Istanbul Mayor's Staff Targeted By Dozens Of Arrest Warrants

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Istanbul Mayor's Staff Targeted By Dozens Of Arrest Warrants

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Turkish authorities have issued 47 arrest warrants for municipal officials and staff across Istanbul, whose mayor -- the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- has been jailed since March, the state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday.

The warrants were based on "four separate corruption investigations centred on Istanbul", Anadolu said, without revealing how many people were actually taken into custody, AFP reported.

The March 19 arrest and jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the biggest street protests Türkiye had seen in decades.

Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at Istanbul City Hall, including Imamoglu's private secretary and his private protection officer.

The latest warrants targeted a former opposition lawmaker and five mayors of Istanbul districts, according to Anadolu.

The private television station Halk, seen as close to the opposition CHP party that Imamoglu belongs to, said that nine district mayors -- out of a total of 39 -- had now been arrested and were being kept in custody.

The CHP, which has nominated Imamoglu as its candidate in presidential elections due in 2028, did not immediately comment on the latest warrants.



North Korea Vows to Build New Navy Destroyer by October 2026

This handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 12, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan.  (Photo by RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 12, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan. (Photo by RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT / AFP)
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North Korea Vows to Build New Navy Destroyer by October 2026

This handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 12, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan.  (Photo by RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 12, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan. (Photo by RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT / AFP)

North Korean officials and shipyard workers pledged to complete construction of a new navy destroyer warship by October 10 next year, state news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.

Video footage from North Korea's state-run television KRT accompanying the news showed shipbuilding workers standing to attention listening to speeches at the Nampho shipyard, as well as several cranes and people nearby working with safety helmets and uniforms.

In June, North Korea restored a 5,000-ton destroyer that was damaged during an earlier failed launch attempt, with leader Kim Jong Un pledging a more modern naval fleet to enhance the country's maritime power in the Pacific Ocean against what he said were provocations by the United States and its allies, according to KCNA.