Gezi Park protests

Turkey on June 26 laid the foundation for Canal Istanbul, a government mega-project connecting the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea and championed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"Today we are opening a new page in the history of Turkey's development," Erdoğan said in a bridge ground-breaking ceremony in Sazlıdere, west of Istanbul.

An Istanbul court has sentenced a policeman to 16 years and eight months in jail in a case into the death of Berkin Elvan during the Gezi protests in 2013.

A total of 355 demonstrators were detained across Turkey on International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, for marching illegally and violating a full nationwide lockdown imposed by authorities to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Turkey has transferred ownership of Istanbul's Gezi Park, the focus of anti-government protests in 2013, from municipal to national ownership, drawing criticism from local authorities who said they would challenge the decision.

Kudret Cetinkaya, a 21-year-old student in Istanbul, experienced brutal intervention by the Turkish police against this week's mass student protests in Istanbul.

A mob of supporters of outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump swarming the U.S.Congress is a "disgrace to the history of democracy," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Jan.8.

"This process in the U.S, which was described as the cradle of democracy, really shocked all of humanity," Erdoğan told reporters, noting that the case the U.S. is faced with has not happened in its history.

The Constitutional Court has rejected civil society activist and businessman Osman Kavala's appeal for his release pending trial on the grounds that his detention since late 2017 did not violate his right to liberty and security.

The General Assembly of Turkey's Constitutional Court, the country's highest, ruled on Dec. 29 that businessman Osman Kavala's detention did not violate his rights to liberty and security.

Kavala, 63, has been jailed since late 2017.

A criminal court in Turkey extended the detention of businessman Osman Kavala as part of a probe into the 2016 defeated coup.

The court also renewed the arrest warrant for fugitive Henri Barkey, who was a former CIA advisor.

Kavala and Barkey are both accused of "violating the constitution" and conducting "political or military espionage activities."

International media channels have been subjecting Turkey of having double standards by showing those "burning down the streets" as peaceful protestors, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, criticizing international media organizations on Dec. 1.