By , ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Converting Istanbul’s sixth century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque would sow division, the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians warned on Tuesday, ahead of a Turkish court ruling on a building that has been a museum since 1934.Slideshow President Tayyip Erdogan has proposed restoring the mosque status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, a building at the heart of both Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires and today one of Turkey’s most visited monuments.The court is set to rule on July 2 on a challenge to its current status that disputes the...…By , ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Converting Istanbul’s sixth century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque would sow division, the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians warned on Tuesday, ahead of a Turkish court ruling on a building that has been a museum since 1934.Slideshow President Tayyip Erdogan has proposed restoring the mosque status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, a building at the heart of both Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires and today one of Turkey’s most visited monuments.The court is set to rule on July 2 on a challenge to its current status that disputes the...WW…

By , ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Around 1,000 women gathered near Istanbul’s main Taksim Square on Monday, protesting what they see as a lack of action by authorities to prevent and punish violence against women, in a country where femicide rates have surged in recent years.Slideshow The protesters, mostly women carrying purple flags with women and LGBTI+ signs and wearing purple masks reading “We will win our freedom,” gathered on a main street after police closed off the entrances to Taksim Square on International Women’s Day.Women police stood with their arms linked at the end of the street,...…By , ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Around 1,000 women gathered near Istanbul’s main Taksim Square on Monday, protesting what they see as a lack of action by authorities to prevent and punish violence against women, in a country where femicide rates have surged in recent years.Slideshow The protesters, mostly women carrying purple flags with women and LGBTI+ signs and wearing purple masks reading “We will win our freedom,” gathered on a main street after police closed off the entrances to Taksim Square on International Women’s Day.Women police stood with their arms linked at the end of the street,...WW…

By ALIAGA, Turkey (Reuters) - Business is booming at a sea dock in western Turkey, where five hulking cruise ships are being dismantled for scrap metal sales after the COVID-19 pandemic all but destroyed the industry, the head of a ship recyclers’ group said on Friday.Cruise ships were home to the some of the earliest clusters of COVID-19 as the pandemic spread globally early this year.In March, U.S. authorities issued a no-sail order for all cruise ships that remains in place.On Friday, dozens of workers stripped walls, windows, floors and railings from several vessels in the dock in...…By ALIAGA, Turkey (Reuters) - Business is booming at a sea dock in western Turkey, where five hulking cruise ships are being dismantled for scrap metal sales after the COVID-19 pandemic all but destroyed the industry, the head of a ship recyclers’ group said on Friday.Cruise ships were home to the some of the earliest clusters of COVID-19 as the pandemic spread globally early this year.In March, U.S. authorities issued a no-sail order for all cruise ships that remains in place.On Friday, dozens of workers stripped walls, windows, floors and railings from several vessels in the dock in...WW…