ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including US President Donald Trump confirming that he held a phone call with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro amid tensions between their two countries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requesting a presidential pardon over his corruption charges, and polling stations closing in Honduras following a general election with vote counting beginning.

• Trump confirms phone call with Venezuela’s Maduro amid tensions

US President Donald Trump confirmed that he held a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but declined to provide details about the conversation.

"I don't want to comment on it. The answer is yes," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington, DC from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he spent Thanksgiving.

"I can't do that," he said when asked to describe the call, adding: "I wouldn't say it went well or badly."

• Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu seeks presidential pardon over corruption charges

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted an official request for a presidential pardon from his corruption charges.

The office of President Isaac Herzog said in a statement that the request will be referred to the Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department for opinions, which will be followed by the president’s legal counsel before Herzog issues a final decision.

“The President's Office recognizes that this is an exceptional request with significant implications, and the President will consider it after receiving all opinions,” the statement said.

• Polls close in Honduras’ general election as vote counting begins

Polling stations closed in Honduras’ general election for choosing the nation’s next president and other officials, with preliminary results expected in the coming hours.

Voting ended at 5 pm local time (2300GMT), with ballot counting commencing in an election in which more than 6.5 million voters were eligible to choose 298 municipal mayors, 128 members of the National Congress and 20 representatives to the Central American Parliament.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) said preliminary results would be released Sunday night.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Top US and Ukrainian officials held talks, hailing the session as "productive" and "successful" as negotiations continue on a peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
• US President Donald Trump dismissed a report alleging that a commander ordered a second strike to kill survivors after a Sept. 2 anti-drug trafficking operation in the Caribbean.
• US Sen. Chris Van Hollen said a war crime may have been committed during the Trump administration's initial military strike against a suspected drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean in September.
• Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met in Baghdad with US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack to discuss ways of supporting Syria’s stability, security and economic recovery.
• The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that US military personnel and Syria's Interior Ministry successfully destroyed more than 15 sites containing ISIS (Daesh) weapons caches in southern Syria.
• Scores of Israelis protested near President Isaac Herzog’s home in Tel Aviv to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a presidential pardon from corruption charges.
• Severe weather conditions, including snow and blizzards across the US Midwest and Great Lakes states, forced the cancellation of more than 2,500 flights over the weekend.
• Venezuela sought OPEC and its member countries' support to work together against US "aggression," denouncing the US threat to seize the country's vast oil reserves through "military force."
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ties with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the US could foster dialogue, aid in reaching a ceasefire and help find ways to end the war, said Pope Leo XIV.
• China launched a new satellite from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan, a southern island province, according to state media.
• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan underscored the need to boost cooperation between Türkiye and Iran in trade, energy and regional security, speaking to reporters in the capital Tehran on a working visit to the country.
• More than 1,600 Sudanese civilians fled the town of Kertala in South Kordofan in one day as insecurity escalated alongside rising abuses by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), said the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
• Severe floods and landslides continued to wreak havoc on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing 442 people and affecting over a million others, data from the National Disaster Management Agency showed.
• Russia accused Ukraine of launching attacks against two oil tankers in the Black Sea heading towards the Russian port city of Novorossiysk.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Oksana Markarova, who was Kyiv's ambassador to the US until August of this year, as his new reconstruction and investment adviser.
  

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Spot market electricity prices for Monday, Dec. 1

The highest electricity price rate for one megawatt-hour on Türkiye's day-ahead spot market for Monday will be 3,400 Turkish liras at 8 a.m., 9 a.m. and between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. local time (0500, 0600 and 1300-1800GMT), according to official figures.

The lowest rate was set at 2,155.24 liras at 3 a.m. local time (0000 GMT), the data showed.

The Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST) data for Monday's electricity market trade volume showed an increase of 25.3% to around 1.83 billion liras compared to Sunday.