169-513: The Manchester Arena bombing , or Manchester Arena attack , was an Islamic terrorist suicide bombing of the Manchester Arena in Manchester , England, on 22 May 2017, following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande . Perpetrated by Islamic extremist Salman Abedi and aided by his brother, Hashem Abedi, the bombing occurred at 22:31 and killed 22 people, injured 1,017, and destroyed
338-500: A dotted and dotless I . In English, the stress is on the first or last syllable, but in Turkish it is on the second syllable. A person from the city is an İstanbullu (plural İstanbullular ); Istanbulite is used in English. Neolithic artifacts, uncovered by archeologists at the beginning of the 21st century, indicate that Istanbul's historic peninsula was settled as far back as
507-517: A BTP constable of Abedi's presence, who stated that she had no recollection of such a conversation. Grande began performing at 21:00 and the concert drew to a close shortly before 22:30. According to a Libyan official, Abedi spoke with his younger brother, Hashem, on the phone about 15 minutes before the attack was carried out. Five BTP constables were scheduled to patrol the Victoria Exchange Complex, although only four were in attendance by
676-495: A Showsec employee for less than ten seconds on the mezzanine of the City Room before moving back towards the tram platform at 21:13. While in the City Room, Abedi hid in a spot that was not covered by the arena's CCTV system. Abedi made his final journey towards the City Room at 21:29, arriving at 21:33. Abedi was spotted by a person who was hired to prevent illegal screen recordings of the concert—by 22:00. She said that she had informed
845-671: A Turkish city since 1923, it contains many ancient, Roman, Byzantine, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish monuments. The Neolithic settlement in the Yenikapı quarter on the European side, which dates back to c. 6500 BCE and predates the formation of the Bosporus by approximately a millennium, when the Sea of Marmara was still a lake, was discovered during the construction of the Marmaray railway tunnel. It
1014-608: A bombing alongside her husband in order to kill "infidels". According to Europol, the number of people arrested on suspicion of jihadist-related terrorist offences in the European Union increased from 395 in 2014 to 687 in 2015. In 2015, most arrests were made in France (377), followed by Spain (75) and Belgium (60); statistics for the United Kingdom were not available. During 2015, jihadist terrorism related verdicts were 198 out of
1183-482: A center of Greek culture and Christianity. Numerous churches were built across the city, including Hagia Sophia which was built during the reign of Justinian I and remained the world's largest cathedral for a thousand years. Constantine also undertook a major renovation and expansion of the Hippodrome of Constantinople ; accommodating tens of thousands of spectators, the hippodrome became central to civic life and, in
1352-403: A city with above-freezing average temperatures. Istanbul's precipitation is unevenly distributed, with winter months getting at least twice the level of precipitation of their summerly counterparts. The mode of precipitation also varies by season. Winter precipitation is generally light, persistent and often of mixed precipitation such as rain-snow mixes and graupel ; while summer precipitation
1521-487: A cosmopolitan society that persisted through much of the Ottoman period. Revitalizing Istanbul also required a massive program of restorations, of everything from roads to aqueducts . Like many monarchs before and since, Mehmed II transformed Istanbul's urban landscape with wholesale redevelopment of the city center. There was a huge new palace to rival, if not overshadow, the old one , a new covered market (still standing as
1690-547: A crisis or war—May's approval ratings decreased. The researchers suggested that May's gender played a role in the public's response, writing that female leaders ‘cannot count on rallies following major terrorist attacks’. The GMP reported a surge in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the wake of the bombing. Various British figures and politicians expressed condolences following the bombing. Queen Elizabeth II visited Royal Manchester Children's Hospital to meet with victims on 25 May, calling it ‘very wicked’ to attack children. Burnham said
1859-487: A decrease in the sophistication and preparation of the attacks. In 2017, a total of 705 individuals were arrested in 18 EU Member states, 373 of those in France. Most arrests were on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organisation (354), suspicion of planning (120), or of preparing (112) a terrorist attack. ISIL claimed responsibility for the Ramblas attack. Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism. In 2018,
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#17330850130472028-457: A fireworks display at 22:39:30. A separate firearms officer said that there were ‘major casualties’ at 22:41 and mentioned Operation Plato, the response to a marauding terrorist attack (MTA). At 22:42:44, the first two GMP officers were spotted on CCTV through the lower doors on Trinity Way, while three arrived through the Victoria station . Operation Plato was declared at 22:47, and a ‘major incident’
2197-603: A key role in the advancement of Christianity during Roman/Byzantine times, hosting four of the first seven ecumenical councils before its transformation to an Islamic stronghold following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE—especially after becoming the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1517. In 1923, after the Turkish War of Independence , Ankara replaced the city as the capital of the newly formed Republic of Turkey. Istanbul
2366-534: A large role in the city's infrastructure development, with over 500,000 vulnerable buildings demolished and replaced since 2012. According to ministry statements and geologist comments made in 2023, the city's infrastructure was in reasonably good shape, however, due to very high costs, buildings were not: over half a million flats were still vulnerable to collapse, and casualties largely depend on how many collapse. As of 2024 , most buildings in Istanbul were built to
2535-407: A legal notice and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Manchester Arena was closed until 9 September, when it opened with a benefit concert featuring Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher alongside other acts from North West England . In December 2022, Martyn's Law—a venue security law named after victim Martyn Hett—was expected to be introduced, but the legislation was not put to Parliament before
2704-413: A lightweight metal container which was carried within a black vest or a blue Karrimor backpack. His torso was propelled by the blast through the doors to the arena, possibly indicating that the explosive charge was held in the backpack and blew him forward on detonation. A corroded 12-volt, 2.1 amp-hour lead acid battery manufactured by GS Yuasa was found at the scene. A coroner's inquest suggested that
2873-472: A low seismic standard in the 20th century, and residents think the city is not properly prepared for the earthquake . Istanbul's climate is temperate , and is often described as transitional between the Mediterranean climate typical of the western and southern coasts of Turkey, and the oceanic climate of the northwestern coasts of the country. Much divergence exists in the terminology used to classify
3042-401: A natural toll-gate. Several picturesque islands— Büyükada , Heybeliada , Burgazada , Kınalıada , and five smaller islands—are part of the city. Istanbul's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Large sections of Caddebostan sit on areas of landfill, increasing the total area of the city to 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi). Despite the myth that seven hills make up
3211-425: A press release announcing that the inquiry officially concluded on 8 June 2023. On 18 October 2023, Coroner Sir John Saunders ruled that Salman Abedi's death was ‘suicide while undertaking a terror attack’. On 27 March 2018, a report by civil servant Bob Kerslake and commissioned by mayor Andy Burnham was published. The Kerslake Report was ‘an independent review into the preparedness for, and emergency response to,
3380-642: A primary urban park, but it has several green areas. Gülhane Park and Yıldız Park were originally included within the grounds of two of Istanbul's palaces — Topkapı Palace and Yıldız Palace —but they were repurposed as public parks in the early decades of the Turkish Republic. Another park, Fethi Paşa Korusu , is on a hillside adjacent to the Bosphorus Bridge in Anatolia, opposite Yıldız Palace in Europe. Along
3549-428: A result of Istanbul's exponential growth in the 20th century, a significant portion of the city is composed of gecekondus (literally "built overnight"), referring to illegally constructed squatter buildings. At present, some gecekondu areas are being gradually demolished and replaced by modern mass-housing compounds. Moreover, large scale gentrification and urban renewal projects have been taking place, such as
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#17330850130473718-495: A result of the failings, potential opportunities to prevent it were missed.’ Abedi's younger brother, Hashem, was arrested by Libyan security forces on 23 May. Hashem was suspected of planning an attack in Libya, was said to be in regular touch with Salman and was aware of the plan to bomb the arena, but not the date. On 1 November 2017, the UK requested Libya to extradite Hashem to return to
3887-575: A returnee from the Syrian war. While most earlier Islamic terrorist attacks in Europe were carried out by groups and involved bombs, most attacks since 2014 have been carried out by individuals using guns, knives and vehicles. The deadliest attacks of this period have been the November 2015 Paris attacks (130 killed). These attacks and threats have led to major security operations and plans such as Opération Sentinelle in France, Operation Vigilant Guardian and
4056-713: A round of applause followed by Oasis ' ‘ Don't Look Back in Anger ’. The attack occurred two weeks before the 2017 United Kingdom general election ; campaign funding for the Labour and Conservative parties was suspended. broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words. International reactions came from many countries and political leaders after the bombing, including from US president Donald Trump , Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau , German chancellor Angela Merkel , French president Emmanuel Macron , president of
4225-507: A separate data protection claim would be decided at a later stage. In November 2024, the court awarded £45,000 in damages for the harassment, £22,500 to be paid to each survivor. The victims of the bombing are commemorated by The Glade of Light , a garden memorial located in Manchester city centre near Manchester Cathedral . The memorial opened to the public on 5 January 2022 and an official opening event took place 10 May 2022. The memorial
4394-451: A series of nationwide protests in 2013 covering a wide range of issues. Popular during the summer among Istanbulites is Belgrad Forest , spreading across 5,500 hectares (14,000 acres) at the northern edge of the city. The forest originally supplied water to the city and remnants of reservoirs used during Byzantine and Ottoman times survive. Istanbul is primarily known for its Byzantine and Ottoman architecture. Despite its development as
4563-516: A set of corridors lined with office buildings, residential towers, shopping centers, and university campuses, and over 2,000,000 m (22,000,000 sq ft) of class-A office space in total. Maslak , Levent , and Bomonti are important nodes within the CBD. The Atatürk Airport corridor is another such edge city -style business, residential and shopping corridor with over 900,000 m (9,700,000 sq ft) of class-A office space. During
4732-617: A smaller demographic in this category have experienced fewer attacks than countries in Central and Northern Europe such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium. British think tank ICSR argues for a connection between terrorism and crime: up to 40% of terrorist plots in Europe are part-financed through petty crime such as drug-dealing, theft, robberies, loan fraud and burglaries, and most jihadists have been imprisoned for petty or violent crime prior to radicalisation (some of whom radicalise while in prison). Jihadists use ordinary crime as
4901-741: A statement on the messaging app Telegram on 23 May claiming responsibility. In the statement, ISIS said that a ‘soldier of the Khilafah ’ detonated an explosive amidst a crowd of ‘the crusaders in the British city of Manchester’. United States director of national intelligence Dan Coats said—before the Senate Armed Services Committee —that ISIS frequently claims responsibility and the United States could not confirm their claims. Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Ali Soufan noted
5070-632: A suicide bomber ‘was okay’ and fellow college students raised concerns about his behaviour. Abedi's father was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group , a Salafi jihadist organisation proscribed by the United Nations , and father and son fought for the group in Libya in 2011 as part of the movement to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi . Abedi's parents, both born in Tripoli , remained in Libya in 2011, while 17-year-old Abedi returned to live in
5239-505: A terrorist network, police later said they believed Abedi had largely acted alone, but that others had been aware of his plans. In 2020, Hashem Abedi was tried and convicted for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy , and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2020 with a minimum term of 55 years, the longest ever imposed by a British court. A public inquiry released in 2021 found that ‘more should have been done’ by British police to stop
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5408-430: A time of such enormous vulnerability seemed to us to be completely and utterly unacceptable’, but noting that, ‘We recognise that this was some, but by no means all of the media and that the media also have a positive and important role to play.’ The bomber, Salman Ramadan Abedi (31 December 1994 - 22 May 2017) was identified as a 22-year-old British Muslim of Libyan ancestry. According to US intelligence sources, Abedi
5577-555: A total of 13 people were killed and 46 were injured in seven completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. The number of attempted jihadist attacks was 24, down from 33 the previous year. All attacks were carried out by perpetrators acting alone. Europol noted in its 2019 report that generally, individuals who act alone seldom do so in total isolation as attackers often maintain relations in small or loosely defined networks and may receive moral or material support from individuals sharing their ideas. A number of
5746-523: A total of 135 people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures, while 62 others were killed in Turkey and one in Russia. Thirteen attacks were attempted. The number of arrests increased on the previous year, to 718. In France, the number of arrests increased from 377 in 2015 to 429 in 2016. One in four (26%) of those arrested in 2016 were women, an increase from 18%
5915-424: A total of 527 terrorism related verdicts. The average sentence for jihadist terrorism increased from 4 years in 2014 to 6 years. In Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden, all terrorism verdicts concerned jihadist terrorism. In 2016, a total of 718 people were arrested on suspicion of jihadist-related terrorist offences in the European Union. During 2016, 358 verdicts on jihadi terrorism were delivered by courts in
6084-548: A violent subcurrent of Salafism , while noting that other subcurrents of Salafism are quietist. The two major representatives of jihadism are al-Qaeda and ISIL . The first incidents of jihadist terrorism occurred in France in 1995 when a network with ties to Algeria carried out a string of bombings in Paris in retaliation for French involvement in the Algerian Civil War . In the early 2000s, much of this terrorist activity
6253-706: A way to finance their activity and have also argued this to be the "ideologically correct" way to wage 'jihad 'in 'lands of war' . According to German anthropologist Susanne Schröter , attacks in European countries in 2017 showed that the military defeat of the Islamic State did not mean the end of Islamist violence. Schröter also compared the events in Europe to a jihadist strategy formulated in 2005 by Abu Musab al-Suri , where an intensification of terror would destabilise societies and encourage Muslim youth to revolt. The expected civil war never materialised in Europe, but did occur in other regions such as Libya, Syria, Iraq and
6422-469: Is a large and rapidly expanding city, its urban heat island has been intensifying the effects of climate change. If trends continue, sea level rise is likely to affect city infrastructure, for example Kadıkoy metro station is threatened with flooding. Xeriscaping of green spaces has been suggested, and Istanbul has a climate-change action plan. The natural vegetation of the province is made up of mixed broadleaf forest and pseudo-maquis , reflecting
6591-445: Is acute in İstanbul with cars, buses and taxis causing frequent urban smog , as it is one of the few European cities without a low-emission zone . As of 2019 the city's mean air quality remains at a level so as to affect the heart and lungs of healthy street bystanders during peak traffic hours, and almost 200 days of pollution were measured by the air pollution sensors at Sultangazi , Mecidiyeköy , Alibeyköy and Kağıthane . It
6760-647: Is generally abrupt and sporadic. Cloudiness, as with precipitation, varies greatly by season. Winters are quite cloudy, with around 20 percent of days being sunny or partly cloudy. Meanwhile, summers experience 60-70 percent of possible sunshine. Snowfall is sporadic, but accumulates virtually every winter; and when it does, it is highly disruptive to city infrastructure. Sea-effect snowstorms with more than 30 centimetres (1 ft) of snowfall happen almost annually, most recently in 2022 . Climate change has caused an increase in Istanbul's heatwaves, droughts, storms, and flooding in Istanbul. Furthermore, as Istanbul
6929-510: Is one of the 10 worst cities for NO 2 . However a trial of congestion pricing is planned for the historic peninsula. Algal blooms and red tides were reported in the Sea of Marmara and Bosporus (especially in Golden Horn), and regularly happen in urban lakes such as Lake Büyükçekmece and Küçükçekmece . In June 2021, a marine mucilage wave allegedly caused by water pollution spread to Sea of Marmara. The Fatih district, which
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7098-510: Is the largest city in Turkey , straddling the Bosporus Strait , the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is considered the country's economic, cultural and historic capital. The city has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Turkey, and is the most populous city in Europe and the world's sixteenth-largest city . The city was founded as Byzantium in
7267-414: Is the longest minimum term ever imposed by a British court. In October 2021, it was reported that Abedi's older brother, Ismail, had left the United Kingdom. He had been summonsed by Judge John Saunders to testify before the public inquiry into the bombing. Saunders had refused Ismail's request for immunity from prosecution while testifying. Ismail was found guilty in absentia of failing to comply with
7436-402: Is thought to be impossible. Istanbul Municipality's Directorate of Earthquake and Ground Research is responsible for analysing the methods to reduce the urban seismic risk , whereas the national government-controlled Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency is responsible for earthquake emergency response , and will be helped by NGOs such as İHH . The threat of major earthquakes plays
7605-528: The 2004 Madrid train bombings , which killed 193 civilians (the deadliest Islamist attack in Europe), and the 7 July 2005 London bombings , which killed 52. After 2014, there was a rise in Islamic terrorist incidents in Europe. The years 2014–16 saw more people killed by Islamic terrorist attacks in Europe than all previous years combined, and the highest rate of attack plots per year. Most of this terrorist activity
7774-573: The 2024 general election . The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill , known as Martyn's Law, was included in the King's speech at the 2024 State Opening of Parliament and was put before Parliament in September 2024. According to a report by the Kerslake Report, security at the arena was insufficient. Although bag searches were performed, they were inconsistent; Abedi entered through the City Room, which
7943-711: The Allies occupied Constantinople on 13 November 1918. The Ottoman Parliament was dissolved by the Allies on 11 April 1920 and the Ottoman delegation led by Damat Ferid Pasha was forced to sign the Treaty of Sèvres on 10 August 1920. Following the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922), the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara abolished the Sultanate on 1 November 1922, and
8112-578: The Brussels lockdown in Belgium, and Operation Temperer in the United Kingdom. The 2020 TE-SAT by Europol describes jihadism as "a violent ideology exploiting traditional Islamic concepts". Jihadists do this by exploiting the concept of jihad , which means 'striving' or 'exertion' but can also refer to religiously sanctioned warfare and aim to create an Islamic state governed exclusively by their interpretation of Islamic law . The report describes jihadism as
8281-581: The Commission for Countering Extremism in response to the bombing. Abedi's sister said her brother was motivated by the injustice of Muslim children dying in bombings stemming from the American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war . A family friend of the Abedi's also remarked that Salman had vowed revenge at the funeral of Abdul Wahab Hafidah, who was run over and stabbed to death by a Manchester gang in 2016 and
8450-553: The Didsbury Mosque , where Abedi and his family were regulars, had made a call for armed jihad 10 days before Abedi bought his concert ticket, found that no offences had been committed. According to German police sources, Abedi transited through Düsseldorf Airport on his way home to Manchester from Istanbul four days before the bombing. Abedi returned to Manchester on 18 May after a trip to Libya . Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage identified Abedi multiple times prior to
8619-554: The European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker , Chinese president Xi Jinping , Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Russian president Vladimir Putin . The British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar ordered all flags on government buildings be flown at half-mast . Pope Francis offered his condolences. Ariana Grande tweeted a sympathy message on 23 May, becoming the most-liked tweet on Twitter until former US president Barack Obama 's tweet following
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#17330850130478788-614: The European Union increased from four in 2014 to seventeen in 2015, while the number of people killed increased from four to 150. Non-EU areas of Europe are not included in the Europol figures. In 2015, the terrorist threat level was zero in Poland, on its scale which has four levels plus the "zero level". About 20-40 Polish nationals had travelled to the conflict zone in Syria-Iraq . In 2016,
8957-689: The European Union , the jihadist attacks in 2017 had three patterns: indiscriminate killings (London attacks in March and June and Barcelona attacks), attacks on Western lifestyle (the Manchester bombing in May 2017 , 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting ), and attacks on symbols of authority (Paris attacks in February, June and August). The agency's report also noted that jihadist attacks had caused more deaths and casualties than any other type of terrorist attack, that such attacks had become more frequent, and that there had been
9126-702: The Golden Horn on the site of the early Thracian settlements, fueling the nascent city's economy. The city experienced a brief period of Persian rule at the turn of the 5th century BCE, but the Greeks recaptured it during the Greco-Persian Wars . Byzantium then continued as part of the Athenian League and its successor, the Second Athenian League , before gaining independence in 355 BCE. Long allied with
9295-462: The Grand Bazaar ), porticoes, pavilions, walkways, as well as more than a dozen new mosques. Mehmed II turned the ramshackle old town into something that looked like an imperial capital. Social hierarchy was ignored by the rampant plague, which killed the rich and the poor alike in the 16th century. Money could not protect the rich from all the discomforts and harsher sides of Istanbul. Although
9464-632: The Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service was ‘brought to a point of paralysis’ as their response was delayed for two hours due to poor communication between the firefighters' liaison officer and the police force. The report was critical of Vodafone for the ‘catastrophic failure’ of an emergency helpline hosted on a platform provided by Content Guru , saying that delays in getting information caused ‘significant stress and upset’ to families. It also criticised some news media, saying, ‘To have experienced such intrusive and overbearing behaviour at
9633-486: The Islamic State , which in 2014 had claimed that all Muslims were under a religious obligation to join it, declared that the only excuse for Muslims to not join the group in territories under its control was to perpetrate terrorist attacks in their current place of residence. According to Europol's annual report released in 2017, the Islamic State exploited the flow of refugees and migrants to commit acts of terrorism, which
9802-618: The January 2015 Île-de-France attacks , the November 2015 Paris attacks , and the July 2016 Nice truck attack . The United Kingdom saw three major attacks carried out in a span of four months in early 2017 ( Westminster attack , Manchester Arena bombing , and London Bridge attack ). Other targets in Europe have included Belgium , Germany , Russia , and Spain . The transcontinental city of Istanbul also saw both bombings and shootings, including in January 2016 , June 2016 and January 2017 . In 2015,
9971-525: The Latin Empire in place of the Orthodox Byzantine Empire. Hagia Sophia was converted to a Catholic church in 1204. The Byzantine Empire was restored, albeit weakened, in 1261. Constantinople's churches, defenses, and basic services were in disrepair, and its population had dwindled to a hundred thousand from half a million during the 8th century. After the reconquest of 1261, however, some of
10140-611: The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia . Us Weekly reported that Grande returned to her home in Florida and immediately paused her Dangerous Woman Tour . In a 2018 interview with British Vogue , Grande said she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the attack. On 30 May, Grande announced a benefit concert entitled One Love Manchester for
10309-462: The acetone peroxide -based bomb by himself. It is known that many members of the ISIS Battar brigade trained people in bomb-making in Libya. According to The New York Times , the bomb was ‘an improvised device made with forethought and care’. Metal nuts and screws were found, suggesting that it was intended to be a nail bomb . Images released by The New York Times show an explosive charge inside
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#173308501304710478-589: The metropolitan area of Istanbul as result of urban sprawl . Istanbul is in north-western Turkey and straddles the Bosporus Strait , which provides the only passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Sea of Marmara . Historically, the city has been ideally situated for trade and defense: The confluence of the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Golden Horn provide both ideal defense against enemy attack and
10647-478: The 17th century, such as Evliya Çelebi , describe it as the common Turkish name of the time; between the late 17th and late 18th centuries, it was also in official use. The first use of the word Islambol ( Ottoman Turkish : اسلامبول ) on coinage was in 1730 during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I . In modern Turkish , the name is written as İstanbul , with a dotted İ, as the Turkish alphabet distinguishes between
10816-458: The 1950s the number of dolphin observations has become increasingly rare. Mediterranean monk seals were present in Bosporus, and Princes' Islands and Tuzla shores were seal breeding areas during summer, but they have not been observed in Istanbul since the 1960s and thought to be extinct in the region. Water pollution, overfishing and destruction of coastal habitats caused by urbanization are main threats to Istanbul's marine ecology. Apart from
10985-455: The 1960s as part of the process of Turkification . Further mass expulsions of Greeks took place in 1964–1965. As a result of these policies, the Greek population of Istanbul decreased from 110,000 in 1919 to 2,500 today. From the late 1940s and early 1950s, Istanbul underwent great structural change, as new public squares, boulevards, and avenues were constructed throughout the city, sometimes at
11154-416: The 19th century, leaving only the Galata Tower , to make way for the northward expansion of the city. Galata ( Karaköy ) is today a quarter within the Beyoğlu district, which forms Istanbul's commercial and entertainment center and includes İstiklal Avenue and Taksim Square . Dolmabahçe Palace , the seat of government during the late Ottoman period, is in the Beşiktaş district on the European shore of
11323-592: The 20,000 individuals on the list of security threats belong to Islamist movements . After the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, British authorities and MI5 estimated they had 500 ongoing investigations into 3,000 jihadist extremists as potential terrorist attackers, with a further 20,000 having been "subjects of interest" in the past, including the Manchester and Westminster attackers. According to Lorenzo G. Vidino , jihadi terrorists in Europe mobilized by ISIL have tended to be second-generation immigrant Muslims. Consequently, countries such as Italy and Spain with
11492-417: The 5th and 6th centuries, the center of episodes of unrest, including the Nika riots . Constantinople's location also ensured its existence would stand the test of time; for many centuries, its walls and seafront protected Europe against invaders from the east and the advance of Islam. During most of the Middle Ages , the latter part of the Byzantine era, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city on
11661-399: The 6th millennium BCE. That early settlement, important in the spread of the Neolithic Revolution from the Near East to Europe, lasted for almost a millennium before being inundated by rising water levels. The first human settlement on the Asian side, the Fikirtepe mound, is from the Copper Age period, with artifacts dating from 5500 to 3500 BCE, On the European side, near the point of
11830-446: The 7th century BCE by Greek settlers from Megara . In 330 CE, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great made it his imperial capital, renaming it first as New Rome ( Ancient Greek : Νέα Ῥώμη Nea Rhomē ; Latin : Nova Roma ) and then finally as Constantinople ( Constantinopolis ) after himself. In 1930, the city's name was officially changed to Istanbul, the Turkish rendering of εἰς τὴν Πόλιν eis tḕn Pólin 'to
11999-488: The Abedis as a very traditional and ‘super religious’ family, who regularly attended Didsbury Mosque . Abedi attended Wellacre Technology College , Burnage Academy for Boys and The Manchester College . A former tutor remarked that Abedi was ‘a very slow, uneducated and passive person’. He was among a group of students at his high school who accused a teacher of Islamophobia for asking them what they thought of suicide bombers. He also reportedly said to his friends that being
12168-487: The Ankara government, commanded by Şükrü Naili Pasha (3rd Corps), entered the city with a ceremony on 6 October 1923, which has been marked as the "Liberation Day of Istanbul" ( İstanbul'un Kurtuluşu ), and has been commemorated annually since. On 29 October 1923 the Grand National Assembly of Turkey declared the establishment of the Turkish Republic, with Ankara as its capital. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became
12337-601: The BTP command centre was told that there were ‘at least twenty casualties’ and the explosion was ‘definitely [caused by] a bomb’. BTP's command centre called for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) and the Greater Manchester Police (GMP). The first vehicle arrived at 22:34. A BTP constable confirmed the location at 22:39 as the ‘ticket office in the arena’ and said there were 60 casualties. At 22:31:52,
12506-662: The Bosporus, to the north of Beyoğlu. The former village of Ortaköy is within Beşiktaş and gives its name to the Ortaköy Mosque on the Bosporus, near the Bosporus Bridge . Lining both the European and Asian shores of the Bosporus are the historic yalıs , luxurious chalet mansions built by Ottoman aristocrats and elites as summer homes. Inland, north of Taksim Square is the Istanbul Central Business District ,
12675-592: The City', the appellation Greek speakers used since the 11th century to colloquially refer to the city. The city served as an imperial capital for almost 1600 years: during the Byzantine (330–1204), Latin (1204–1261), late Byzantine (1261–1453), and Ottoman (1453–1922) empires. The city grew in size and influence, eventually becoming a beacon of the Silk Road and one of the most important cities in history. The city played
12844-450: The EU as asylum seekers or illegal immigrants. At least five of the attacks involved assailants who were either convicts or had been released from prison sentences. In addition to the completed attacks there were two attempted attacks that were thwarted and Switzerland recorded two attacks involving probable jihadist motivation. In 2021, two people were killed in three completed jihadist attacks in
13013-549: The EU, the vast majority of all terrorism verdicts. Belgium had the highest number of such verdicts at 138. All terrorism verdicts in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal and Sweden related to jihadist terrorism. Of those convicted for jihadist terrorist offences, 22 were women, such offences were punished with an average sentence of 5 years in prison. After the vehicle-ramming attack , European countries began equipping pedestrian areas with barriers. In 2017,
13182-418: The European Union, according to Europol figures. An additional eight attacks were foiled. This is a list of plots which have been classified as terrorism by a law enforcement agency and/or for which at least one person has been convicted of planning one or more terrorist crimes with Islamist motives. 5 December 2016 In June 2020, Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf found the man's wife guilty of preparing
13351-406: The European continent and at times the largest in the world. Constantinople is generally considered to be the center and the "cradle of Orthodox Christian civilization ". Constantinople began to decline continuously after the end of the reign of Basil II in 1025. The Fourth Crusade was diverted from its purpose in 1204, and the city was sacked and pillaged by the crusaders. They established
13520-510: The European countries they sought to attack did not see the arrested individuals as part of a network with a cohesive strategy. Instead the general consensus saw them as radicalized individuals. Many of these operatives were arrested, while others carried out unsophisticated attacks which caused little damage but still served to overload security services. Since 2014, more than 20 fatal attacks have been carried out in Europe. France saw eight attacks between January 2015 and July 2016; this included
13689-623: The European railway network in the 1880s. Modern facilities, such as a water supply network, electricity, telephones, and trams, were gradually introduced to Constantinople over the following decades, although later than to other European cities. The modernization efforts were not enough to forestall the decline of the Ottoman Empire . With the Young Turk Revolution in 1908, the Ottoman Parliament , closed since 14 February 1878,
13858-636: The European side, and close to the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge , is Emirgan Park , which was known as the Kyparades ('Cypress Forest') during the Byzantine period. In the Ottoman period, it was first granted to Nişancı Feridun Ahmed Bey in the 16th century, before being granted by Sultan Murad IV to the Safavid emir Gûne Han in the 17th century, hence the name Emirgan . The 47-hectare (120-acre) park
14027-516: The Great effectively became the emperor of the whole of the Roman Empire in September 324. Two months later, he laid out the plans for a new, Christian city to replace Byzantium. As the eastern capital of the empire, the city was named Nova Roma ; most called it Constantinople, a name that persisted into the 20th century. On 11 May 330, Constantinople was proclaimed the capital of the Roman Empire, which
14196-463: The Manchester Arena attack.’ In the report, Kerslake ‘largely praised’ the Greater Manchester Police and British Transport Police , and noted that it was ‘fortuitous’ that the North West Ambulance Service was unaware of the declaration of Operation Plato, a protocol under which all responders should have withdrawn from the arena in case of an active killer on the premises. However, it found that
14365-534: The Manchester Arena show. By 5 June, the concert had raised US$ 13 million. Additional money was raised through a re-release of Grande's 2014 single ‘ One Last Time ’ as a charity single , as well as a cover of ‘ Over the Rainbow ’ from The Wizard of Oz (1939). On 14 June, Grande was made the first honorary citizen of Manchester. The property in Fallowfield where Abedi lived was raided on 23 May. Armed police breached
14534-454: The Ottoman period, Üsküdar (then Scutari) and Kadıköy were outside the scope of the urban area, serving as tranquil outposts with seaside yalıs and gardens. But in the second half of the 20th century, the Asian side experienced major urban growth; the late development of this part of the city led to better infrastructure and tidier urban planning when compared with most other residential areas in
14703-482: The Palace of Westminster and the guard-changing ceremony at Buckingham Palace were cancelled. A total of 1,400 personnel were deployed by 30 May, when the operation was deactivated. The Commission for Countering Extremism was created in the aftermath of the bombing. In November 2017, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said that Theresa May had intended to only pay £12 million of the £28 million estimated to help
14872-869: The Philippines ( Battle of Marawi ). The first two attacks were carried out on November 15, 2003 against the Bet Israel Synagogue in Şişli and the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Beyoğlu . Five days later, on November 20 two truck bombs exploded at the British Consulate in Beyoğlu and at the HSBC General Directorate building in Beşiktaş . According to Europol , terrorist attacks attributed to jihadists in
15041-539: The Republic's first President . A 1942 wealth tax assessed mainly on non-Muslims led to the transfer or liquidation of many businesses owned by religious minorities. The state-sanctioned 1955 Istanbul pogrom , in which hundreds of Greek men, women and children were attacked and raped and dozens murdered, led to the emigration of most of the remaining Greeks in Istanbul. Government persecution of Greeks and religious minorities, especially Christians , intensified through
15210-602: The Romans, Byzantium officially became a part of the Roman Empire in 73 CE. Byzantium's decision to side with the Roman usurper Pescennius Niger against Emperor Septimius Severus cost it dearly; by the time it surrendered at the end of 195 CE, two years of siege had left the city devastated. Five years later, Severus began to rebuild Byzantium, and the city regained—and, by some accounts, surpassed—its previous prosperity. Constantine
15379-766: The Security Union , stated that terrorist content on the internet "had a role to play in every single attack on European soil in the last few years". However, Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå reviewed attacks in Western Europe between 2014 and 2017 and stated that most attackers radicalize as a result of personal contact rather than online. In 2017, the EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove stated in an interview that there were more than 50,000 radicals and jihadists in Europe. In 2016, French authorities stated that 15,000 of
15548-464: The Shudehill Interchange to the City Room, moving towards the men's toilet on the Victoria station concourse at 20:36 and departing at 20:48. During his visit to the toilet, he was seen by two British Transport Police (BTP) community support officers and two Showsec security guards. Using the station concourse lift, he made his way towards the City Room. From 20:51 to 21:10, he was spotted by
15717-460: The Sultan lived at a safe remove from the masses, and the wealthy and poor tended to live side by side, for the most part Istanbul was not zoned as modern cities are. Opulent houses shared the same streets and districts with tiny hovels. Those rich enough to have secluded country properties had a chance of escaping the periodic epidemics of sickness that blighted Istanbul. The Ottoman dynasty claimed
15886-526: The UK. According to a retired European intelligence officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, Abedi met with members of the ISIS Battar brigade in Sabratha , Libya and continued to be in contact with the group upon his return to the UK. An imam at Didsbury mosque recalled that Abedi looked at him ‘with hate’ after he preached against ISIS and Ansar al-Sharia in 2015. According to an acquaintance, Abedi
16055-633: The United Kingdom had the highest number of known Islamist radicals of any European country at around 20 to 25 thousand. de Kerchove said that three thousand of those were considered a direct threat by MI5 and 500 were under constant surveillance. A number of European countries—Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—made legal changes which enable deprivation of citizenship of individuals engaged in terrorism if they have dual citizenship. Istanbul Istanbul
16224-407: The United Kingdom, in order to face trial. On 17 July 2019, Hashem was charged with murder , attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion. He had been arrested in Libya and extradited to the United Kingdom. His trial began on 5 February 2020. On 17 March, Hashem Abedi was found guilty on 22 charges of murder, on the grounds that he had helped his brother to source the materials used in
16393-578: The United Kingdom. He took a gap year in 2014, when he returned with his brother Hashem to Libya to live with his parents. Abedi was injured in Ajdabiya that year while fighting for an Islamist group. The brothers were rescued from Tripoli by the Royal Navy survey ship HMS Enterprise in August 2014 as part of a group of 110 British citizens as the Libyan civil war erupted, taken to Malta and flown back to
16562-523: The We Love Manchester emergency fund established by Manchester City Council and the British Red Cross . The concert, which was held at Old Trafford Cricket Ground on 4 June, featured Grande, pop group Take That , singer Miley Cyrus , rapper Pharrell Williams , Irish singer-songwriter Niall Horan formerly of One Direction and R&B singer Usher . Free tickets were given to attendees of
16731-531: The arena's foyer. It was the deadliest act of terrorism and the first suicide bombing in the United Kingdom since the 7 July 2005 London bombings . The perpetrator was motivated by the deaths of Muslim children resulting from the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War . Carrying a large backpack, he detonated an improvised explosive device containing triacetone triperoxide (TATP) and nuts and bolts serving as shrapnel. After initial suspicions of
16900-502: The attack was ‘evil’. Thousands, joined by Rudd, Burnham and then Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn , gathered in Albert Square to remember the victims. Bishop of Manchester David Walker lit a candle at the vigil. The Muslim Council of Britain condemned the attack and called it ‘horrific’. A national minute's silence was observed on 25 May; in St Ann's Square , the silence ended with
17069-412: The attack, Abedi's name and other information given confidentially to security services in the United States and France were leaked to the press, leading to condemnation from Home Secretary Amber Rudd . Following the publication of crime scene photographs of the backpack bomb used in the attack in the 24 May edition of The New York Times , United Kingdom counterterrorism police chiefs said the release of
17238-459: The attack, while MI5 admitted it acted ‘too slowly’ in dealing with Abedi. Grande briefly suspended her tour and hosted a benefit concert on 4 June entitled One Love Manchester , raising a total of £17 million towards victims of the bombing. Anti-Muslim hate crimes increased in the Greater Manchester area following the attack, according to police. Prime Minister Theresa May formed
17407-567: The attacker and 22 concert-goers and parents who were in the entrance waiting to pick up their children following the show; 119 people were initially reported as injured. This number was revised by police to 250 on 22 June, with the addition of severe psychological trauma and minor injuries. In May 2018, the number of injured was revised to 800. During the public inquiry into the bombing, it was updated in December 2020 to 1,017 people sustaining injuries. A study published in September 2019 said that 239 of
17576-432: The bomb components himself and that they now believed he had largely acted alone. On 6 July, police said that they believed others had been aware of Abedi's plans. A total of 22 people were arrested in connection with the attack, but had all been released without charge by 11 June following the police's conclusion that Abedi was likely to have acted alone, even though others may have been aware of his plans. Within hours of
17745-474: The bomb was strong enough to kill people up to 20 metres (66 ft) away. Michael McCaul , a US representative and then chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee claimed that the bomb contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP), described by McCaul as ‘a classic explosive device used by terrorists’. The concert began at around 19:35. From approximately 20:30 to 20:51, Abedi moved from
17914-441: The bombing and had assisted with the manufacture of the explosives which were used in the attack. On 20 August, Hashem Abedi was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 55 years. The judge, Jeremy Baker , said that sentencing rules prevented him from imposing a whole life order as Abedi had been 20 years old at the time of the offence. The minimum age for a whole life order is 21 years old. Abedi's 55-year minimum term
18083-607: The bombing. On 18 May, at 18:14, CCTV footage first identified him leaving the Shudehill Interchange , briefly talking to a Manchester Arena worker before observing the queues and entrances within the City Room. Abedi was spotted in the City Room on 21 May at 18:53 and on 22 May at 18:34, approximately 30 minutes after Grande's performance began. In all three visits, Abedi was noted using his mobile phone and did not appear to carry an explosive. After returning to Manchester, Abedi bought bomb-making material, apparently constructing
18252-420: The city , there are, in fact, more than 50 hills within the city limits. Istanbul's tallest hill, Aydos, is 537 meters (1,762 ft) high. The North Anatolian Fault , under the Sea of Marmara , is locked just south of the city. This fault caused the earthquakes in 1766 and 1894 , and a quake of at least magnitude 7.0 is very likely in the 21st century, though an earthquake with a magnitude above 7.5
18421-431: The city is Byzantium ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιον , Byzántion ), the name given to it at its foundation by Megarian colonists around 657 BCE. Megarian colonists claimed a direct line back to the founders of the city, Byzas, the son of the god Poseidon and the nymph Ceroëssa. Modern excavations have raised the possibility that the name Byzantium might reflect the sites of native Thracian settlements that preceded
18590-525: The city rebuild, leading to criticism. May later fully reimbursed the city of Manchester in January 2018. A study published in the American Political Science Review in 2021 observed May's approval ratings following the bombing. Although the researchers expected a result indicative of the rally 'round the flag effect —in which the approval ratings of a political leader increases in the wake of
18759-439: The city's climate , however. The city's summers are warm to hot and moderately dry, with an average daytime temperature of about 28 °C (82 °F), and less than 7 days of precipitation per month. Despite the generally acceptable temperature range, mid-summer in Istanbul is considered moderately uncomfortable, due to high dew points and relative humidity. Winters, meanwhile, are cool, quite rainy, and relatively snow-rich for
18928-642: The city's monuments were restored, and some, like the two Deesis mosaics in Hagia Sophia and Kariye, were created. Various economic and military policies instituted by Andronikos II Palaiologos , such as the reduction of military forces, weakened the empire and left it vulnerable to attack. In the mid-14th-century, the Ottoman Turks began a strategy of gradually taking smaller towns and cities, cutting off Constantinople's supply routes and strangling it slowly. On 29 May 1453, after an eight-week siege during which
19097-432: The city's transitional, Mediterranean-influenced humid temperate climate. Chestnut , oak , elm , linden , ash and locust comprise the most prominent temperate forest genera, while laurel , terebinth , Cercis siliquastrum , broom , red firethorn , and oak species such as Quercus cerris and Quercus coccifera are the most important species of Mediterranean and Submediterranean distribution. Apart from
19266-554: The city. Much of the Asian side of the Bosporus functions as a suburb of the economic and commercial centers in European Istanbul, accounting for a third of the city's population but only a quarter of its employment. However, Kozyatağı – Ataşehir , Altunizade , Kavacık and Ümraniye , all together having around 1.4 million sqm of class-A office space, are now important " edge cities ", i.e. corridors and nodes of business and shopping centers and of tall residential buildings. As
19435-436: The concert ended, concert-goers left through the City Room, one of four entrances into the arena. At 22:30, Abedi descended from the mezzanine. At exactly 22:31 (21:31 UTC ), the nail bomb, weighing in excess of 30 kilograms (66 lb), detonated in the City Room. 23 people, including Abedi, were killed and hundreds more were injured. An estimated 14,200 people were at the concert when the bomb exploded. The explosion killed
19604-636: The counter-revolution attempt known as the 31 March incident . A series of wars in the early 20th century, such as the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), plagued the ailing empire's capital and resulted in the 1913 Ottoman coup d'état , which brought the regime of the Three Pashas . The Ottoman Empire joined World War I (1914–1918) on the side of the Central Powers and
19773-485: The danger. On 22 November 2018, the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament published a report which said that MI5 had acted ‘too slowly’ in its dealings with Abedi. The committee's report noted ‘What we can say is that there were a number of a failings in the handling of Salman Abedi's case. While it is impossible to say whether these would have prevented the devastating attack on 22 May, we have concluded that as
19942-419: The expense of historical buildings. The overall population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase in the 1970s, as people from Anatolia migrated to the city to find employment in the many new factories that were built on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis. This sudden, sharp rise in the city's population caused a large demand for housing, and many previously outlying villages and forests became engulfed into
20111-470: The explosion, he could only be identified by a tattoo of Deirdre Barlow on his leg. Within a minute of the bombing, a police constable sent a radio message saying ‘We need more people at Victoria, we just had a loud bang’, through the BTP channel. Two sergeants were in the Peninsula Building and ran towards the arena when they heard the explosion. One of them called for a sitrep at 22:33. At 22:34,
20280-419: The first 999 call reporting a bombing at the arena was made by an injured bystander. The second call, placed at 22:32:40, incorrectly stated that there were gunshots alongside the explosion. The force duty officer on the night of the attack became aware of the bombing at 22:34 and immediately deployed firearms officers. He arrived on the adjacent Trinity Way by 22:39 and communicated that the attack may have been
20449-407: The foiled plots involved more than one person. In 2020, a total of twelve people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, with an additional three people killed in three additional completed jihadist attacks in the United Kingdom, according to Europol figures. All attackers were men between the ages of 18 and 33, and all were lone actors. Of the attackers, five had come to
20618-560: The fully-fledged town. Constantinople comes from the Latin name Constantinus , after Constantine the Great , the Roman emperor who refounded the city in 324 CE. Constantinople remained the most common name for the city in the West until the 1930s, when Turkish authorities began to press for the use of Istanbul in foreign languages. Ḳosṭanṭīnīye ( Ottoman Turkish : قسطنطينيه ) and İstanbul were
20787-535: The house with a controlled explosion and searched it. Abedi's 23-year-old brother was arrested in Chorlton-cum-Hardy in south Manchester in relation to the attack. Police carried out raids in two other areas of south Manchester and another address in the Whalley Range area. Three other men were arrested, and police initially spoke of a network supporting the bomber; they later announced that Abedi had sourced all
20956-465: The inaccuracy in their statement and suggested their media apparatus was weaker than usual; the statement claims that the bomb exploded in the middle of the arena, not its foyer. Then French interior minister Gérard Collomb said in an interview with BFM TV that Abedi may have been to Syria, and had ‘proven’ links with ISIS. An investigation by Greater Manchester Police into a report by the BBC that an imam of
21125-408: The injuries were physical. The dead included ten people aged under 20; the youngest victim was an eight-year-old girl and the oldest was a 51-year-old woman. Of the 22 victims, twenty were from Britain and two were UK-based Polish nationals. Police and family of 29-year-old victim Martyn Hett, who was 4 metres away from the blast and after whom Martyn's Law was named, stated that due to the severity of
21294-460: The last Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed VI , was declared persona non grata . Leaving aboard the British warship HMS Malaya on 17 November 1922, he went into exile and died in Sanremo , Italy, on 16 May 1926. The Treaty of Lausanne was signed on 24 July 1923, and the occupation of Constantinople ended with the departure of the last forces of the Allies from the city on 4 October 1923. Turkish forces of
21463-558: The last Roman emperor, Constantine XI , was killed, Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" captured Constantinople . Sultan Mehmed declared Constantinople the new capital of the Ottoman Empire . Hours after the fall of the city, the sultan rode to the Hagia Sophia and summoned an imam to proclaim the shahada , converting the grand cathedral into an imperial mosque due to the city's refusal to surrender peacefully. Mehmed declared himself as
21632-436: The late 20th century. Europol , which releases the annual EU Terrorism Situation and Trend report (TE-SAT), used the term "Islamist terrorism" in reports for the years 2006–2010, "religiously inspired terrorism" for the years 2011–2014, and has used "jihadist terrorism" since then. Europol defines jihadism as "a violent ideology exploiting traditional Islamic concepts". In the 2000s, the deadliest attacks of this period were
21801-545: The leaks on ‘the breakdown of normal discipline at the White House and in the US security services ’. The New York Times editor Dean Baquet declined to apologise for publishing the backpack bomb photographs, saying ‘We live in different press worlds’ and that the material was not classified at the highest level. On 26 May, then United States secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the United States government accepted responsibility for
21970-399: The leaks. A public inquiry into the attack was launched in September 2020. The first of three reports to be produced was a 200-page report published on 17 June 2021. It found that ‘there were a number of missed opportunities to alter the course of what happened that night’ and that ‘more should have been done’ by police and private security guards to prevent the bombing. In February 2022, it
22139-520: The material was detrimental to the investigation. On 25 May, the GMP said it had stopped sharing information on the attack with the US intelligence services. Theresa May said she would make clear to then president Donald Trump that ‘intelligence that has been shared must be made secure.’ Trump described the leaks to the news media as ‘deeply troubling’ and pledged to carry out a full investigation. British officials blamed
22308-468: The most memorable nights of their lives. Prime Minister Theresa May spoke in front of 10 Downing Street to condemn the ‘sickening cowardice’ of the attack. She then travelled to Manchester with Home Secretary Amber Rudd . That morning, May led an emergency Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) meeting. The meeting raised the United Kingdom's threat level to ‘critical’, its highest level. On 27 May,
22477-510: The names used alternatively by the Ottomans during their rule. The name İstanbul ( Ottoman Turkish : استانبول ; pronounced [isˈtanbuɫ] , colloquially [ɯsˈtambuɫ] ) is commonly held to derive from the Medieval Greek phrase eis tḕn Pólin ( εἰς τὴν Πόλιν , pronounced [is tim ˈbolin] ), literally 'to the city' and is how Constantinople
22646-530: The natural flora, Platanus orentalis , horse chestnut , cypress and stone pine make up the introduced species that got acclimatized to Istanbul. In a study that examined urban flora in Kartal , a total of 576 plant taxa were recorded; of those 477 were natural and 99 were exotic and cultivated. The most prominent native taxa were in the Asteraceae family (50 species), while the most diverse exotic plant family
22815-675: The new Kayser-i Rûm , the Ottoman Turkish equivalent of the Caesar of Rome, and the Ottoman state was reorganized into an empire. Following the capture of Constantinople, Mehmed II immediately set out to revitalize the city. Cognizant that revitalization would fail without the repopulation of the city, Mehmed II welcomed everyone–foreigners, criminals, and runaways– showing extraordinary openness and willingness to incorporate outsiders that came to define Ottoman political culture. He also invited people from all over Europe to his capital, creating
22984-537: The one in Tarlabaşı ; some of these projects, like the one in Sulukule , have faced criticism. The Turkish government also has ambitious plans for an expansion of the city west and northwards on the European side in conjunction with the new Istanbul Airport , opened in 2019; the new parts of the city will include four different settlements with specified urban functions, housing 1.5 million people. Istanbul does not have
23153-536: The peninsula ( Sarayburnu ), there was a Thracian settlement during the early 1st millennium BCE. Modern authors have linked it to the Thracian toponym Lygos , mentioned by Pliny the Elder as an earlier name for the site of Byzantium. The history of the city proper begins around 660 BCE, when Greek settlers from Megara established Byzantium on the European side of the Bosporus. The settlers built an acropolis adjacent to
23322-429: The previous year. The threat in 2016 consisted of remotely directed individuals operating alone or in small groups. In addition to these, there were those that were inspired by propaganda but not instructed or directed. In 2017, a total of 62 people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. The number of attempted jihadist attacks reached 33 in 2017, double that of
23491-406: The previous year. Most of the deaths were in the UK (35), Spain (16), Sweden (5) and France (3). In addition to those killed, a total of 819 people were injured in 14 attacks. The pattern of jihadist attacks in 2017 led Europol to conclude that terrorists preferred to attack ordinary people rather than causing property damage or loss of capital. According to Europol 's annual report on terrorism in
23660-452: The public, who asked what he had in his bag. He was concerned that the bag may have contained a bomb after he did not answer and reported him, to which he was told that the BTP were already aware of Abedi. After being told of the concerns, a Showsec employee was afraid that he would be considered a racist and did not approach Abedi. While he attempted to get through on the radio, heavy radio traffic prevented him from reaching any other people. As
23829-507: The status of caliphate in 1517, with Constantinople remaining the capital of this last caliphate for four centuries. Suleiman the Magnificent 's reign from 1520 to 1566 was a period of especially great artistic and architectural achievement; chief architect Mimar Sinan designed several iconic buildings in the city, while Ottoman arts of ceramics , stained glass , calligraphy , and miniature flourished. The population of Constantinople
23998-490: The stopped attacks involved groups of perpetrators. The year saw equal numbers of EU citizens and non-EU citizens carrying out attacks. All attackers were male and their average age was 26. In 2019, a total of ten people were killed in three completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. An additional four attacks failed and 14 were foiled. All completed and failed attacks except for one were carried out by perpetrators acting alone, whereas most of
24167-628: The threat level was reduced to ‘severe’, its previous status. The bombing set into motion Operation Temperer for the first time since it was put into place following the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January 2015. Two days after the attack, a total of 984 military personnel were deployed across London, including at high-profile locations, including the Palace of Westminster , Buckingham Palace , Ministry of Defence Main Building , and some nuclear sites. Tours of
24336-403: The time of the bombing. Neither of the four constables were present in the City Room between 22:00 and 22:31; two constables had left on their lunch break to buy kebabs . Although Showsec expected an egress and a supervisor was present in the City Room between 22:08 and 22:17, the supervisor did not go up to the mezzanine and did not spot Abedi. Abedi was spotted again at 22:12 by another member of
24505-414: The total number of arrests was 705. During 2017, 352 verdicts on jihadi terrorism were delivered by courts in the EU, this was the vast majority of all terrorist convictions (569). The average sentence remained at 5 years in prison. The country with the highest number of jihadist convictions was France with 114. In 2017, according to Gilles de Kerchove , the European Union's Counter-terrorism Coordinator,
24674-404: The waters of Istanbul has dwindled in the recent decades. From around 60 different fish species recorded in the 1970s only 20 of them still survive in the Bosporus. Common bottlenose dolphin (Turkish: afalina ), short-beaked common dolphin (Turkish: tırtak ) and harbor porpoise (Turkish: mutur ) make up the marine mammals presently found in the Bosporus and surrounding waters, though since
24843-555: The wild land mammals Istanbul hosts a sizeable stray animal population. The presence of feral cats in Istanbul ( Turkish : sokak kedisi ) is noted to be very prevalent, with estimates ranging from a hundred thousand to over a million stray cats. The feral cats in the city have gained widespread media and public attention and are considered to be symbols of the city. Rose-ringed parakeet colonies are present in urban areas, similar to other European cities as feral parrots , and considered as invasive species . Air pollution in Turkey
25012-443: Was Rosaceae (16 species). Turkish Straits and Sea of Marmara play a vital role for migrating fish and other marine animals between Mediterranean, Marmara and Black Sea. Bosporus hosts pelagic , demersal and semipelagic fish species and more than 130 different taxa have been documented in the strait. Bluefish , bonito , sea bass , horse mackerel and anchovies compose the economically important species. Fish diversity in
25181-455: Was 570,000 by the end of the 18th century. A period of rebellion at the start of the 19th century led to the rise of the progressive Sultan Mahmud II and eventually to the Tanzimat period, which produced political reforms and allowed new technology to be introduced to the city. Bridges across the Golden Horn were constructed during this period, and Constantinople was connected to the rest of
25350-427: Was a feature of the 2015 Paris attacks. In 2016 attack planning against Western countries took place in Syria and Iraq. Groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL had the intent and capabilities to mount mass casualty attacks with volunteers. The Counter Extremism Project states police investigations have found links between internet radicalization and terrorist attacks. In 2019, Julian King , the European Commissioner for
25519-464: Was a friend of Salman and his younger brother Hashem. Hashem later co-ordinated the Manchester bombing with his brother. During the police investigation, they uncovered evidence that the two had participated in the Libyan Civil war and had met with members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb . Police uncovered photographs with the brothers alongside the sons of Abu Anas al-Libi , a high ranking Al-Qaeda fighter in Libya. The Islamic State (ISIS) released
25688-437: Was allegedly reported to authorities for his extremism by five community leaders and family members and had been banned from a mosque; the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester , however, said Abedi was not known to the Prevent anti-radicalisation programme. On 29 May 2017, MI5 launched an internal inquiry into its handling of the warnings it had received about Abedi and a second, ‘more in depth’ inquiry, into how it missed
25857-494: Was declared at 23:04. At 01:32, a precautionary controlled explosion was carried out on a suspicious item in Cathedral Gardens . At 22:32, a member of the public made a 999 call about the explosion and identified where he was, the foyer, and the location of the detonation. The North West Ambulance Service reported that 60 of its ambulances attended the scene, carried 59 people to local hospitals and treated walking wounded on site. Michael Daley, an off-duty consultant anaesthetist
26026-567: Was entered into the British Medical Journal 's book of valour for his bravery in June 2017. Of those hospitalised, 12 were children under the age of 16. In total, 112 people were hospitalised for their injuries and 27 were treated for injuries that did not require hospitalisation. Out of this total of 139, 79 were children. All acts of terrorism are cowardly attacks on innocent people, but this attack stands out for its appalling, sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless children and young people who should have been enjoying one of
26195-436: Was identified by the bank card that he had with him and the identification was confirmed using facial recognition technology . He was born in Manchester to a Salafi family of Libyan-born refugees who had settled in south Manchester after fleeing to the United Kingdom to escape the government of Muammar Gaddafi . He had two brothers and a sister. Abedi grew up in Whalley Range and lived in Fallowfield . Neighbours described
26364-414: Was inspired by ISIL, and many European states have had some involvement in the military intervention against it . A number of plots involved people who entered or re-entered Europe as asylum seekers during the European migrant crisis , and some attackers had returned to Europe after fighting in the Syrian civil war . The Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting in May 2014 was the first attack in Europe by
26533-437: Was later owned by Khedive Isma'il Pasha of Ottoman Egypt in the 19th century. Emirgan Park is known for its diversity of plants and an annual tulip festival is held there since 2005. The AKP government's decision to replace Taksim Gezi Park with a replica of the Ottoman era Taksim Military Barracks (which was transformed into the Taksim Stadium in 1921, before being demolished in 1940 for building Gezi Park) sparked
26702-403: Was later permanently divided between the two sons of Theodosius I upon his death on 17 January 395, when the city became the capital of the empire; during the following millennium of Roman history the state is commonly referred to as the "Byzantine Empire". The establishment of Constantinople was one of Constantine's most lasting accomplishments, shifting Roman power eastward as the city became
26871-463: Was linked to Al-Qaeda and the plots tended to involve groups carrying out co-ordinated bombings. The deadliest attacks of this period were the 2004 Madrid train bombings , which killed 193 civilians (the deadliest Islamist attack in Europe), and the 7 July 2005 London bombings , which killed 52. Although militants in Syria had started to organize attacks in Europe by sending terrorist operatives to carry out attacks as early as 2012, security services in
27040-403: Was named after Mehmed II ( Turkish : Fatih Sultan Mehmed ), corresponds to what was the whole of Constantinople until the Ottoman conquest; today it is the capital district and called the historic peninsula of Istanbul on the southern shore of the Golden Horn , across the medieval Genoese citadel of Galata on the northern shore. The Genoese fortifications in Galata were largely demolished in
27209-455: Was outside of the security zone. In October 2024 two survivors of the bombing won a harassment case, in the High Court, against former television producer Richard Hall, who had claimed without evidence that the attack was an ‘elaborate hoax’ by British government agencies and that no one was ‘genuinely injured’. High Court judge Mrs Justice Steyn said, in a written ruling, that the claimants had succeeded in their harassment claim. She added that
27378-437: Was referred to by the local Greeks. This reflected its status as the only major city in the vicinity. The importance of Constantinople in the Ottoman world was also reflected by its nickname Dersaadet ( Ottoman Turkish : درساعدت ) meaning the 'Gate to Prosperity' in Ottoman Turkish. An alternative view is that the name evolved directly from "Constantinople", with the first and third syllables dropped. Some Ottoman sources of
27547-410: Was reopened 30 years later on 23 July 1908, which marked the beginning of the Second Constitutional Era . The civil strife and political uncertainties in the Ottoman Empire during the months after the revolution encouraged Austria-Hungary to annex Bosnia and Bulgaria to declare its independence in a jointly coordinated move on 5 October 1908. Sultan Abdul Hamid II was deposed in 1909, following
27716-459: Was reported that security services were ‘struggling to cop’ during the period leading up to the bombing. One MI5 officer told the inquiry that he had warned superiors that something might ‘get through’ due to large numbers of documents needing processing. Intelligence that MI5 had before the attack and which might have led to Salman Abedi being placed under investigation was not passed to counter-terrorism police. The Manchester Arena Inquiry published
27885-484: Was still receiving student loan funding in April 2017. He was known to British security services and police but was not regarded as a high risk, having been linked to petty crime but never flagged up for radical views. A community worker told the BBC he had called a hotline five years before the bombing to warn police about Abedi's views and members of Britain's Libyan diaspora said they had ‘warned authorities for years’ about Manchester's Islamist radicalisation . Abedi
28054-422: Was the 2010 European Capital of Culture . The city has surpassed London and Dubai to become the most visited city in the world, with more than 20 million foreign visitors in 2023. The historic centre of Istanbul is a UNESCO World Heritage Site , and the city hosts the headquarters of numerous Turkish companies, accounting for more than thirty percent of the country's economy . The first known name of
28223-405: Was ultimately defeated. The deportation of Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915 was among the major events which marked the start of the Armenian genocide during WWI. Due to Ottoman and Turkish policies of Turkification and ethnic cleansing , the city's Christian population declined from 450,000 to 240,000 between 1914 and 1927. The Armistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October 1918 and
28392-416: Was vandalised on 9 February 2022, causing £10,000 of damage. A 24-year-old man admitted to the offence and was given a two-year community order on 22 June 2022. Islamic terrorism in Europe Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or Jihadist terrorism ) has been carried out in Europe by the jihadist groups Islamic State (ISIL) or Al-Qaeda as well as Islamist lone wolves since
28561-519: Was ‘outgoing’ and consumed alcohol, while another said that he was a ‘regular kid who went out and drank’ until about 2016. Abedi was also known to have used cannabis. He enrolled at the University of Salford in September 2014, where he studied business administration , before dropping out to work in a bakery . Manchester police believe Abedi used student loans to finance the plot, including travel overseas to learn bomb-making. The Guardian reported that despite dropping out from further education, he
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