İzmir

Police raid Istanbul wedding hall over bootleg alcohol, detain five suspects

Gendarmerie forces on April 10 raided a wedding hall that included an underground bootleg alcohol plant in Istanbul's Başakşehir district, detaining five suspects, Doğan News Agency has reported.  
 
Thousands of liters of bootleg alcohol stored in industrial bottles and ready for delivery across Turkey was seized during the raid. 

1.27 million voters to cast ballots for first time: Supreme Election Board

Some 1.27 million new voters will be registered to take part in the April 16 referendum on whether to shift Turkey to an executive presidential system, the Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced on its website on April 7. 

The total number of registered voters is 55.32 million, up from the 54.50 million voters registered for the Nov. 1, 2015 general election, a rise of 2.6 percent.

Jailed HDP co-chair Demirtaş announces hunger strike with HDP MP

Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed co-chair of the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), will start a hunger strike on March 31 to protest "inhumane treatment," along with jailed HDP deputy Abdullah Zeydan.  

Last week, HDP Siirt deputy Besime Konca started a hunger strike in the Kandıra Prison. 

Turkish teacher receives International Women of Courage Award from US

A Turkish teacher whose actions led to the arrest of a principal for sexually abusing six girls between the ages of six and 11 received the International Women of Courage Award in Washington on March 29. 

Saadet Özkan, a teacher from the western province of İzmir, received her award from U.S. first lady Melania Trump.

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