Turkish rail boss sacked

Transport Minister Binali Yildirim signed off on the removal of Suleyman Karaman and his deputy Kemal Ergulec amid continuing claims that the state railways had been mismanaged and that this had played a part in three major accidents, including one on July 22 that left 37 people dead.
That accident, the derailing of the prestigious high speed express between Istanbul and Ankara, was a blow to the government as the project, launched only six weeks before the crash, had been strongly backed by the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) government.
The new service had been inaugurated at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Yildirim.