Bomb attacks on the British consulate and the HSBC bank headquarters in Istanbul have left at least 25 dead and up to 400 injured.Roger Short, the British Consul-General in Turkey, is still missing following the blasts.
Following the attacks, Britain's Foreign Office is advising against travel to Turkey and HSBC has closed all its branches in the country.
Update
Ian Sherwood, the chaplain to the Bristish Consulate in Turkey, has confirmed that Consul-General Roger Short was killed in this morning's bombing.
Do these attacks in Turkey make it more or less likely that terrorists will attempt to target Britain during Bush's visit? Who knows? But the British security services are reportedly hurrying to increase security in the capital amid rising concern about further attacks.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports, the White House was briefly evacuated this morning after it was reported that an aircraft had flown into controlled airspace over Washington.
