2,352 Years Behind Bars

Hi Global Recap readers,

» You’re the president.

» Your main rival is surging and set to face you next election.

» Solution? Lock him up.

» For, say... 2,352 years. 👇️ 

🇹🇷 TURKEY
Turkey Seeks
2,000-Year Term

Prosecutors in Istanbul just filed an indictment asking for more than 2,000 years in prison for Ekrem Imamoglu, the jailed mayor of Istanbul and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief rival. The case labels him the head of a criminal organization.

But this case isn’t as straight-forward as “Imamoglu: bad.” People are finding the more-than-convenient timing as sus.

• Charges: The 4,000-page filing lists bribery, money laundering, fraud, and related offenses that prosecutors say cost the state billions of dollars.

• Scale: 402 suspects are named, with an organizational chart that places Imamoglu at the top.

• Timing: The indictment hit court on Tuesday, months after Imamoglu was detained in March just before he was expected to be named the opposition’s presidential candidate. Two thousand years behind bars? That would certainly keep Erdogan at the helm.

• Politics: Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel called the case "entirely political" and a "civilian coup," while CHP lawmaker Ali Mahir Basarir asked in Parliament, "Who wrote this indictment, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan?"

• Stakes: If convicted in any of several cases, Imamoglu could be barred from politics. Istanbul University also voided his decades-old diploma the day before his arrest. What a timing.

🇺🇸🇻🇪US & VENEZUELA
Venezuela Mobilizes,
Carrier Nears

The USS Gerald R. Ford strike group entered the US Southern Command region as Venezuela ordered nationwide military mobilization. The Navy says the ships are in the area but not in the Caribbean Sea, yet.

• Forces: Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said the country is moving to maximum operational readiness with ground, air, naval, riverine, and missile units, plus militia involvement, on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

• Numbers: Venezuela plans a deployment of almost 200,000 soldiers. The Ford carries about 4,000 sailors and sails with destroyers USS Bainbridge, USS Mahan, and USS Winston S. Churchill.

• Presence: The carrier group’s arrival lifts total US personnel in the region to roughly 15,000 across about a dozen warships and reinforcements in Puerto Rico.

• Money: Operating an aircraft carrier can cost up to $8.4 million per day, according to analyst Mark Cancian, stressing that this is a time-limited posture.

• Backlash: Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro suspended law-enforcement intelligence sharing with the US while missile strikes on boats continue. Since early September, at least 19 disclosed strikes destroyed small speedboats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, and the campaign has killed at least 75 people, which legal experts argue violates the law of war.

• Politics: However, Congress failed to pass measures to curb the operation. Officials told select lawmakers the administration is not currently preparing to target Venezuela directly.

🇷🇺 RUSSIA
Russia Jails
Teen Musician

An 18-year-old street singer in Saint Petersburg was sentenced to jail for the third time after performing anti-war songs, a move that fits Russia’s ongoing crackdown. The court handed her another 13 days on Tuesday.

• Identity: Diana Loginova, a music student who performs as Naoko, first drew attention by singing works by exiled artists Monetochka and Noize MC at pop-up street sets in central Saint Petersburg.

• Charges: So what is she accused of? Judges found her guilty of organizing a mass gathering, tacking this onto two prior 13-day sentences for "disrupting public order" and "petty hooliganism."

• Tactic: Rights lawyers describe a jail "carousel," where minor offenses are stacked to keep a person in near-continuous custody.

• Allies: But she is only part of a broader pattern. Band guitarist Alexander Orlov received 13 days as well. In another city, Perm, 20-year-old performer Yekaterina Romanova got 15 days after earlier serving 7 for showing support.

• Climate: Since early 2022, laws criminalizing criticism of the army and the invasion of Ukraine have made even brief street performances risky. Support videos for Loginova have surged on TikTok despite fines and arrests.

🇮🇳🇵🇰 INDIA & PAKISTAN
Pakistan Blames
India of Terrorism

Pakistan’s government says "India proxies" engineered a suicide blast at Islamabad’s main district court that killed at least 12 and wounded more than 30, calling it state terrorism. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Defense Minister Khawaja Asif argue the operation was staged from Afghanistan, allegedly at New Delhi’s behest.

• Location: The bomber hit just after 12:30 pm at the entrance to the District Judicial Complex on Srinagar Highway, roughly 15 km from Pakistan’s Parliament, Supreme Court, and the prime minister’s office.

• Victims: Officials report at least 12 dead and more than 30 injured, including five in critical condition. A lawyer on site said about 2,000 people were inside. One witness called it a "deafening blast."

• Claims: Jamaa-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility. However, the TTP itself denied involvement. Islamabad’s ministers blamed coordination from Afghan territory with alleged Indian direction.

• Spillover: On the same day, a bomb in Dera Ismail Khan injured at least 14 security personnel. A day earlier, a car bomb at Wana’s Cadet College triggered a siege, with security forces saying about 650 individuals were rescued.

🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
US Eyes Gaza Base

The Pentagon is scoping a temporary base for 10,000 personnel near Gaza, according to an internal RFI (Request for Information), as Washington tests a foreign stabilization force to police a ceasefire. The idea pairs with a push for a foreign stabilization force to police a ceasefire.

• Plan: The Navy’s request asks for a self-sustaining base for 12 months, plus 10,000 square feet of office space, food, water, power, laundry, comms, and a medical clinic.

• Scale: Contractors would deliver a turnkey site supporting 10,000 personnel with three meals daily and full waste and water management.

• Location: The document pegs the site as “near Gaza, Israel,” with a US official saying the early planning points to southern Israel and that no US troops would staff it.

• Timeline: The RFI went to pre-qualified firms on Oct 31, with responses due Nov 3, which implies a fast read on feasibility and cost.

• Politics: White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt cautioned that the paper was not an approved plan, saying it came from “a single piece of paper produced by random people within the military.” Israeli spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said there was nothing concrete to share.

• Contractors: Eligible companies fall under the Navy’s WEXMAC contracting vehicle managed by NAVSUP, previously used for large expeditionary builds including detention capacity.