U.N. rights boss concerned at due process in Turkey purges

Four people have died as the country reels from the devastation wreaked by the fires. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the country "will continue to take all necessary steps to heal our nation's wounds."

Raging forest fires in southern Turkey have caused huge devastation, with many people losing their homes and possessions — and some their lives. DW reporter Serkan Ocak reports from the region.

Search and rescue teams look for survivors as the death toll of the flash floods in Northern Turkey soars to 27. The disasters across Turkey's northern Black Sea regions come just as the disaster-hit country was winning control over hundreds of wildfires that killed eight people and destroyed swathes of forest along its scenic southern coast.

The four million or so refugees in Turkey are facing growing animosity. In the Istanbul immigrant district of Yusufpasa, many are worried about what the future will bring.

After the upheaval in Afghanistan, a large number of people are now trying to flee the Taliban. Many turn to people smugglers to get them out of the country. One smuggler spoke to DW about his criminal business.

Over the next four days, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will head to five countries — all of which have a role to play in the effort to get those in need of protection out of Afghanistan.

The United States has withdrawn from Afghanistan. Turkey, in particular, is preparing to take over its role on the ground. However, many Turks have been angered by their president's overtures to the Taliban.

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.

The U.N. human rights office called on Tuesday (October 12) for a "prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigations" into the use of disproportionate force by Libyan authorities against migrants and asylum seekers. Armed forces in Tripoli began a series of mass arrests a week earlier, detaining more than 4,000 people in overcrowded detention centres, U.N. rights spokeswoman, Marta Hurtado told a news briefing in Geneva. "Women, children and men were arrested and handcuffed. Security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force to detain them, including shooting and beating those who resisted or tried to escape. As a result, at least one person died, five were injured, and more than 4,000 were detained," she said.

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.

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.