Armenia Vote & Turkey’s Diplomacy: Türkiye welcomed Armenia’s parliamentary election as peaceful and said the post-election period should help pave the way for a final Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal, with Ankara hoping results will support stability in the South Caucasus. Islamic Finance Overhaul: President Erdoğan announced the merger of three state Islamic banks to expand participation banking, while also moving Emlak Katilim toward an IPO—another push to grow Turkey’s Sharia-compliant finance footprint. EU Climate Talks: Ahead of COP31 in Turkey, the EU is urging a “short, sharp and more strategic” negotiating approach after COP30 failed to deliver on key bloc priorities. World Cup & Iran’s Symbolic Protest: Iran’s World Cup squad arrived in Mexico wearing “#168” pins honoring victims of a deadly school strike, as visa delays and US-Iran tensions continue to shadow preparations. Legal Pressure on Turkey: The European Court of Human Rights communicated questions to Turkey over lengthy pretrial detentions tied to the 2016 coup attempt, including whether detentions were properly justified and challengeable. Media/Politics: CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu kicked off the party congress process, calling for unity ahead of a parliamentary group meeting.