Global News Post: Turkey

Gaza Ceasefire Efforts Step Up as Death Toll Mounts

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeN9TclWS5Xqbvlzho1rJzFF2och7I1STWekL1U-qeC6rOmavTqQFX-X7MYw8d2Db9O6CTI6IKyi4O3R8v4xUvoDyaXNsC6DmJbLjlyU1tx4LnImCqq1Uoyo62yl8KLlU2j-xU_sjPnTM/s1600/2012112015281444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeN9TclWS5Xqbvlzho1rJzFF2och7I1STWekL1U-qeC6rOmavTqQFX-X7MYw8d2Db9O6CTI6IKyi4O3R8v4xUvoDyaXNsC6DmJbLjlyU1tx4LnImCqq1Uoyo62yl8KLlU2j-xU_sjPnTM/s1600/2012112015281444.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">NNN---</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Osama Abdel Aal is rescued after his family’s house collapsed during an Israeli strike in the Tufah neighborhood of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Gaza</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> on 19 November 2012. Photo courtesy Bernat Armangue---NNN</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW/GAZA   (RIA Novosti) – Israel carried out some 100
airstrikes on Gaza overnight as the bombardment of the Palestinian enclave
entered its seventh day amid frantic negotiations to stem a rapidly rising body
count.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gaza’s
health ministry said on Tuesday at least 111 people, many of them children, had
been killed in the densely-populated city of 1.7 million since Israel began its
airborne assault on Wednesday in response to a surge in rocket attacks from the
enclave. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Israeli military said 29 rockets had been fired from <st1:city w:st="on">Gaza</st1:city>,
ruled by the Hamas Islamist group, towards <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> since early Tuesday. Most
were intercepted, but three landed in the town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beersheva</st1:place></st1:city>. A rocket - the second of the
current conflict - also landed near <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>,
Israeli media said. No injuries were reported in either attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Three
Israelis have been killed by rocket fire from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city> since the start of the military
campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"My
message is clear - all sides must halt fire immediately,” UN Secretary Ban
Ki-moon said in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cairo</st1:place></st1:city>
during talks with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby ahead of a meeting with
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mursi
- a member of the Muslim Brotherhood movement that gave rise to Hamas - hinted
late on Tuesday afternoon that a truce was imminent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The
farce of Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip will end on Tuesday,"
he said. "The efforts to conclude a truce between the Palestinian and
Israeli sides will produce positive results in the next few hours."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ban
is also due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later on Tuesday,
before traveling to the West Bank city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ramallah</st1:place></st1:city>
to speak to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">US</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> officials said on Tuesday that Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton was heading for the region to press for a truce and would
visit <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region> and the <st1:place w:st="on">West Bank</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Israeli
and Palestinian officials were also reported to be negotiating via an Egyptian
mediator in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cairo</st1:city></st1:place>
on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
developments came as an Israeli government source told RIA Novosti on Tuesday
that Israel would put off an invasion of Gaza for another 24 hours to give
“diplomatic efforts a chance.” He also admitted that <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>
was coming under intense “international pressure” to halt its bombing of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Israel</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> is demanding a complete cessation of rocket
fire from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>
before it halts its attacks on “terrorist” targets in the densely-populated
city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Tel
Aviv has called up 75,000 reservists and a ground force is massed near the
border with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>,
awaiting orders to enter the enclave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ban
warned that any Israeli ground invasion of <st1:city w:st="on">Gaza</st1:city>
would be a “dangerous escalation,” but said <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> had “legitimate concerns that
must be respected in international law.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Israel</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’s last invasion of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>, in 2008-2009, killed 1,400
Palestinians, the majority of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis died in the
22-day military operation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A
Haaretz-Dialog poll taken on Sunday indicated that 84% of the Israeli public
supports the present military campaign, with 12% opposing it. But only 30% of
the Israeli public would support a ground offensive in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>, the pollster reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">US
President Barack Obama reiterated on Sunday <st1:state w:st="on">Washington</st1:state>’s
insistence that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has the right to self-defense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There's
no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens
from outside its borders... we are fully supportive of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s right
to defend itself," said Obama.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But
ordinary people in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>
were scornful of Obama’s comments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Since
when does the occupier have the right to defend itself from the occupied?” said
north <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>
resident Sameh Alborai. “Many people here believe <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city> is being attacked because of the Israeli
elections that are coming up. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>
has an internal conflict and, like always in these situations, they are
targeting <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> votes in parliamentary elections in
January.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkish
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan alleged on that Friday Israel’s attack on <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city> was a pre-election
ploy aimed at drumming up support for Netanyahu’s Likud Party. On Monday,
Erdogan labeled <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
a "terrorist state."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Netanyahu
dismissed the accusations: “We are defending ourselves,” he said last week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A
spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, urged
Israel on Tuesday to "scrupulously meet its legal obligations to
distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The
high commissioner reiterates her condemnation of the continuing indiscriminate
attacks and targeting of civilians in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>
by militants in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Gaza</st1:city></st1:place>,"
the spokesman, Rupert Colville, also said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Gaza Ceasefire Efforts Step Up as Death Toll Mounts

NNN--- Osama Abdel Aal is rescued after his family’s house collapsed during an Israeli strike in the Tufah neighborhood of Gaza C...

Turkey Starts Trial Against Israelis Involved in 2010 Raid

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By
Dorian Jones<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A
trial began in Turkey on Tuesday against four Israeli military commanders accused
of leading a raid on the high seas against a Gaza-bound aid ship - a raid that
resulted in the death of nine activists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Hundreds
of protesters chanting anti-Israeli slogans gathered outside <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city>'s main courthouse as the trial
opened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"People
from every nation and every religion with a conscience are here to hold <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
accountable for 1,000 years-old history," one woman said. "May God
help us succeed in our case."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">With
citizens from 37 countries due to participate in the trial, but not the Israeli
commanders, the Turkish media is describing it as the world's largest
international trial. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has dismissed the proceedings as politically motivated, calling it a "show
trial."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The boat Mavi Marmara was leading an
international flotilla of ships c</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">arrying
pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s economic blockade of the
Gaza Strip, when it was intercepted by Israeli forces in May 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> claims its forces acted in self-defense. But
Turkish prosecutors are demanding life sentences for four of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s most
senior retired commanders, including the former head of the army.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkish-Israeli
relations have collapsed since the raid. Semih Idiz, a writer for the Turkish
newspaper Milliyet, warned the case can still further strain relations.  <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Any
court situation that provides a platform for what <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>
sees as enemies of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
is not welcome," he said. "<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> is not a negligible country
in this part of the world. And to have a Turkish court highlighting Israeli
crimes, quote unquote, is not a comfortable thing and this court is attracting
a lot of attention in the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>. So
there is a gallery for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>
in going through this and that is what is bothering <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Observers
said there is widespread anger in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>
at <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
over the deaths, in particular among the grassroots supporters of the prime
minister's Islamic rooted party. Turkish presidential elections are expected in
2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">International
relations expert Cengiz Aktar of <st1:placename w:st="on">Bahcesehir</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> said "with such a
nationalist and actually nationalist rhetoric, the prime minister of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> will
never dare, for a second, [to] re-establish relations and especially now right
before the Israeli elections in January. I think he has made out of the anti-Israeli
policy a permanent agenda item out of his future presidency. So he will want
yield on that."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
trial is predicted to further hamper efforts - in particular by <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state> - to rebuild
relations between its two key allies in the region.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has made recent overtures to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>, indicating it maybe moving closer to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ankara</st1:place></st1:city>'s demands for an
apology and compensation to families of those killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But
last month, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his demand for
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> to end its embargo
against <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city> in
return for a normalization of relations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Diplomatic
columnist Idiz said <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ankara</st1:place></st1:city>
has little interest in a rapprochement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There
is an asymmetrical situation here. Netanyahu needs improved relations and
Erdogan doesn't, and he can't really afford to be aiming for improved relations
when the public has not felt there is enough atonement on <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s side
for the killings," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ankara</span></st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> is expected to pursue the extradition of
the commanders through Interpol, but observers say such attempts are unlikely
to succeed and will only further worsen tensions between the countries. ---VOA
News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Turkey Starts Trial Against Israelis Involved in 2010 Raid

By Dorian Jones A trial began in Turkey on Tuesday against four Israeli military commanders accused of leading a raid on the high sea...

Bomb Explodes Near Turkey's Ruling Party Offices

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Turkish officials say a remote controlled bomb exploded near the offices of the country's ruling party in Istanbul Thursday, injuring at least 16 people, mostly police officers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Police chief Huseyin Capkin said explosives mounted on a stationary motorcycle were detonated when a bus carrying 21 police officers drove by early Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">State-run television showed pictures of ambulances and fire engines rushing to the scene, close to the offices of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's (AK) Justice and Development Party.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The explosion damaged the police bus and some nearby vehicles.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. However the government faces harsh criticism from several groups, including Kurdish rebels, leftists and Islamist militants. -- VOA News</span></div>

Bomb Explodes Near Turkey's Ruling Party Offices

Turkish officials say a remote controlled bomb exploded near the offices of the country's ruling party in Istanbul Thursday, injuring...

Turkey's Former Army Chief Jailed on Terror Charge

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Dorian Jones from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkey</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s former army chief was arrested on Friday over an alleged plot to topple the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. General Ilker Basbug is accused of leading a terrorist organization.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Basbug was questioned for seven hours by <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:city></st1:place> prosecutors and then sent to prison. Speaking to reporters as he was taken away, Basbug described the situation as "tragic comedy."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But Turkish political scientist Cengiz Aktar said the arrest represents a changing of the guard. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"It's a grand premiere. It has never before happened before in the republican history of this country since 1923. This man was in charge until a few years ago. It's a major development," said Aktar.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Led by influential officers, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s military ousted four governments between 1960 and 1997.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkey</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s current Islamist-leaning government has shown contempt for the secular opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkish authorities have detained more than 300 people, including journalists, academics and politicians, as part of a wide-reaching investigation into a secular network known as Ergenekon. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Turkish army sees itself as appointed guardian of the secular state.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Basbug was allegedly involved in an Internet campaign to undermine the ruling AK party by publishing allegations of corruption. He is one of hundreds of people jailed or tried as part of the four-year-long probe into secular dissent. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Yasemin Congar, deputy editor of the Turkish newspaper Taraf, said it is right to weed out people bent on overthrowing the government.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"It's basically about digging out the dirt within the state. If this country's prosecutors manage to go to the end of this, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place> will definitely be more democratic, definitely more secure and [a] more transparent country."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But criticism over the probe is growing. Critics say evidence against suspects is often thin.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In court, Basbug confronted accusations against him, saying that as chief of a 700,000-strong military, he would have used other methods rather than publishing Internet stories had he intended an overthrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Retired Brigadier General Haldun Solmazturk said former and current military men are being targeted for expressing opinions against the government. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Turkish democracy is reversing. It's going back. It's not advancing," said Solmazturk.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At least 58 military men are in jail. So far, none have been convicted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkish political scientist Aktar of Istanbul's <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Bahcesehir</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> said the credibility of the Ergenekon probe is increasingly in doubt. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Judging by European and international standards, these trials are not fair. As long as there is no result to these ongoing custodies and trials, the entire Ergenekon case actually weakens," said Aktar.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">If convicted, Basbug and others face decades in jail. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Turkey's Former Army Chief Jailed on Terror Charge

By Dorian Jones from Istanbul , Turkey Turkey 's former army chief was arrested on Friday over an alleged plot to topple the governm...

Over 20 killed in Turkish air raid at Iraq border

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti)- More than 20 alleged diesel smugglers have been killed in an overnight air raid by Turkish Air Forces on a predominantly Kurdish-populated area at the Turkish border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>, local media reported on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The air raid near the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype>  of <st1:placename w:st="on">Uludere</st1:placename></st1:place> in the southeastern Sirnak province began at 11 pm Turkish time (21:00 GMT) on Wednesday, Hurriyet Daily News said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Unmanned drones and thermal cameras detected a big group [of individuals] on the Iraqi side of the border, and jets took off,” the newspaper quoted a report by the Doğan News Agency as saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Governor of Sirnak confirmed more than 20 people had been killed in the operation, the report said, adding that the victims were believed to be diesel smuggling peasants.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Meanwhile, Uludere village authorities were quoted by media reports as saying between 30 and 35 people had been killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We have 30 corpses, all of them are burned,” Reuters quoted Fehmi Yaman, the mayor of Uludere, as saying. “The state knew that these people were smuggling in the region.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Turkish military carry out frequent raids against militants of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) movement in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>’s Kurdish-populated southeast, as well as across the border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Over 20 killed in Turkish air raid at Iraq border

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)- More than 20 alleged diesel smugglers have been killed in an overnight air raid by Turkish Air Forces on a predomina...

Turkey Blocks Web Pages Touting Darwin's Evolution Theory

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Dorian Jones from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The blocking by Turkish state authorities of Web pages advocating the theory of evolution has put the focus on wider concerns by teachers and academics that the ideas of </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Darwin</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> increasingly are being undermined by the Islamic-rooted government.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Numerous web pages advocating the theory of evolution recently were deemed unsafe for children by <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s regulatory board controlling the Internet. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Yaman Akdeniz of <st1:city w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:city>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Bilgi</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> is an expert on Internet freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The authorities are trying to establish one view, one morality that the youngsters of our generation should subscribe to," said Akdeniz.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Undermining evolution<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The result was an outcry by the media and academics. Soon after, regulatory authorities re-instated the web pages, with the regulatory authority claiming the ban was a "clerical error." Recent media reports, however, say the evolution sites still remain blocked in schools. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The controversy is not only confined to the Internet. Professor Asli Tolon is a molecular biologist at <st1:city w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:city>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Bosphorus</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>. She has been tracking the changes in how evolution is taught in school text books.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Tolon said the idea of evolution increasingly is undermined by creationists who argue the world was created by God. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Here, there is this, how life evolved. This part is quite scientific, but then right after that, it starts with the creation, the view of creation, which should really not be in a scientific book, because this is a religious view," said Tolon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Tolon said the result of such changes is increasingly being felt by her students. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"They sometimes get the idea that I am trying to teach them my own views. But this is not mine, because evolution is one of the basic theories," said Tolon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Balancing the teaching<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mustafa Akyol, columnist and writer on religious affairs, said alternative theories to evolution have a place in education. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There are some scientific facts in nature that point to a design by some intelligent being which is not a part of nature, this being might be God. This cannot be a reason to reject data just simply because it’s compatible with religion. I think a fair and objective scientific education should allow <st1:city w:st="on">Darwin</st1:city> evolution and also critics of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Darwin</st1:place></st1:city> evolution," said Akyol.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkey</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s teachers are now increasingly being caught in the middle of the deepening dispute.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The country's main teaching trade union frequently complain that science teachers are facing increasing intimidation by the education ministry, local authorities controlled by the governing AK party and even religious parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The government has dismissed such claims. But one teacher, who did not want to give her name, said teaching evolution is increasingly difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"In my school, three out of five science teachers now only teach creationism," she said, adding that she faces daily pressure from fellow teachers who are religious and from some families of children who complain about her teaching evolution. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">For teachers advocating evolution in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s schools, they seem destined to be on the frontline of this ongoing struggle for the minds of the nation's young.<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="background: white;"> </span></b><span style="background: white;"> ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div></div>

Turkey Blocks Web Pages Touting Darwin's Evolution Theory

By Dorian Jones from Istanbul , Turkey The blocking by Turkish state authorities of Web pages advocating the theory of evolution has put t...

Turkish Forces Kill Ferry Hijacker

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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Authorities say Turkish commandos stormed a hijacked ferry Saturday and killed the lone hijacker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters Saturday that the crew and passengers were all safe, and the identity of the hijacker is still being determined.  Earlier reports said up to five suspected Kurdish militants armed with explosives carried out the hijacking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ferry Kartepe was carrying 18 passengers, including five women, along with four crew members and two trainees.  It ran out of fuel Friday after sailing from Izmit and dropping anchor in the Sea of Marmara, where it was reported commandos boarded the vessel.  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Turkish media reported that the ferry was traveling between Izmit and the town of Golcuk in Kocaeli province Friday evening when the vessel was seized by militants.The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in recent months has increased its attacks against Turkish security forces with suicide bombings.  The group says it is fighting for increased civil and political rights in Turkey.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The United States and Turkey have labeled the PKK a terrorist organization. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Turkey's government has cracked down on anyone suspected of belonging to or collaborating with the PKK, saying the group is a growing threat. The military has launched a series of attacks against PKK bases along the country's border with Iraq.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">More than 40,000 have died since the PKK took up arms against the Turkish government in 1984. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Attempts earlier this year to resolve the conflict failed.</div></span></span></div></div>

Turkish Forces Kill Ferry Hijacker

Authorities say Turkish commandos stormed a hijacked ferry Saturday and killed the lone hijacker. Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu tol...

Turkey earthquake death toll rises to 24

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">ANKARA</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti)- The death toll in a devastating earthquake in southeastern <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place> has risen to 24, the CNN-Turk TV channel reported on Friday.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Seven bodies were pulled from the rubble in the past 24 hours, including five employees of a local travel agency, buried under the collapsed four-storey building of the Bayram hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">As of noon <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city> time (08:00 GMT), 30 trapped people were rescued.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The 5.6-magnitude earthquake in the Van province left dozens injured and destroyed 25 buildings, including two hotels. Twenty-two buildings were uninhabited.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">About 800 rescuers are clearing the rubble at the site of the three demolished buildings, with most fatalities occurring at the Bayram hotel where Red Cross workers and journalists were staying.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">This was the second strong earthquake in the Van province in the past three weeks. On October 23, a far more powerful 7.2-magnitude quake left at least 600 people dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Turkey earthquake death toll rises to 24

ANKARA (RIA Novosti)- The death toll in a devastating earthquake in southeastern Turkey has risen to 24, the CNN-Turk TV channel reported...

Death Toll Rises to 264 in Turkey Earthquake: Interior Minister

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">ANKARA (NNN-Xinhua) -- The death toll from the powerful earthquake in southeast <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> has risen to 264, Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin told local media Monday. </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay earlier put the death toll at 239 and the number of the injured at some 1,300. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Speaking at a televised news conference, Atalay said rescue teams had managed to reach all areas in Van province that was hit by the quake. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Tents, woollen blankets and food were being distributed in the quake-stricken zone, expected to cover all the quake-hit zone Monday. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Local media reports said earlier that the death toll was expected to rise further as hundreds remain unaccounted for. -- NNN-Xinhua<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Death Toll Rises to 264 in Turkey Earthquake: Interior Minister

ANKARA (NNN-Xinhua) -- The death toll from the powerful earthquake in southeast Turkey has risen to 264, Turkish Interior Minister Idris ...

Residential building collapses in Turkey quake, people trapped under rubble

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<div class="MsoNormal"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">ANKARA</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti)-A powerful earthquake struck the city of <st1:city w:st="on">Van</st1:city> in south-east <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region>, causing the collapse of a seven-storey building and trapping people under the rubble, the city mayor told NTV on Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck the city at 13:40 local time (10:40 a.m. GMT) on Sunday. Its epicenter was located at a depth of 5 kilometers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Many local residents are reported to have suffered from the earthquake but there have been no reports about victims so far.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Residential building collapses in Turkey quake, people trapped under rubble

ANKARA (RIA Novosti)-A powerful earthquake struck the city of Van in south-east Turkey , causing the collapse of a seven-storey building ...

Turkey Bombs Kurdish Rebels in Iraq after Deadly Attack

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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLM6-vobFjj_KV4NZ5nZy0Xa71Ng8srVE18Vc5JUwOf0eBUxxnqxXpHstC4h1jsRYN6TBIox9avYne62bK4cWG7ia5I00J9O-0JA8BMv-V1Gje2nkM1sjSzSOZYyRdVT5Kwj41a92lbxE/s1600/Turkey%252BCurious%252BMap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLM6-vobFjj_KV4NZ5nZy0Xa71Ng8srVE18Vc5JUwOf0eBUxxnqxXpHstC4h1jsRYN6TBIox9avYne62bK4cWG7ia5I00J9O-0JA8BMv-V1Gje2nkM1sjSzSOZYyRdVT5Kwj41a92lbxE/s200/Turkey%252BCurious%252BMap.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkey</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> has launched a military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region>, hours after the militants killed at least 24 soldiers and wounded 18 in attacks in southeastern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> near the Iraqi border.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">News reports quote Turkish officials as saying at least 20 rebels were also killed in the fighting, as Turkish air force bombers hit targets in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> and helicopters ferried army troops into the region. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who canceled a trip to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kazakhstan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, described the action as "hot pursuit" within the limits of international law, following the deadliest such Kurdish attack in years.<span>   </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkish authorities say rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, opened fire on military outposts in Cukurca and Yuksekova in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s Hakkari province earlier Wednesday. Kurdish rebels claimed responsibility, prompting President Abdullah Gul to tell reporters that "vengeance for these attacks will be great."<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Last week, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region> called on <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> to stop the Kurdish rebels from attacking <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> from Iraqi soil, saying its "patience is running out." Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said <st1:city w:st="on">Ankara</st1:city> is determined to eradicate the rebel threat in northern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The PKK has escalated attacks against Turkish targets in recent weeks. Turkish forces have responded by increasing the number of airstrikes against suspected rebel bases in northern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>. In August, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s military said it killed as many as 160 Kurdish rebels in air and artillery strikes across the border.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The rebels have waged a campaign for autonomy in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Turkish government has taken steps to address the demands of Kurds and other minorities for greater rights. Prime Minister Erdogan has been pushing to amend the country's constitution, which was written in 1982 when <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> was under military rule -- a move seen as key to addressing those demands.<span>  </span>But Kurdish leaders say an amended constitution should recognize the Kurds as a distinct element of the nation and grant them autonomy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The PKK is considered a terrorist group by <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>, the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> and European Union. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Turkey Bombs Kurdish Rebels in Iraq after Deadly Attack

Turkey has launched a military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq , hours after the militants killed at least 24 soldiers...

Kurdish Rebel Attack Kills 26 Turkish Soldiers

Kurdish Rebel Attack Kills 26 Turkish Soldiers

Kurdish rebels have killed 26 Turkish soldiers and wounded 16 others near Turkey 's border with Iraq , in the deadliest such attack in...

Turkey Suspends Trade, Defense Ties with Israel

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</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Rose-Minister-Tayyip-Erdogan/dp/B004H66S0Y?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img alt="Charlie Rose - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (June 28 2010)" height="240" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004H66S0Y&tag=glob036-20" width="320" /></span></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004H66S0Y" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Turkey says it is "totally suspending" all trade and military ties with Israel as relations between the two countries continue to worsen.</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the freeze Tuesday, a day after Turkey ordered all senior Israeli diplomats to leave the country by Wednesday.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Erdogan also said he may visit the Gaza Strip, but would finalize plans after speaking to Egyptian officials.  He is planning to visit Egypt later this month.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Last week Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and downgraded diplomatic relations. Israel refuses to apologize for the deaths of eight Turkish citizens and a Turkish-American during last year's Israeli raid on a ship carrying aid to Palestinians in Gaza.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Israeli airline passengers complain they were detained and questioned by Turkish authorities at the airport in Istanbul Monday while Turkish citizens complain of similar treatment in Tel Aviv. Some tourists from both countries say they were strip searched and that their passports were temporarily taken away.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met in Ankara with Palestinian official Nabil Shaath. Davutoglu said Turkey would push for recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly. Israel and the United States oppose such a move.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A United Nations report said Israel used excessive and unreasonable force when commandos boarded the aid ship last year. But the report said the raid was legal because of Israeli concerns that the ship was carrying arms to Palestinian militants. The report said Turkey and the flotilla organizers were also responsible in the deaths of the nine people. (VOA News</span>)</div></div>

Turkey Suspends Trade, Defense Ties with Israel

Turkey says it is "totally suspending" all trade and military ties with Israel as relations between the two countries continue ...

Israel Expresses Regret after Turkey Expels Ambassador

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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>By Robert Berger from Jerusalem</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blackie-Geography-Turkey-Archipelago-Europe/dp/B001H2FB22?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="1872 Blackie Geography Maps Turkey Archipelago Europe" height="230" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B001H2FB22&tag=glob036-20" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001H2FB22" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Ties between Israel and its former Muslim ally, Turkey, have plummeted in the wake of a United Nations report on a deadly Israeli raid off the coast of the Gaza Strip more than a year ago. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Israel has expressed regret over Turkey's decision on Friday to expel the Israeli ambassador and suspend military ties between the two countries. Turkey is furious after a United Nations report charged that Israel used excessive force in a commando raid on a Gaza aid flotilla last year in which nine Turkish activists were killed.  </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In a statement by the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday, Israel said it "cherishes the significant ties, past and present, between the Turkish and Jewish peoples" and therefore it had sought to settle the dispute peacefully. But Israel said it could not meet Turkey's demand to apologize for the flotilla raid because Israeli troops acted in legitimate self-defense. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While describing Israeli actions as unacceptable, the U.N. report also said that Turkey did not do enough to prevent a violent confrontation, and that some Turkish activists were armed with iron rods and knives used to attack Israeli commandos. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Israel expressed regret over the loss of life but that was not enough for Turkey, which has been highly critical of the Jewish state since Israel's bloody invasion of the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip in early 2009. Israeli analyst Ra'anan Gissin, a former government spokesman, says Turkey's Islamist government is not interested in improving ties with Israel. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Actually, what we are facing here is a new form of diplomatic warfare, not diplomacy as a substitute for confrontation, but as an element of continuing the confrontation but in a different manner," said Gissin.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Israel's military ties with Turkey were seen as an important strategic asset in a hostile region, but now the Jewish state faces growing isolation.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Turkey, willingly so, is taking the lead. Turkey is ready to lead the campaign of divestment, boycott and sanctions against Israel," said the analyst. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The United Nations report vindicated Israel on a key point: It said the Israeli blockade on Gaza is a legal security measure aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Palestinian militants in Gaza. Turkey says the blockade is illegal and immoral, and it described the U.N. report as "null and void." (VOA News)</span></div></div>

Israel Expresses Regret after Turkey Expels Ambassador

By Robert Berger from Jerusalem Ties between Israel and its former Muslim ally, Turkey, have plummeted in the wake of a United Nations rep...

Turkey Names New Commanders in Military Shakeup

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Turkey-LONELY-PLANET/dp/B001TK9A4C?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Lonely Planet Turkey [LONELY PLANET TURKEY 11/E]" height="320" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B001TK9A4C&tag=widgetsamazon-20" width="208" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001TK9A4C" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Turkey has named four new generals to lead its armed forces, after the country's top military commanders resigned last week. They had quit to protest the arrests of fellow officers accused of plotting coups.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">President Abdullah Gul approved the appointment Thursday of a new chief of staff, as well as new commanders to head the navy, army and air force. He made the announcement at the end of a key four-day meeting of the Supreme Military Council.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">General Necdet Ozel, former head of the military police, was named the new chief of staff to replace General Isik Kosaner. Ozel had been made the acting chief of staff on Friday, hours after Kosaner resigned. General Mehmet Erten was promoted to head the air force, General Hayri Kivrikoglu becomes the commander of land forces and Admiral Emin Bilgel will lead the navy. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A presidential spokesman said the new appointments are expected to be easily confirmed by the Cabinet.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">More than 200 officers have been charged in connection with alleged anti-government plots dating back to 2003. Most are in jail.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tensions between Turkey's secularist military and the Islamist-rooted government have been building for years. The Turkish army has forced four governments from power since 1960. (VOA News)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=widgetsamazon-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0374531404&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>            <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=widgetsamazon-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1162714859&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>      <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=widgetsamazon-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000JMKWVG&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></div></div>

Turkey Names New Commanders in Military Shakeup

Turkey has named four new generals to lead its armed forces, after the country's top military commanders resigned last week. They had q...

Turkish PM Convenes Key Meeting After Mass Army Resignations

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Dorian Jones from Istanbul</span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Istanbul-Memories-City-Orhan-Pamuk/dp/1400033888?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Istanbul: Memories and the City" height="320" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1400033888&tag=widgetsamazon-20" width="208" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1400033888" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Turkey's government and military leaders are meeting for days of talks focusing on promotions of senior military staff.  But this year's annual meeting of the country's Supreme Military Council is very different, for it is now the government that is calling the shots. The mass resignation of Turkey's top four military commanders on Friday is widely seen as bringing an end to decades of political meddling by the country's generals. But concerns remain over what the prime minister will do with his newly acquired power.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Powerful army <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1400033888" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the Turkish army forcing four governments from power since 1960, every democratically elected prime minister has had to work in the long shadow of the country's generals, none more so than the present prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His Islamic-rooted party is viewed with deep suspicion by Turkey's secularist army. But on Friday, the country's entire military command stepped down in protest at the jailing of scores of fellow senior officers as part of an alleged conspiracy against the government. Deputy editor Yasmin Congar of the Turkish daily Taraf says that action signalled an end to the army's meddling in the country's politics.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"It is one major step in Turkey's very long path of democratization, and in Turkey, the military might has always been stronger than the elected official power," she said. "Now we see that what civilian government wants to do in Turkey can only be checked at the ballot box, not the generals anymore."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Taraf newspaper has been in the forefront of exposing the alleged army conspiracy against the government. The generals claim the investigation is a witch hunt against them, based on flimsy, unsubstantiated evidence. Bringing the army under civilian control is a key demand of the European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join. But on the streets of Istanbul, there are still mixed feelings about whether the army resignations are a step forward for democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mixed feelings<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"I am positive about it," said one person. "The officers are working under the command of [the] prime minister, if they don't agree [on] something, as a regular people like us, if we don't agree with principles of an organization, we just resign. It is what happens in democracies, and I am very grateful about such normalization."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"It's like a clash between two rivals," said a man, who is not convinced. "It's like 'if you do that, we can also do that, you think that we can't, but we can' - it's that kind of situation. So democracy will remain like what it was before."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Erdogan - increasingly authoritarian <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Such reservations can in part be explained by what some observers say is the increasingly authoritarian behavior of the prime minister. Buoyed by repeated electoral success - most recently last month where he secured 50 percent of the vote - critics say he has used his power to intimidate the media and bring the judiciary under greater government control. Political scientist Cengiz Aktar of Istanbul Bahcesehir University, while welcoming the move to bring the army under civilian control, worries about the increasingly unchecked power of the prime minister.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"This overconfidence, this feeling of strength, gives Prime Minister Erdogan all the rights about everything and everybody, going the way of power politics," he said. "This way of approaching [these] issues won't help to bring about any [lasting] solutions."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Clinton concerned<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Critics point to the ongoing crackdown on student dissent, the detention of thousands of members of the pro-Kurdish movement, and the jailing of more than 50 journalists as examples of such power politics. Such concerns are being increasingly raised by Turkey's allies, both in Europe and in the United States. In a visit last month to Turkey, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised such concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Turkey's upcoming constitutional reform process presents an opportunity to address concerns about recent restrictions, which I heard about from young Turks, about freedom of expression and religion, to bolster the protection for minority rights," said Clinton.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Erdogan's promise<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the prime minister in a recent television address reaffirmed his commitment to introducing a new democratic constitution. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Erdogan said the new constitution should be drafted with the largest participation possible, and should be a consensus that will meet the demands of the whole society.  He added that it should be democratic and liberal without shortcomings. Observers say honoring that commitment is a key test as to how the prime minister will use his increased power. (VOA News)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Turkish PM Convenes Key Meeting After Mass Army Resignations

By Dorian Jones from Istanbul Turkey's government and military leaders are meeting for days of talks focusing on promotions of senior...

Turkey's Government Poised for Election Victory

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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Nearly complete results from Turkey's parliamentary elections Sunday indicate an overwhelming victory for the country's prime minister and his Islamic-rooted party, giving Recep Tayyip Erdogan a third straight term.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unofficial results have the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, securing around 50 percent.  The opposition Republican People's Party ((CHP)) is trailing at about 26 percent, while the country's third largest party, the Nationalist Action Party, has about 13 percent. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">About 50 million voters were eligible to cast ballots in the election.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Despite its expected victory, it does not appear the AKP will secure the two-thirds majority it needs in the 550-seat parliament to introduce a new constitution, which the party says would be more democratic.  Early results indicate the party may fall just short of the 330 seats needed, a shortcoming that will force it to seek support from other parties. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Supporters of Mr. Erdogan say a new constitution would enshrine the rights of minorities, such as the Kurds who have been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey.  </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But critics of the Turkish leader say his government has become increasingly intolerant of criticism, and that his political goal is to create a more presidential-style government with him in control.  They also accuse him of abusing his power and moving away from a secular state to a more conservative, Islamic form of government.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although Sunday's vote was peaceful, the Anatolia news agency says police detained 34 people in the mainly Kurdish southeast province of Batman for allegedly trying to coerce people into supporting Kurdish nationalists running as independents.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Kurds had threatened earlier this year to boycott the elections after Turkey's main election board announced plans to ban seven Kurdish candidates from running.  That decision was later reversed. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has been fighting Turkey's military for an ethnic homeland since 1984. An estimated 40,000 people have died in the armed campaign.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider the PKK a terrorist group. VOANews</span></div></div>

Turkey's Government Poised for Election Victory

Nearly complete results from Turkey's parliamentary elections Sunday indicate an overwhelming victory for the country's prime minis...

Opportunity knocks

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5uteFkkj7fC8wICGHQRjD5a24HLe-SCwQFu8Q2Fn21VSzAIu_SeGi6PCp3SY03G5WCXgY5jIFC96dFyUm8PGUUzqTyUBKhrFQq0sH0RKOhfD0Uk2IFVu9Udb2E97zVEJOMqeU79EoAiP/s1600/T30375090-1237545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tehran - <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">This week, in Istanbul, world leaders have the chance to breathe new life into solid, long-term economic recovery and to fulfil long-term commitments to reduce poverty, hunger and disease in the world’s 48 Least Developed Countries.</span></i></span></b></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5uteFkkj7fC8wICGHQRjD5a24HLe-SCwQFu8Q2Fn21VSzAIu_SeGi6PCp3SY03G5WCXgY5jIFC96dFyUm8PGUUzqTyUBKhrFQq0sH0RKOhfD0Uk2IFVu9Udb2E97zVEJOMqeU79EoAiP/s1600/T30375090-1237545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5uteFkkj7fC8wICGHQRjD5a24HLe-SCwQFu8Q2Fn21VSzAIu_SeGi6PCp3SY03G5WCXgY5jIFC96dFyUm8PGUUzqTyUBKhrFQq0sH0RKOhfD0Uk2IFVu9Udb2E97zVEJOMqeU79EoAiP/s1600/T30375090-1237545.jpg" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">According to a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) here on Sunday, the statement was part of an article written by Turkish President Abdullah Gül, Jhala Nath Khanal, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General. </span></i><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">  </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">  <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'This week, in Istanbul, world leaders have the chance to kill two birds with one stone: to breathe new life into solid, long-term economic recovery and to fulfil long-term commitments to reduce poverty, hunger and disease in the world’s 48 Least Developed Countries. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'This diverse group of nations – 33 in Africa, 14 in Asia and Oceania, and one (Haiti) in the Western hemisphere – has one common desire: increased engagement in the global economy. In the last decade, LDC exports have risen by a factor of five, and their share of world trade has doubled. But, with 12 per cent of the global population – some 900 million people – LDCs still collectively produce only 1 per cent of world exports, and receive less than 2 per cent of global investment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'Investing in LDCs offers a vast, and virtually untapped, opportunity to provide much-needed further stimulus to the global economic recovery without significantly burdening the balance sheets of the developed countries with more red ink. G-20 leaders recognized this last year at their meeting in Seoul. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'In recent years, more than half the LDCs have shown consistent growth built on demand for commodities, diversification of their economic base or more productive regional partnerships. Nepal, which currently holds the presidency of the LDCs, is typical of many LDCs that are working to improve essential social services, encourage inclusive and transparent governance and provide efficient environments for doing business in the 21st century. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'But LDCs will not escape their vulnerability easily. Climate change, in particular, poses a severe challenge. While LDCs produce the least greenhouse gas emissions compared with any other country grouping, their agriculture-oriented economies are the most threatened by the effects of a changing climate. Many are prone to desertification, or are at risk from sea-level rise and tropical storms. Others, like Nepal, depend on run-off from mountain glaciers that appear to be receding. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'Rising food prices also present a clear test. Most LDCs are net food importers. Half their populations live in extreme poverty. One person out of three is malnourished. Agricultural capacity is low. On the other hand, the vast areas of under-utilized arable land in LDCs means they offer considerable potential to increase world harvests: improving nutrition security at home and mitigating food price inflation that – as we have already seen – poses a threat to social and political security worldwide. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'Most measures under negotiation by governments going into the Fourth UN Conference on the LDCs in Istanbul are well within the capacities of the world’s nations. Development assistance from the North has been generous, and has been rising over the last decade. We hope to see this trend continue. At only one quarter of total Official Development Assistance, aid to LDCs can easily increase – with considerable returns on investment to all parties. It can help to improve basic infrastructure, train the abundant human capital and ensure the transfer of adapted know-how. All these are important for attracting greater foreign direct investment. And indeed, productive capacity-building will be the main focus of the LDC conference in Istanbul. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'We would also like to see more incentives for investors who want to get in on the ground floor of economies that are using a base of prized primary commodities as a foundation to diversify. This includes bringing down trade barriers to LDC exports and fulfilling commitments enshrined in the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development. Studies have shown that 100 per cent duty-free quota-free access to markets would have only a negligible impact on domestic producers in host countries, but could bring profound benefits to LDCs. Equally, relieving LDCs of their debt burden would free up resources for improving infrastructure and productive capacity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'One development that gives us new hope is the growing role of the global South. Statistics from the UN Conference on Trade and Development show that companies from emerging economies raised their direct investment abroad to record levels in 2010. A good deal of that investment is going to LDCs. Combined with growing trade and assistance, nations like India, Brazil, China, South Africa and Turkey are serving as new models for LDCs under the South-South Cooperation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'For their part, the LDCs are working hard to overcome the various social, economic and environmental challenges they face so they can follow in the footsteps of the major emerging economies that have fared so well in the past two decades, including by enacting political and economic reform. Only by providing a fuller global economic role for these countries can we set in motion the necessary economic currents that will carry often unstable nations towards the security and stability the whole world needs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">'Investing in LDCs is a classic win-win for all: traditional donors, emerging economies, the private sector and – most important – nearly one billion people who deserve to enjoy their rights to social progress and better standards of life. Opportunity knocks in Istanbul on 9 May. Let us seize it.' </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">(IRNA)</span></span></div></div>

Opportunity knocks

Tehran - This week, in Istanbul, world leaders have the chance to breathe new life into solid, long-term economic recovery and to fulfil lon...