Istanbul

Taras Stepanenko, who recently left Shakhtar, has signed a contract with Euapspor until the summer of 2026. The Turkish club, currently ranked 4th in the Super League, expects the experienced Ukrainian to make a significant contribution to the team's development.

Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism plans to close 17% of the country's hotels due to non-compliance. Most of the closures will affect Istanbul - 767 facilities, Izmir - 515, and Sakarya - 499.

Today at 17:30, Dynamo will face Galatasaray in the 7th round of the Europa League. The match will take place in Istanbul, with bookmakers favoring the hosts with odds of 1.2.

In Istanbul, 19 people died of poisoning from counterfeit alcohol in 72 hours. 33 victims are in hospitals, and the authorities have closed 63 outlets selling counterfeit alcohol.

Olympic silver medalist in shooting Yusuf Dikeç demanded 30 thousand euros for an interview with L'Equipe. The demand caused outrage in Turkish sports circles because of the prestige of the French publication.

Lukashenko's spokeswoman denied Zelensky's statement that he had apologized for the missile strikes from Belarus. According to her, the conversation took place through Lukashenko's son, who had contact with Zelensky.

Ukraine and Russia have not reached an agreement on continuing gas transit to Europe through Azerbaijan. Zelenskiy said that transit is possible only if Moscow does not receive payment until the end of the war.

Over 47 million foreign tourists visited Turkey in the first 10 months of 2024, up 7. 03% year-on-year. Istanbul was the most popular city with 15.8 million visitors.

Turkish President plans to present a plan to freeze the war in Ukraine at the G20 summit. The proposal includes postponing Ukraine's accession to NATO for 10 years and creating a demilitarized zone in Donbas.

The director of the PÖFF festival, Tiina Locke, said that the film Deaf Lovers will remain in the main program. The film tells about the relationship between a deaf Ukrainian woman and a Russian man in Istanbul.

Ihor Grosu announced the organized mobilization of voters from Transnistria and vote buying in the presidential elections in Moldova. Mass transportation of voters by charter flights from Belarus and Turkey was recorded.

Promo-LEX observers recorded numerous violations at polling stations during the second round of the presidential election in Moldova. Among the violations were untimely opening of polling stations, campaigning and photographing of ballots.

150 Moldovan citizens were transported from Russia via Istanbul free of charge to participate in the second round of elections. The transportation was carried out by plane and bus through Turkey and Bulgaria.

Istanbul authorities are launching a free travel program for 237,893 unemployed residents of the city. Each participant will receive 96 free rides for 3 months via an app or QR code.

An attempt to smuggle 42 vintage cameras to Turkey was detected at Odesa customs. Among them are rare models of Zeiss, Kodak, FED and other manufacturers from 1930-1960.

Andriy Sybiga will visit Turkey on October 20-22 for talks with high-ranking officials. They will discuss security issues in the Black Sea, bilateral cooperation and Ukraine's integration into NATO.

Due to the thick fog in the Bosphorus Strait, ship traffic in both directions was temporarily suspended. Visibility deteriorated, especially on bridges, leading to traffic jams. The traffic was later resumed.

Ukrainian badminton players won silver at the tournament in Istanbul and 8 medals at competitions in Germany. The awards include two golds from Ivan Tsaregorodtsev and Anastasia Alymova at the YONEX German Ruhr U19 International 2024.

The 59-year-old commander of a Turkish Airlines aircraft collapsed at the controls during a flight from Seattle to Istanbul. The crew made an emergency landing in New York, but the pilot died before landing.

The separate division of the State Enterprise “Document” in Istanbul will continue issuing passport documents until 29. 12.2024. Citizens of Ukraine can receive documents in a live queue from Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 to 18:00.

Law enforcement officers detained a foreigner who organized drug smuggling to the Middle East and Ukraine. More than 5 kg of drugs worth almost UAH 5 million were seized, and a measure of restraint was chosen for the suspect.

It is a common misconception that the first comics appeared in the United States. In fact, the birthplace of comics is Europe. In 1825, The Glasgow Looking Glass, a publication specializing in this genre, was founded.

According to The Washington Post, Ukraine and Russia were preparing for talks in Doha to end attacks on energy facilities. The meeting was disrupted by Ukraine's invasion of the Kursk region.

The President of Ukraine held a meeting with the military leadership to discuss the situation at the front and strengthening defense. Particular attention was paid to the Pokrovsk sector, where the most fierce fighting continues.

Rustem Umerov met with Yashar Guler at the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. The Turkish minister greeted his Ukrainian counterpart with a military ceremony.

Ukraine hopes for Turkey's active participation in ensuring food security and navigation safety in the Black Sea. The parties also discussed the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement and strengthening economic cooperation.

The launching ceremony of the second Ukrainian Ada-class corvette Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky (F-212) took place at RMK Marine shipyard in Istanbul. This is the second corvette built in Turkey for Ukraine.

An earthquake with magnitude 4. 1-4.2 was recorded in the Sea of Marmara at a depth of 4-7 km. The epicenter was located near the island of Marmara, about 100 km from Istanbul. There were no reports of damage.

The Hetman Ivan Mazepa, a multi-purpose corvette-class ship being built by Turkey for the Ukrainian Navy, is undergoing sea trials.

The war started by Russia risks going beyond Ukraine's borders and may involve the use of weapons of mass destruction, Turkey's foreign minister said at the Global Peace Summit.