Tuesday, March 25

Turkey has detained over 1,100 protestors and several journalists after the mayor of Istanbul, a major opposition leader to incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested and put into jail recently.

On Sunday, Istanbul's mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, was arrested and sent to jail after being suspected of running a criminal gang. Allegedly, the prosecution also claims that he was involved in several corruption scandals, including accepting bribes and extortion.

However, the decision has been widely seen as a move by Erdogan to wipe out his opposition, sparking outrage across the country. Despite calls from the opposition party to go through with nonviolent protests, people have resorted to violence on the streets as well. In some places, people threw rocks and other items, and some even launched fireworks at police. In response, officers were forced to use tear gas, water cannons, and pepper spray to defend themselves in major cities, and over 120 officers have been injured.

The Turkish police have arrested over 1,100 protestors, some of which were carrying dangerous items like knives and acid. That is just a small percentage of the actual number of protestors, though-- hundreds of thousands of people across the country have come out to protest against Erdogan.

Many protestors believe that Imamoglu's arrest is a move against the country's democracy and the freedoms of Turkish people, and others have stated that they are there for the good of the country, not just to support a certain leader.

Turkey has also detained several news reporters and photographers, though they have not confirmed the exact reason for their arrests. The government seems to be trying to suppress the protests by stopping the news from getting to other Turkish citizens, as they have also sent requests to social media platform X to block over 700 accounts.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Contrary to the common saying, "blind as a bat," bats are not blind. They can see perfectly fine, and they also use echolocation for hunting and getting around when it is too dark to see.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): I don’t know if I’m the best of the best. But I did know that if I quit, I wouldn’t be. (Chris Kyle)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Garble (verb, GAR-bul) - To garble something, such as a word, name, message, etc., is to cause it to be unclear or distorted. This type of garbling can be the result of an accident, ignorance, or a transmission error. Garble can also mean "to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning."

In a Sentence: I was so nervous I garbled their names.