Latest Istanbul News
At least 76 people killed in a hotel fire at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A fire raged through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey early Tuesday during a school holiday, killing at least 76 people — at least two of them when they jumped from the building to escape the flames, officials said. At least...
Bootleg alcohol claims lives of at least 30 people in Istanbul while dozens are hospitalized
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — At least 30 people have died in Istanbul over the past three days after drinking bootleg alcohol, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Thursday, as authorities intensified a crackdown on counterfeit drinks. The dead were among some 80 people who sought...
Mayor of opposition Istanbul stronghold arrested over bid-rigging claims
ISTANBUL (AP) — The mayor of one of Turkey’s opposition strongholds was arrested Monday as part of a bid-rigging investigation, prosecutors in Istanbul said. Riza Akpolat, who heads Besiktas municipality on the city’s European side, was detained at his summer house in Edremit...
A young gorilla rescued from aircraft hold recovers at Istanbul zoo
ISTANBUL (AP) — A young gorilla rescued from a plane’s cargo hold is recovering at an Istanbul zoo, officials said Sunday, while wildlife officers consider returning him to his natural habitat. The 5-month-old gorilla was discovered in a box on a Turkish Airlines flight from...
Tens of thousands of people in Istanbul protest Gaza war
ISTANBUL (AP) — Tens of thousands of people gathered on Istanbul’s Galata Bridge on New Year’s Day on Wednesday to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanted “Free Palestine” in the protest, organized by the...
Turkey's soaring costs are creating a 'lost generation' of kids forced to help their families get by
ISTANBUL (AP) — In a dim one-room apartment in one of Istanbul’s poorest neighborhoods, 11-year-old Atakan Sahin curls up on a threadbare sofa with his siblings to watch TV while their mother stirs a pot of pasta. The simple meal is all the family of six can look forward to most...
Experts believe study of 700-year-old handwriting unveils leading Byzantine painter's true identity
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Crime-solving techniques applied to a medieval illuminated manuscript in Paris may have solved a centuries-old puzzle — the true identity of a leading Byzantine painter who injected humanity into the rigid sanctity of Orthodox religious art. A...
Pope hopes to visit Turkey in 2025 to mark 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis said on Thursday that he hopes to travel to Turkey next year to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council. The visit to Nicaea, today located in İznik on a lake southeast of Istanbul, would come...
Turkey reportedly arrested suspects in Israeli-Moldovan rabbi's killing in UAE as they left airport
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Turkish security forces arrested the three Uzbek suspects in the killing of a rabbi in the United Arab Emirates as they left an airport in Istanbul, local media reported Wednesday. The arrest of the Uzbeks suspected of killing Israeli-Moldovan...
Police in Turkey detain demonstrators seeking more protection for women against violence
ISTANBUL (AP) — Police detained dozens of people in Istanbul who tried to join a rally Monday calling for greater protection for women in Turkey, where more than 400 women have been murdered this year. The demonstrators tried to enter the main pedestrian street, Istiklal, to mark...
