Latest Istanbul News

Passengers and crew safely evacuated after Boeing 737 plane's tire burst during landing in Turkey

May. 09, 2024 07:00 AM EDT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A total of 190 people consisting of 184 passengers and six crew members had been safely evacuated from a plane in Turkey on Thursday after one of its tires exploded during landing at a southern airport, Turkey's transportation ministry said. No one was hurt. ...

A cargo plane make an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport after front landing gear fails

May. 08, 2024 04:23 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — A cargo aircraft made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport on Wednesday after its front landing gear failed. A video on social media showed the Boeing 767 belonging to FedEx Express using the back landing gear and then dipping its nose with the front portion of...

Turkey formally opens another former Byzantine-era church as a mosque

May. 06, 2024 15:09 PM EDT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally opened a former Byzantine church in Istanbul as a mosque on Monday, four years after his government had designated it a Muslim house of prayer, despite criticism from neighboring Greece. Turkey formally converted...

Pro-Palestinian banners. Blazing Olympic rings. Workers' May Day rallies confront turbulent times

May. 02, 2024 01:38 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Workers and activists around the world marked May Day with largely peaceful protests Wednesday over rising prices, low wages and calls for greater labor rights. Pro- Palestinian sentiments were also on display. Police in Istanbul used tear gas and fired rubber...

AP PHOTOS: Workers rule the streets on May Day

May. 01, 2024 17:46 PM EDT

For one day, workers ruled the world’s biggest streets. Thousands strong marched Wednesday to mark May Day, the first day of the month when workers’ rights are celebrated in demonstrations around the globe. From Seoul to Paris, Istanbul to Berlin, they drew...

A Turkish court sentences a Syrian woman to life in prison for a bombing in Istanbul in 2022

Apr. 26, 2024 07:29 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — A court on Friday sentenced a Syrian woman to life in prison for a deadly explosion on a busy shopping district in Istanbul in 2022, Turkey's state-run news agency reported. Alham Albashir was given seven consecutive life sentences after being convicted on terrorism...

Turkish rail officials jailed for more than 108 years for crash that left 25 dead

Apr. 25, 2024 07:07 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — A court in Turkey sentenced nine rail officials to more than 108 years' imprisonment over a crash six years ago that killed 25 people, local media reported on Thursday. A passenger train operated by Turkish State Railways derailed in July 2018 as it passed through...

Today in History: April 24, final Unabomber-linked killing

Apr. 24, 2024 00:06 AM EDT

Today in History Today is Wednesday, April 24, the 115th day of 2024. There are 251 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 24, 1995, the final bomb linked to the Unabomber exploded inside the Sacramento, California, offices of...

The European rights court rules Turkey's jailing of a UN judge after a coup attempt was unlawful

Apr. 23, 2024 10:38 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — A United Nations judge was unlawfully jailed when he was arrested in Turkey in the wake of a 2016 coup attempt despite holding diplomatic immunity, the European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday. The court ruled that Aydin Sefa Akay’s “arrest, pre-trial...

174 people stranded in the air are rescued, almost a day after a fatal cable car accident in Turkey

Apr. 13, 2024 15:02 PM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — The last of 174 people stranded in cable cars high above a mountain in southern Turkey were brought to safety Saturday, nearly 23 hours after one pod hit a pole and burst open, killing one person and injuring seven when they plummeted to the rocks below. Interior...