where he had been hospitalized for serious health problems recently.

There has been no tangible progress in bridging our differences with Turkey, nor does achieving it look easy. However, the establishment of channels of communication that appear to be assuming the form of some kind of permanent mechanism for ensuring calm waters between the two sides is a kind of progress. 

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia on Monday, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Saturday in an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk.

Erdogan will attend  a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) in Riyadh to discuss Israel's offensives in the Palestinian territories, the minister added. [Reuters]

In a meeting held in Athens on Friday, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan engaged in candid talks about their countries' enduring disputes in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke about the issues discussed during the Informal Summit in Budapest.

The Prime Minister focused on the issues of competitiveness and energy, which are of concern to the European Union, and he paid particular attention to electricity prices, while he also spoke about Europe’s need for strategic autonomy.