Scores Killed and Injured in 2 Türkiye Road Accidents

Rescue and emergency responders work at the scene after a bus crash on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip, Türkiye August 20, 2022. (Ihlas News Agency via Reuters)
Rescue and emergency responders work at the scene after a bus crash on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip, Türkiye August 20, 2022. (Ihlas News Agency via Reuters)
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Scores Killed and Injured in 2 Türkiye Road Accidents

Rescue and emergency responders work at the scene after a bus crash on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip, Türkiye August 20, 2022. (Ihlas News Agency via Reuters)
Rescue and emergency responders work at the scene after a bus crash on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip, Türkiye August 20, 2022. (Ihlas News Agency via Reuters)

At least 34 people were killed and dozens injured in two separate road accidents in Türkiye Saturday, each in places where collisions had taken place shortly before, local media reported.

A first crash involving a bus and an ambulance killed 15 people and injured 31 more on a motorway in Gaziantep province, said local officials, revising an earlier toll of 16.

Governor Davut Gul said earlier the accident had involved "a bus, an emergency team and an ambulance" on the route between provincial capital Gaziantep and Nizip.

The DHA news agency said a passenger bus had crashed into an ambulance, a firefighting truck and a vehicle carrying journalists at the site of a previous crash.

Three paramedics, three firefighters and two journalists from Türkiye's Ilhas news agency were among those killed, local media reported.

Photos on DHA showed the back of the ambulance ripped out and damage to the bus.

Gendarmes are currently questioning the driver of the bus to try to establish what happened, DHA reported.

Prosecutors are already investigating a second deadly accident a few hours earlier, 250 kilometers away, which also happened as the emergency services were attending an earlier incident at the site, AFP reported.

At least 19 people were killed and nearly 30 injured after a truck driver hurtled into pedestrians at Derik in Mardin province, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca wrote on Twitter, updating an earlier toll of 16.

The accident in Derik in Mardin province "occurred after the breaks gave out on a lorry, which hit a crowd", Koca wrote. Another 26 were injured, six of them seriously, he added.

Turkish media shared footage of a driver losing control of his truck, then careening towards nearby vehicles and pedestrians as they try to flee.

Türkiye's official Anadolu press agency reported that an accident involving three vehicles had happened at the same site shortly before. Emergency responders were already at the scene when the lorry ploughed into crowd.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag announced on Twitter that prosecutors had opened two investigations into the accidents.

"All resources are mobilized," he wrote on Twitter, offering his condolences to those who had lost ones.



Turkish Police Detain Deutsche Welle Journalist over Social Media Posts

19 February 2026, Canada: Deutsche Welle (DW) logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Photo: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
19 February 2026, Canada: Deutsche Welle (DW) logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Photo: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Turkish Police Detain Deutsche Welle Journalist over Social Media Posts

19 February 2026, Canada: Deutsche Welle (DW) logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Photo: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
19 February 2026, Canada: Deutsche Welle (DW) logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Photo: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Turkish police have detained investigative journalist Alican Uludag on suspicion of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and spreading misinformation, sparking outrage among journalism groups.
Uludag, who works for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s Turkish service, was taken from his home in Ankara late Thursday as part of an investigation into social media posts. The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office said he is suspected of “insulting the president” and “disseminating misleading information.”
The journalist, whose reporting focuses mainly on the judiciary and on corruption cases, was later transferred to Istanbul for questioning.
His detention drew sharp condemnation from press freedom advocates, who described it as an attack on media independence and democratic norms, The Associated Press said.
Deutsche Welle’s director‑general, Barbara Massing, demanded his release, calling the arrest “a deliberate act of intimidation.”
On Friday, journalists gathered outside Istanbul’s Çaglayan Courthouse to protest Uludag’s detention and to call for his immediate release.
The advocacy group, Reporters Without Borders considers Türkiye to be one of the most repressive countries for journalists, nothing that most media organizations are under government control and journalists face frequent legal pressure or intimidation.
At least 14 journalists or media sector workers are currently in prison, according to the Turkish Journalists Syndicate.


South Korea’s Ex-President Yoon Apologizes After Life Sentence Over Martial Law 

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol  delivers a speech to declare martial law in Seoul, South Korea, December 3, 2024. (The Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters/File Photo)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech to declare martial law in Seoul, South Korea, December 3, 2024. (The Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters/File Photo)
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South Korea’s Ex-President Yoon Apologizes After Life Sentence Over Martial Law 

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol  delivers a speech to declare martial law in Seoul, South Korea, December 3, 2024. (The Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters/File Photo)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech to declare martial law in Seoul, South Korea, December 3, 2024. (The Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters/File Photo)

Former ‌South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized on Friday for his short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024, a day after a Seoul court sentenced him to life in prison for masterminding an insurrection.

In a statement released by his lawyers, Yoon said that while he was sorry for the "frustration and hardship" brought upon the people by his martial law decree, he stood behind the "sincerity and purpose" behind his actions.

The Seoul Central District Court's decision ‌to hand him ‌a life sentence on Thursday was "predetermined," he ‌said, ⁠adding that the verdict ⁠against him was political retaliation.

"Forces that seek to smear a decision made to save the nation as an 'insurrection' and to use it beyond political attacks as an opportunity to purge and eliminate their opponents will only grow more rampant going forward," he said.

Yoon also questioned ⁠whether an appeal would have meaning ‌in what he described as an ‌environment where judicial independence could not be guaranteed, while telling ‌supporters to "unite and rise."

His lawyers separately said the statement ‌did not amount to an intention to forgo an appeal.

Yoon's martial law declaration lasted around six hours before being voted down by parliament, but it sent shockwaves through the country and ‌sparked street protests.

The court found Yoon guilty of subverting constitutional order by deploying troops ⁠to storm ⁠parliament and move to detain opponents, capping a dramatic fall that saw him stripped of office and end up behind bars.

Yoon, a former career prosecutor, denied the charges, arguing he had presidential authority to declare martial law and his action was aimed at sounding the alarm over opposition parties' obstruction of government.

A special prosecutor had sought the death penalty for Yoon, though South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997.

A prosecutor said on Thursday the team had some "regret" over the sentencing, but declined to say whether they planned to appeal.


Russia Hits Ukraine's Oil, Gas Infrastructure in Poltava Region, Naftogaz Says

FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian service member of the 14th Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment prepares a deep strike unmanned aerial vehicle before its launch toward Russian territory, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, undisclosed date, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian service member of the 14th Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment prepares a deep strike unmanned aerial vehicle before its launch toward Russian territory, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, undisclosed date, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
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Russia Hits Ukraine's Oil, Gas Infrastructure in Poltava Region, Naftogaz Says

FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian service member of the 14th Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment prepares a deep strike unmanned aerial vehicle before its launch toward Russian territory, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, undisclosed date, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian service member of the 14th Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment prepares a deep strike unmanned aerial vehicle before its launch toward Russian territory, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, undisclosed date, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

Russian drones hit Ukraine's oil and gas infrastructure in the central Poltava region, causing ‌damage ‌and a ‌fire, ⁠the state energy company ⁠Naftogaz said on Friday.

"This is yet another targeted ⁠attack on ‌our ‌oil and ‌gas infrastructure. ‌Since the beginning of the year, the ‌enemy has attacked Naftogaz Group facilities ⁠more ⁠than 20 times," Sergii Koretskyi, Naftogaz CEO said in a post on Facebook.