Istanbul nightclub fire kills 29 during renovation
Istanbul, Turkey Reuters At least 29 people were killed on Tuesday when a fire engulfed Istanbul’s underground Masquerade nightclub during daytime renovation work, Turkish local authorities said, blaming an accident during the work. Firefighters doused the charred and smoking entrance to the club, which occupies two basement floors, as paramedics rushed victims into ambulances. Earlier […]
Imamoglu, the Turkish mayor following in Erdogan’s footsteps
Istanbul, Turkey Reuters Newly re-elected Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has emerged as the main challenger to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s reign. But in some ways, he is following in the footsteps of the Turkish leader who ran the city in the 1990s. Aside from having led the country’s biggest city, both have family roots in […]
Turkey’s resurgent opposition knocks Erdogan in pivotal local elections
Istanbul, Turkey Reuters Turks punished President Tayyip Erdogan and his party on Sunday in nationwide local elections that reasserted the opposition as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the president’s chief future rival. With more than half of votes counted, Imamoglu led by nearly 10 percentage points in the mayoral race […]
Essay: How Erdogan held onto power in Turkey, and what this means for the country’s future
MEHMET OZALP, director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation at Charles Sturt University in Australia, looks at what President Recep Tayyib Erdogan’s election win and what it means for the nation…