Protests in Istanbul, Turkey

Turkish authorities have banned an International Women’s Day march set to take place in Istanbul later on Sunday, local media reported. It is the second year in a row that the Istanbul governorate has refused permission for organisers to hold the annual rally in the city’s central Taksim area.

Police placed barriers around Taksim Square, an historic rallying point for protests in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city. The square was the epicentre of the country’s 2013 Gezi protest movement.