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Turkey Could Lose 500,000 Tourists due to Russia Flight Restrictions

People walk inside historical Spice Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 13, 2021. (AP)
People walk inside historical Spice Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 13, 2021. (AP)
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Turkey Could Lose 500,000 Tourists due to Russia Flight Restrictions

People walk inside historical Spice Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 13, 2021. (AP)
People walk inside historical Spice Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 13, 2021. (AP)

Turkish Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said flight restrictions imposed by Russia until June could cost Turkey 500,000 tourists, broadcaster NTV reported on Wednesday.

Russia said it will restrict flights to and from Turkey from April 15 to June 1 as new coronavirus infections rose to an all-time high in Turkey, prompting fresh lockdown measures.

"The date when the flight ban ends could be brought forward depending on a fall in COVID-19 case numbers. There might be a fall of near 500,000 in tourist numbers," Ersoy said, adding that there are no issues with summer bookings, according to NTV.

On Monday, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that a Russian delegation would visit Turkey's tourist destinations soon to observe coronavirus control measures in the areas.

The outbreak slashed Turkey's tourism revenues by two thirds last year, an economy reliant on tourists to bring in foreign currency revenue that helps curb its chronic current account deficit.

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Car Bombing Kills 13 Pakistani Soldiers Near Afghan Border

A Pakistani policeman keeps watch on a roadside during the month of Muharram, in Lahore, Pakistan, 27 June 2025. EPA/RAHAT DAR
A Pakistani policeman keeps watch on a roadside during the month of Muharram, in Lahore, Pakistan, 27 June 2025. EPA/RAHAT DAR
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Car Bombing Kills 13 Pakistani Soldiers Near Afghan Border

A Pakistani policeman keeps watch on a roadside during the month of Muharram, in Lahore, Pakistan, 27 June 2025. EPA/RAHAT DAR
A Pakistani policeman keeps watch on a roadside during the month of Muharram, in Lahore, Pakistan, 27 June 2025. EPA/RAHAT DAR

An explosive-laden car rammed into a Pakistani military convoy on Saturday in a town near the Afghan border, killing at least 13 soldiers, sources said.

Four Pakistani intelligence officials and a senior local administrator told Reuters that the convoy was attacked in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district.

Around 10 other soldiers were wounded, some critically, and they were being airlifted to a military hospital, the sources said.

"It was huge, a big bang," said the local administrator, adding that residents of the town could see a large amount of smoke billowing from the scene from a great distance.

One resident said that the explosion rattled the windowpanes of nearby houses, and caused some roofs to collapse.

No one has so far claimed responsibility.

The Pakistani military did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

The lawless district which sits next to Afghanistan has long served as a safe haven for different militant groups, who operate on both sides of the border.

Islamabad says the militants run training camps in Afghanistan to launch attacks inside Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies, saying the militancy is Pakistan's domestic issue.

Pakistani Taliban also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of several militant groups, has long been waging a war against Pakistan in a bid to overthrow the government.

The Pakistani military, which has launched several offensives against the militants, has mostly been their prime target.