ISTANBUL, Turkey —Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to Turkey on Friday morning in a defiant mood, calling for an end to the anti-government protests that have rocked the nation during the last week. In a speech from atop an open-air bus to thousands of supporters, Erdogan, back from a four-day trip to North Africa, said, "These protests must end immediately." "No power but Allah can stop Turkey's rise," continued Erdogan during an address to the scores of Justice and Development Party faithful who had gathered at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, according to local news reports.
As protests have rocked Turkey over the past few days, three Turkish professionals in the U.S. decided on Sunday that they had to take some action. Turning to their technology backgrounds, the trio launched a crowd-sourced fundraising campaign on Indiegogo to buy a full-page ad in the front section of the New York Times in support of their fellow Turkish citizens who’ve clashed with the government across dozens of cities. In just a matter of hours, they’d jump-started the fastest major politics funding campaigns in Indiegogo’s history. 
Almost 1,000 people were detained in more than 90 protests held across the country, as Catharina Moh reports. Turkish police have arrested more than 900 people during two days of protests, the most sustained anti-government outburst for years. Interior Minister Muammer Guler said some of those arrested had since been released, others would be put on trial. He said 26 police officers and 53 civilians had been hurt, one of them seriously. Protests flared after police cracked down on a peaceful sit-in against a plan to redevelop a park in Istanbul. 
ISTANBUL — Tens of thousands of protesters called for the resignation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and fought police firing tear gas in central Istanbul for the second day Saturday. A defiant Erdogan declared he would not back down from a controversial construction project that set off the protests, but then called off the police. Denouncing protesters as “entirely ideological,” Erdogan vowed in a speech to go ahead with plans to build a replica of an Ottoman-era barracks on what is now parkland off of Taksim Square in the heart of Istanbul’s downtown. But he conceded there had been excessive use of tear gas and that citizens had the right to express their views. 
Istanbul was rocked by a violent police crackdown Friday when Turkish police moved in on the thousands of demonstrators who have been protesting in a downtown park since Monday. Reuters reports that police fired tear gas and a water cannon at protesters in Gezi Park around dawn; 100 sustained minor injuries. But if some of the messages circulating on social networks are any indication, the so-called occupiers may persist, even now that the park is clear: more than 61,000 tweets have been sent with the hashtag #geziparkı, and photos and videos from the crackdown are trending worldwide. In fact, as of 11 a.m. on Friday, five of the 11 trending terms on Twitter related to the protests. 
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New York — AP - Friends and strangers came to pay their respects Thursday to a New York mother of two who was killed while vacationing alone in Turkey. The viewing for Sarai Sierra was held at Christian Pentecostal Church on Staten Island on Valentine's Day, which marked the 15th anniversary of Sierra's engagement to husband Steven, a New York City bus driver. The 33-year-old Sierra disappeared Jan. 21, and her body was discovered 12 days later near Istanbul's ancient city walls. Police say she suffered a fatal blow to the head.
Turkish authorities probing the murder of an American woman in Istanbul are reportedly hunting for a homeless man who may have attacked her near the city's ancient walls on the day she disappeared. Istanbul police are searching for the man, identified only as "Z," in their investigation into the death of 33-year-old Sarai Sierra, of Staten Island, N.Y., whose body was found Feb. 2 near remnants of the city's ancient walls, according to the Turkish newspaper, Vatan.
(AP) ISTANBUL - Turkey's state-run agency says the body of a New York City woman killed while on a solo vacation in Turkey is being returned home. The Anadolu Agency says a casket carrying the remains of Sarai Sierra was loaded onto a New York-bound plane on Thursday. The agency said Turkish Airlines is transporting the body for free. 
Johannesburg — South Africa's tourism is set to benefit from the first mosque built in South Africa to cater for the Turkish Islamic community, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday. Speaking at the official opening of the mosque - a first on the continent of Africa and the largest religious complex in the southern hemisphere - Zuma said the facility will help create greater understanding and tolerance between diverse religions.
