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Anduril’s YFQ-44A ‘fighter drone’ prototype has now made its maiden flight. The YFQ-44A is one of two designs currently being developed under the first phase, or Increment 1, of the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. The other is General Atomics’ YFQ-42A, which took to the skies for the first time earlier this year.

A TWZ reader has shared pictures with us of the YFQ-44A in flight, which were taken earlier today at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California. The drone was also seen accompanied by two L-29 Delfin trainer jets acting as chase planes. We have reached out to Anduril for more information.

Additional imagery of the YFQ-44A in flight is now beginning to circulate online.

Last year, the Air Force announced that it trimmed back the field of prospective Increment 1 CCA designs to the proposals from Anduril and General Atomics. However, Fury’s story traces back to the late 2010s and an aggressor drone concept from a company called Blue Force Technologies, which Anduril acquired in 2023, as you can read about in extensive detail in this past War Zone feature.

“This marks another major milestone for the CCA program, now with two new uncrewed fighter aircraft going from concept to flight in less than 2 years,” the Air Force has now said in a press release confirming the YFQ-44A’s first flight. “This flight testing expands the program’s knowledge base on flight performance, autonomous behaviors, and mission system integration. By advancing multiple designs in parallel, the Air Force is gaining broader insights and refining how uncrewed aircraft will complement crewed fifth-and sixth-generation platforms in future mission environments.”

“This milestone demonstrates how competition drives innovation and accelerates delivery,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said in a statement. “These flights are giving us the hard data we need to shape requirements, reduce risk, and ensure the CCA program delivers combat capability on a pace and scale that keeps us ahead of the threat.”

Anduril and the Air Force had previously declined to provide a hard timeline for when the YFQ-44A would make its first flight.

“We have multiple vehicles at our test facility in ground testing right now, and we’re in the final stages before first flight,” Diem Salmon, Anduril’s Vice President of Air Dominance and Strike, had told TWZ and others at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2025 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference back in September. “All in all, we’re still well ahead of the program schedule in terms of getting YFQ-44A into the air. [We] feel really confident in our ability to do so and still feel really good about the program schedule.”

At that time, Salmon, as well as Jason Levin, Anduril’s Senior Vice President of Engineering for Air Dominance and Strike, offered additional details about the plans for Fury’s first flight, including the level of autonomy the company was hoping to demonstrate, which was a key schedule driver. You can read more about that here.

“It was not a race to get to first flight as fast as humanly possible. It was, how do we field this really advanced and novel capability as fast as we can,” Salmon had said. “And with that comes the recognition that the autonomy is the hard part here, and so that’s the thing that you actually need to burn down from a technical development, testing, and risk perspective. And so that’s how we’ve approached our program.”

Secretary of the Air Force Meink had also told TWZ and others at a separate roundtable at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference that his service was hoping to see the YFQ-44A fly by the middle of October. In a keynote address at the event, now-retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin described Fury’s first flight as “imminent,” as well.

“My engineers tell me that if we push the button … [the drone] will take off, it’ll fly around, and it’ll come back home,” Anduril founder Palmer Luckey had also told reporters earlier this month, according to Breaking Defense. “The Air Force is going through a process of evaluation that is very, very reasonable, I think.”

“Obviously, now the problem is we’re into the shutdown,” Luckey added at that time. “Certainly … a lot of stuff stops moving.”

The U.S. federal government remains in a shutdown. Efforts have been made to find continued funding for various priority efforts, especially within the U.S. military.

With the YFQ-42A and the YFQ-44A now flying, “developmental flight activities continue across both vendor and government test locations, including Edwards Air Force Base [AFB], where envelope expansion and integration work will inform future experimentation,” according to the Air Force’s press release today. “The Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit (EOU), located at Nellis AFB, will be instrumental in evaluating operational concepts as the program transitions from testing to fielding substantial operational capability for Increment 1 before the end of the decade.”

How many Increment 1 CCAs the Air Force ultimately plans to acquire is not entirely clear. Air Force officials have said previously that between 100 and 150 drones could be ordered under the program’s first phase. It also remains to be seen whether the service buys YFQ-42As, YFQ-44As, or a mix of both.

“CCA is part of the Next Generation Air Dominance Family of Systems and leverages the Department’s Government Reference Architectures—enabling platform-agnostic autonomy development, streamlined integration across vendor systems, and more agile capability updates over time,” the Air Force’s release also noted. “The architecture is built to integrate with Allied and Joint partners, offering common autonomy and mission system standards that support seamless interoperability and teaming across Services and coalition forces.”

There are still plans for at least one more incremental CCA developmental cycle, the requirements for which have yet to be publicly disclosed. However, the submissions for Increment 2 are already expected to be significantly different from the ones for Increment 1. in September, Lockheed Martin unveiled a new CCA-type drone, called Vectis, which the company suggested could be proposed for Increment 2. This week, Aviation Week also disclosed the existence of a new drone design from Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites, currently referred to just as Project Lotus, which that outlet described in terms of its similarities to Vectis.

Increment 2 has also long been expected to involve foreign participation. Earlier this month, authorities in the Netherlands notably announced they had signed the letter of intent about joining the CCA program.

The Air Force’s CCA effort is also directly intertwined with similar efforts underway within the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy. The Air Force still has many general questions to answer about how its future CCA fleets, whatever they are comprised of, will be deployed, launched, recovered, supported, and otherwise operated, not to mention employed tactically.

As such, in addition to being an important milestone in Fury’s development, the YFQ-44A’s first flight is also another step forward for the Air Force’s larger CCA plans.

Update, 3:45 PM EST:

Anduril has now put out its own release regarding the YFQ-44A’s first flight.

“Flight testing is where we prove to ourselves, to the Air Force, to our allies, and to our adversaries that these proclamations about game-changing technology go beyond words. They’re real, and they are taking to the skies today,” Jason Levin, Senior Vice President of Engineering for Air Dominance and Strike at Anduril, writes. “The flight testing process is where we prove that our aircraft meets the mark in terms of speed, maneuverability, autonomy, stealth, range, weapons systems integration, and more. As YFQ-44A climbs higher, we’re proving that it doesn’t merely look like a fighter, but that it performs like one.”

“Flight testing for the CCA program is also about more than simply proving raw fighter performance in a vacuum. The real step change that autonomy is driving is enabling a team of robotic aircraft to collaborate to accomplish mission objectives,” he adds. We designed YFQ-44A for a specific Air Force mission: to enhance survivability, lethality, and mission effectiveness by teaming with crewed fighter aircraft or operating independently. Through flight testing, Anduril and the Air Force are developing those collaborative, manned-unmanned teaming concepts and tactics that will inform how we integrate, fight with, and sustain truly autonomous aircraft.”

Levin also speaks more directly to Anduril’s previously stated focus on autonomy for the first flight, and now for testing going forward.

“YFQ-44A was not designed to be a remotely-piloted aircraft, and that is not how we are operating it — from first flight and forever onward. All of our taxi and flight tests have been and will continue to be semi-autonomous. This is a new age of air power; there is no operator with a stick and throttle flying the aircraft behind the scenes,” he says in the release. “Our aircraft is ushering in this new paradigm with incredible technical precision: it executes a mission plan on its own, manages flight control and throttle adjustment independent of human command, and returns to land at the push of a button, all under the watchful eye of an operator “on the loop” but not in it.”

“It must do more than just fly. CCA are built to win the high end fight; that’s what we’ve built the software that powers YFQ-44A to do. In the air, the fully integrated weapon system processes data at the speed that combat demands. It identifies targets and commands effects, enhancing the lethality, survivability, and effectiveness of the combined team,” he continues. “On the ground, YFQ-44A’s software backbone tracks and manages maintenance, vehicle health, and more, streamlining sustainment to ensure that it’s always ready to fly. In short, YFQ-44A’s autonomy is what makes it more than just a flying machine, but one that’s ready to fight.”

Anduril’s release also includes details about the production plans for the YFQ-44A, which tie into a “hyperscale” production facility, called Arsenal-1, that the company is now building in Ohio.

“To achieve the scale we need at the speed that the threat demands, we are building and testing a new type of production system for YFQ-44A. Through the employment of a common software backbone called ArsenalOS, our production system multiplies the effects of the thousands of design-for-manufacturing decisions made during the development of YFQ-44A,” according to Levin. “That system is underpinned by a manufacturing philosophy focused on simple, mature, and low-risk production technologies, rather than relying on manufacturing miracles. YFQ-44A will be produced at rate by a broad labor pool, commoditized supply chain, and industry-standard manufacturing processes.”

“YFQ-44A is streaking through the skies, but its next chapter will be written on the factory floors of America’s heartland. Our investment in this aircraft is the driving force behind Arsenal-1, the 5 million square foot production facility that we’re building in Columbus, Ohio,” he adds. “YFQ-44A will be the first program to move into the factory when its doors open, and we are on track to begin production of prototype CCA at Arsenal-1 in the first half of 2026.”

“We’re not waiting for Arsenal-1 to start building, though. In the meantime, we have already more than doubled our manufacturing speed for YFQ-44A by rapidly optimizing our processes and workflows, and by making hundreds of tweaks to the design of the aircraft to further enhance producibility,” Levin also notes. “Making it this far has required herculean investments from the combined Anduril-USAF team measured in time and money.”

Update, 6:00 PM EST:

During a press call today, Anduril’s Jason Levin provided TWZ and other outlets with additional information about today’s first flight and future testing plans. The company has so far declined to say how long the YFQ-44A’s first flight lasted or provide other, more specific details about what it entailed.

“I don’t think I can say any specifics, but the team is very excited,” Levin said in response to a question about whether the first flight went as planned. He did say that the YFQ-44A flew today with an Anduril flight autonomy mission package, but declined to speak to what additional mission autonomy capabilities might be integrated into the drone in future test flights.

“I think it’s kind of the standard buildup that you would have in in in aviation. So I think it’s just checking out subsystems, continue to burn down risk, continue to prove that systems are flight worthy and things are working as expected, matching up the simulation, and then just to continue to start to push the envelope,” he added when asked about potential hurdles to further expanding Fury’s flight envelope. “So, I don’t see any specific risk. We’ve kind of designed Fury to be a simple, low-risk, producible system on purpose, so that we didn’t have to clear any huge hurdles while progressing through the flight test program.”

“We still have a lot to do. So, we’ve shown the airplane works. We’ve shown the autonomy works. The software brain that powers it works. We have a lot to do in terms of proving out the speed, maneuverability, autonomy, stealth, weapon systems integration, and more. And that’s when we’re going to start developing the tactics with experimentation with the Air Force,” he also said. “We’ve already begun integrating weapons with YFQ-44A, and we’ll execute our first live shot next year. And then over the next year, we’ll execute multi-ship mission autonomy, deploy weapons from YFQ-44A, fly in conjunction with crewed fighters, and operate outside of test locations.”

“I can’t talk to the specific build-up to firing a missile, but you can kind of imagine it’s not going to be too dissimilar from any aircraft doing a first shot. So we’re just going to build up in terms of flying, integrating systems, and testing them out,” he added when asked to elaborate on the weapon testing plans. “We have a test planning collaboration with the Air Force for things like that.”

It also gives us the hard data we need to shape requirements, reduce risk, and ensure the CCA program delivers combat capability on a pace and scale that keeps us ahead of the threat (2/2). https://t.co/qoCd9PY3do

— Office of the Secretary of the Air Force (@SecAFOfficial) October 31, 2025

He offered a similar response when asked about the plans for multi-ship flight testing, which is set to be conducted in coordination with crewed fighters.

“We have a flight test kind of procedure that I think is going to move quite rapidly, because we’ve built out a lot of the autonomy, so we can start hitting the other test points and showing the capability of the aircraft much quicker,” Levin said, speaking more generally. “And so we feel confident that’ll get us pretty quickly into the live shot, multi-ship autonomous flight, and then autonomous flight with crewed aircraft.”

“We’ve [got] currently multiple Fury fully-built aircraft in testing, as well as multiple aircraft in various stages of the manufacturing process,” he also noted. Anduril had previously disclosed this at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2025 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in September.

“Arsenal-1, it is going to open next year, and it can support the increment one demand that the U.S. Air Force has for CCA,” he added. “And so we’re scaling up that facility to build hundreds of aircraft.”

Contact the author: [email protected]

No one anticipated last Sunday midterm election result in Argentina. Not even the executive, that faced a dire situation on the way to the election. Unexpectedly, Donald Trump himself came to President Milei’s rescue and the election´s results surprised everyone in the Argentine political spectrum.

The political campaign couldn´t be worse for the incumbent. First, in early September it lost a provincial election in key Buenos Aires province (home to 40% of Argentines). Second, Milei’s sister and top political advisor was accused of bribery. Third, his top candidate for national lawmaker at, again, the crucial Buenos Aires province had to step down amid accusations of being funded by a suspected narcotrafficker. Fourth, even though Milei has been very successful in slashing inflation, from over 200% annually to around 20%, this came with a hefty price. He cut subsidies to poor families and utilities, increase interest rates and open the economy to imports. According to the World Bank, economic activity plummeted a 1.7% in Milei’s first year in office while projections for 2025 economic growth hover around 3% to 4%. Finally, the Argentine peso faced strong devaluation pressures for several weeks prior the election that dried good part of Central Bank´s reserves.

It was at this point that Trump stepped in. He gave a 20bn US$ bailout that kept the peso´s devaluation under control during the crucial days previous to the election. He even offered to increase the economic assistance to 40bn depending on the elections’ result. Trump defied internal criticism, both from Democrats and Republicans for giving money to record high foreign debt defaulter Argentina.  

Astonishingly, the election’s result couldn´t be better for the government. It won at the national level with over 40% of the votes while the Peronist got 35%. It won in all but 8 of the 24 provinces, including Peronist stronghold, Buenos Aires province. It has greatly increased the president´s party congressional power, giving him the chance to defend his presidential decrees and vetoes and even advancing crucial legislation with the help of allies. Key among Milei´s projects is the reform of the 1974 labour law. This law repeatedly resisted reform attempts by pro market administrations in the past and has been blamed for Argentina´s far from successful private sector performance.

At the same time, the election has weakened the Peronists presidential aspirations since this voting could not produce a clear leader in their political arc. The same goes for other opposition candidates with presidential ambitions. In sum, this election has infused new life to the Milei administration and gave him the chance to pursue his agenda with renewed strength.

The other big winner is Donald Trump. He has successfully influenced an election in one of Latin America’s largest country. From here on, Argentina’s alliance with the US will only deepened. In the mind of those who voted Milei for president and were now doubting whether to cast their ballots for him again, the US support acted as a huge catalyst in making up their minds. The group of those seeking a profound alliance with the US in Argentina (traditionally an anti-American country, as Latino Barometer polls has shown across the years) has only grew.

Nevertheless, one important pitfall lies ahead: Argentina’s relations with China. China is currently Argentina’s major trading partner while the US ranks fourth after Brazil and the EU. Former Brazilian president and Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro faced the same situation: he tried at first to sever its economic ties with Beijing, only to find massive opposition from exporters at home. Will political affinity trump (no pun intended!) trade interests? The Argentine case will act as a litmus test of the future of the relationship between the US, Latin America and China.

Israeli strikes on Gaza this week have killed more than 100 people following the killing of an Israeli soldier, but the shaky ceasefire continues to hold.

Israeli strikes on Gaza this week have killed more than 100 people following the killing of an Israeli soldier, but the shaky ceasefire continues to hold.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of the country’s presidential election.

The electoral commission on Saturday said the incumbent had secured nearly 98 percent of the vote that saw key candidates jailed or barred and triggered days of violent protests.

More to follow…

Relations between Egypt and China have proven their ability to keep pace with international and regional transformations. China is one of Egypt’s major trading partners, with annual trade volume exceeding billions of dollars. Recent years have witnessed an increase in Chinese investments in Egypt, particularly in the fields of infrastructure, industry, and energy, with a focus on mega-projects such as the New Administrative Capital and the Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in the Suez Canal Corridor, among others. The two countries also pursue compatible policies in terms of working for peace throughout the world and advocating for the establishment of a multipolar system.

  We find that Chinese investments in Egypt play a significant role in many areas, most notably technology transfer to Egypt, particularly in sectors where China excels, such as renewable energy, the electric car industry, and all types of appliances. Chinese investments in Egypt also provide significant job opportunities and help Egypt implement its import substitution strategy by producing more products that help reduce Egypt’s import bill with Chinese assistance and support. As of May 2025, the number of Chinese companies operating in Egypt reached approximately 2,800, with total investments exceeding $8 billion. These Chinese investments are characterized by their diversity and geographical spread in Egypt, from the Suez Canal to the New Administrative Capital.  Cooperation between Egypt and China has extended to the fields of technology and artificial intelligence, with Chinese companies present in the Egyptian market, such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and ZTE. A $300 million investment fund has been established with the Tsinghua University of Artificial Intelligence and Semiconductor Technology, in addition to fiber optics and outsourcing projects.

Chinese projects contribute significantly to Egypt’s domestic growth by attracting billions of dollars in Chinese investments in various sectors, such as industry, construction, and infrastructure, along with technology transfer and industrial localization. Chinese companies in Egypt are also working to establish industrial complexes and develop mega projects, such as the iconic tower in the New Administrative Capital, and establish industrial zones in the Suez Canal and Ain Sokhna regions, contributing to job creation and added value for the Egyptian economy. Chinese development projects also contribute to the development of energy and electricity infrastructure, the training of Egyptian personnel, and the export of products to African and European markets. The win-win principle that governs the Chinese model of international dealings is a principle that suits Egypt, its leadership, and its people.

 The most prominent contributions of Chinese projects to Egypt’s domestic growth are attracting Chinese investments to Egypt, which amount to billions of dollars. China also contributes to localizing industries and transferring technology to Egypt, where technology and knowledge are transferred from China to Egypt, in addition to establishing Chinese factories to produce various products, such as automobiles, steel, textiles, and others. China also plays a significant role in developing Egypt’s infrastructure, with Chinese companies contributing to the construction of major infrastructure projects, such as the development of power plants and the expansion of their distribution networks, as well as the construction of modern roads and towers. Chinese projects in Cairo thus create job opportunities and provide significant export opportunities, as these Chinese projects provide thousands of job opportunities for Egyptian workers. Egypt is a strategic gateway for China to export its products to Africa and Europe, thanks to its distinguished strategic geographic location. In addition, China plays a significant role in developing Egypt’s economic sectors, as these Chinese projects focus on vital sectors such as industry, construction, tourism, advanced technology, and manufacturing, which supports overall economic growth in Egypt.  This enhances Egypt’s benefits from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as Egypt’s accession to the Belt and Road Initiative enhances economic cooperation with China and facilitates the flow of Chinese investments into Egypt.

Chinese investments in Egypt received a significant boost under President “Abdel Fattah El-Sisi”. Egypt became an active member of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and Egypt joined the BRICS bloc and the New Development Bank. Chinese projects have subsequently become important, yielding positive returns and impacting Egyptian citizens. The most prominent of these are major Chinese projects in Cairo, such as the financial and business district in the New Administrative Capital, the electric train, renewable energy projects, and textile factories, among others. These are all Chinese projects that Egyptian citizens are already aware of and following. These Chinese investments in Egypt create new job opportunities and open the door for Chinese products to enter African and Arab markets, benefiting both sides.

 Egyptian-Chinese cooperation is an ideal model for cooperation between the Global South, and Southern issues have been a major focus of the political leadership of both Egypt and China. Chinese and Egyptian Presidents Xi Jinping and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi have repeatedly emphasized the importance of solidarity among the countries of the South to confront common challenges. Egypt’s accession to the BRICS grouping, and previously to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as a partner country reflects its commitment to expressing the views of the countries of the South and promoting their interests. Meanwhile, China has presented its own vision on the issues of the South, evident in the numerous initiatives and ideas it has put forward, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and Global Governance, all of which are closely linked to the development goals of the countries of the South. This is also reflected in the vision of Chinese President Xi Jinping for “building a community with a shared future for humanity.”

 China’s cooperation with Egypt reflects a new Chinese vision for South-South cooperation, based on equality and non-interference. It reflects Beijing’s commitment to advancing cooperation toward strategic horizons that transcend traditional interests and build alliances capable of influencing the future of the international system. Egypt’s strong support and backing of President “Abdel Fattah El-Sisi” for the Global Governance Initiative launched by Chinese President “Xi Jinping” in early September 2025, with the aim of enhancing joint global cooperation to increase capacity to address common challenges and narrow the development gap between the countries of the North and the South, complements China’s and Egypt’s categorical rejection of the (Cold War mentality, protectionism, unipolarity, and hegemonic policies) pursued by the United States toward the world. 

 China’s massive military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II demonstrated Egypt’s strong support for China’s strength and its determination to maintain peace and development in the world. The 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, held in Tianjin, China, also highlighted the strong political will of China and its ruling Communist Party to contribute to reforming and improving the global governance system. The Tianjin Summit is the largest, most fruitful, and most successful summit in the history of the SCO to date. Through it, China and President “Xi Jinping” championed the principles of global governance, adhering to mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, openness and inclusiveness, justice and fairness, and pragmatism and efficiency in order to achieve justice and advance policies of cooperation among developing countries of the Global South in the face of American and Western hegemonic policies. 

 This year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, a matter of particular interest to political circles in Egypt and China, as they play an increasing role in maintaining world peace and promoting international justice. In this context, Egypt and China have achieved fruitful results in comprehensive cooperation and advancing cooperation within the developing global South. Currently, the Egyptian and Chinese sides are working jointly to advance and ensure the success of China’s Global Governance Initiative, which will deliver tangible benefits to the two peoples and to the peoples of the region. This will make Sino-Egyptian relations a model for building a “community of shared destiny, mutual benefit, and shared prosperity,” in accordance with the vision of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

   Accordingly, we understand that the Chinese partnership with Egypt embodies the principles of global governance. The convergence between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Egypt’s Vision 2030 enhances opportunities for development cooperation between the two parties and confirms the two countries’ commitment to dialogue and consultation and the rejection of hegemony and interference, in line with the principles of global governance. This, in particular, reinforces the principle of the rule of international law within the United Nations and in all international forums in order to support developing countries of the Global South, far removed from the policies of exclusion, hegemony, and the Cold War mentality that Washington currently pursues in its dealings with the world.

Thirty-four children were among 78 people killed in the deadly blaze, which occurred during the school holidays.

A Turkish court has sentenced 11 people to life in prison over a fire that killed 78 people at a hotel in a ski resort in northwest Turkiye’s Bolu mountains in January.

Among those sentenced on Friday were Halit Ergul – the owner of the Grand Kartal Hotel, which sits in the Kartalkaya ski resort about 295km (183 miles) east of Istanbul – according to state-run broadcaster TRT Haber.

The court also sentenced Ergul’s wife, Emine Ergul, and their daughters, Elif Aras and Ceyda Hacibekiroglu – all of whom were part of the hotel’s management team.

The deadly blaze broke out overnight in the restaurant of the Grand Kartal on January 21, quickly engulfing the 12-storey hotel, where 238 guests were staying.

Thirty-four children were among 78 people killed in the fire, which occurred during the school holidays when many families from Ankara and Istanbul head to the Bolu mountains to ski.

Another 137 people suffered injuries during the incident, as panicked hotel guests were forced to jump from windows in the middle of the night.

Also sentenced on Friday were the hotel’s general manager, Emir Aras, as well as the deputy mayor of Bolu, Sedat Gulener, and the director of another hotel, Ahmet Demir, both of whom were reportedly on the board of directors of the company that owned the Grand Kartal.

There are a total of 32 defendants in the trial, 20 of whom are in pre-trial detention, according to TRT. It’s unclear when the remaining defendants will appear in court.

In total, the convicted were handed 34 aggravated life sentences for the 34 children killed in the disaster. Those in the courtroom greeted the announcement with applause.

The fire sparked nationwide anger in Turkiye, with questions raised over safety measures in place at the hotel after survivors said no fire alarms went off during the incident, and they had to navigate smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.

Under pressure to act, Turkish authorities quickly arrested nine people in connection with the blaze, while the government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation.

Speaking to reporters outside the still-smoking hotel, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya pledged that those “responsible for causing this pain will not escape justice”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a day of national mourning, as he served as a pallbearer at a funeral ceremony for the victims the following day.

President Donald Trump has thrown himself into the ongoing debate over the United States government shutdown, calling on the Senate to scrap the filibuster and reopen the government.

But that idea was swiftly rejected on Friday by Republican leaders who have long opposed such a move.

The filibuster refers to a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to overcome objections. Currently, that rule gives the minority Democrats a check on Republican power in the Senate.

In the chamber that’s currently split 53 to 47, Democrats have had enough votes to keep the government closed while they demand an extension of healthcare subsidies. Yet, neither party has seriously wanted to nuke the rule.

“THE CHOICE IS CLEAR – INITIATE THE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION,’ GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump said in a late-night social media post Thursday.

Trump’s sudden decision to assert himself in the now 31-day-long shutdown – with his highly charged demand to end the filibuster – is certain to set the Senate on edge. It could spur senators towards their own compromise or send the chamber spiralling towards a new sense of crisis. Or, it might be ignored.

Republican leaders responded quickly, and unequivocally, setting themselves at odds with Trump, a president few have dared to publicly counter.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly said he is not considering changing the rules to end the shutdown, arguing that it is vital to the institution of the Senate and has allowed Republicans to halt Democratic policies when they are in the minority.

The leader’s “position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged”, Thune spokesman Ryan Wrasse said Friday.

A spokeswoman for Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, the number-two Republican, said his position opposing a filibuster change also remains unchanged.

And former Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who firmly opposed Trump’s filibuster pleas in his first term, remains in the Senate.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also defended the filibuster Friday, while conceding “it’s not my call” from his chamber across the Capitol.

“The safeguard in the Senate has always been the filibuster,” Johnson said, adding that Trump’s comments are a reflection of “the president’s anger at the situation”.

Even if Thune wanted to change the filibuster, he would not currently have the votes to do so in the divided Senate.

“The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate,” Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah posted on the social media platform X on Friday morning, responding to Trump’s comments. “Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t. I’m a firm no on eliminating it.”

Debate has swirled around the legislative filibuster for years. Many Democrats pushed to eliminate it when they had full power in Washington, as the Republicans do now, four years ago.

But ultimately, enough Democratic senators opposed the move, predicting such an action would come back to haunt them.

Trump’s demand comes as he has declined to engage with Democratic leaders on ways to end the shutdown, on track to become the longest in history.

He said in his post that he gave a “great deal” of thought to his choice on his flight home from Asia, and that one question that kept coming up during his trip was why “powerful Republicans allow” the Democrats to shut down parts of the government.

But later Friday, he did not mention the filibuster again as he spoke to reporters departing Washington and arriving in Florida for a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home.

While quiet talks are under way, particularly among bipartisan senators, Trump has not been seriously involved.

Democrats refuse to vote to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate an extension to the healthcare subsidies. The Republicans say they won’t negotiate until the government is reopened.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CNN that Trump needs to start negotiating with Democrats, arguing the president has spent more time with global leaders than dealing with the shutdown back home.

From coast to coast, fallout from the dysfunction of the shuttered federal government is hitting home. SNAP food aid is scheduled to shut off. Flights are being delayed. Workers are going without paychecks.

And Americans are getting a first glimpse of the skyrocketing healthcare insurance costs that are at the centre of the deadlock.

“People are stressing,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as food options in her state grow scarce. “We are well past time to have this behind us.”