Constantinople

A German Air Force cargo plane carrying the coffins of 10 German tourists killed in a suicide bomb attack at Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district has left the city's main airport

Chancellor Angela Merkel will host Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu for talks on Jan. 22, her spokesman said, with discussions to centre on the suicide attack in Istanbul that claimed 10 German lives. The Jan. 12 "attack in Istanbul will play a central role" in the talks, said Steffen Seibert, spokesman for Merkel.

Low-cost carrier Pegasus has announced that it has restarted flights to Russia after a visa problem for its flight crews was resolved. 

The company halted flights on Jan. 4 until Jan. 13 after it failed to get a positive response from Russia to visa applications for its crew members. 

The 88th annual Oscar nominations were announced on Jan. 14 in Beverly Hills, California, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Franco-Turkish director Deniz Gamze Ergüven's "Mustang" (France) has been nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film award, along with Colombia's "Embrace of the Serpent," Hungary's "Son of Saul," Jordan's "Theeb" and Denmark's "A War."

Municipal teams began demolition activities in the historic Yedikule Gardens, a UNESCO-protected site near the Marmara shoreline along the Byzantine-era ramparts surrounding the old city of Istanbul, on Jan. 13, despite protests from locals. 

A Turkish tourist guide prevented more casualties in the deadly Jan. 12 terrorist attack in Istanbul's touristic Sultanahmet neighborhood after warning tourists to flee the area at the time of the blast, which killed 10 German tourists and injured 15 others.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said on Jan. 14 that there are now seven detained suspects with links to the Jan. 12 attack in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet Square, which left 10 German tourists killed and 15 others wounded.

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Germany has sent a team of specialist investigators to Istanbul following the Jan. 12 blast in the city's historic Sultanahmet Square where 10 Germans were killed when an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-linked suicide bomber blew himself up.

Ten Germans were killed in the suicide bombing that ripped through the historic heart of Istanbul, Germany's foreign ministry said Jan. 13.
 
"I must relay the sad news that we now have 10 dead Germans among the victims" from Jan. 12 attack, ministry spokeswoman Sawsan Chebli told reporters.