Istanbul Province

Istanbul?s symbolic landmarks were darkened for an hour on March 28 during the World Wide Fund for Nature?s (WWF) annual ?Earth Hour? event to raise awareness of environmental issues.

The father of Gezi protester Mehmet Ayval?ta?, who died in 2013, was beaten by security forces near an Istanbul courthouse during a scuffle ahead of the sixth hearing into his son's death on March 25.

A drug lord who has served prison sentences in four different countries escaped from a maximum security prison in western Turkey using a cunning plot which involved a fake release order, Hürriyet sources have reported.

A Turkish prosecutor has dismissed a lawsuit from President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an?s lawyers after they filed a complaint against Hatice Cömert, the mother of fallen Gezi protester Abdullah Cömert for recent comments.

Turkish police on March 13 detained three people accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and other top officials on Twitter, after raiding their homes.
      
The raids were the latest in a string of actions against critics of Erdogan on Twitter, as activists express growing alarm over the limits on freedom of expression in Turkey.
      

Turkish police on March 13 detained three people accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and other top officials on Twitter, after raiding their homes.
      
The raids were the latest in a string of actions against critics of Erdogan on Twitter, as activists express growing alarm over the limits on freedom of expression in Turkey.
      

Police officers in Turkey have been photographed shooting tear gas in an "unlawful" fashion during March 11 commemorations of the anniversary of the death of Berkin Elvan, who was killed by a tear gas canister during the Gezi Park protests.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has reawakened discredited claims that a woman wearing a headscarf was attacked in front of Istanbul?s Kabata? docks by Gezi protesters during the anti-government demonstrations of summer 2013.

Istanbul?s Atatürk Airport will be closed down after the city?s third airport is completed and opened to flights, Turkish Airlines Chairman Hamdi Topçu said during a news conference in the northern province of Kastamonu on March 1.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has announced an estimated $3.5 billion mega-project for a three-level sub-sea tunnel under Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait, which will connect the city's two sides with one railway and two highways, cutting travel times to 14 minutes.