Tag Archives: Istanbul

One of the most important senior executives of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization has been captured in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday. Terrorist Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaidai, codenamed Abu Zeid/Master Zeid, was captured in a successful operation by the Turkish intelligence and Istanbul police, Erdogan told reporters on …

Turkish riot police detained dozens of protesters trying to reach Istanbul’s main Taksim Square for May Day demonstrations against economic hardship caused by raging inflation. The Istanbul governor’s office had allowed May Day celebrations to be held in another district and deemed gatherings in all other locations as unauthorized and …

A blast occurred near the Youth Foundation building in Istanbul on Thursday, the governor’s office said, adding that fragments of an improvised explosive device have been found on the site. “There are reports about an explosion in front of the branch of the Turkish Youth Foundation in the Gaziosmanpasa district …

An American diplomat working for the U.S. consulate in Lebanon has been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of selling a fake passport for $10,000 to a Syrian national, Turkey’s state news agency said on Wednesday. According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, which cited a statement from the Istanbul Security Directorate, the …

One of the suspected killers of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was arrested at the Roissy airport near Paris on Tuesday as he was about to board a flight to Riyadh, French RTL radio reported. RTL said the person arrested was a former Royal Guard of Saudi Arabia who is believed …

At least four people were killed and a further 19 injured – some seriously – after severe weather struck the Turkish city of Istanbul on Monday, local authorities have announced. According to a statement from the governor’s office, one foreign national and three Turkish citizens have died, while three of …

Turkish authorities detained 17 people on Wednesday for putting a hood over the head of a visiting US Navy civilian employee in a protest against the United States policy in the Middle East, the Istanbul governor’s office said. The group that carried out the act, the Turkey Youth Union (TGB), …

A bus carrying Afghan, Pakistani and Bangladeshi migrants crashed in eastern Turkey early on Sunday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 26 others, local authorities said. The crash occurred in Van province’s Muradiye district near the Turkish border with Iran, where the vehicle caught fire after tumbling into a …

Turkey’s withdrawal on Thursday from an international treaty to prevent violence against women is not a step backward, President Tayyip Erdogan said, defending a move that has drawn condemnation from many Turks and Western allies. “Some circles are trying to portray our withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention as a step …

While Ankara claims the project will ease traffic in the Bosphorus, critics warn of dire environmental effects.

A huge mass of marine mucilage has bloomed in Turkey’s Marmara, as well as in the adjoining Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Turkey’s president has promised to rescue the Marmara Sea from an outbreak of “sea snot” that is alarming marine biologists and environmentalists. A huge mass of marine …

President Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated an imposing new mosque in Istanbul on Friday, fulfilling a decades-old goal and stamping a religious identity on the landmark Taksim Square in the heart of Turkey’s largest city. The Taksim mosque and its 30-metre high dome loom symbolically over a monument to the foundation of …

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he is “deeply pained” over the decision by Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia — which was originally built in Istanbul as a Christian cathedral — from a museum to a mosque. In a very brief, improvised remark, Francis, speaking from his …

From a symbol of Christendom after its establishment by Byzantine emperor Justinian I in the sixth century, to an emblem of the Muslim Ottoman Empire’s sprawling influence, the Hagia Sophia has been at the heart of a centuries-old ideological and political battle. After Fatih Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in …

A Turkish court on Friday handed down life sentences to 121 people for taking part in the 2016 attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media reported. The court in Ankara sentenced 86 suspects to “aggravated” life imprisonment for “attempting to violate the constitution” while 35 individuals were given …

Turkish Airlines’ planned recommencement of some international flights for June 10th never took off. A failure to secure the necessary permits from the country’s civil aviation authorities resulted in the much-anticipated reboot being pushed back once more. However, starting today, its fully-owned subsidiary AnadoluJet is now able to fly from …

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Turkey has risen to 31, as rescue efforts continue two days after the natural disaster. A magnitude 6.8 quake hit the small lakeside town of Sivrice, in Turkey’s Elazig Province, on Friday evening. It also affected neighboring cities. The Turkish …

A powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 hit eastern Turkey on Friday, leaving at least four people dead and causing buildings to collapse. The quake shook the Sivrice district in the eastern province of Elazig at around 8.55 pm (1755 GMT), the government’s disaster and emergency management agency said. The US Geological …

An earthquake has hit Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul. A seismic event measuring 4.8 magnitudes struck 63 kilometres west of the city at around 4:38 pm local time, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. Concerned residents reported feeling tremors strong enough to shake buildings, although it is not yet known if there …

A former British army officer who helped found the White Helmets volunteer organization in Syria was found dead in Istanbul early Monday, Turkish officials said. James Le Mesurier’s body was found near his home in the Beyoglu district by worshippers on their way to a mosque, the state-run Anadolu news …