Hakan Tosun, 50, was found unconscious after being attacked as he walked through the streets of Istanbul's Esenyurt district in the early hours of Saturday morning, a police statement said.
CCTV footage published by Turkish media showed him being attacked by two people, with police confirming they had arrested two men, aged 18 and 24, over the assault.
Tosun was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries on Monday.
He was known for his coverage and documentary work focusing on the struggle to protect the environment, urban activism and the fight against gentrification.
Turkey's Association of Progressive Journalists said attacks on journalists had "become commonplace" in Turkey and demanded "clarity and accountability" about the incident, in a demand echoed by Reporters without Borders (RSF).
"All details about the motive for the attack on his life must be revealed. We are deeply saddened. We demand the harshest punishment for all those responsible," RSF's Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu said.
Environmental groups also issued a statement demanding to know "what happened to Hakan Tosun" with politicians also calling for a full investigation.
"This unacceptable and despicable attack not only targeted a journalist, but also the truth, press freedom, and the right to information," said Burhanettin Bulut, deputy head of the main opposition CHP party.
And the pro-Kurdish DEM party said probing his death was crucial for protecting press freedom.
"Hakan Tosun was a journalist in search of truth and a defender of nature and life. Clarifying all aspects of this suspicious death is essential for press freedom and respect for the right to life," it said on X.
Dozens more hospitalised in Tunisia as locals blame chemical factory
Gabes, Tunisia (AFP) Oct 14, 2025 -
Tunisia reported on Tuesday dozens more people admitted to hospital in Gabes, whose residents have blamed pollution from a nearby chemical factory for causing respiratory distress and other health issues.
Some were carrying children in panic into a hospital in the southern city, an AFP reporter saw, after fresh protests demanding the dismantling of a nearby phosphate processing plant began on Friday.
Since early September, Tunisia has seen increasing reports of health issues attributed to the factory, whose potentially cancer-causing waste has long generated discontent among Gabes residents.
A local official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP more than 120 people were admitted to hospitals in Gabes by midday (1100 GMT).
Earlier in the day, radio channel Diwan FM cited an education official who said "dozens of students" had been hospitalised in Gabes.
Local defence deputy chief Ghofrane Touati told AFP "there were cases of suffocation" among those hospitalised, without providing the number of cases.
"Others complained of leg pain, numbness, and loss of mobility," she added.
Tawfik Dhaifallah, a resident, said his little sister was "suffocating because of the fumes" emanating from the industrial zone. "That happens every two or three days."
The processing of phosphate rock into fertiliser emits toxic gases such as sulphur dioxide and ammonia.
The main solid waste product is phosphogypsum, which the plant discharges into the Mediterranean.
It contains radium that decays into radon gas, which is radioactive and can cause cancer.
Slah Ben Hamed, the regional secretary-general of Tunisia's main labour union UGTT, told AFP that "more cases of asphyxiation were recorded today among students at a school in Chatt Essalem", located near the plant.
As the plant was inaugurated in 1972, Ben Hamed warned that "gas leaks are inevitable with such old equipment".
Residents of the city of around 400,000 people have been campaigning for decades against the plant's pollution.
In 2017, the government promised to begin its gradual closure, but authorities earlier this year said they would ramp up production instead.
Local campaign group Stop Pollution has called for "the immediate closure" of the factory units it said were "behind the emissions".
President Kais Saied has dispatched representatives from the environment and industry ministries.
India court eases Diwali firecracker ban despite pollution
New Delhi (AFP) Oct 15, 2025 -
India's top court on Wednesday permitted the use of some firecrackers in New Delhi during the Diwali festival, easing a blanket ban even as the capital battles unhealthy winter air pollution.
The Supreme Court said the controlled use of the less-polluting "green firecrackers" -- developed by federal research institutes to reduce particulate and gas emission -- would be allowed for limited periods between Saturday and Tuesday.
During Diwali, a major Hindu festival of lights, widespread bursting of firecrackers adds to the already high pollution levels in Delhi.
The city, home to some 30 million people, routinely ranks among the world's most polluted capitals, with thick smog shrouding the city each winter.
During the peak pollution period, concentrations of PM2.5 -- tiny airborne particles that penetrate deep into the lungs -- regularly surge to more than 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily limit.
A ban on the use of firecrackers during Diwali has been widely ignored in past years.
In an effort to balance cultural celebrations with urgent environmental concerns, the court said only licensed manufacturers can produce certified "green" crackers.
Sales will be limited to designated outlets, with each product bearing a QR code listing its chemical contents.
Online sales remain banned.
Police have been instructed to form patrol teams to ensure compliance and take action against violators, while pollution control agencies have been ordered to monitor and report air quality levels during the festive period.
Environmental activists have in the past expressed strong scepticism about the actual efficacy of less-polluting crackers, arguing that they still pose significant risks to public health and the environment.
On Wednesday, harmful PM 2.5 particles surged to 75 on the air quality index, three times the WHO's daily recommended maximum exposure, according to international monitoring company IQAir.
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