Category World News

Police have fired pepper spray and detained supporters of Turkiye’s main opposition party as crowds gathered outside the headquarters of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Istanbul to protest against a court order removing a senior party official.

Footage from the scene on Monday showed protesters clashing with police before riot units pushed into the crowd. Demonstrators were seen clutching their eyes after being sprayed while officers led others away.

The confrontation came after a court ruled last week that Ozgur Celik, the CHP’s Istanbul provincial chairman, be replaced by Gursel Tekin, a former deputy party leader.

CHP national leader Ozgur Ozel dismissed the ruling as “null and void”, saying Tekin had been expelled from the party. Celik also insisted he would not hand over the post.

Tekin entered the building on Monday after a lengthy standoff, telling reporters he was not working for the state and would focus on resolving the party’s legal disputes.

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said prosecutors launched the case after complaints from a faction within the CHP, accusing the dismissed leadership of irregularities and corruption during the party’s 2023 congress.

“For opposition supporters, this is seen as a judicial coup against them while rival CHP members insist the ruling addresses corruption,” she said.

‘Political interference’

The order is the latest in a yearlong series of measures against the CHP that has seen hundreds of members detained.

In March, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, was arrested, triggering the largest street demonstrations in Turkiye in a decade.

Erdogan’s critics have accused him of trying to neutralise opposition momentum before elections.

The Turkish government has rejected accusations of political interference, insisting the judiciary acts independently.

Officials said the cases against CHP figures stem from corruption charges, which the party denied and argued are designed to weaken the opposition.

Koseoglu added that the court’s move has raised questions over the CHP’s future direction: “Some wonder if this will solidify the party’s base or lead to splits with speculation over whether current leaders might even resign or form a breakaway party.”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya defended the court’s ruling, warning that ignoring the decision amounted to obstructing justice. “The state will do what is necessary against any illegal initiative,” he said.

Access to major social media platforms was restricted in Turkiye after the CHP urged supporters to gather at its Istanbul office.

France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has lost a confidence vote in Parliament, hours after warning that the country was facing “life-threatening” debt, deepening a political crisis and handing President Emmanuel Macron the task of finding a fifth prime minister in less than two years.

Bayrou, who has been in office for nine months, will tender his resignation on Tuesday, his office said. Macron’s office said a new appointment will be made “in the coming days”.

The National Assembly voted on Monday to bring down the Bayrou-led government over its plans to cut about 44 billion euros ($52bn) to reduce the country’s debt. Bayrou had staked his leadership on securing parliamentary approval for a budget plan that aimed to slash a deficit almost double the EU’s three percent ceiling and a debt load worth 114 percent of GDP.

The 74-year-old leader is the sixth prime minister under President Macron since the head of state was first elected in 2017. His ousting would leave Macron with a new domestic headache at a time when he is leading diplomatic efforts on the Ukraine war.

Before the vote, Bayrou warned lawmakers: “You have the power to bring down the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality. Reality will remain relentless: expenses will continue to rise, and the burden of debt, already unbearable, will grow heavier and more costly.”

But parliament rejected his appeal, with 364 votes against him and only 194 in favour.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed, posted on X: “Macron is now on the front line facing the people. He too must go.” The left bloc holds a majority in the 577-seat parliament but not enough to form a government on its own.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen also called for a snap election: “This moment marks the end of the agony of a phantom government.”

‘Crushing defeat’

“For Bayrou, this is a crushing defeat. Certainly a large majority voted against him and his austerity budget,” said Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler, reporting from Paris.

She noted that opponents on both the far right and the left denounced the plan as unfair, saying it targeted some of the poorest people in France. Even some conservatives usually close to Bayrou turned against him, making it “an incredibly damning day for the former French prime minister in the National Assembly.”

Butler added that it was “another embarrassing moment” for Macron. “This is his second prime minister that he’s lost in a year since his surprise snap election in 2024,” she explained, recalling that Michel Barnier lasted only three months before being forced out by parliament.

Looking ahead, Butler said Macron faces limited options. “He’s not got many good choices. In fact, most of his choices are bad ones,” she said, warning that the president must now navigate mounting social unrest. France is expected to see strikes and protests from trade unions in the coming weeks, adding further strain on an already embattled government.

Hugo Drochon of the University of Nottingham told Al Jazeera that Macron’s options are narrowing. “Either he goes again for somebody from the centre-right party … or he reaches out to the socialists,” he explained, but warned that would require budget compromises.

Drochon also noted that the stakes extend beyond France’s domestic politics. “The biggest concern, at least from the financial markets, is not so much what’s going to be done, but that something gets done. They want a prime minister and a budget that actually addresses these issues,” he said.

He warned that if Macron fails to act swiftly, France risks deeper political paralysis and growing frustration among an already disillusioned public.

“What I think the French people are expecting is something to happen … can Macron name somebody who can find a way through? That would reassure everybody. That’s the big challenge,” he added.

The next government’s immediate task will be to push through a budget in an increasingly fractured parliament, the same challenge that ultimately sank Bayrou.

United States President Donald Trump has praised a decision by the prestigious military academy West Point to cancel a ceremony honouring Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, a frequent critic of Trump.

Trump, who has sought to purge critics from government institutions and crack down on dissent, celebrated the move in a social media post on Monday.

“Our great West Point (getting greater all the time!) has smartly cancelled the Award Ceremony for actor Tom Hanks. Important move!” Trump said. “We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!!”

Hanks, who has starred in numerous films set during World War II and been an avid supporter of veterans of the armed services, has been a sharp critic of Trump.

He was set to receive the Sylvanus Thayer Award from the West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG), which is granted to people whose accomplishments further the US national interests and ideals of the military academy.

The famous actor was set to receive the award at a WPAOG ceremony on September 25, and the Washington Post has reported that it is unclear whether Hanks will still receive the award without the accompanying ceremony.

Known for his leading role in the World War II film Saving Private Ryan, Hanks has been at the forefront of efforts to dramatise and commemorate US efforts during that conflict.

He also produced several popular miniseries depicting US forces in various theatres during World War II, such as Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Masters of the Air.

Hanks – who also served as a national spokesperson for the World War II memorial campaign and was chair of the D-day museum capital campaign – had expressed excitement about visiting West Point.

“To have my first ever visit to the Academy be to accept such an honour as the Thayer Award is simply astounding,” a WPAOG statement had quoted Hanks as saying.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticised the deployment of United States naval forces to the Caribbean, calling them a source of strain that could undermine peace in the region.

The South American leader expressed concern on Monday over the concentration of US forces, seen by some as a possible prelude to an attack on Venezuela.

“The presence of the armed forces of the largest power in the Caribbean Sea is a factor of tension,” Lula said during the opening of a virtual BRICS summit.

The US has said its military forces are in the region to counter drug trafficking. But the deployment has been paired with US threats against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom US President Donald Trump’s administration has accused of being closely linked with drug trafficking groups.

The Trump administration has provided no evidence for those claims and has often used vague allegations of connections to drug trafficking or criminal groups to justify extraordinary measures both at home and abroad.

Last week, the US carried out an unprecedented lethal attack on what the Trump administration said was a boat transporting drugs from Venezuela. Analysts have said the extrajudicial strike, which killed 11 people, was likely illegal, but US officials have promised to carry out more attacks in the region.

Maduro has said the deployment is part of an effort to depose his government and called on the military and civilians to make preparations for a possible attack.

BRICS meeting

As the Trump administration takes aggressive steps to advance its priorities on issues such as trade, immigration and drug trafficking, some countries are seeking to bolster ties with powers like China.

Addressing the virtual BRICS conference via video call on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for more cooperation in areas such as technology, finance and trade, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.

“The closer the BRICS countries cooperate, the more confidence, options and effective results they will have in addressing external risks and challenges,” he was quoted as saying.

Officials from India – a country, like Brazil and China, that has become a recent target of the Trump administration’s severe tariff policies – also called for greater collaboration.

“The world requires constructive and cooperative approaches to promote trade that is sustainable,” External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in comments published by India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “Increasing barriers and complicating transactions will not help. Neither would the linking of trade measures to nontrade matters.”