Author: Daily Sabah

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) held its congress for its branch in the capital of Ankara with little fanfare on Tuesday. A hotel fire disaster that claimed 66 lives in northern Türkiye earlier on Tuesday overshadowed the event attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and senior figures of the party. After expressing condolences to the fire victims’ families, Erdoğan cut short his speech at the congress where the current head of the AK Party’s Ankara branch, Hakan Han Özcan, was elected again. “The AK Party was established on Aug. 14, 2001, as a political organization dedicated to…

A chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals (Yargıtay) on Tuesday announced the final verdict on prison sentences for a Daesh gunman who killed 39 people in an Istanbul nightclub in 2017. The third chamber of the court upheld 40 instances of aggravated life imprisonment for Abdulkadir Masharipov, who is accused of the 2017 massacre on New Year’s Eve in Reina, a popular venue among revelers. The chamber also upheld an additional 1,368 years of prison terms for Masharipov, who was charged with violation of the Constitution related to terrorism offenses and deliberate manslaughter. Lesser prison terms for the convicted…

A fire engulfed an 11-story hotel at Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Türkiye’s Bolu province early Tuesday, killing 78 people and injuring dozens of others. “We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site and providing the latest information. In a later statement, Yerlikaya updated the death toll to 78, as he vowed to hold everyone responsible for the disaster accountable. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said at least one of the injured was in serious condition, while 17 victims had…

A fire engulfed an 11-story hotel at Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Türkiye’s Bolu province early Tuesday, killing 66 people and injuring 51 others. “We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site and providing the latest information. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said at least one of the injured was in serious condition, while 17 victims had been discharged from hospitals. The blaze started around 3:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. GMT) on the fourth floor of the 161-room hotel, the Bolu…

A fire engulfed an 11-story hotel at Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Türkiye’s Bolu province early Tuesday, killing 76 people and injuring dozens of others. “We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site and providing the latest information. In a later statement, Yerlikaya updated the death toll to 76, as he vowed to hold everyone responsible for the disaster accountable. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said at least one of the injured was in serious condition, while 17 victims had…

A fire engulfed an 11-story hotel at Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Türkiye’s Bolu province early Tuesday, killing 66 people and injuring 51 others, according to local officials. The blaze started around 3:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. GMT) on the fourth floor of the 161-room hotel, the Bolu Governor’s Office said in a statement. The hotel, perched on a cliff, presented significant challenges for firefighters attempting to control the flames. Emergency crews, including 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances, responded from Bolu and neighboring provinces. A total of 85 vehicles and 231 personnel were involved in rescue and firefighting efforts, with reinforcements…

The chair of a foundation of families who lost their relatives to decades of PKK terrorism and security officers injured in the fight against the group criticized politicians for undermining the terror-free initiative. Lokman Aylar, who heads the Turkish Foundation of Veterans and Families of Martyrs, told reporters on Monday that nobody should resort to political maneuvers over the process of the initiative launched by government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli. Bahçeli last year urged the temporary release of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan so that he would make a call for the group to lay down…

Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) President Fatma Meriç Yılmaz said Kızılay is launching new projects in Syria to address the needs of war victims, particularly targeting women and disadvantaged groups. “Together with the Syrian Red Crescent, we are initiating projects targeting women, disadvantaged groups, psychosocial support and minor home repairs,” Yılmaz told Turkish daily Sabah on Tuesday. “However, this is just the beginning, and we must think long term while adapting to daily and weekly developments to diversify our services,” she said. Since the Syrian crisis began, Kızılay has been pivotal in delivering aid, working closely with the Syrian Arab Red…

Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) President Fatma Meriç Yılmaz said Kızılay is launching new projects in Syria to address the needs of war victims, particularly targeting women and disadvantaged groups. “Together with the Syrian Red Crescent, we are initiating projects targeting women, disadvantaged groups, psychosocial support and minor home repairs,” Yılmaz told Turkish daily Sabah on Tuesday. “However, this is just the beginning, and we must think long term while adapting to daily and weekly developments to diversify our services,” she said. Since the Syrian crisis began, Kızılay has been pivotal in delivering aid, working closely with the Syrian Arab Red…

A fire at a hotel in Kartalkaya Ski Resort in Türkiye’s Bolu province killed 10 people and injured 32 others early Tuesday, according to local authorities. The fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) on the fourth floor of the 11-story hotel, Bolu Governor’s Office said in a statement. Emergency teams, including 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances, were dispatched to the scene from Bolu and nearby provinces. A total of 85 vehicles and 231 personnel were involved in firefighting and rescue operations, with additional reinforcements continuing to arrive. “Preliminary findings indicate that six of our citizens have lost…