Turkey

Several international bodies will be asked to make the name change as part of a rebranding campaign launched by the Turkish president late last year.

"Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people's culture, civilization, and values," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in December.

The UN says it made the change as soon as it received the request this week.

Most Turks already know their country as Türkiye. However the anglicised form Turkey is widely used, even within the country.

The officers will undergo three-weeks of training in Ankara.

The team bid loved ones, their families, fellow officers and friends’ goodbye before boarding their flight to Brisbane and onwards to Singapore then Ankara.

The officers will arrive back in Nauru early next month (March) and then depart in July 2022 for their UNPOL mission.

The six officers are SP Imran Scotty, Sgt Wilhem Appi, Sgt Shannon Kanimea, Sgt Drusky Dabwadauw, Sgt Priscilla Dake and Senior constable Jacaranda Akibwib.

It follows a statement from the envoys calling for the urgent release of activist Osman Kavala.

He has been in jail for more than four years over protests and a coup attempt, although he has not been convicted.

Persona non grata can remove diplomatic status and often results in expulsion or withdrawal of recognition of envoys.

This week's statement on Kavala jointly came from the embassies of the US, Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.

But militancy alone is likely to leave the Taliban on its own - globally isolated, with millions of Afghans facing an even more uncertain future.

The world's powers are now scrambling to exert influence amid the return of the country's Islamist rulers. And in the process two nations from the Arab and Muslim world have been emerging as key mediators and facilitators - Qatar and Turkey.

Kastamonu province is the worst-hit area, accounting for 29 of the deaths. Two others died in Sinop on the coast.

The floods caused some buildings to collapse, smashed several bridges, clogged some streets with wrecked cars and cut power supplies.

This month Turkey has also had to battle huge wildfires in the south.

Those fires - which are now under control - forced thousands of locals and tourists to flee Marmaris and surrounding areas. Eight people died and more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of vegetation was devastated.

The blazes have been raging for six days as Turkey grapples with its worst fire crisis in a decade.

On Monday Turkish authorities said more than 130 blazes had been contained as firefighting efforts continued.

Elsewhere, firefighters are trying to contain wildfires in parts of Greece, Spain and Italy.

Italy's national fire service said it had to deal with more than 1,500 flare-ups across the country on Sunday.

In the eastern city of Pescara, at least five people were injured after a fire forced the evacuation of hundreds from beach resorts and homes.

The Pegasus Airlines jet was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members from Izmir province in the west when it crashed at Sabiha Gokcen airport.

The Boeing 737 was trying to land in heavy tailwinds and rain.

The airport was closed and flights diverted after the accident.

Turkish media said the majority of people on board were Turkish but there were also about 20 foreign nationals.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) currently hold thousands of suspected IS prisoners.

Areas in north-eastern Syria under SDF control have come under heavy bombardment from Turkey since it launched its offensive on Wednesday.

More than 50 civilians have reportedly died on both sides of the border.

Turkey accuses the Kurds of being terrorists and has said it wants to drive them away from a "safe zone" reaching some 30km into Syria.

It also plans to resettle more than three million Syrian refugees in the zone who are currently in Turkey.

The organisers Pink Life QueerFest Four had planned to screen four films at cinemas on 16 and 17 November.

They said the decision "deprives us of our constitutional rights".

Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey but activists say homophobia remains widespread.

In a statement, Ankara's governor office said the festival's content "could incite grudges and enmity toward a part of society".

The Turkish embassy in Washington said it needed to "reassess" the US government's commitment to the security of the mission and personnel.

A very similar statement was earlier made by the US embassy in Ankara.

This comes after a US consulate worker in Istanbul was held last week on suspicion of links to a cleric blamed for last year's failed coup in Turkey.

Washington condemned the move as baseless and damaging to bilateral relations.

The arrested consulate employee was a male Turkish citizen, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported.