Two percussion bombs, which are loud but cause little damage, went off in front of two HSBC branches in Istanbul, shattering the bank windows.

A suicide bomb attack by two suspected Islamic militants on an Istanbul Masonic lodge which killed one person and wounded five others was not believed to be the work of al-Qaida, blamed for a series of suicide bombings in the city last year, authorities said.

The bodies of the two British diplomats killed in last week’s suicide bomb attack against the British Consulate were flown home today after a sombre ceremony at Istanbul’s international airport.

Turkish investigators arrested an undisclosed number of suspects in Istanbul today in the deadly suicide bombings on the British consulate and a London-based bank in which 27 people died and more than 450 were injured.

Rescue workers and investigators were today sifting through the wreckage of the British consulate and a London-based bank blasted by suspected al-Qaida suicide bombers who killed at least 27 people in Istanbul.

SUSPECTED al-Qaida suicide bombers targeted British interests in Istanbul yesterday, killing at least 27 people including the British consul, and leaving more than 450 injured in twin attacks.

SHATTERED bodies and rubble were once more strewn across the streets of Turkey's commercial capital Istanbul yesterday, in a strike against Britain that US and British leaders called a challenge to their war on terror.

A Hong Kong karaoke bar has removed a photo of a Nazi execution from its walls after complaints, but says pictures of Adolf Hitler are there to stay.

Members of the British Consulate-General in New York have been honoured for their work following the US terror attacks.