Turkey protests enter ninth day

Thousands of demonstrators are occupying Istanbul’s central Taksim Square as protests in Turkey entered their ninth day.Protesters raised signs Saturday calling for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down. Demonstrators clashed with riot police on the outskirts of Istanbul again overnight. Protest-related violence has killed at least two people and wounded thousands since the protests began.The protests were sparked more than a week ago by government plans to tear down a public park in Istanbul for new construction. Mr. Erdogan has so far refused to scrap those plans.Demonstrations have taken place in major Turkish cities in response to what a growing number of Turks see as Mr. Erdogan’s authoritarian government.

Source: VOANews.com

(Photo of Istanbul: Liana Bitoli/sxc.hu)