After N-E, it's Karnataka's turn now to finish off Congress: PM Narendra Modi

Istanbul: Mosques in Turkey reopened on Friday for mass prayers after more than two months as the government further eased strict restrictions to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

Turkey has been shifting since May to a "new normal" by easing lockdown measures and opening shopping malls, barbershops and hair salons.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said many other sites -- restaurants and cafes as well as libraries, parks and beaches -- will reopen from Monday.

Hundreds of worshippers wearing protective masks performed mass prayers outside Istanbul's historic Blue Mosque for the first time since mosques were shut down in March.

In the Ottoman-era Fatih mosque, worshippers prayed both inside and outside, with the municipality handing out disinfectants and disposable carpets.

"I have waited a lot for this, I have prayed a lot. I can say it's like a new birth, thanks to God, he has brought us back here," he said.

Another worshipper, Asum Tekif, 50, said: "It has a been a long time... we missed the mosques."

Turkey, a country of 83 million, has so far recorded 4,489 coronavirus-related deaths and 162,120 confirmed cases.

Prayers in Hagia Sophia

Muslim clerics on Friday recited prayers in the Hagia Sophia, the world famous Istanbul landmark which is now a museum after serving as a church and a mosque.

The prayers were held to celebrate the anniversary of the conquest of Constantinople, today's Istanbul, by the Ottomans in 1453.

"It is very important to commemorate the 567th anniversary of the conquest ... through prayers in the Hagia Sophia," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who attended the ceremony via videoconference.

The stunning edifice was first built as a church in the sixth century under the Byzantine Empire as the centrepiece of its capital Constantinople.

After the Ottoman conquest, it was converted into a mosque before being turned into a museum during the rule of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, in the 1930s.

But there have been hints about reconverting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Last year, Erdogan himself mooted the possibility of turning Hagia Sofia museum into a mosque.

Such calls have sparked anger among Christians and raised tensions with neighbouring Greece.

In 2015, a Muslim cleric recited the Koran in the Hagia Sophia for the first time in 85 years to mark the opening of an exhibition.

After Friday prayers at the Blue Mosque, a small group of Muslim worshippers shouted: "Let the chains break and let the Hagia Sophia open".

The group was later dispersed by the police who stopped them from protesting near Hagia Sophia that sits immediately opposite the Blue Mosque.

Bengaluru, Apr 13: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and former Minister D K Shivakumar has demanded resignation of Minister In-Charge of COVID-19 for his alleged irresponsible comment, despite holding a responsible post.

Mr Shivakumar's comments came after Dr Sudhakar on Sunday shared a picture of him and his children in a swimming pool, on Twitter with a caption, ''After a long time joined my children for swimming hope maintaining social distance here as well…hahaha.''

However, Dr Sudhakar deleted the tweet from his account, soon after he was criticised for sharing such a picture, when the country is facing a health crisis.

Mangaluru, July 5: Two children died after getting trapped under the debris of a landslide which occurred at Banglagudde in Kaikamba on the outskirts of Mangaluru today.

The deceased are identified as Safwan (16) and Sahala (10).

The rescue teams including personnel from NDRF, fire service and police brought out the body after four hours of rescue operation.

According to sources, landslides occurred at 12:30 pm and of the five members, three ran out of the house. The two kids got trapped in the debris.

The heavy rain in the last two days has softened the soil of the hillock. An Auto-rickshaw, lorry and a bike too have buried under the soil.

It was said that caving in of the hillock continued even when the rescue operation was in progress, thus making the rescue operation difficult.

District-in-Charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary who visited the spot said two houses have been completely damaged and inmates of 14 houses that are facing the problem in the vicinity will be shifted to safer locations.

House collapse due to landslide in Gurupura; 2 children reportedly trapped under debris pic.twitter.com/ntyZRkum4e

— coastaldigest.com (@coastaldigest) July 5, 2020