Istanbul

The 6th International Istanbul Opera Festival, organized by the General Directorate of State Opera and Ballet, will open on June 8 with the famous "Abduction from Seraglio," which has become a symbol of the festival.

The opera will also be staged on June 9 by the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum Garden. 

Developing Borsa Istanbul is an important component of building the Istanbul financial hub, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Director for Turkey Jean-Patrick Marquet told Anadolu Agency in an interview on June 5.

The first Turk to sail around the world, Sadun Boro, has died at the age of 87. 

Boro died in hospital in the Marmaris district of the Aegean province of Mu?la, where he was being treated for cancer, on June 5. 

Özgür Mumcu, a journalist for Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, faces up to four years eight months in prison for ?defaming? President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an in an opinion piece published on March 18.

The op-ed penned by Mumcu had the title ?Tyrant and a coward,? and criticized Erdo?an?s complaint against Hatice Cömert, the mother of Gezi protest victim Abdullah Cömert. 

A tiny peninsula (140, 000 square meters) will be constructed in Istanbul's luxury coastal neighborhood Atakoy. The purpose of the project is for more space to be available for luxury residence and business buildings.

An underground road tunnel under the mouth of the Bosphorus is meters from being completed, according to officials and project managers. 

Istanbulites are hoping the 14.6-kilometer (9-mile) Eurasia Tunnel Project, linking Kazl?çe?me on Istanbul?s European side and the Asian side?s Göztepe, will reduce the city?s notorious traffic.

Last Saturday, President Tayyip Erdo?an joined a huge rally in Istanbul, which marked the 562nd anniversary of the Turks? conquest of Istanbul. (We Turks celebrate this ?conquest anniversary? every year, for apparently we can?t get enough of having taken the city more than two dozen generations ago.) 

An Ankara prosecutor has launched a probe against a number of businessmen, including the Honorary President of Do?an Holding, Ayd?n Do?an, over their alleged relations with a secret military group and economic benefits they received during the Feb. 28, 1997 era. 

A 140,000-meter square manmade peninsula as large as ten football stadiums has plans to be constructed as a shoreline extension of Istanbul's Ataköy neighborhood, which  has ran out of space for new buildings.

Main opposition Republican People?s Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu has slammed President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an for publicly and personally threatening the editor-in-chief of a newspaper that published video footage purportedly showing security forces discovering weapons being sent to Syria on trucks belonging to Turkey?s National Intelligence Agency (M?T).