German defense minister harshly criticizes US and Turkey

Chancellor Angela Merkel has pursued a conciliatory approach with Ankara despite divergent interests and tensions on many issues. A new government could mean a new approach to the strongman president.

Flower Farm, nestled in the countryside of southern England, faces turmoil this winter as it contends with worker shortages that will leave it struggling to meet its Turkey orders this Christmas.

The US had previously blocked Turkey from buying fighter jets because the Turkish government had purchased S-400 defense air systems from Moscow.

Moscow is also closing the alliance's liaison mission. The announcement comes after NATO expelled eight members of the Russian mission to the military alliance.

The ambassadors, including Germany's, had urged a "just and speedy" resolution to Osman Kavala's case. He has been in jail for four years on charges linked to 2013 anti-government protests.

In Turkey, young people recently expressed their frustration with the authorities when students protested an ongoing spike in housing prices. This protest movement reflects the growing difficulties of the general population amid sky-high living costs, even as the government refuses to acknowledge the economic crisis. Our Istanbul correspondents Ludovic de Foucaud, Hussein Asad and Shona Bhattacharyya report.

Several EU member states are seeking a bloc-wide rapid reaction force. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the defense efforts should not duplicate existing structures.

The move means 10 ambassadors — including those of Germany and the United States — are now just one step from expulsion after calling for the release of activist Osman Kavala.

After declaring 10 diplomats from Western countries "persona non grata" over their support of a civil society leader, it appears Turkish President Erdogan has changed his mind.

After a summer of devastating forest fires and flooding, Turkey has become the last G20 country to ratify the Paris Agreement. Although it's among the world's biggest economies, Turkey wants UN climate officials to reclassify it as a developing country. That way, it would gain access to funding that could help Ankara adapt its inefficient farming methods. Our correspondents Shona Bhattacharyya, Ludovic de Foucaud and Hussein Asad report from Central Anatolia, where the country's second-biggest lake – Tuz Gölü or Salt Lake – is drying up.

Greek officials claim Turkey is acting like a "pirate state in the Aegean Sea" in regards to migrants. Athens has called on the EU to put pressure on Ankara to meet its international obligations.

Turkey has banned nationals from Iraq, Syria and Yemen from traveling to Belarus. It comes amid EU pressure over migrants stranded at Belarus' border with Poland.