For the third time in 10 months, Islamic State (IS) terrorism has been brought close to home.

Police have used tear gas and water cannon to push back crowds of protesters who defied a warning by Turkey’s prime minister and gathered in Istanbul and Ankara on the anniversary of last year’s nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

Tokyo will host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020 after seeing off rivals Madrid and Istanbul in dramatic circumstances to win the vote.

Turkey’s former military chief has been convicted of trying to overthrow the government and sentenced to life in prison.

Victoria White visits Istanbul’s Taksim Square and the takes the pulse of a country on the edge.

Thousands have gathered in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, demanding justice for a protester killed by police fire during demonstrations that have swept Turkey this month.

After weeks of sometimes-violent confrontation with police, Turkish protesters have found a new form of resistance – standing still and silent.

Dozens of people suspected of involvement in violence against police during a wave of anti-government protests have been detained during a series of raids today, according to Turkish news reports.

Riot police cordoned off streets, set up roadblocks and fired tear gas and water cannon to stop anti-government protesters reaching Istanbul’s central Taksim Square yesterday, as Turkey’s prime minister addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters a few miles away.

Riot police are still clashing with protesters in the streets near Gezi Park in Istanbul, as tens of thousands of pro-government supporters gather for a rally in support of the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Protesters have set up barricades in Istanbul’s streets after Turkish riot police cleared out the occupation of a park at the centre of the strongest challenge to prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year tenure.

Riot police fired water cannons and tear gas as they drove protesters out of Istanbul’s Taksim Square and neighbouring Gezi Park today, an intervention that came shortly after the prime minister warned that security forces “know how to clear” the area.

Turkey’s prime minister has lashed out at protesters behind a two-week sit-in at an Istanbul park in a boisterous speech to tens of thousands of his supporters.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has asked a small delegation of protesters to persuade the hundreds of others occupying an Istanbul park to withdraw, hopefully by the end of the day.

A meeting between Turkey’s prime minister and representatives of anti-government protesters ended early today.

"Lawbreakers" will be removed from Istanbul's Taksim Square, Turkey's Prime Minister declared today, rejecting the European Parliament's resolution condemning the excessive use of force by Turkish riot police against demonstrators.

A protester injured during clashes with Turkish riot police has died, raising the death toll to five from the two-week stand-off, lawyers said.

An eye-catching protest sign in Taksim Square

Riot police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets in day-long clashes in Istanbul that lasted into the early hours today.

In Turkey, violence is flaring again in Istanbul with reports that thousands of protesters are gathering in Taksim Square, which is lined with police.

Hundreds of riot police have stormed improvised barricades at Istanbul’s Taksim Square, firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon in running battles with protesters who have been occupying the area for more than a week.

Hundreds of police have begun moving past barricades in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square, which protesters have been occupying for more than a week.

Turkish police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse thousands of demonstrators as the country’s biggest wave of anti-government protests in decades entered its second week with no signs of waning.

A senior European Union official today criticised the Turkish police’s harsh crackdown on protesters, telling an audience that included the prime minister that a “swift and transparent” investigation was needed.

Turkey’s Prime Minister took a combative stance on his return to the country, telling supporters that the nationwide protests must come to an end.

Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “burn and destroy” tactics of some of those involved in days of violent protests, and promised to press ahead with plans to build on an Istanbul park which triggered the unrest.

Turkey's Prime Minister says he will go ahead with redevelopment plans that have sparked nationwide protests.

Activists have presented a list of demands they said could end days of anti-government demonstrations that have engulfed Turkey, as trade unions joined in the outpouring of anger, shouting slogans and wielding banners calling on the prime minister to resign.

One of Turkey’s deputy prime ministers has said his government respects the right to non-violent protest and free speech, but must also protect its citizens against violence.

Turkey’s deputy prime minister has offered an apology for a violent crackdown on an environmental protest, in a bid to appease days of anti-government rallies across the country as hundreds of riot police deployed around the prime minister’s office in the capital.

A 22-year-old man was shot dead during an anti-government protest in a city near the border with Syria.

Turkish riot police launched round after round of tear gas against protesters on the fourth day of violent demonstrations as the president and prime minister took competing positions over the unrest.

Turkish riot police launched round after round of tear gas last night, as prime minister Tayyip Erdogan accused anti-government protesters of walking “arm-in-arm with terrorism”, remarks that could further inflame public anger after some of the most violent riots in decades.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again dismissed street protests against his rule as organised by extremists, described them as a temporary blip and angrily rejected comparisons with the Arab Spring uprisings.

Turkey’s prime minister today rejected claims that he is an authoritarian leader, dismissing protesters as an extremist fringe even as hundreds moved back into the landmark square that was the site of the fiercest anti-government outburst in years.

Protests in Istanbul and several other Turkish cities appear to have subsided, after days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering.

Thousands of people flooded Istanbul’s main square today after a crackdown on an anti-government protests turned city streets into a battlefield clouded by tear gas, in scenes reminiscent of the Arab Spring.

Turkey’s state-run news agency says that police have begun withdrawing from a main Istanbul square and have allowed thousands of protesters in.

Police and protesters have clashed in Istanbul after hundreds tried to breach barricades and reach the city’s main square to mark May Day in defiance of a government ban.

Pakistan yesterday distanced itself from a cabinet minister’s bounty for killing the maker of anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims as protests against the movie continued from Turkey to Hong Kong.

TENS of thousands took to the streets across the globe for May Day yesterday, to press for workers’ rights amid tough economic times and to back an array of other causes.

A SUICIDE bomber blew himself up near police watching over Istanbul’s main square yesterday, wounding 22 people, including 10 policemen, officials said.

A suicide bomber blew himself up today beside a police vehicle in a major Istanbul square near tourist hotels and a bus terminal, wounding 32 people, including 15 policemen.

A suicide bomber blew himself up near police watching over Istanbul’s main square today, wounding 22 people, including 10 policemen, officials said.