Turkey

A blast has ripped through an explosives factory in Turkey on Christmas Eve, killing 11 people and injuring others, the country's interior minister says.

At least seven people have been killed in a car bombing which targeted a busy market in northern Syria.

A Russian warship has fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way north.

Turks vote on Sunday in a momentous presidential run-off to decide whether or not Recep Tayyip Erdogan should remain in power after 20 years.

At the dawn service at Anzac Cove, Andrew Little highlighted the bravery on both sides, saying the medics were invaluable in helping troops injured in the battle.

A worsening security situation in southern Turkey has disrupted rescue efforts, with shots ringing out amongst the rubble.

The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria from Monday's quakes has risen to more than 11,500 as criticism grows over the Turkish government's official response to the disaster. Audio

There are currently 29 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Turkey, which was hit by two powerful earthquakes on Monday.

The magnitude 7.8 quake which hit before sunrise in bitter winter weather, was followed in the early afternoon by another large quake of magnitude 7.7.

Emergency crews worked through the night trying to reach survivors hundreds of metres below ground.

A Wellington man who claims police threatened to trespass him from an Anzac Day memorial if he displayed an Armenian flag in memory of genocide victims says it is "shameful".

Turkey still intends to buy a second batch of S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, President Tayyip Erdogan says, a move that could deepen a rift with the US and trigger more sanctions.