ISTANBUL — Waving large red Turkish flags, tens of thousands joined a national unity march in Istanbul on Saturday, converging at the iconic July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge to mark the anniversary of the failed military coup attempt that 250 people died resisting.

As part of the commemoration, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew to Istanbul on Saturday and was photographed waving at a fighter jet escorting his aircraft. Accompanied by his grandchildren and relatives of the deceased, Erdogan then joined the crowd on the bridge where he unveiled a Martyrs’ Memorial to honor those who died opposing the coup.

Turkish soldiers attempted to overthrow the government and the president using tanks, warplanes and helicopters on July 15, 2016. The coup plotters declared their seizure of power on the state broadcaster, bombed the country’s parliament and other key locations, and raided an Aegean resort where Erdogan had been on vacation. But Erdogan had already left and the coup attempt was put down by civilians and security forces.

The Bosporus Bridge, now called the July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge, was the scene of clashes between civilians and soldiers in tanks.

In the aftermath of the coup attempt, Turkey declared a state of emergency that has been in place ever since, one that has allowed the government to rule by decree and to dismiss tens of thousands of people from their jobs. More than 50,000 people have also been arrested for alleged links to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey blames for orchestrating the failed coup, and other terror groups. Gulen has denied the allegations.

France wades into Qatar row, urges end to punitive measures

DOHA, Qatar — France’s foreign minister Saturday called on Qatar’s neighbors to immediately lift measures affecting thousands of people in the Gulf, becoming the latest foreign diplomat to visit the region and attempt to find a resolution to a crisis that has dragged on for more than a month.

In early June, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and moved to isolate the small, but wealthy Gulf nation, canceling air routes between their capitals and Qatar’s and closing their airspace to Qatari flights. Saudi Arabia also sealed Qatar’s only land border, disrupting a key source of food imports in the mostly desert nation.

The four countries also expelled all Qatari nationals.

France Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said such punitive measures should end.

Chechen leader defiantly disputes gay persecution claims

MOSCOW — Chechnya’s strongman leader has harshly denounced claims that his southern Russian republic has tortured and even killed gay men, denying that there even are any homosexual men in his region.

Kremlin-backed Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has faced wide international criticism since a Russian newspaper reported this spring that his security forces had detained some 100 gay men, torturing or killing some of them.

“This is nonsense. We don’t have those kinds of people here. We don’t have any gays. If there are any, take them to Canada,” Kadyrov says in an interview with “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.” HBO released interview excerpts Friday. It is part of a package that will air Tuesday about Kadyrov and mixed martial arts.

Tony Blair says Brexit must be stopped to halt harm to U.K.

LONDON — There’s a chance Britain won’t leave the European Union, former Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saturday, arguing that stopping Brexit is “necessary” to avoid severe economic damage.

In an article published by Blair’s Institute for Global Change, he wrote that EU leaders might be willing to “reform and meet us halfway” to keep the U.K. in the bloc. He said that might include compromise on freedom of movement — an EU principle that conflicts with Britain’s goal of limiting immigration. Blair said conditions in Britain and Europe had changed since the U.K.’s EU membership referendum in June 2016. Europe has some new leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron. And in Britain, the Conservative government suffered a setback in last month’s election.

Slain New York trooper remembered as hero

FORT DRUM, N.Y. — A New York state trooper killed in the line of duty was recalled at his funeral as a hero who protected his community by running toward gunfire.

New York State Police Superintendent George Beach made the comment Saturday at the funeral for Joel Davis at an Army base in northern New York.

The 36-year-old father of three was slain July 9. The service was held in Fort Drum’s sports complex to accommodate a crowd of thousands of law enforcement officers from the U.S. and Canada.

Authorities say a Fort Drum soldier, Staff Sgt. Justin Walters, fatally shot Davis as the trooper responded to reports of shots fired on the property where the soldier lived with his wife. Police say Walters, who has been charged with murder, shot his wife to death just before Davis arrived.

Hamas urges targeting of Israelis after site closed

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers are calling on Palestinians to attack Israeli forces in Jerusalem after a sacred site was closed following a deadly assault there.

Hamas described the closure of the site — known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount — in a statement Saturday as a “religious war” and Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called on the Palestinian “uprising” to target the Israeli army and West Bank settlers.

Israel made the rare move after three Palestinian assailants opened fire there Friday, killing two Israeli police officers before being shot dead. The attackers were devout Muslim citizens of Israel.

Israel says it won’t reopen the site before Sunday.

The U.S. Justice Department has asked the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals to put on hold a judge’s ruling modifying the Trump administration’s travel ban on immigrants from six majority-Muslim nations. The department filed the request for a stay with the court of appeals on Saturday.

A Hawaii father, mother and grandmother are charged with murder after allegedly starving a 9-year-old girl.

Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth said the suspects are accused of denying the girl food, water and medical treatment for about a year before she died in June 2016.