Update: There are reports that a 22-year-old man has been killed in a protest in Hatay, Turkey. He is reported to have been shot in the head by a police officer. The reports seem to be true.
Protests are continuing around Turkey and they seem to be generally peaceful. But there are also multiple reports that the police have begun to charge these protests and that there are many serious injuries again tonight.
There are also reports that one man has been seriously injured after falling in Taksim.
There are still a number of people hospitalized in critical condition from injuries they received during the past three days.
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After the very dramatic events of last night things are relatively calm right now.
There were protests today and they have increased in size and number this evening.
The response of the police has been relatively subdued - compared to last night - but there are clashes and standoffs going on in several places in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara right now, and probably in other cities too but I haven't had time to check.
The pots and pans, honking, and switching lights on and off protests continued in full force again tonight.
I will update as things develop (if I don't fall asleep - I am really tired.)
These are protest related developments:
The protests in Turkey have provoked an interesting series of reactions from Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan.
Initially the protesters were 'a few people from marginal groups'.
Then they became '300-500 looters'.
Then he put the blame on Twitter (and Facebook), calling them 'a pain in the ass' and 'a menace to society'.
Then he acknowledged the number of protesters when he said 'If you can put 100,000 people on the street we can get a million'. Many tried to remind him that he was the Prime Minister of all the citizens of Turkey, not just of his suporters.
Then he said that 'our 50% of the people' were ready to flood the streets but he had restrained them. Once again many tried to remind him that he was the Prime Minister of all the citizens of Turkey, not just of his suporters.
And today as he was flying off to Morocco he said that the protests were being organized from outside of Turkey and that the Turkish intelligence service was investigating this. He didn't want to name names but he said that he would discuss this with those countries' officials.
He also berated foreign news services because they were reporting the protests when they should be reporting all the good things his government had done.
And he said that foreign companies who had withdrawn their advertising from Turkish media because of the protests would 'pay heavily' for doing so.
The President of Turkey this morning made a short statement where he said that democracy was not just at the ballot box. It was also a dialogue between all the people of the country and that the protesters' message had been heard.
This was in direct response to the Prime Minister's refusal to acknowledge the protesters and constant statements about having won elections and how only the ballot box was important.
The Turkish media seems to have been shamed into shaking off their fear of the government and have started reporting live - covering protests in many locations in Turkey.
The Minister of Education has said that the government has done in five days what the opposition hasn't done in five years - uniting the people against the government.
One image that really caught my eye this afternoon was of the police in Ankara using a water cannon on four high-school age girls who were walking home from school.
http://fotogaleri.hurriyet.com.tr/...
Strikes have been called by the major unions in Turkey and will begin tomorrow at noon and last two days.
Other news:
The stock market dropped by 10.47% today - the greatest drop in ten years.
The US dollar rose by 0.77% and the Euro rose by 1.13% - both rose by about 5-8% last week.
Syrian rebel forces have fired across the border at Turkish troops three times in the past week.
Diaries about the Turkish protests:
Something Tremendulous is Happening in Turkey. Updates.
Everything you need to know about the protest in Turkey [background, photos, and more]
Protests in Turkey - The Police Pull Back - The Protesters Occupy Taksim Square
The Protests in Turkey - It's Not Over - Millions Continue to Protest
Without Irony, the U.S. Rebukes Turkey for Cracking Down on Protesters
Last night in Istanbul... this is amazing.
Protest In Turkey - Events are Taking a Dramatic Turn
Turkish PM calls Twitter the 'worst menace to society'