Turkish

Search ongoing for fourth suspect as prosecutor’s office says the accused hold positions in critical defence companies operating inside Turkiye.

Three executives of defence companies have been arrested by Turkish authorities on suspicion of spying for foreign powers, prosecutors say.

“An operation was carried out on November 25, 2025, to apprehend four individuals identified in connection with the conspiracy,” the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

“As a result of the operation, three individuals were apprehended, and an arrest warrant was issued for one individual due to being abroad.”

It said the suspects “hold executive positions within critical defence companies operating in our country”.

They are accused of trying to provide “biographical” information about employees to foreign countries.

According to the AFP news agency, the prosecutor’s office initially said the suspects worked for the intelligence services of the United Arab Emirates before deleting that statement and publishing a significantly revised version on X that did not mention the UAE.

Turkey’s defence exports swelled by 29 percent ($7.15bn) in 2024, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, driven notably by the success of its military drones.

WE might be heading into winter, but looking ahead to a summer getaway for 2026 doesn’t hurt.

One airline in particular is doing exactly that and has announced that it plans to add more flights from the UK to one very popular Turkish resort.

Corendon Airlines has announced that it plans to extend lots of its summer services next year.

One of these routes from the UK heads to the Turkish resort of Antalya which is known for its family-friendly hotels and waterparks.

During the next summer season there will be daily flights to Antalya from Stansted Airport.

Matthew Carpenter, Corendon Airlines UK Country Manager said: “For 2026 we’re doubling down on the routes that have performed well for us – for example, we’ve had two flights a week to Antalya from Stansted and this will be increasing to five flights a week in the shoulder seasons and daily flights in peak season.”

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There will also be multiple weekly flights from Gatwick, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle.

Antalya sits on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey and has been nicknamed as ‘paradise on Earth‘ thanks to its beautiful beaches, mountain scenery and great weather.

In the summer months, Antalya has average highs of 33C – and it still has daily highs of 23C in November this week.

Thanks to this, Antalya is incredibly popular with Brits, around 1.5 million British tourists visited Antalya between January and October 2024.

To make it even better, the average flight time from the UK is around four and a half hours.

There are plenty of great beaches around the coast like Lara Beach, known for its fine sand and luxury resorts.

Other popular beaches include Konyaaltı Beach, which has a long pebble and sand coastline.

Patara Beach is one of Turkey‘s longest beaches, and there’s also Kaputaş Beach which is small cove between the towns of Kaş and Kalkan.

Being such a family-friendly destination, there are plenty of huge hotels with on-site waterparks, kids clubs, activities, and beach access.

One writer visited the Regnum Carya Golf and Spa which has a full-size football pitch, a golf course, seven pools and a waterpark.

Stacey Solomon even stayed at the new sister hotel called Regnum The Crown this summer which has a Blue Flag beach and unique ice fountain.

This summer, another writer took a visit to the Titanic Deluxe Lara in Antalya, the hotel’s design was inspired by the fateful Titanic ship.

And another destination that airline hopes to expand to is Heraklion, the capital of Crete.

Corendon will increase its Heraklion capacity by 20 per cent as the popularity of the city grows for Brits.

The island is known for its beautiful beaches, as well as nightlife, historical sites like the Palace of Knossos.

If you fancy booking, Corendon Airlines has also extended its reservation system to be able to make bookings 700 days ahead of the trip.

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Turkey’s ‘best kept secret’ is a quiet seaside village that’s right by Antalya…

Just 90 minutes away from Antalya is the seaside village of Cirali.

It’s found on a quiet sea valley, surrounded by mountains, crystal-clear waters and sandy beaches.

The village was called “one of Turkey‘s best-kept secrets” in an article in the Sunday Telegraph.

Despite not being far from Kemer and Antalya, only a few Brits seem to holiday in Cirali.

Because of its protected status as a nesting site for loggerhead turtles, the seaside village doesn’t have huge all-inclusive resorts or large hotel chains.

The beach, which is a mixture of shingle and sand, is its main attraction. While metal cages mark the turtle nests, there is still plenty of space for holidaymakers.

Other facilities at the beach include several restaurants that serve a range of grilled fish and rustic stews.

Away from the beach, other activities include yoga classes, cycling routes and walking routes.

Here’s more on where Brits should visit in Turkey from a Turkish flight attendant.

Plus, check out the luxurious new 5* all-suite hotel is jewel of Turkey’s Turquoise coast, with stunning sky pool, 22 restaurants & 30 bars.

Officials have recovered the remains of all 20 people who were killed when a Turkish C-130 cargo plane crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border Tuesday.

Videos show a Turkish Air Force C-130E Hercules cargo plane falling in multiple pieces from the sky earlier today. The center fuselage with the wings still attached is notably seen spiraling straight down toward the ground. The aircraft, which tragically had 20 individuals onboard, came down in Georgia as it was flying from Azerbaijan to Turkey.

The C-130E went down sometime after 2:49 PM local time (10:49 PM UTC), according to data from Flightradar24. The aircraft, which had been using the callsign TUAF543, had taken off from Ganja International Airport in Azerbaijan some 30 minutes beforehand.

“After departure, it turned and positioned itself on a northeasterly track, passing the Mingechevir Reservoir beneath. While passing 15,000 feet, it again turned onto a northwesterly heading before turning west, passing the Georgian border around 10:37 UTC,” per Flightradar24. “It was in a continuous ascent until reaching its cruising altitude of 24,000 feet at 10:41 UTC.”

We’re following reports of a Lockheed C-130E Hercules, belonging to the Turkish Air Force, that is suspected to have crashed in Georgia, close to the border of Azerbaijan. Evidence points to the aircraft being #TUAF543, which departed Ganja Airport in Azerbaijan at 10:19 UTC.… pic.twitter.com/xqrEWbMiRk

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 11, 2025

As noted, videos are circulating online that show the C-130E having broken apart at some point in midair. In addition to the center fuselage and wings, other large sections of the aircraft are seen falling down toward the ground. A smoke-like effect is seen emanating from the wingtips as they fall, which could be fuel and/or vapor. It then hits the ground, causing a large plume of thick black smoke to erupt.

🇹🇷 Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules medium transport plane operated by the Turkish Air Force has crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border on Tuesday, the Turkish Defense Ministry informed.

The plane was returning from Azerbaijan to Turkey, according to the Turkish side. pic.twitter.com/Fpqsg63J38

— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (@Archer83Able) November 11, 2025

Very odd, breakup happened at FL240 in level flight. I’m surprised that wing stayed intact as a critical failure point for aircraft this age is the wing spar. We see the aft fuselage detached and not seed, 4 engines still on the wing and the forward section of the fuselage… pic.twitter.com/Bt7HvabxLY

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) November 11, 2025

Georgian officials say the C-130 came down approximately three miles (five kilometers) from the country’s eastern border with Azerbaijan, according to RFE/RL. Authorities have been working to get to the crash site, and the crash is under investigation. Pictures and videos said to show the wreckage are now beginning to emerge online.

Visuals of the wreckage of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules military cargo aircraft, that disintegrated and fell from an approximate altitude of 24000 feet in Georgia today, being published by local media in Georgia.

Initial information suggests there were 8 crew members on board,… https://t.co/p7cDrP7gQW pic.twitter.com/Nb27NzTQi3

— FL360aero (@fl360aero) November 11, 2025

🇹🇷🇬🇪 | First images are circulating in Georgian media reportedly showing the crash site and debris of the Turkish Air Force C-130 Hercules. pic.twitter.com/9MUbfCIOP5

— Visioner (@visionergeo) November 11, 2025

“Our aircraft that crashed had 20 personnel on board, including the flight crew,” the Turkish Defense Ministry had said earlier in a statement, according to RFE/RL. “Search and rescue operations are ongoing.”

“God willing, we will overcome this crash with minimum hardships,” Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also said during a speech in Ankara after receiving word about the crash, according to Reuters. “May God rest the soul of our martyrs, and let us be with them through our prayers.”

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, a major Turkish ally, has also offered his condolences.

As of the start of 2025, the Turkish Air Force had a mixed fleet of 18 C-130B and E variants, according to FlightGlobal. These are both models that would have first rolled off Lockheed’s production line decades ago. For some years now, Turkey has been in the process of bringing all of its Hercules aircraft up to a modernized standard through the ERCIYES modernization program. The designations C-130BM and EM are often used to describe planes that have received the upgrades, which include improved avionics and navigation systems, as well as new cockpit displays, and more. The Turkish Hercules that went down today in Georgia had received the upgrade package, according to Scramble. Turkey also acquired this particular example second-hand from Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this year, Turkish authorities also confirmed they had purchased 12 ex-British C-130J models. The Royal Air Force officially retired the last of its C-130Js in 2023.

While there is much to learn about the crash today, the imagery of the aircraft going down and from the crash site certainly shows a devastating total loss.

We will continue to update this story with any new information that may emerge in the next 24 hours about the mishap.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Thirty-four children were among 78 people killed in the deadly blaze, which occurred during the school holidays.

A Turkish court has sentenced 11 people to life in prison over a fire that killed 78 people at a hotel in a ski resort in northwest Turkiye’s Bolu mountains in January.

Among those sentenced on Friday were Halit Ergul – the owner of the Grand Kartal Hotel, which sits in the Kartalkaya ski resort about 295km (183 miles) east of Istanbul – according to state-run broadcaster TRT Haber.

The court also sentenced Ergul’s wife, Emine Ergul, and their daughters, Elif Aras and Ceyda Hacibekiroglu – all of whom were part of the hotel’s management team.

The deadly blaze broke out overnight in the restaurant of the Grand Kartal on January 21, quickly engulfing the 12-storey hotel, where 238 guests were staying.

Thirty-four children were among 78 people killed in the fire, which occurred during the school holidays when many families from Ankara and Istanbul head to the Bolu mountains to ski.

Another 137 people suffered injuries during the incident, as panicked hotel guests were forced to jump from windows in the middle of the night.

Also sentenced on Friday were the hotel’s general manager, Emir Aras, as well as the deputy mayor of Bolu, Sedat Gulener, and the director of another hotel, Ahmet Demir, both of whom were reportedly on the board of directors of the company that owned the Grand Kartal.

There are a total of 32 defendants in the trial, 20 of whom are in pre-trial detention, according to TRT. It’s unclear when the remaining defendants will appear in court.

In total, the convicted were handed 34 aggravated life sentences for the 34 children killed in the disaster. Those in the courtroom greeted the announcement with applause.

The fire sparked nationwide anger in Turkiye, with questions raised over safety measures in place at the hotel after survivors said no fire alarms went off during the incident, and they had to navigate smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.

Under pressure to act, Turkish authorities quickly arrested nine people in connection with the blaze, while the government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation.

Speaking to reporters outside the still-smoking hotel, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya pledged that those “responsible for causing this pain will not escape justice”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a day of national mourning, as he served as a pallbearer at a funeral ceremony for the victims the following day.