Activism

Israel deported Tunisian ex-president Moncef Marzouki and European parliament member Ana Miranda on June 30 after they took part in a flotilla seeking to defy its Gaza blockade, an official said.

Four Spanish and one Azerbaijani transsexual prisoners have gone on hunger strike after they were moved to a different cell and separated from their previous Turkish transsexual cellmates, saying the Turkish inmates had been helpful in overcoming the language barrier.

Following concerts in Adana and ?zmir, famous protest band Grup Yorum's third 30th anniversary concert took place in Istanbul on June 28, after the first two attempts to organize the concert earlier in the year were banned by the Istanbul Governor's Office. The ban was ultimately reversed by a court decision and the concert was held in the Bak?rköy Public Bazaar. 

Israel's navy boarded and took over an activist vessel seeking to break its Gaza blockade and was escorting it to port on June 29 in an operation that did not use force, the military said.

The third "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" has left Greece's Crete Island and is expected to come close to the shores of Gaza within four days, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in an official statement June 27.
      

A more peaceful protest took place in downtown Yerevan, Armenia on Tuesday night as thousands gathered to renew their demonstration against a 17-22% rise in electricity bills.

Different estimates suggest between 5000 and 7000 people attended.

No force or water cannons were used Tuesday night, though protesters made yet another attempt to reach the presidential building.

A top court has ruled that the detention of 23 people who staged a demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to protest the detention of several others is a violation of the constitutional right to protest peacefully.

Sean Penn and Charlize Theron are living a dreamy love, apparently. Present for a Vienna philanthropic gala they wasted no chance to show their deep affection for each other. The 52 year-old states he is surprised he feels this way, and the 39 year-old admits that she’s found the man of her life.

Turkish actress Damla Sönmez has won the Best Actress Award at the Milan International Film Festival for her role in the film "Deniz Seviyesi" (Across the Sea). The festival started on May 7 and will continue until May 17 in Italy. 

The directors of the film, Nisan Da? and Esra Saydam, also won the festival's Best Director Award. 

The protesters gathered in front of the Macedonian parliament on Wednesday evening after clashes with riot police the previous day, amid simmering political tensions between the government and opposition sparked by the release of a series of wiretapped recordings allegedly implicating top officials in serious wrongdoings.