ISTANBUL

Eighty-two percent of the construction of the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul's Taksim has been finished. The center has been under construction since Feb. 10, 2019. Architectural works of the structure have been carried out by Murat Tabanlıoğlu, the son of the architect of the first AKM, Hayati Tabanlıoğlu.

Greece's teams in the Euroleague brought down on Friday what they had constructed earlier in the week, as Panathinaikos had Fenerbahce put 100 past it and Olympiakos was upset at home to lowly Villeurbanne.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

Turkey's president has criticized the United States for kicking his country out of the F-35 fighter jet program after Ankara purchased a Russian missile defense system, a move that also triggered US sanctions.

Speaking after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey paid "very serious money" for the F-35 stealth jets.

Greece will enter the new round of exploratory talks with Turkey with a "a sincere and constructive attitude," government spokesman Christos Tarantilis said during a press briefing on Thursday.

The priorities of the Portuguese EU presidency which commenced on 1 January, the upcoming Greek-Turkish exploratory talks, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the migration crisis were the focus of talks in Lisbon today between Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias and his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva.

Heavy rain and strong winds have been battering Turkey's west for the past three days, disrupting daily life everywhere from Istanbul to İzmir, with at least five people injured due to floods and storms.

The bad weather disrupted life in Istanbul on Jan. 12, when heavy rainfall hit several districts, flooding houses and shops and leaving vehicles stranded in traffic.

U.S.-based ridesharing service Uber announced on early Jan. 13 that the access to its mobile application in Turkey has reopened after a decision by the Court of Appeals, paving the way for the company to relaunch operations.

Istanbul's residents have consumed anchovies, known more widely in Turkish as "hamsi," bonito and haddock the most in 2020, according to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality data compiled by state-run Anadolu Agency.

Some 97 different fish species were brought to the main fish market in the Gürpınar neighborhood of the Beylikdüzü district, said municipality officials.

Turkish historian Filiz Çağman, one of the world's leading experts on manuscripts and miniature art, died on Jan. 11 at the age of 81.

Retired in 2005, Çağman worked for 41 years at Istanbul's Topkapı Palace, one of the most famous landmarks of Istanbul that once housed Ottoman sultans while the city was the capital of the empire.