LaNUBlog™

Officials said that the attack was not politically motivated. Six persons were shot dead in Turkey on Wednesday after a recently fired employee returned to his office and took several hostages, local officials said. The officials said that the man subsequently turned the gun on himself and committed suicide at the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) in the north-eastern city of Kars. It added that the employee, who had been employed as a sociologist at TUIK, was undergoing psychological treatment. Officials said that the attack was not politically motivated. The police cordoned off the area while investigations were carried out. Report said the TUIK is a government agency responsible for key data and economic indicators.

Bayer Leverkusen have extended the contract of goalkeeper Bernd Leno to keep him at the club until 2018. The Germany Under-21 international joined Leverkusen in 2011 after spending three seasons with Stuttgart's reserve team. Leno has since gone on to establish himself as a first-team regular at the BayArena, helping Sami Hyypia's side to secure a place in the UEFA Champions League as Leverkusen finished third in the Bundesliga last season. And the 21-year-old is confident the club will continue to enjoy success in years to come. "Bayer 04 Leverkusen took me on as a 19-year-old third division keeper and turned me into the number one at a club in the Champions League," Leno told the club's official website. "I was really impressed with the massive vote of confidence back then and I'm incredibly grateful to the club for that. "We've been successful together over the past two years and I've been able to improve consistently due to the cons...

Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter are among a quartet leading the Turkish Open and Tigers Woods is on the prowl after a sublime second round. After heavy rain and lightning cut short Thursday’s play by three hours, the players returned on Friday to complete their first rounds. Swede Stenson, who can wrap up the end-of-season Race to Dubai title with a victory this week, as long as closest challengers Justin Rose and Ian Poulter finish third or lower, joined Darren Fichardt and Thomas Bjorn at the top of the leaderboard after carding an eight-under 64. Stenson then shot 68 in his second round later in the day, with all of his four birdies coming on the back nine. Poulter joined the Scandinavian on 12 under by matching his first round of 66 in a blemish-free second round that included four birdies in the last six holes. Julian Walters is also sitting pretty in a share of the lead after he carded a pair of 66s in his opening two rounds. The South African made nine birdies in his second...

Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has begun announcing far-reaching political reforms aimed at benefiting Kurds and other minorities. He has proposed lowering the 10% electoral threshold, which currently prevents Kurdish and other smaller parties entering parliament. He says towns will be allowed to take Kurdish rather than Turkish names. He also plans to end the ban on women wearing headscarves in public service - a longstanding goal of his party. "This is a historic moment, an important stage," Mr Erdogan said. The reforms are a long-awaited move to improve the rights of Turkey's Kurds, who are thought to make up about 20% of the population. They are seen as a vital part of efforts to end the three-decade conflict between the government and Kurdish rebels, which has cost more than 40,000 lives.

A court in the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk has remanded 22 activists from a Greenpeace ship in custody for two months for allegedly trying to seize an oil platform. Another eight people from the Arctic Sunrise were detained for three days pending a new hearing. The activists - who hail from a total of 18 countries - are being held pending a "piracy" inquiry, but Greenpeace says the activists were staging a legal, peaceful protest. Among those detained was Iain Rogers from Devon. He said the activists had been made to comply with the Russian authorities against their will and that the justice system was "corrupt".

A court in the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk has remanded 20 activists from a Greenpeace ship in custody for two months for allegedly trying to seize an oil platform. The crew of the Arctic Sunrise ship, who hail from 18 nations, are accused of "piracy" against an oil platform. Russian coastguards intercepted the ship on 19 September after two activists tried to haul themselves onto an offshore drilling platform operated by the Russian company Gazprom. Greenpeace says the activists were staging a legal, peaceful protest. Warning shots were fired as they were apprehended. Watch footage of the incident.

The environmental organisation Greenpeace is to appeal against the detention of 30 of its activists in Russia over a protest in the Arctic. It demanded their immediate release, after a court in Murmansk remanded 22 of them in custody for two months pending an investigation. Eight other activists face a new hearing on Sunday. The crew of the Arctic Sunrise ship, who hail from 18 nations, are accused of "piracy" against an oil platform. However, President Vladimir Putin has said the Greenpeace activists are clearly not pirates, though they may have broken international law. Led by Captain Peter Henry Willcox, who previously commanded Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior ship when it was blown up by French agents in a New Zealand port in 1985, the activists were protesting against the Arctic oil and gas industry. Greenpeace says drilling for oil in the Arctic puts a delicate environment at risk. Russian coastguards intercepted the ship on 19 September after two activists trie...