Turkey's parliament passed a controversial bill on Wednesday giving neighbourhood patrols greater powers, with critics accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of wanting to build a loyal "militia".
The new law gives "nightwatchmen", who walk the streets at night to report burglaries and disturbances, almost the same powers as police.
They will now be allowed to carry firearms and have the powers to stop and search people.
With more than 28,000 members, the nightwatchmen institution – which is attached to the interior ministry and dates back more than 100 years – has grown considerably after an attempted coup in July 2016 against Mr Erdogan.
The bill's debate in parliament triggered heated exchanges, with deputies even coming to blows during a feisty session on Tuesday.
Mr Erdogan's AKP party, which put forward the bill, says the new rules will enable the nightwatchmen to more effectively help law enforcement by thwarting burglaries and preventing assaults on the streets.
In old Turkish films the guards are portrayed as benevolent uncles patrolling the streets with a whistle between their lips, on the lookout for troublemakers.
But the opposition accused Erdogan of authoritarianism by setting up a loyal armed force.
"They are using the institution of nightwatchmen to set up a militia," Mahir Polat from the main opposition CHP party said on Tuesday, adding the police should be reinforced if needed.
Under the law, the nightwatchmen will have the authority to demand people identify themselves, to use force and carry weapons and to apprehend suspects.
"You cannot give someone a gun and send them into the street with broad authority after 40 days of training," Engin Altay, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People's Party, said last week.
Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), also criticised the level of guards' education, saying they would only have a few hours of training regarding human rights.
"This law is not about protecting the people or the district. It is a law to protect the state from the people," he said in a speech in parliament during debate on the law, warning of a rise in violent incidents involving security forces.
The return of the neighbourhood guards coincided with upheaval following the failed 2016 coup. Turkey has jailed tens of thousands of people and suspended or sacked 150,000 civil servants and security personnel in what critics call a crackdown on dissent and Ankara says is necessitated by security threats.
Police data shows that last year the number of police officers in Turkey rose 7.9 per cent to more than 260,000 with the number of neighbourhood guards nearly doubling to more than 21,000. This year the number of guards is set to rise to 30,000, according to one AKP deputy.
The Interior Ministry has defended the increased role given to neighbourhood guards, saying the daily average of home burglaries nationwide had fallen by 47 per cent to 151 since the force was revitalised.
It said guards undergo three months of training and then have two months of practical training, with 20 per cent of them being university graduates.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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ASHES SCHEDULE
First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Notable groups (UAE time)
Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Henrik Stenson (12.47pm)
Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen (12.58pm)
Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood (1.09pm)
Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Zach Johnson (4.04pm)
Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Adam Scott (4.26pm)
Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy (5.48pm)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The five pillars of Islam
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
New Zealand
Penalties: Barrett (7)
British & Irish Lions
Tries: Faletau, Murray
Penalties: Farrell (4)
Conversions: Farrell
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
The biog
Age: 23
Occupation: Founder of the Studio, formerly an analyst at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Education: Bachelor of science in industrial engineering
Favourite hobby: playing the piano
Favourite quote: "There is a key to every door and a dawn to every dark night"
Family: Married and with a daughter
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