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Turkish Court Dismisses Case Seeking to Oust Opposition Leader 

Members of the media report outside a courthouse on the day a Turkish court is expected to announce a verdict in a case seeking the annulment of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) congress in 2023 and the ouster of its leader, Ozgur Ozel, in Ankara, Türkiye, October 24, 2025. (Reuters)
Members of the media report outside a courthouse on the day a Turkish court is expected to announce a verdict in a case seeking the annulment of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) congress in 2023 and the ouster of its leader, Ozgur Ozel, in Ankara, Türkiye, October 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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Turkish Court Dismisses Case Seeking to Oust Opposition Leader 

Members of the media report outside a courthouse on the day a Turkish court is expected to announce a verdict in a case seeking the annulment of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) congress in 2023 and the ouster of its leader, Ozgur Ozel, in Ankara, Türkiye, October 24, 2025. (Reuters)
Members of the media report outside a courthouse on the day a Turkish court is expected to announce a verdict in a case seeking the annulment of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) congress in 2023 and the ouster of its leader, Ozgur Ozel, in Ankara, Türkiye, October 24, 2025. (Reuters)

A Turkish court dismissed a case seeking to oust the main opposition party's leader and annul its 2023 congress, a decision that relieves some pressure on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rivals after an unprecedented year-long legal crackdown. 

The case in Ankara against the Republican People's Party (CHP) and its chairman, Ozgur Ozel, was seen as a test of the country's shaky balance between democracy and autocracy. 

The court ruled that the case, which claimed irregularities in the 2023 CHP congress, no longer had any substance. The court referred to the party having re-elected Ozel as leader in an extraordinary congress last month. 

The verdict boosted Turkish assets, which had crashed in March when a separate court in Istanbul jailed pending trial the city's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the party's presidential candidate and Erdogan's chief political rival. 

The main Borsa Istanbul index was up more than 4% after the verdict and the lira strengthened against the dollar. 

OZEL IN SPOTLIGHT AFTER ISTANBUL MAYOR'S ARREST 

Ozel, 51, the CHP's combative and hoarse-voiced leader, has risen to prominence since Imamoglu's arrest, leading dozens of big anti-government street rallies. 

Had the court ruled to oust Ozel, who was first elected leader at that 2023 congress, it could have thrown the opposition into further disarray and infighting and boosted Erdogan's chances of extending his 22-year rule of the big NATO member country and major emerging market economy. 

The centrist CHP, which denied the charges against it, is level with Erdogan's conservative AK party (AKP) in polls. 

The next presidential election is set for 2028, but would need to come earlier if Erdogan aims to run again, given that he faces a term limit. 

Separately, hundreds of CHP members and elected leaders, including Imamoglu, face an array of corruption-related charges in a broader, ongoing crackdown that it calls politicized and anti-democratic. 

Erdogan's government rejects this, saying the judiciary is independent. 

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World

Ukraine Attacks Second Russian Yandex Data Center

Police officers look at the damages following a Russian drone strike on the Northern Bridge in Kyiv on October 4, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO / AFP)
Police officers look at the damages following a Russian drone strike on the Northern Bridge in Kyiv on October 4, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO / AFP)
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Ukraine Attacks Second Russian Yandex Data Center

Police officers look at the damages following a Russian drone strike on the Northern Bridge in Kyiv on October 4, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO / AFP)
Police officers look at the damages following a Russian drone strike on the Northern Bridge in Kyiv on October 4, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO / AFP)

A Ukrainian drone attack has damaged a data center belonging to Russian technology giant Yandex, the company said on Friday, the second strike on one of the company's facilities in as many days.

The attacks could signal the start of a new retaliatory campaign from Kyiv targeting Russia's internet infrastructure -- weeks after Moscow started hitting data centers in Ukraine.

Yandex, often dubbed "Russia's Google", runs the country's most popular search engine, as well as a food-ordering and taxi app used by tens of millions.

"As a result of a drone attack, part of Yandex data center infrastructure in Kaluga was affected. Several data center modules are completely out of service," the company said in a statement on Friday.

"This may cause some Yandex services to experience disruptions. We are currently assessing the full extent of the damage."

The regional governor in Kaluga had earlier said a drone attack "struck the city's infrastructure, resulting in casualties and damage".

Nine people were wounded in the attack, he said, adding that five of them were hospitalized but their condition was stable.

An attack the night before caused a fire at a Yandex data center in Sasovo in the central Ryazan region -- the first strike of its kind on Russia.

It triggered major outages throughout the day, with users unable to access websites of key transport services and online shopping platforms.

World

Ethiopian Police Ask Residents in Tigray Regional Capital to Help Restore Order after Rebels Pullout

Members of the pro-Ethiopian government 'Tigray Peace Force' on patrol in the streets of Mekelle, the regional capital (AFP)
Members of the pro-Ethiopian government 'Tigray Peace Force' on patrol in the streets of Mekelle, the regional capital (AFP)
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Ethiopian Police Ask Residents in Tigray Regional Capital to Help Restore Order after Rebels Pullout

Members of the pro-Ethiopian government 'Tigray Peace Force' on patrol in the streets of Mekelle, the regional capital (AFP)
Members of the pro-Ethiopian government 'Tigray Peace Force' on patrol in the streets of Mekelle, the regional capital (AFP)

Ethiopia's federal police fanned out Friday across the regional capital of Tigray after anti-government forces pulled out, driving in vehicles and calling on residents over loudspeakers to help establish a new administration following the rebels' withdrawal.

Over the weekend, government-allied fighters had entered Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, announced its withdrawal.

The TPLF had joined six other opposition groups last month in an alliance seeking to oust Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Fighting escalated late last month, undermining the 2022 peace deal. The rebels seized the Mekelle airport and the city, one of Ethiopia’s largest.

Then on Saturday, the rebels said their forces had pulled out — similar to what they did in the previous two-year war, which ended with a peace agreement in 2022, apparently to spare the city from destruction.

Still, local government offices remained shut Friday in Mekelle as the city awaited new authorities, with police and the government-allied Tigray Peace Force in charge of security. Members of the city's new civilian administration had arrived with federal police on Thursday but said they were awaiting instructions.

The Tigray Peace Force, which includes former members of the TPLF’s armed wing, imposed an overnight curfew Wednesday.

On Thursday, federal officers carrying rifles stood beside camouflage-painted pickup trucks along a tree-lined road. Others rode in open-backed vehicles as pedestrians, cars and three-wheeled taxis moved through an intersection. No administration had taken office in Mekelle by Friday morning.

Tigray’s television and radio stations have been off the air since the TPLF withdrawal. Ahmed's government promised to restore banking, electricity, telecommunications and water services but gave no timetable.

It also outlined plans to register people involved in the conflict and help them return to civilian life.

Reports of Eritrean troops raise regional tensions Further north, a government-allied commander and a conflict monitoring group have separately reported Eritrean troops entering Ethiopia, raising fears of a wider conflict.

Ermiyas Ababu, a Tigray Peace Force commander, said Eritrean personnel entered Adigrat on Tuesday and Idaga Hamus on Wednesday, citing reports from his personnel in the area.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data monitoring group, known as ACLED, said Eritrean troops crossed the border at Zelambesa on Wednesday and came under drone attack at Guada while traveling toward Idaga Hamus. It attributed the strikes to Ethiopia’s military.

The Associated Press could not independently verify either account.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said in a statement: “We are not in the business of refuting wild allegations or narratives.” He accused Ethiopia of threatening regional peace through its pursuit of “sovereign access to the sea,” but did not explicitly confirm or deny the crossing.

Former allies face growing divisions Eritrea has previously denied Ethiopian allegations that it supports the TPLF — its enemy during the 2020-2022 Tigray war, when Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian federal forces.

During that war, AP reporting documented accounts from survivors and witnesses accusing Eritrean soldiers of killings, rape and looting. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki dismissed allegations of abuses by his forces as “a fantasy” in 2023.

Eritrea announced last week that it was severing diplomatic ties after Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Asmara.

Abiy reiterated Monday that landlocked Ethiopia must have access to the Red Sea. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that it remained committed to dialogue with its neighbors.

World

New York Mayor Says Asking Trump to Withdraw ICE after Shooting

Protesters near the scene where a man was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an operation in the Bronx borough of New York. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
Protesters near the scene where a man was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an operation in the Bronx borough of New York. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
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New York Mayor Says Asking Trump to Withdraw ICE after Shooting

Protesters near the scene where a man was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an operation in the Bronx borough of New York. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
Protesters near the scene where a man was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an operation in the Bronx borough of New York. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday he would ask US President Donald Trump to remove federal immigration agents from the city as tensions flared over the latest shooting involving ICE.
The New York Police Department said a man had been shot around 4:00 pm in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx during an altercation with federal agents.
Mamdani and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later confirmed that the shooting occurred during an operation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for Trump's immigration crackdown.
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that agents were attempting to "to arrest a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs, and weapons possession."
It did not state how many officers fired their weapons or why.
"ICE officers immediately rendered aid. The individual is alive and at a local hospital," the DHS spokesperson said.
The department initially claimed that the person targeted had associations with a Dominican gang, but later issued a revised statement removing that sentence.
Mamdani said that a five-year-old child was in the car when the altercation occurred.
"This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation," the Democratic mayor said on X, adding that he had called the president.
"When we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities," he added.
Trump, a Republican, heavily criticized Mamdani before he took office in January, but the two men have since struck a surprisingly warm relationship.
Several hundred protesters gathered peacefully at the scene of the shooting Thursday evening to express opposition to Trump's crackdown, AFP observed.
Many people then moved to the nearby hospital where the victim was being treated.
Tensions with the police escalated when some protesters attempted to prevent cars from leaving the hospital, before being moved away from the entrance by law enforcement, who set up barriers.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted to X Thursday, saying she expects "federal authorities to provide a full and transparent accounting of the circumstances surrounding this incident."
"This incident is another reminder of the unchecked, rampant violence ICE has been spreading throughout our communities," said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition.
"We demand an immediate investigation into the shooting, the release of the body camera footage, and accountability for any ICE agents who used excessive force."
ICE has been involved in several high-profile shootings this year, including the killing of two US citizens in Minneapolis, which sparked angry protests.
New York, a Democratic stronghold, is one of several US cities that bars its police force from assisting with federal immigration enforcement.