Following a call by trade unions and professional chambers, workers all around Turkey protested against the draft Law on Social Security and General Health Insurance. 5,000 demonstrated in Istanbul.

Yesterday afternoon the Constitutional Court announced that it has decided to hear the closure case against the ruling AKP.

After it has emerged that Trabzon Gendarmerie Commander Colonel Öz ignored intelligence of murder plans, lawyers have called for his prosecution in Istanbul.

Trade unions and professional chambers have called for a protest in front of parliament in Ankara on 1 April.

As the European Parliament rapporteur criticises the lack of reform in the area of freedom of expression, Minister of Justice Sahin has said that 1,189 people were put on trial in the first quarter of 2007.

As the Constitutional Court rapporteur has left the decision whether to close the AKP to the court, political parties have refused to listen to calls for reconciliation by the businessworld and workers’ organisations.

As it has been decided to remove the buffer zone in Nicosia, a UN team has found no land mines or unexploded ammunition in the area.

After reading a press statement for the Solidarity Initiative for Ismail Saygi, conscientious objector Savda was himself taken into custody. The IHD has called on parliament to recognise the right to conscientious objection.

The Supreme Court of Appeals has rejected a compensation claim by journalist Mater for being made a public target and being insulted by journalist Cölasan. Mater will appeal to the ECHR.

Vedat Kursun, the responsible editor of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper has been in police custody since 5 February, accused of “continuously spreading PKK propaganda.”

After Wordpress and Youtube.com, the Indymedia-Istanbul website has now been closed with a court decision. Turkey continues to close down whole sites because of individual contributions.

After negotiations between the Labour Platform and Minister of Labour Faruk Celik, the government has agreed to make some changes.

As part of his Middle East tour, US Vice President Dick Cheney visited Ankara and Istanbul on Monday.

A group of gay and lesbian Kurds in Diyarbakir decided that this year’s Newroz would not only be a call for political freedom, but also an honest declaration of their sexual identity.

According to the UNDP “Youth in Turkey” report, girls are still being deprived of schooling because of gender discrimination. The lack of education then affects their whole lives.

The fact that 12 of Turkey's 70 million are aged between 15 and 24 offers the country a golden opportunity to create a better future. However, this is only possible if there is investment - otherwise, poverty and social unrest lie ahead.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin has released a written statement saying that the investigation into the Ergenekon gang is unrelated to any other current trials.

DTP MP Akin Birdal holds the Siirt governor and chief of police responsible for riots at Newroz celebrations, as well as the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister.

While some are railing at the "injustice" of raiding the house of an 83-year old journalist at dawn or the arrest of a party leader, their sense of "justice" is hypocritical.

In some cities in the southeast of Turkey, the governors did not allow Newroz celebrations to take place. Two people died in Van and Hakkari. Hundreds of people were taken into police custody.