Istanbul

A Saudi court sentenced five people to death on Monday for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018.

ISTANBUL — A former British army officer who helped found the White Helmets volunteer organization in Syria was found dead in Istanbul early Monday, Turkish officials and the group said. The cause of death was under investigation.

Gay rights activists pushed ahead with a pride rally in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday despite a ban from the governor’s office that has been in place for five years. Istanbul police allowed the demonstrators to gather and listen to a statement from the organizers before firing tear gas into the crowd.

Istanbul Mayor-elect Ekrem Imamoglu called his election Sunday – in a special election called to overturn his initial victory in May – a victory for Turkey and democracy generally after winning by a wider margin than during the first election.

ISTANBUL— Turkey’s opposition supporters partied long into the night after their candidate for Istanbul mayor beat a rival backed by long-time President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated his government on Tuesday forcing Istanbul to host a do-over of the March 31 mayoral election after secularist opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu won the race against Erdogan’s former foreign minister.

Turkey’s top election authority voided the Istanbul mayoral election won by an opposition candidate and ordered a do-over, ruling Monday in favor of a request by the president’s party to throw out the vote it narrowly lost.

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP on Tuesday appealed against results in Istanbul and Ankara following a weekend election after tallies showed the ruling party lost both key cities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed converting the fabled Hagia Sophia into a mosque on Sunday. The Greek government responded with anger on Monday, pointing out that the Hagia Sophia was the seat of Greek Orthodox Christianity for centuries and has been designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.

Turkey’s Islamist president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been inflaming his supporters by showing footage of the suspected far-right terror attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, at political rallies — a move which potentially “imperils the future and safety of the New Zealand people and our people abroad”, according to the Pacific country’s foreign minister.

TEL AVIV – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “twist the ear” of his son Yair to punish him for calling Istanbul by its former name of Constantinople.“You should twist the ear

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) – A few hundred demonstrators have protested the New Zealand mosque shootings outside Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia – a Byzantine-era cathedral that was turned into a mosque and now serves as a museum.

Streaming service Netflix ditched an episode of “Patriot Act” from it’s left-wing host Hasan Minhaj in Saudi Arabi in what critics call a flagrant capitulation to government censorship.

CNN reported on Monday that a source “briefed on the investigation” into the October 2 murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi provided some details about the audio recording of Khashoggi’s death, claiming his last words were, “I can’t breathe.”

A Turkish newspaper called Haberturk on Monday published quotes that were purportedly taken from the audio recording of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

The latest revelation about the death of Jamal Khashoggi to emerge from the ever-churning Turkish rumor mill claims the Saudi Arabian team that executed Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul forced him to send a message to his son before they killed him.

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor announced on Thursday the government will seek the death penalty against five of the suspects charged in the slaying of Wall Street Journal contributor Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.

Slain Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee Hatice Cengiz spoke at a memorial service in London on Monday where she called on U.S. President Donald Trump to “help reveal the truth and ensure justice be served.”

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held plenty of grand opening ceremonies in his 15 years at Turkey’s helm. On Monday he will unveil one of his prized jewels — Istanbul New Airport — a megaproject that has been dogged by concerns about labor rights, environmental issues and Turkey’s weakening economy.

ISTANBUL — Turkey has been focusing on a well in the garden of Saudi Arabia’s consulate as part of its investigation into the killing by Saudi officials of writer Jamal Khashoggi, whose body is still missing.

CNN on Monday reported it has obtained surveillance footage from Turkish officials that shows a Saudi operative walking around Istanbul wearing slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s clothes and a fake beard.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Britain, Germany and France have issued a joint statement condemning the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi, saying there is an “urgent need for clarification of exactly what happened.”

According to a Reuters report on Friday, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz is “asserting himself” to control the diplomatic fallout from the disappearance of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, who vanished over two weeks ago after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain some paperwork.

Turkey’s pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak quoted anonymous security sources on Thursday who said a forest and farmhouse near Istanbul will be searched for clues to the fate of Jamal Khashoggi.

Turkish media reported on Thursday that one of the 15 Saudis who ostensibly flew to Istanbul to kidnap or murder Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a “suspicious car accident” in Riyadh.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The story of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has been driven by lurid and dubiously-sourced claims from Turkish newspapers, particularly those supportive of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Few are more supportive than Yeni Safak, and none have produced a more sensational headline than Wednesday’s “Recordings Reveal Khashoggi Tortured, Then Dismembered While Still Alive.”

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz had phone conversations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday night and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday morning to discuss the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

A bipartisan group of senators wrote to the White House on Wednesday invoking the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to demand an investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and possible sanctions against Saudi Arabia.

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish police have concluded that prominent Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi mission in Istanbul after going missing Tuesday, according to an unnamed government official.