The trial has begun of 36 people accused of a deadly bombing in central Istanbul last November, in which six people were killed and 99 injured, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported.

The president of ethnically divided Cyprus says he will lodge a complaint with the United Nations over Turkey’s new financial assistance deal with breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

Ukrainian singer and former Eurovision song contest winner appealed to Turkey’s president to save Ukrainian fighters from the besieged city of Mariupol.

Turkey’s president has fired the head of the Turkish Statistical Institute, which is responsible for posting official inflation statistics, among other data.

(Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool)ANKARA – Turkey on Tuesday slapped advertising bans on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest over their non-compliance with a controversial new law that requires social media platforms to appoint legal representatives in the country. The ban is on selling online space for ads, which is what many social media companies make their money from. The government insists the legislation is needed to combat cybercrime and to protect the rights of Turkish social media users. The Freedom of Expression Association says more than 450,000 domains and 42,000 tweets have been blocked in Turkey since October. Facebook said Monday it remained committed to maintaining free expression and other human rights in Turkey.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media after Friday prayers, in Istanbul, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Turkeys president has criticized the United States for kicking his country out of the F-35 fighter jet program after Ankara purchased a Russian missile defense system. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after prayers in Istanbul that he would “positively” consider a meeting that he said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had requested. Erdogan spoke with Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte Friday, thanking him for his support within the EU. “I believe Italy will direct the European Union to a prudent and just attitude in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the Turkish president said.

Carianne Luter is a social media producer for News4Jax and has worked at Channel 4 since December 2015. She graduated from the University of North Florida with a degree in communications.