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Friday, February 28, 2014

Laws fail to stop violence against women in Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Laws fail to stop violence against women in Turkey

ISTANBUL — Turkey is failing to protect women from domestic violence, rights activists say. While International Women’s Day on March 8 approaches, women’s groups in Turkey are stepping up their criticism of the government, which they say is not doing enough to stop the beating and killing of women.

More:Laws fail to stop violence against women in Turkey - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Erdogan counting on elections to recoup from scandals - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Erdogan counting on elections to recoup from scandals

Failing to roll back mounting allegation of corruption against members of his government and family, and consequently himself, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan finds himself increasingly cornered politically. Many are questioning how his political career can survive the scandal.

More:Erdogan counting on elections to recoup from scandals - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Protesters take to the streets in Turkey | Echonetdaily

Protesters take to the streets in Turkey

Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Turkey’s two main cities for the second consecutive day in protest against Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government after corruption allegations against the prime minister surfaced.

More:Protesters take to the streets in Turkey | Echonetdaily

Beautiful Istanbul

Beautiful Istanbul

Modern Turkey: from the everyday fishing boats on the river to the half-million-dollar wedding on the hotel grounds

More:Beautiful Istanbul

Gülen to file lawsuit against PM Erdoğan over defamation campaign - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Gülen to file lawsuit against PM Erdoğan over defamation campaign

1 March 2014 /İSTANBUL, TODAY'S ZAMAN
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen plans to file a lawsuit against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for an endless smear campaign and slander, accusing Erdoğan of pursuing a concerted effort to foment animosity and hatred in society through the use of hate speech in rallies, meetings and TV interviews, Gülen’s lawyer said late on Friday.

More:Gülen to file lawsuit against PM Erdoğan over defamation campaign - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

American company says Erdoğan voice recording genuine - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

American company says Erdoğan voice recording genuine

After the release of scandalous voice recordings that purportedly show Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his son Bilal Erdoğan discussing how to “get rid of” large sums of money cached in their homes and those of their relatives, pro-government media sources alleged that two American audio companies had found the conversations to be spliced together from other sources -- but these companies have rejected the stories as lies.

More:American company says Erdoğan voice recording genuine - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkey welcomes Danish cancellation of Roj TV license - CİHAN

Turkey welcomes Danish cancellation of Roj TV license
TR_ISTA - 28.02.2014 18:23:47

Turkey has welcomed a Danish Supreme Court order to cancel the broadcasting license of the pro-Kurdish Roj TV station, saying the decision reveals that the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) finances the TV station.

More:Turkey welcomes Danish cancellation of Roj TV license - CİHAN

The Stream, February 28: Turkey-Cyprus Water Pipeline Has Political Implications | Circle of Blue WaterNews

The Stream, February 28: Turkey-Cyprus Water Pipeline Has Political Implications
Friday, 28 February 2014 12:47

A pipeline project moving water from Turkey to northern Cyprus is expected to be completed this year and should provide much needed relief for drought-hit farmers, the Associated Press reported. The project, however, has also become a source of political tension between Turkish populations in northern Cyprus—which Turkey invaded in 1974—and Greek populations in southern Cyprus.

More:The Stream, February 28: Turkey-Cyprus Water Pipeline Has Political Implications | Circle of Blue WaterNews

Article: Kiev and Istanbul are Models of What a Country Truly Is | OpEdNews

Kiev and Istanbul are Models of What a Country Truly Is
By Jim Turnage

I included in an article I wrote about the Ukraine the following quotation:

"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it."

More:Article: Kiev and Istanbul are Models of What a Country Truly Is | OpEdNews

EU Parliament Passes EU-Turkey Immigration Agreement | FINNBAY

EU Parliament Passes EU-Turkey Immigration Agreement
27 February 2014

(FINNBAY-ANSAmed) – Strasbourg, 27 February 2014. The European parliament has given a green light to a readmission agreement between Turkey and the EU.

More:EU Parliament Passes EU-Turkey Immigration Agreement | FINNBAY

Erdoğan gets ready for anti-Gülen campaign - MURAT YETKİN

Erdoğan gets ready for anti-Gülen campaign

In its bimonthly meeting on Feb. 26, the National Security Board (MGK) decided to focus on the activities of Gülenists as a threat to Turkey’s security.

More:Erdoğan gets ready for anti-Gülen campaign - MURAT YETKİN

Erdoğan gov't threatened to ‘wipe TUSKON off market map,' says chairman - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Erdoğan gov't threatened to ‘wipe TUSKON off market map,' says chairman

One of Turkey's most influential business confederations, the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), was threatened with being "wiped off the market" by the government after TUSKON made critical statements about government policies, chairman Rızanur Meral told the media on Friday.

More:Erdoğan gov't threatened to ‘wipe TUSKON off market map,' says chairman - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkey frees all suspects in corruption probe | GlobalPost

Turkey frees all suspects in corruption probe

A Turkish court on Friday released the last five suspects, including the sons of two ministers, detained in a corruption probe that has struck at the heart of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

More:Turkey frees all suspects in corruption probe | GlobalPost

Turkey's CHP Party to re-appeal over judiciary law

Turkey's CHP Party to re-appeal over judiciary law

Thursday, February 27, 2014

ANKARA - Turkey`s main opposition party, the Republican People`s Party (CHP) will file another appeal to Turkey’s Constitutional Court to annul the newly-adopted draft law that aims to restructure the country`s top judicial body.

More:Turkey's CHP Party to re-appeal over judiciary law

February 28: 'post-modern' shame for Turkey's democracy

February 28: 'post-modern' shame for Turkey's democracy

Friday, February 28, 2014

by Feyza Susal

ANKARA – Turkey, a country that has struggled to establish democracy and the rule of law since the republic was founded in 1923, suffered a major blow to that effort early in 1997.

More:February 28: 'post-modern' shame for Turkey's democracy

Robot witch hunt starts on social media against shady lobby after Erdoğan’s tip-off - LOCAL

Robot witch hunt starts on social media against shady lobby after Erdoğan’s tip-off

Simon TAGE ISTANBUL

Social media users are unplugging and running for the hills after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan disclosed that a nefarious “robot lobby” had sworn to liquidate his government and darken Turkey’s new dawn, touted as a beacon of hope for the wretched of the earth.

More:Robot witch hunt starts on social media against shady lobby after Erdoğan’s tip-off - LOCAL

Turkish PM accuses prosecutors and police of spying - POLITICS

Turkish PM accuses prosecutors and police of spying

ISTANBUL

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has hit back against unprecedented accusations of corruption after the leak of incriminating phone conversations, accusing both prosecutors and police of spying for another country.

More:Turkish PM accuses prosecutors and police of spying - POLITICS

Crimea-bound plane returns to Istanbul after airport crisis - LOCAL

Crimea-bound plane returns to Istanbul after airport crisis

ISTANBUL

A passenger plane en route to Crimea’s capital Simferopol is on its way back to Istanbul Atatürk Airport following reports that armed men had taken control of the airport in the city.

More:Crimea-bound plane returns to Istanbul after airport crisis - LOCAL

Could it be 'doctored' and 'dubbed' at the same time? - CİHAN

Could it be 'doctored' and 'dubbed' at the same time?
TR_ISTA - 28.02.2014 12:25:19

Following the revelation of audio tapes on Monday alleged to be phone conversations between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his son, Bilal Erdoğan, there has been really nothing but this issue in the media spotlight for the last couple of days.
In the voice recording supposed to have taken place on Dec. 17 -- the same day as a massive police operation for corruption -- a voice claimed to belong to the prime minister is heard telling the other person at the end of the line to dispose of an enormous amount of money stashed at his home, by distributing it among various businesspeople.

More:Could it be 'doctored' and 'dubbed' at the same time? - CİHAN

Generations on, Christians fleeing Syria return to Turkish homeland

Generations on, Christians fleeing Syria return to Turkish homeland
Source: Reuters - Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:00 AM

By Ayla Jean Yackley

MIDYAT, Turkey, Feb 28 (Reuters) - When Louis Bandak fled the violence in Syria, he sought refuge in the country his grandfather was forced to abandon exactly 90 years ago this week.

More:Generations on, Christians fleeing Syria return to Turkish homeland

Turkey Police Ordered to Destroy Graft Wiretaps, Zaman Reports - Businessweek

Turkey Police Ordered to Destroy Graft Wiretaps, Zaman Reports
By Selcan Hacaoglu February 28, 2014

The prosecutor’s office in Istanbul has ordered Turkish police to halt wiretaps and monitoring of graft probe suspects and destroy all related recordings and documents from Dec. 15, Zaman newspaper said today, citing a copy of prosecutors’ communication with police.

More:Turkey Police Ordered to Destroy Graft Wiretaps, Zaman Reports - Businessweek

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Erdogan targeted in second audio tape - World News | IOL News | IOL.co.za

Erdogan targeted in second audio tape

February 27 2014 at 12:00pm
By Humeyra Pamuk

Ankara - A second audio recording, presented as the voice of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan asking his son not to accept an amount of money on offer in a business deal but to hold out for more, was published on YouTube by an anonymous poster using a pseudonym on Wednesday.

More:Erdogan targeted in second audio tape - World News | IOL News | IOL.co.za

Turkey: Government Now Claims Trials That Helped it Consolidate Power Were a Sham | EurasiaNet.org

Turkey: Government Now Claims Trials That Helped it Consolidate Power Were a Sham
February 27, 2014 - 12:04pm, by Yigal Schleifer

The massive Ergenekon and Balyoz trials, which helped send a large number of high-profile Turks (numerous generals among them) to jail on charges of planning a coup, were hailed by many as an important step in finally confronting the troubling history of Turkey's "Deep State" and in finally breaking the military's unhealthy hold on political life.

More:Turkey: Government Now Claims Trials That Helped it Consolidate Power Were a Sham | EurasiaNet.org

Airbus and Turkey dispute over A400M military aircraft

Airbus and Turkey dispute over A400M military aircraft

Thursday, February 27, 2014

ANKARA - Turkey continues to be embroiled in a dispute with aircraft manufacturer Airbus over an order of A400M airlifter military transport planes.

More:Airbus and Turkey dispute over A400M military aircraft

Turkish PM behaving like a cornered rat | Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News

Turkish PM behaving like a cornered rat

By Gwynne Dyer on Fri, 28 Feb 2014

It's a ''treacherous attack'' and a ''dirty conspiracy'', claimed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose image as a devout Muslim and an honest man is the key to his political success.

But he didn't deny the voice on the recordings was his, nor that the other voice was that of his son Bilal.

More:Turkish PM behaving like a cornered rat | Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News

Leduc tees, Red Deer shorts provide just the contrast Edmonton-born designer needs in Istanbul

Leduc tees, Red Deer shorts provide just the contrast Edmonton-born designer needs in Istanbul

By Jodie Sinnema, Edmonton Journal February 27, 2014 9:16 AM

EDMONTON - The pictures on Megan Mummery’s mood board came from winter on the Prairies: cool blue skies over stark snow-covered fields, a wide-open landscape cut by a wire fence leaning over in the wind.

More:Leduc tees, Red Deer shorts provide just the contrast Edmonton-born designer needs in Istanbul

Ethnic identification and political action | BPS

Ethnic identification and political action
27/02/2014

Having a dual ethno-national identification could influence how people feel about taking political action on behalf of minority religious groups, according to a study published in the British Psychological Society's British Journal of Social Psychology.

Borja Martinovic and Maykel Verkuyten conducted surveys on 641 Turkish Muslims living in Germany and the Netherlands to assess how they felt about their Muslim identity.

More:Ethnic identification and political action | BPS

Migration deal with Turkey: "It won't affect refugees in need of real protection"

Migration deal with Turkey: "It won't affect refugees in need of real protection"

Many illegal migrants enter the EU through Turkey. To prevent a further influx, the EU and Turkey started to negotiate a readmission agreement in 2002, but it only resulted in a deal now that Turkey's demand for visa liberalisation has been taken into account. The EP endorsed the deal and calls for implementing it without further delays and new demands. "It won't affect refugees in need of real protection," said Renate Sommer, a German member of the EPP group, who wrote the resolution.
More:Migration deal with Turkey: "It won't affect refugees in need of real protection"

'Yabangees' happy in İstanbul, could do without the traffic jams - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

'Yabangees' happy in İstanbul, could do without the traffic jams

27 February 2014 /ZEYNEP KILIÇ, İSTANBUL
The number of foreign people residing in Turkey has increased dramatically in the last few years thanks to international companies operating in Turkey, educational exchange programs and less restrictive admission requirements at Turkish universities for foreign students.

More:'Yabangees' happy in İstanbul, could do without the traffic jams - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkish Parliament Moves to Shut Schools in Blow to Gulen - Bloomberg

Turkish Parliament Moves to Shut Schools in Blow to Gulen
By Selcan Hacaoglu and Onur Ant Feb 26, 2014 7:30 AM ET

Turkey’s parliament will debate a bill that would shut down schools run by a U.S.-based cleric who Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses of instigating a graft probe against his government.

More:Turkish Parliament Moves to Shut Schools in Blow to Gulen - Bloomberg

European Parliament Signs Migration Deal With Turkey | Greek Reporter Europe

European Parliament Signs Migration Deal With Turkey

by Abed Alloush - Feb 27, 2014

The European Parliament sealed a deal n Wednesday, between the EU and Turkey regarding immigration issues.

The agreement was signed last year in December. This bilateral pact is called “readmission” agreement and obliges its signatories to take back migrants entering or living clandestinely on either territory.

More:European Parliament Signs Migration Deal With Turkey | Greek Reporter Europe

Erdogan Battles ‘Treachery’ From Within as New Tape Leaked - Bloomberg

Erdogan Battles ‘Treachery’ From Within as New Tape Leaked
By Selcan Hacaoglu, Onur Ant and Taylan Bilgic Feb 27, 2014 8:46 AM ET

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told U.S.-based Fethullah Gulen to end his provocations and accused the cleric’s followers in the police and judiciary of treason for leading a graft probe against his government.

More:Erdogan Battles ‘Treachery’ From Within as New Tape Leaked - Bloomberg

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now the source of Turkey’s problems - FT.com

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now the source of Turkey’s problems

By David Gardner

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the most innate politicians of his generation, is finding it hard to keep up in the digital era. He has dismissed an audio tape on YouTube, purportedly of a conversation between the prime minister and his son Bilal about hiding millions of euros, as a “cassette” montage fabricated by his enemies. But he is in a hole, and so is Turkey. The power struggle between Mr Erdogan’s neo-Islamist Justice and Development party, or AKP, and his erstwhile allies in the shadowy Islamist movement inspired by Fetullah Gulen, a US-based imam, is convulsing the country.

More:Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now the source of Turkey’s problems - FT.com

Is this dubbing or is this a montage? - AHMET HAKAN

Is this dubbing or is this a montage?

If that recording of the phone conversation is “dubbing,” then it must be that two people who can perfectly impersonate Tayyip Erdoğan and Bilal Erdoğan got together and rehearsed the text that was prepared beforehand like a play and recorded it. In other words, what is in question is an absolutely indecent setup.

More:Is this dubbing or is this a montage? - AHMET HAKAN

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Turkey mayoral candidates asked to pledge reforms - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey mayoral candidates asked to pledge reforms

The Association for the Support of Women Candidates (KA.DER) is asking all candidates running for mayor in the March 30 local elections to sign statements of commitment. The statement, titled “KA.DER Local Administration Contract,” can be found in all party offices nowadays. Both the candidates who sign the statement by March 1 and those who do not will be announced to the public.

More:Turkey mayoral candidates asked to pledge reforms - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Istanbul protests demand gov't resignation over leaked recording - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Istanbul protests demand gov't resignation over leaked recording
English.news.cn 2014-02-26 19:49:16 [More]

ISTANBUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Turks took to the streets in Istanbul Wednesday to demand the government resign over a leaked recording allegedly of the prime minister discussing ways to hide money from police raid.

More:Istanbul protests demand gov't resignation over leaked recording - Xinhua | English.news.cn

UPDATE 1-Turkish Prime Minister targeted in second audio tape | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Turkish Prime Minister targeted in second audio tape

Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:15am IST

By Humeyra Pamuk

Feb 26 (Reuters) - A second audio recording, presented as the voice of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan asking his son not to accept an amount of money on offer in a business deal but to hold out for more, was published on YouTube by an anonymous poster using a pseudonym on Wednesday.

More:UPDATE 1-Turkish Prime Minister targeted in second audio tape | Reuters

Ankara mayor, PM advisor refuse to publish ads of main opposition party - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Ankara mayor, PM advisor refuse to publish ads of main opposition party

26 February 2014 /İSTANBUL, TODAY'S ZAMAN
Released by Haramzadeler -- a Twitter account that leaks voice recordings belong to high-level officials -- a new voice recording allegedly features the Ankara mayor discussing with one of the chief advisors of the prime minister whether to give permission for the publication of political advertisements of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and finally refusing to publish those ads.

More:Ankara mayor, PM advisor refuse to publish ads of main opposition party - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

ISTANBUL: Erdogan recordings appear real, analyst says, as Turkey scandal grows | World | The Bellingham Herald

Erdogan recordings appear real, analyst says, as Turkey scandal grows

By Roy Gutman

ISTANBUL — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tightened his grip Wednesday on the judiciary and the Internet in an effort to tamp down a corruption scandal that’s rattled his government and now appears to implicate his immediate family and him.

More:ISTANBUL: Erdogan recordings appear real, analyst says, as Turkey scandal grows | World | The Bellingham Herald

Erdogan to Obama: Netanyahu to blame for stalled reconciliation - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz

Erdogan to Obama: Netanyahu to blame for stalled reconciliation

Almost one year after Obama asked Netanyahu to apologize for the death of nine Turkish nationals during the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, talks with Turkey hit a dead end.

More:Erdogan to Obama: Netanyahu to blame for stalled reconciliation - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz

Turkish Prime Minister targeted in second audio tape | Reuters

Turkish Prime Minister targeted in second audio tape

By Humeyra Pamuk

ANKARA Wed Feb 26, 2014 5:46pm EST

(Reuters) - A second audio recording, presented as the voice of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan asking his son not to accept an amount of money on offer in a business deal but to hold out for more, was published on YouTube by an anonymous poster using a pseudonym on Wednesday.

More:Turkish Prime Minister targeted in second audio tape | Reuters

Turkish PM Erdogan Says Leaked Tapes Are “Treacherous”

Turkish PM Erdogan Says Leaked Tapes Are “Treacherous”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in the midst of a political storm following leaked tapes which he says are “treacherous” in nature. The phone conversations, which were released on YouTube Tuesday, implicate Prime Minister Erdogan of instructing his family members to hide tens of millions of euros stored at his house from corruption investigators.

More:Turkish PM Erdogan Says Leaked Tapes Are “Treacherous”

Turkish attorney files criminal complaint against Fethullah Gulen

Turkish attorney files criminal complaint against Fethullah Gulen

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Turkish attorney demands Gulen and his allies be tried of crimes of: "forming an organization", "an organized coup attempt" and "organized deceit and abuse of power."

ISTANBUL - A Turkish attorney, Hudaverdi Yildirim, has filed a complaint to Istanbul Chief Prosecutor`s Office against Fethullah Gulen on Wednesday, asking him to be tried of crimes such as, "forming an organization", " an organized coup attempt" and "organized deceit”.

More:Turkish attorney files criminal complaint against Fethullah Gulen

Turkish president defiant as wiretap scandal swirls | Fox News

Turkish president defiant as wiretap scandal swirls
Published February 26, 2014

Turks in Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Istanbul base defied calls for his ouster as corruption allegations stemming from a purported secret recording of the leader and his son plotting to hide millions in cash continued to shake the government.

More:Turkish president defiant as wiretap scandal swirls | Fox News

Smuggled amphoras returned to Turkey - ARCHAEOLOGY

Smuggled amphoras returned to Turkey

ISTANBUL

Two amphoras, which were smuggled out of Turkey 64 years ago, have been returned to their homeland.

More:Smuggled amphoras returned to Turkey - ARCHAEOLOGY

Art Contest: Women for Conflict Reconciliation and Peace | Hetq

Art Contest: Women for Conflict Reconciliation and Peace

14:25, February 26, 2014

Society Without Violence NGO announces a contest under the rubric "Women for Conflict Reconciliation and Peace" within the framework of the program "Young Armenian and Turkish women for restoring lasting peace through art and dialogue".

More:Art Contest: Women for Conflict Reconciliation and Peace | Hetq

Turkish president signs judiciary control law as protests continue | EUROPE ONLINE

Turkish president signs judiciary control law as protests continue
Europe
26.02.2014
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - Turkish President Abdullah Gul has approved a law that increases government control over the appointment of judges and prosecutors, prompting criticism from rights groups and the European Union.

More:Turkish president signs judiciary control law as protests continue | EUROPE ONLINE

Could Erdogan open Hagia Sophia to prayer as part of electoral plan? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Could Erdogan open Hagia Sophia to prayer as part of electoral plan?

If Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan decides to run for the presidency, what will be his biggest ace to play? His AKP [Justice and Development Party] associates talk of "dual mad projects": the simultaneous reopening of the Heybeliada Ecumenical Seminary and the Hagia Sophia for Muslim prayers. Formulas for opening the Ecumenical Seminary are relatively easy and ready. The Hagia Sophia issue is a bit more complicated.

More:Could Erdogan open Hagia Sophia to prayer as part of electoral plan? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey : EU accounts for 48.6% of Turkish textile exports in Jan’14 - Textile News Turkey

EU accounts for 48.6% of Turkish textile exports in Jan’14
February 26, 2014 (Turkey)

The European Union (EU) accounted for 48.6 percent of the overall textiles exports, excluding apparel, from Turkey, during the month of January, with the country exporting textiles worth US$ 373.65 million to the EU, as per the data released by the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters Association (ITKIB).

More:Turkey : EU accounts for 48.6% of Turkish textile exports in Jan’14 - Textile News Turkey

Turkey’s Pro-Western Imperialism Puppets Accuse Turkish People of Being “Conspiracy Theorists”

Turkey’s Pro-Western Imperialism Puppets Accuse Turkish People of Being “Conspiracy Theorists”
Sibel Edmonds | February 20, 2014 21 Comments

Western Influenced & Directed Regime Change Operations are Deemed as a “Conspiracy Theory”

I just finished reading a ridiculous hit piece published at Eurasia.Net accusing the Turkish people of being conspiracy theorists for believing that the imperial US and EU are engaged in schemes towards regime change around the world. According to the article and its sources, one must be ignorant, uninformed, uneducated and a big time conspiracy theorist in order to believe that the US-EU are engaged in political manipulations and regime change operations around the world.

More:Turkey’s Pro-Western Imperialism Puppets Accuse Turkish People of Being “Conspiracy Theorists”

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Turks Are Glued to a Sensational Drama, This One Political - NYTimes.com

Turks Are Glued to a Sensational Drama, This One Political

ISTANBUL — Turks have always loved a good soap opera. Years ago the
fixation was “Dallas,” and Turks of a certain age still refer to a woman
who drinks too much as Sue Ellen, the boozy character on that show.
More recently, the Turkish drama “The Magnificent Century,” about palace
intrigue and romance in an Ottoman sultan’s harem, became an obsession
here and in the Middle East.

More:Turks Are Glued to a Sensational Drama, This One Political - NYTimes.com

Two Chelsea supporters injured amid clashes in Istanbul | Football | The Guardian

Two Chelsea supporters injured amid clashes in Istanbul

At least two Chelsea supporters were stabbed in clashes around Istanbul's Taksin Square on Tuesday night, the eve of the first leg of the club's Champions League knockout tie against Galatasaray.

More:Two Chelsea supporters injured amid clashes in Istanbul | Football | The Guardian

Is PM Erdoğan corrupt? - SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ

Is PM Erdoğan corrupt?

One of the major problems with regard to what’s going on nowadays in Turkey stems from the definition of corruption by the head of the powerful Turkish government, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “What I understand about corruption is this: Are the state’s coffers being robbed or not?” he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera on Feb. 11. He gave this definition upon a question about the $4.5 million in cash found in shoeboxes in the house of the former general manager of the state-run Halkbank.

More:Is PM Erdoğan corrupt? - SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ

Lies, statistics and military lies - BURAK BEKDİL

Lies, statistics and military lies

It is never unusual that “Turkish affairs” often make one smile. It can be a news story, or just a headline. Recently, one such headline in the English-language Turkish press read: “Turkey [is] Africa’s strategic partner, says Turkey’s EU Minister.” A Turkish minister for Africa may not be too remote or senseless, especially if the honorable minister makes speeches in praise of Turkey’s EU accession.

More:Lies, statistics and military lies - BURAK BEKDİL

Young, female, CEO: The new entrepreneurs of Turkey

Young, female, CEO: The new entrepreneurs of Turkey
Turkish entrepreneurs Zeynep Sener (l) and Zeynep Dagli.

Though they’re still in their 20s, Zeynep Sener and Zeynep Dagli are successful entrepreneurs. Specifically, they’re successful female entrepreneurs in Turkey, which has recently made headlines for altogether different, and rather undemocratic, reasons.

More:Young, female, CEO: The new entrepreneurs of Turkey

19th Istanbul Theatre Festival to show 100 performances

19th Istanbul Theatre Festival to show 100 performances

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

by Esra Kaymak

ISTANBUL - The 19th Istanbul Theatre Festival will take place between May 9 and June 5 with a hundred performances announced on Monday in Istanbul’s Rahmi Koc Museum, Turkey.

More:19th Istanbul Theatre Festival to show 100 performances

Cruising Istanbul's Mean Streets with the City's Roving Sahlep Vendors | EurasiaNet.org

Cruising Istanbul's Mean Streets with the City's Roving Sahlep Vendors
February 25, 2014 - 3:54pm, by Yigal Schleifer

Sahlep, a hot, milky drink made from the powdered root of a type of orchid, may be a sweet wintertime treat in Istanbul, but for the roving vendors who sell the beverage from rolling carts, life is anything but sweet. Faced with growing pressure from municipal authorities, who are working to crack down on unlicensed street vendors, Istanbul's sahlep sellers are struggling to survive, with their carts sometimes confiscated.

More:Cruising Istanbul's Mean Streets with the City's Roving Sahlep Vendors | EurasiaNet.org

Turkish PM investigated for corruption - KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source

Turkish PM investigated for corruption
Posted: Feb 25, 2014 7:14 AM EST Updated: Feb 25, 2014 1:11 PM EST
By SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan is the subject of a corruption inquiry, state-run media
said Tuesday, as opposition parties demanded that his government resign.

More:Turkish PM investigated for corruption - KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source

UN chief asks Turkey for troops to Central African Republic - INTERNATIONAL

UN chief asks Turkey for troops to Central African Republic

ANKARA

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in order to encourage Turkey to play an active role in a military mission to help end sectarian unrest in the Central African Republic.

More:UN chief asks Turkey for troops to Central African Republic - INTERNATIONAL

BBC News - Turkey PM Erdogan says 'tapped' phone call to son 'fabricated'

Turkey PM Erdogan says 'tapped' phone call to son 'fabricated'

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily condemned as fabricated an audio recording that appears to show him talking to his son about hiding large sums of money.

He said the recording, allegedly tapped and posted on social media, was a "treacherous attack".

It appears to reveal Mr Erdogan asking his son Bilal to dispose of millions of euros in cash from a house.

More:BBC News - Turkey PM Erdogan says 'tapped' phone call to son 'fabricated'

Popular celebrities urge citizens to vote as Erdogan loses popularity

Popular celebrities urge citizens to vote as Erdogan loses popularity
Among A-listers making the appeal are a collection of Turkey's top musicians, soap opera stars, stage and movie actors.
Middle East Online

'This is your strength. Your vote is your voice'

ISTANBUL - Turkish celebrities have made a Hollywood-like appeal via a video campaign, urging citizens to vote in important local elections on March 30.

More:.:Middle East Online:::.

Turkey: violence escalating ahead of March 30 elections - Politics - ANSAMed.it

Turkey: violence escalating ahead of March 30 elections

25 February, 12:43

(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, FEBRUARY 25 - Neither the governing party nor the opposition parties in Turkey have escaped becoming targets of violent attacks in the run-up to the local elections on March 30, as daily Hurriyet reports today. In the last few days, attacks have visibly escalated, with arms being used and election offices coming under attack. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and the People's Democratic Party (HDP) have all been targeted in different corners of the country, within the space of four days.

More:Turkey: violence escalating ahead of March 30 elections - Politics - ANSAMed.it

Is Data Exclusivity An Advantage Or An Obstacle For Pharmaceutical Companies In Turkey? - Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences - Turkey

Turkey: Is Data Exclusivity An Advantage Or An Obstacle For Pharmaceutical Companies In Turkey?
Last Updated: 25 February 2014

Turkish pharmaceutical policy has changed radically and made progress starting from the last decade. In the meantime, some controversial topics such as reimbursement, pricing, authorisation, intellectual property rights, and quality and harmonisation process with the EU were and in fact still are the highly disputed issues. As a consequence of EU harmonisation process, patent, data protection and data exclusivity are one of the foremost areas of the debate. Within the framework of bilateral or multilateral agreements (TRIPs, Customs Union Agreement with the EU) Turkey needed to apply the international terms and conditions of patent and data protection.

More:Is Data Exclusivity An Advantage Or An Obstacle For Pharmaceutical Companies In Turkey? - Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences - Turkey

Erdogan Gains Upper Hand as Purge Defangs Islamist Rivals - Businessweek

Erdogan Gains Upper Hand as Purge Defangs Islamist Rivals
By Selcan Hacaoglu February 25, 2014

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is gaining the upper hand in Turkey’s political feud by purging a police force and judiciary that helped him become the country’s most powerful leader in decades, analysts and police experts say.

More:Erdogan Gains Upper Hand as Purge Defangs Islamist Rivals - Businessweek

Erdogan’s Removal Sought by Turkish Opposition Over Tape - Businessweek

Erdogan’s Removal Sought by Turkish Opposition Over Tape
By Selcan Hacaoglu and Onur Ant February 25, 2014

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rebuffed calls for his resignation, saying a leaked tape in which he allegedly discussed hidden funds was an attempted coup by his opponents before next month’s elections.

More:Erdogan’s Removal Sought by Turkish Opposition Over Tape - Businessweek

Veteran journalist Cemal: Serious observers cross out Erdoğan - CİHAN

Veteran journalist Cemal: Serious observers cross out Erdoğan
TR_ISTA - 24.02.2014 09:45:27

YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN, İSTANBUL
Turkey is going through a dark period, but it is impossible to completely end the rule of law in such a country that has opened up to the world politically, economically and culturally, says this week's guest for Monday Talk, adding that the current leadership is not taken seriously by many serious observers.

More:Veteran journalist Cemal: Serious observers cross out Erdoğan - CİHAN

Rand Declines First Day in Four as Turkey Crisis Roils Markets - Businessweek

Rand Declines First Day in Four as Turkey Crisis Roils Markets
By Robert Brand February 25, 2014

The rand weakened from a seven-week high against the dollar as a fresh political crisis in Turkey soured investor sentiment toward emerging markets.

Turkish opposition leaders called for the resignation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a leaked recording in which he appeared to discuss concealing funds from a probe into government graft. The Turkish lira slumped as much as 1.1 percent, along with most emerging-market currencies monitored by Bloomberg. Economic growth in South Africa accelerated in the fourth quarter, a report may show today.

More:Rand Declines First Day in Four as Turkey Crisis Roils Markets - Businessweek

The future is looking very positive for tourism in Turkey

The future is looking very positive for tourism in Turkey

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Balkans.com Business News Correspondent - 25.02.2014

In BMI's Turkey tourism report, BMII examines a range of key market indicators in this well established and popular market, including inbound and outbound travel, industry value and tourism related expenditure. We expect to see increases across the board; however, any escalation in regional and domestic tensions is likely to impact on growth.

More:The future is looking very positive for tourism in Turkey

Expansion for Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul | News | Breaking Travel News

Expansion for Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul

Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul has added another 2400m2 to its existing 3500m2, increasing the size by over 40 per cent in order to meet the needs of growing passenger numbers.

Located in the departure area of Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, the expanded lounge adds a second floor to the existing space and connects them with a spiral staircase that integrates a global sphere, representing the worldwide reach of Turkish Airlines.

More:Expansion for Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul | News | Breaking Travel News

Can Erdogan Live with a European Kidney? | Fair Observer°

Can Erdogan Live with a European Kidney?
24 February 2014
Emre Kücükkaya

With domestic issues at play, Turkey has an eye on the EU.

Germany’s new foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who replaced Guido Westerwelle following the 2013 general elections, is famous for having donated one of his kidneys to his wife in 2010. His sacrifice attests a noble devotion to his beloved spouse.

More:Can Erdogan Live with a European Kidney? | Fair Observer°

Turkish opposition calls for Erdogan to be investigated for corruption | World news | theguardian.com

Turkish opposition calls for Erdogan to be investigated for corruption
Embattled prime minister claims voice recordings of him ordering his son to dispose of large sums of cash are fabricated

A Turkish opposition party leader has called on prosecutors to launch a corruption investigation into the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, following the disclosure of alleged voice recordings in which he orders his son to dispose of vast amouof cash.

More:Turkish opposition calls for Erdogan to be investigated for corruption | World news | theguardian.com

Erdogan cries foul money tapes leak implicating son - Telegraph

Erdogan cries foul money tapes leak implicating son
Turkey prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meeting with security officials after 'coup plot' tapes of phone calls with his son emerges

By Reuters

10:30AM GMT 25 Feb 2014

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's office said voice recordings on YouTube purportedly of Erdogan telling his son to dispose of large sums of money on the day news broke of a graft inquiry into his government were fake and "completely untrue".

More:Erdogan cries foul money tapes leak implicating son - Telegraph

Monday, February 24, 2014

Turkey: Legislating the End of Democracy - 3 Laws for One-Party Rule | Informed Comment ▪ Iranian.com

Turkey: Legislating the End of Democracy - 3 Laws for One-Party Rule

The government’s response to the Gezi protests in June 2013 and its obstruction of a graft probe targeting ministers in December the same year has tarnished the perception of Turkey as an improving democracy. But the foreign media tend to ignore to report the combined seriousness of the developments currently taking place in the country. I will now present 3 laws put forward by the democratically elected AK Party, in order to illustrate how they are stepwise trying to dismantle the Turkish democracy.

More:Turkey: Legislating the End of Democracy - 3 Laws for One-Party Rule | Informed Comment ▪ Iranian.com

Turkey’s imposition on Syrian opposition? - VERDA ÖZER

Turkey’s imposition on Syrian opposition?

Last Thursday, heavy clashes broke out between pro-Assad forces and al-Qaeda-linked groups on the Akçakale gate on the Turkish-Syrian border in southeastern Turkey. By coincidence, on the very same day I was at the Akçakale refugee camp, which is one of the four camps for Syrian refugees based in Urfa province. The camp usually hosts about 30,000 refugees. But that day 10,000 refugees rushed across the border gate, which must have raised the number of the refugees in the camp considerably.

More:Turkey’s imposition on Syrian opposition? - VERDA ÖZER

Turkey: A Conspiratorial State of Mind | EurasiaNet.org

Turkey: A Conspiratorial State of Mind
February 24, 2014 - 5:06pm, by Yigal Schleifer

As Eurasianet's Dorian Jones pointed out in a recent article, in response to growing domestic political strife and economic uncertainty, Turks are turning to conspiracy theories to explain things (with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan leading the pack).

More:Turkey: A Conspiratorial State of Mind | EurasiaNet.org

That’s Turkey for You | The Majalla Magazine

That’s Turkey for You
Witold Szabłowski’s “The Assassin from Apricot City” gets to the soul of Turkey
The Assassin from Apricot City: Reportage from Turkey
By Witold Szabłowski

The juggling balls of Turkish punditry soar into the air from the first pages of The Assassin from Apricot City: Reportage from Turkey, by Witold Szabłowski: caricatures of prostitutes and dervishes, chadors and miniskirts, a people torn between East and West and all topped by a classical reference to the Bosporus as the River Styx, flowing between life and death.

More:That’s Turkey for You | The Majalla Magazine

Main opposition says gov't lost legitimacy, calls on Erdoğan to quit - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Main opposition says gov't lost legitimacy, calls on Erdoğan to quit

Turkish main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has said the Turkish government has lost its legitimacy and called on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to resign immediately after the leak of prime minister's voice recording.

More:Main opposition says gov't lost legitimacy, calls on Erdoğan to quit - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Pera Palace, oldest European hotel of Turkey

Pera Palace, oldest European hotel of Turkey

Monday, February 24, 2014

Opened in 1892, its list of famous guests include Agatha Christie, Founder of Modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Alfred Hitchcock and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

ISTANBUL - When the world-renowned Orient Express chose Istanbul as its last stop in the East in 1883, Istanbul began to attract not only adventurers, but also the more elite and noble classes of Europe.

More:Pera Palace, oldest European hotel of Turkey

Signs of a Thaw in the Eastern Med - WSJ.com

Signs of a Thaw in the Eastern Med
Turkey's recent economic troubles have spurred some cooperation with Israel, but a deeper thaw is unlikely.

Sohrab Ahmari
connect
Feb. 24, 2014 3:48 p.m. ET

A spate of new developments suggests that Turkey and Israel are repairing their strained ties. But how far will this rapprochement go? And what does Ankara's Muslim Brotherhood-linked government seek?

More:Signs of a Thaw in the Eastern Med - WSJ.com

Turkey: A pirates’ bazaar of bootleg tapes - FT.com

Turkey: A pirates’ bazaar of bootleg tapes

By Daniel Dombey in Istanbul
Bugged recordings of prominent Turks are appearing almost every day, writes Daniel Dombey

When I arrived in Istanbul two and a half years ago, several contacts were reluctant to speak openly on the phone, fearful that such conversations were being bugged.

More:Turkey: A pirates’ bazaar of bootleg tapes - FT.com

EU’s Ashton announces new head of EU delegation to Turkey

EU’s Ashton announces new head of EU delegation to Turkey

24 February 2014 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton announced the appointment of the new Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey on Monday.

More:EU’s Ashton announces new head of EU delegation to Turkey - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkish lira firms before bond auctions, stocks up | Reuters

Turkish lira firms before bond auctions, stocks up

ISTANBUL Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:27am EST

Feb 23 (Reuters) - The Turkish lira firmed on Monday ahead of bond auctions that will provide a test of foreign demand for Turkish assets, while stocks rose, outperforming emerging market peers.

More:Turkish lira firms before bond auctions, stocks up | Reuters

Opposition warns Erdogan’s new intel laws would end Turkish democracy | World Tribune

Opposition warns Erdogan’s new intel laws would end Turkish democracy

ANKARA — Turkey, amid renewed unrest, has been debating legislation that would enable the intelligence community to access bank accounts and other personal information.

More:Opposition warns Erdogan’s new intel laws would end Turkish democracy | World Tribune

EU in contact with US, China, Japan, Canada and Turkey on aid for Ukraine

EU in contact with US, China, Japan on aid for Ukraine
Source: Reuters - Mon, 24 Feb 2014 12:05 PM

BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The European Union has had contact with the United States, Japan, China, Canada and Turkey on coordinating aid for Ukraine, a senior European Commission official said on Monday.

More:EU in contact with US, China, Japan on aid for Ukraine

Wiretapping list infuriates both Turkish gov’t, opposition - POLITICS

Wiretapping list infuriates both Turkish gov’t, opposition

ANKARA

Reports that thousands of people - including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Intelligence Chief Hakan Fidan, and a range of journalists, academics, business leaders and civil society representatives - have been wiretapped by the police for years as part of various probes, has sparked fury from both the government and the opposition.

More:Wiretapping list infuriates both Turkish gov’t, opposition - POLITICS

Gezi protests' Twitter suspects demand Erdoğan testify as victim - CİHAN

Gezi protests' Twitter suspects demand Erdoğan testify as victim
TR_ISTA - 24.02.2014 17:56:03

At the first hearing of a trial of 29 Gezi protesters over messages they posted on Twitter, a lawyer of several defendants has demanded that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attend the next hearing to testify as he is named as the sole victim in the indictment.

More:Gezi protests' Twitter suspects demand Erdoğan testify as victim - CİHAN

Qadi's representative called Erdoğan after accident, say recordings - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Qadi's representative called Erdoğan after accident, say recordings

In a voice recording leaked on the Internet on Sunday, Usama al-Qutb, the representative of Yasin al-Qadi -- a Saudi Arabian businessman who is on the US Treasury Department's “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) list, is allegedly heard speaking to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the telephone after he and Qadi were involved in a car accident on Feb. 15, 2013.

More:Qadi's representative called Erdoğan after accident, say recordings - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkey appeals ECHR’s record fine for 38 villagers killed in 1994 airstrike - RIGHTS

Turkey appeals ECHR’s record fine for 38 villagers killed in 1994 airstrike

Deniz ZEYREK ANKARA / Hürriyet

Turkey has appealed against a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordering Ankara to pay out a record fine over the killing of 38 villagers during a military airstrike in the southeastern province of Şırnak in 1994.

More:Turkey appeals ECHR’s record fine for 38 villagers killed in 1994 airstrike - RIGHTS

Ex-minister confesses to ‘unlawful practices' in wiretapped conversation - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Ex-minister confesses to ‘unlawful practices' in wiretapped conversation

24 February 2014 /
A conversation that was published in a Turkish newspaper between former Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar and the head of the İstanbul Public Housing Corporation (KİPTAŞ), İsmet Yıldırım, has revealed that the ex-minister, along with other officials, was engaged in a number of unlawful practices, including the re-zoning of plots of land in İstanbul.

More:Ex-minister confesses to ‘unlawful practices' in wiretapped conversation - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Reports of widespread wiretapping make waves in Ankara - POLITICS

Reports of widespread wiretapping make waves in Ankara

ANKARA

Thousands of people, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, national intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and a wide range of journalists, academics, business leaders and NGO representatives, have been wiretapped for years by the police as part of different probes, Turkish media claimed Feb. 24. The reports prompted a top judicial body to open an internal investigation into the claims, but were dismissed by the prosecutor involved in the cases.

More:Reports of widespread wiretapping make waves in Ankara - POLITICS

Time to get tough on Turkey's Erdogan, US foreign policy experts tell Obama | JPost | Israel News

Time to get tough on Turkey's Erdogan, US foreign policy experts tell Obama
By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
02/23/2014 14:55
inShare1
Bipartisan group of wonks, lawmakers urge US president to publicly chide Turkish PM for "undermining democracy."

More:Time to get tough on Turkey's Erdogan, US foreign policy experts tell Obama | JPost | Israel News

Turkish gov't takes a step back on intel bill upon harsh criticism - POLITICS

Turkish gov't takes a step back on intel bill upon harsh criticism

ANKARA

Upon strong criticism from the public and the opposition parties, the government has taken a few steps back regarding its bill to equip the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) with expanded powers.

More:Turkish gov't takes a step back on intel bill upon harsh criticism - POLITICS

Man briefly detained for shouting ‘shoebox’ during event attended by Turkish interior minister - LOCAL

Man briefly detained for shouting ‘shoebox’ during event attended by Turkish interior minister

NİĞDE – Doğan News Agency

The trivial word “shoebox” seems to have become taboo in the government’s dictionary, after an unemployed man who shouted it at an event attended by the interior minister was briefly detained Feb. 23.

More:Man briefly detained for shouting ‘shoebox’ during event attended by Turkish interior minister - LOCAL

Can external pressure stop authoritarianism? - CİHAN

Can external pressure stop authoritarianism?
TR_ISTA - 24.02.2014 10:26:35

In the absence of domestic checks and balances against growing authoritarianism at home, many critics of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government hope that external dynamics may play a mitigating role.

More:Can external pressure stop authoritarianism? - CİHAN

Will you turn a blind eye on this, too? - CİHAN

Will you turn a blind eye on this, too?
TR_ISTA - 24.02.2014 10:26:25

Beyond government censorship efforts -- introducing restrictions to Internet use with a newly passed law and the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan admitting to having interfered with publications and TV broadcasts -- there are some daily newspapers that have adopted an attitude of self-censorship following the revelation of a major corruption and bribery investigation on Dec. 17.

More:Will you turn a blind eye on this, too? - CİHAN

UPDATE 2-Tesco in talks on future of Turkish business | Reuters

UPDATE 2-Tesco in talks on future of Turkish business

Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:56am EST

By Daren Butler and James Davey

ISTANBUL/LONDON Feb 24 (Reuters) - Tesco, the world's No. 3 retailer by sales, is in talks with several companies over a possible restructuring of its struggling business in Turkey.

More:UPDATE 2-Tesco in talks on future of Turkish business | Reuters

Hope for Cyprus: A new effort toward reunification is underway - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Hope for Cyprus: A new effort toward reunification is underway
February 23, 2014 7:20 PM

It is good news that the Greek and Turkish Cypriots are going to try again to reunify the Eastern Mediterranean island of 1.1 million, which has been split since 1974.

More:Hope for Cyprus: A new effort toward reunification is underway - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Turkey leads Europe in house price increases - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkey leads Europe in house price increases

23 February 2014 /ARİF BAYRAKTAR, İSTANBUL
Turkey retained its leading position in Europe in terms of the rate of appreciation of house prices in the first nine months of 2013, the Global House Price Index of real estate consulting company Knight Frank has shown.

More:Turkey leads Europe in house price increases - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Murky Turkish football politics mesh with massive graft scandal - TURKEY

Murky Turkish football politics mesh with massive graft scandal

James M. DORSEY
A battle two years ago between Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen over how to handle the match fixing scandal effectively amounted to a struggle for control over Fenerbahçe, which has tens of millions of supporters

More:Murky Turkish football politics mesh with massive graft scandal - TURKEY

Turkish President Gül wants gov’t to fix Internet bill this week - MURAT YETKİN

Turkish President Gül wants gov’t to fix Internet bill this week

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Murat Yetkin Murat Yetkin murat.yetkin@hdn.com.tr

During a “Sunday coffee chat” with journalists in the Huber Palace, which has an impressive view of the Bosphorus, President Abdullah Gül frankly admitted that all efforts to impose bans on the Internet would bear no results. “Even the Americans gave it up,” he said. “As far as I know, they tried a lot after the Snowden leaks.”

More:Turkish President Gül wants gov’t to fix Internet bill this week - MURAT YETKİN

Why are emerging markets in political turmoil? - EMRE DELİVELİ

Why are emerging markets in political turmoil?

The fighting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen seems to have come to a halt. Investors are happy, as they feel that the conflict has been resolved for good, with Erdoğan having emerged victorious.

More:Why are emerging markets in political turmoil? - EMRE DELİVELİ

Turkey crackdown as lawyers accused | News | Law Society Gazette

Turkey crackdown as lawyers accused

24 February 2014By Jonathan Rayner

Lawyers in Turkey stand accused of plotting to overthrow the government under the guise of investigating a corruption scandal, it emerged last week.

More:Turkey crackdown as lawyers accused | News | Law Society Gazette

EU expected to freeze Turkey’s application over Erdogan autocratic style | The Times

EU expected to freeze Turkey’s application over Erdogan autocratic style
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reminded of the rule of law by President Obama
Reuters

Alexander Christie-Miller Istanbul
Published at 12:01AM, February 24 2014

The European Union is expected to put Turkey’s membership application on ice amid fears that the country’s Prime Minister is steering his Government towards autocracy.

More:EU expected to freeze Turkey’s application over Erdogan autocratic style | The Times

Russell Crowe comes to Turkey to shoot his directorial debut movie on Gallipoli battle - CINEMA-TV

Russell Crowe comes to Turkey to shoot his directorial debut movie on Gallipoli battle

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

Following shootings in Australia, the Turkish scenes of actor Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, “The Water Diviner,” will begin shooting on Feb. 26.

More:Russell Crowe comes to Turkey to shoot his directorial debut movie on Gallipoli battle - CINEMA-TV

Turkey denies Taliban office opened in Ankara | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

Turkey denies Taliban office opened in Ankara
February 23, 2014 07:57 PM

ISTANBUL: Turkey denied Sunday a Pakistani media report claiming that the Taliban had opened a political office in Ankara as part of efforts to revive the peace stalled process.

More:Turkey denies Taliban office opened in Ankara | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

Mohammed Ayoob asks whether the military or the Gülen movement poses a graver threat to Turkish democracy. - Project Syndicate

The Warring States of Turkey

EAST LANSING, MICHIGANBANGALORE, INDIA – Turkey’s democratic experiment appears to be floundering. A decade of stellar political and economic performance had convinced many analysts that the country could be an inspiration, if not a model, for the rest of the Muslim Middle East. But the government’s actions over the last few months – which mark a trend, rather than being isolated incidents – have jeopardized many of Turkey’s achievements.

More:Mohammed Ayoob asks whether the military or the Gülen movement poses a graver threat to Turkish democracy. - Project Syndicate

Taksim Solidarity Platform set to sue state over Gezi protest crackdowns - LOCAL

Taksim Solidarity Platform set to sue state over Gezi protest crackdowns

ANKARA

The Taksim Solidarity Platform, a local association that initiated the demonstrations against the redevelopment project of Gezi Park that spread across the country last June, has announced that it is preparing to open a class action lawsuit against the state over the severe crackdowns on protesters.

More:Taksim Solidarity Platform set to sue state over Gezi protest crackdowns - LOCAL

Turkish Awakening: a Personal Discovery of Modern Turkey, by Alev Scott, review - Telegraph

Turkish Awakening: a Personal Discovery of Modern Turkey, by Alev Scott, review
Turkey has followed a turbulent path in recent years. It is like an oddball relative, and understanding it a lifelong effort

By Elif Shafak

Each time I make a phone call from London to my husband in Istanbul we have a ritual. I ask him about himself and then I ask, as if it were another person we knew in common, “How is the country doing?”

More:Turkish Awakening: a Personal Discovery of Modern Turkey, by Alev Scott, review - Telegraph

'Pool system' revealed by graft probe puts financing of politics in spotlight - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

'Pool system' revealed by graft probe puts financing of politics in spotlight

The government-imposed creation of a pool of funds, as revealed by an ongoing graft probe, raised by businessmen to purchase a media group for the government's interest has once again put the financing of politics in the spotlight, pushing us all to question how democratic the election race will be in Turkey.

More:'Pool system' revealed by graft probe puts financing of politics in spotlight - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkey underplays police shake-up | eNCA

Turkey underplays police shake-up
World
Saturday 22 February 2014 - 1:42pm

ISTANBUL - Turkey's interior ministry said 1,000 police officers have been removed in the wake of a major corruption probe against key government allies, but said these were only "routine" re-assignments.

More:Turkey underplays police shake-up | eNCA

Turkish PM: Private tutoring centers will be closed

Turkish PM: Private tutoring centers will be closed

Yozgat - Turkey`s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed on Saturday that the government will close all private tutoring centers and convert them into conventional private schools.

More:Turkish PM: Private tutoring centers will be closed

Gov't criticized for forcing scientific researcher to alter report - CİHAN

Gov't criticized for forcing scientific researcher to alter report
TR_ANKA - 22.02.2014 09:53:51
Share:

ALİ ASLAN KILIÇ, ANKARA

Claims by the former head of a scientific research agency who was dismissed a day after his public remarks that he was forced to make changes to a report that was part of an investigation into bugging devices found at the prime minister's office have triggered a harsh reaction against the government.

More:Gov't criticized for forcing scientific researcher to alter report - CİHAN

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Will India choose Erdogan’s path? - The Globe and Mail

Will India choose Erdogan’s path?

Doug Saunders

The Globe and Mail

Published Saturday, Feb. 22 2014, 6:00 AM EST

Your country, which is large, important and troubled but no longer trapped in poverty, is facing a historic election. On the ballot before you are two choices.

More:Will India choose Erdogan’s path? - The Globe and Mail

US, Turkey realize al-Qaeda threat in Syria – a bit late - CİHAN ÇELİK


US, Turkey realize al-Qaeda threat in Syria – a bit late

The diplomatic solution to the ongoing Syrian civil war made baby steps last week while the government and opposition have at least managed to hold face-to-face talks last week and agreed to discuss the so-called Geneva Communique - a blueprint for a transition period and eventually for peace in the country.

More:US, Turkey realize al-Qaeda threat in Syria – a bit late - CİHAN ÇELİK

The myths of Gezi and the Turkish PM’s failed ‘inceptions’ - CİHAN ÇELİK

The myths of Gezi and the Turkish PM’s failed ‘inceptions’

Desperately fighting back against the anti-government protests engulfing Turkey, the Turkish prime minister was going to great lengths in his smear campaign against the Gezi protesters in the early summer of 2013.

More:The myths of Gezi and the Turkish PM’s failed ‘inceptions’ - CİHAN ÇELİK

Friday, February 21, 2014

Turkey’s Internet Crackdown - NYTimes.com

Turkey’s Internet Crackdown

President Abdullah Gul, Turkey’s head of state, has now joined Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the government’s assault on free speech. On Tuesday, Mr. Gul approved a new law, passed earlier by Parliament, that is intended to help protect Mr. Erdogan and his allies from a widening corruption scandal by tightening government control of the Internet. It would allow the authorities, without a court order, to block web pages under the guise of protecting personal privacy, and to collect users’ browsing histories.

More:Turkey’s Internet Crackdown - NYTimes.com

Is it dangerous for children to listen to Erdoğan?

Is it dangerous for children to listen to Erdoğan?

Extraordinary times in Turkey. Never would I have imagined to read an editorial in Turkey's best-selling daily Zaman about the dangerous impact of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's speech on children.

More:Is it dangerous for children to listen to Erdoğan? - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkey prepares to assume G-20 term presidency

Turkey prepares to assume G-20 term presidency

SYDNEY - Turkish Deputy Prime Minister for economy Ali Babacan said that the development of long term financial opportunities for lower investments is one of the basic priorities of the G-20, while attending a conference of G-20 ministers and central bank presidents on Friday.

More:Turkey prepares to assume G-20 term presidency

Turkey's elections likely to increase political turmoil - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Turkey's elections likely to increase political turmoil

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists he is faced with an existential threat from domestic and foreign enemies who want to topple him, and appears determined to ratchet up his vindictive rhetoric against his perceived enemies and detractors while critical local elections to be held on March 30 near.

More:Turkey's elections likely to increase political turmoil - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

'Duress Exception' May Net Turkish Man Asylum

'Duress Exception' May Net Turkish Man Asylum
By CAMERON LANGFORD

(CN) - A man who gave food and clothing to armed Kurdish terrorists may be eligible for U.S. asylum under a "duress exception" to the admissibility bar, the 2nd Circuit ruled.

More:Courthouse News Service

1453 Journal of Istanbul's Culture and Art: a Momento of the city

1453 Journal of Istanbul's Culture and Art: a Momento of the city

by Ayse Humeyra Atilgan

ISTANBUL - '1453 Journal of Istanbul's Culture and Art' whose title refers to the Conquest of Istanbul in the 15th century, offers its readers a broad range of articles and photographs on Istanbul's history, culture, art, and traditions as well as advice on breathtaking places to visit and enjoy in the city.

More:1453 Journal of Istanbul's Culture and Art: a Momento of the city

Istanbul’s Tram: Symbol of nostalgic Istanbul

Istanbul’s Tram: Symbol of nostalgic Istanbul
A symbol not only of nostalgia in taking the visitor around historical Istanbul but is a modern, practical transportation choice

A symbol not only of nostalgia in taking the visitor around historical Istanbul but is a modern, practical transportation choice

by Tuncay Kayaoglu

ISTANBUL - The Tram once the symbol of the ambition of the ruling elite of the Ottoman Empire, still serves Istanbul today. It has become a symbol not only of nostalgia in taking the visitor around historical Istanbul but it offers a modern, practical transportation alternative to cars, buses and taxis while alleviating Istanbul's congestion and pollution.

More:Istanbul’s Tram: Symbol of nostalgic Istanbul

Farewell to the "Islamic Vatican"?

Interview with Kerem Öktem
Farewell to the "Islamic Vatican"?
Diyanet, Turkey's state-run Directorate General for Religious Affairs, is often referred to as a kind of Islamic "mini-Vatican". The Ankara-based authority seeks to shape the religious lives of Turkish Muslims living in Western Europe. In Germany, the Turkish Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), a federation of almost 900 mosque communities, is closely allied with Diyanet. Claudia Mende asked German scholar Kerem Öktem of St Anthony's College Oxford to what extent Ankara influences debates about religious matters in Germany

More:Farewell to the "Islamic Vatican"?

"Zero problems" with the Islamic Republic

"Zero problems" with the Islamic Republic

Even at the height of diplomatic tensions with Iran and after an intensification of sanctions against the country, Turkey did not fall in with the West's strict line on Iran. Sinan Ulgen explains why

More:"Zero problems" with the Islamic Republic

Troubled Turkey Looks to Conspiracy Theories for Answers | EurasiaNet.org

Troubled Turkey Looks to Conspiracy Theories for Answers
February 20, 2014 - 11:55am, by Dorian Jones

Facing bouts of civil unrest, corruption probes and growing financial and economic pressure, the Turkish government is increasingly looking to blame its ills on foreign conspiracies.

More:Troubled Turkey Looks to Conspiracy Theories for Answers | EurasiaNet.org

Why are women missing from Turkey’s latest power play? - Your Middle East

Why are women missing from Turkey’s latest power play?

Banner Icon Women's rights Politics in Turkey has gone through the roof. But women are almost nowhere to be seen. That tells us something about the fabric of society, writes Ahu Yigit.

More:Why are women missing from Turkey’s latest power play? - Your Middle East

Turkish-bribes-and-brawls - Al-Ahram Weekly

Turkish bribes and brawls

As further tales of graft and corruption surface in Turkey, the ruling party may now be imploding from within,writes Sayed Abdel-Maguid in Ankara

More:Turkish-bribes-and-brawls - Al-Ahram Weekly

Erdogan aims to keep power in Turkey | The Times

Erdogan aims to keep power in Turkey
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted in the past that he would not serve in power for more than three terms

Alexander Christie-Miller Istanbul
Published at 12:01AM, February 21 2014

Turkey’s governing party may change its rules to allow Recep Tayyip Erdogan to serve a fourth term as Prime Minister, his deputy said yesterday.

More:Erdogan aims to keep power in Turkey | The Times

Europe's Duff to Ankara: We have never been this close to suspending talks - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Europe's Duff to Ankara: We have never been this close to suspending talks

21 February 2014 /SELÇUK GÜLTAŞLI, BRUSSELS
A senior member of the European Parliament (MEP) has said that the European Union has never been as close as it is now to considering the possibility of suspending accession talks with Turkey.

More:Europe's Duff to Ankara: We have never been this close to suspending talks - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Key to Cyprus peace lies in Ankara

Key to Cyprus peace lies in Ankara
21 February 2014 15:39

Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis will be meeting Turkish Undersecretary of the ministry of foreign affairs Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu in Ankara on Thursday to discuss ways to break the Cyprus problem’s impasse.
This was officially announced in the Turkish capital as well as Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Ozersay meeting in Athens the same day with Greek permanent secretary of the foreign ministry Anastasis Mitsialis.

More:Key to Cyprus peace lies in Ankara

What if an uncovered woman claimed she had been attacked? - CİHAN

What if an uncovered woman claimed she had been attacked?
TR_ISTA - 20.02.2014 10:58:58

The headscarved woman who claimed to have been violently assaulted by a group of Gezi Park protesters in early June was disproved last week by surveillance footage shot that day.

More:What if an uncovered woman claimed she had been attacked? - CİHAN

AFP: World War I root of Mideast conflict, Armenian genocide

World War I root of Mideast conflict, Armenian genocide

By Philippe Alfroy (AFP) – 5 hours ago

Istanbul — A century on, World War I casts a haunting shadow far from the trenches of western Europe, having spawned two crises that still strain international relations: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Armenian genocide.

More:AFP: World War I root of Mideast conflict, Armenian genocide

Bipartisan Letter to Obama Urging Action on Erdogan

Bipartisan Letter to Obama Urging Action on Erdogan
By: Jewish Press Staff
Published: February 21st, 2014

More than 80 dignitaries from across the political spectrum on Thursday wrote President Obama asking him to get involved in what they describe as the anti-democratic actions of Turkish Prime Minister Racep Tayyip Erdogan.

More:The Jewish Press » » Bipartisan Letter to Obama Urging Action on Erdogan

Turkey to boost defense industry with SMEs and universities

Turkey to boost defense industry with SMEs and universities

ANKARA - Turkey is set to make major strides in aerospace propulsion system technologies by introducing seven new projects with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and universities, a high-level defense official announced on Thursday.

More:Turkey to boost defense industry with SMEs and universities

Turkish PM Erdogan says $3.5 bln Sikorsky helicopter deal signed | Reuters

Turkish PM Erdogan says $3.5 bln Sikorsky helicopter deal signed

ISTANBUL Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:29am EST

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday a deal had been signed with United Technologies Corp's Sikorsky unit for a general purpose helicopter order worth $3.5 billion.

More:Turkish PM Erdogan says $3.5 bln Sikorsky helicopter deal signed | Reuters

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey receives first of 4 surveillance planes | World | FresnoBee.com

Turkey receives first of 4 surveillance planes

The Associated PressFebruary 21, 2014

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's military has taken delivery of its first Boeing-made surveillance aircraft, part of a $1.5 billion project to modernize its air force.

More:ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey receives first of 4 surveillance planes | World | FresnoBee.com

Turkey scraps coup plot courts in battle over judiciary | Reuters

Turkey scraps coup plot courts in battle over judiciary

By Orhan Coskun

ANKARA Fri Feb 21, 2014 10:21am EST

(Reuters) - Turkish lawmakers on Friday abolished special courts which had convicted hundreds of alleged military coup plotters, as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan battles a new foe he sees as using influence in the judiciary to try to unseat him.

More:Turkey scraps coup plot courts in battle over judiciary | Reuters

Design geniuses come to Istanbul - EXHIBITIONS

Design geniuses come to Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

The “alldesign 2014 Design Conferences and Creative Industries Fair,” will be organized for the third time this year in Istanbul on Feb. 21 and 22.

More:Design geniuses come to Istanbul - EXHIBITIONS

Istanbul police search for 50 tons of Byzantine gold | Vestnik Kavkaza

Istanbul police search for 50 tons of Byzantine gold
20 February 2014 - 10:45am

Police in Istanbul have detained four people suspected of stealing gold from remains of ancient Byzantine buildings, Trend reports.
According to investigators, the illegal gold diggers hid about 50 tons of gold.

Police in Istanbul have detained four people suspected of stealing gold from remains of ancient Byzantine buildings, Trend reports.

More:Istanbul police search for 50 tons of Byzantine gold | Vestnik Kavkaza

Fourth term for Turkey’s Erdogan possible, not on agenda yet – deputy PM

Fourth term for Turkey’s Erdogan possible, not on agenda yet – deputy PM

Reuters, 20/02 14:33 CET

LONDON (Reuters) – Turkey’s ruling AK Party could change its rules to allow Tayyip Erdogan to stand for a fourth term as prime minister in an “emergency” although such plans are not currently on the agenda, deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on Thursday.

More:NewsWires : euronews : the latest international news as video on demand

Twitter detainees in Gezi protests asked 3 years jail term, PM Erdoğan sole victim of trial - LOCAL

Twitter detainees in Gezi protests asked 3 years jail term, PM Erdoğan sole victim of trial

İZMİR – Doğan News Agency

Prosecutors have demanded up to three years in prison for 29 people detained during the Gezi protests in İzmir, on charges of inciting riots via Twitter. The indictment, filed on Feb. 20, identified Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the sole victim in the case.

More:Twitter detainees in Gezi protests asked 3 years jail term, PM Erdoğan sole victim of trial - LOCAL

Blast rocks Syria border crossing with Turkey

Blast rocks Syria border crossing with Turkey
February 20, 2014 15:56 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian opposition activists and Turkish state media say a powerful explosion has rocked a border crossing with Turkey, killing at least five people and wounding many others.

More:WPEC CBS Channel 12 News :: News - International News

Turkey refutes US criticism of Internet bill

Turkey refutes US criticism of Internet bill

ANKARA - Turkey's European Union Minister and chief negotiator Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday said "The U.S. is the last country to give advice to Turkey about the Internet," in response to America's criticism over Turkey's new Internet law on Wednesday.

More:Turkey refutes US criticism of Internet bill

Censorship to cover political embarrassment not working in Turkey

Censorship to cover political embarrassment not working in Turkey
Written by Nick Farrell

The Turkish Government, which was hoping to cover its corruption scandals using internet censorship, is discovering that people are seeing through its cunning plan. President Abdullah Gul approved the legislation, which will let the authorities block web pages within hours and collect data such as users' browsing histories.

More:Censorship to cover political embarrassment not working in Turkey

Ailing Ergenekon convict released upon Constitutional Court ruling - POLITICS

Ailing Ergenekon convict released upon Constitutional Court ruling

ANKARA

Ergenekon convict Fatih Hilmioğlu, recently diagnosed with stage three liver cancer, has been released from jail following upon a Constitutional Court ruling on Feb. 20 .

More:Ailing Ergenekon convict released upon Constitutional Court ruling - POLITICS

Minister rules out using artificial rain bombs against drought, says rain prayer ‘cheaper’ - GREEN

Minister rules out using artificial rain bombs against drought, says rain prayer ‘cheaper’

ISTANBUL

As Western Turkey and Central Anatolia experience one of the driest winters in recent years, Waterworks Minister Veysel Eroğlu has dismissed resorting to drastic methods such as artificial rain bombs, suggesting that prayers for rain are a more affordable option.

More:Minister rules out using artificial rain bombs against drought, says rain prayer ‘cheaper’ - GREEN

Turkey row over judiciary bill continues

Turkey row over judiciary bill continues
Most probably the court will directly reject this appeal, because the bill has not even been approved yet, said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister

Most probably the court will directly reject this appeal, because the bill has not even been approved yet, said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister

ANKARA - A move by the Turkish opposition to annul a controversial bill - not yet ratified - on government changes to the judiciary, is criticized Wednesday by Turkish deputy prime minister.

More:Turkey row over judiciary bill continues

Thursday, February 20, 2014

'Singing Women' -- When the maestro goes off-key

'Singing Women' -- When the maestro goes off-key

20 February 2014 /EMİNE YILDIRIM, İSTANBUL
Reha Erdem is indisputably one of the most versatile directors of Turkish cinema. Always trying something new, he plays with genres and themes, trying to push his artistic boundaries and present a unique experience for the audience every single time.

More:'Singing Women' -- When the maestro goes off-key - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Turkish PM’s daughters file complaint to become part of Feb 28 coup plot trial

Turkish PM’s daughters file complaint to become part of Feb 28 coup plot trial

ISTANBUL

The daughters of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have filed petitions to become a party in the trial of the military intervention of Feb. 28, 1997, often described as a “post-modern coup.”

More:POLITICS - Turkish PM’s daughters file complaint to become part of Feb 28 coup plot trial

Turkey's Erdogan Seeks Broader Intelligence Agency Powers - WSJ.com

Turkey's Erdogan Seeks Broader Intelligence Agency Powers
Bill Would Give Spy Agency Unrestricted Record Access, More Legal Protection
By
Joe Parkinson

ISTANBUL—Turkey's government submitted a draft law designed to give sweeping additional powers to its intelligence services, its latest move to expand executive control over key institutions ahead of pivotal elections.

More:Turkey's Erdogan Seeks Broader Intelligence Agency Powers - WSJ.com

Ankara police granted permission for ‘general searches’

Ankara police granted permission for ‘general searches’

ANKARA

Ankara’s 10th Criminal Court of Peace has granted the police permission to conduct 15 days of “general searches,” meaning officers can search individuals, vehicles or private documents at will in a bid to prevent “potential crimes” in the city.

More:LOCAL - Ankara police granted permission for ‘general searches’

Obama and Erdogan Discuss Normalization - Middle East - News - Israel National News

Obama and Erdogan Discuss Turkey-Israel Normalization

U.S. President Barack Obama and Turkish PM Erdogan discuss "the importance" of Turkey and Israel normalizing their relations.

More:Obama and Erdogan Discuss Normalization - Middle East - News - Israel National News

Obstacles remain in preserving non-recognized minority languages in Turkey - CİHAN

Obstacles remain in preserving non-recognized minority languages in Turkey
TR_ISTA - 20.02.2014 19:14:59

Feb. 21 marks the annual International Mother Language Day, which promotes linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism, but some minority communities suffer various political, legal and social obstacles in transmitting their languages to their youth while others do not.

More:Obstacles remain in preserving non-recognized minority languages in Turkey - CİHAN

Report on violence against women represents tip of the iceberg, expert says, 20 February 2014

Report on violence against women represents tip of the iceberg, expert says

20 February 2014

Independent Communications Network (Bianet), an Istanbul-based NGO and news portal, announced that violence against women in Turkey increased in 2013 compared to the previous year.

More:Report on violence against women represents tip of the iceberg, expert says, 20 February 2014

The ‘gray wolf’ threat to Erdogan and the AKP - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

The ‘gray wolf’ threat to Erdogan and the AKP

During the first weeks of the Gezi protests in June 2013, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan organized five major “Respect the National Will” rallies. I was watching one of them with a group of “ultranationalist” friends. They belong to the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP. Many of them had supported the Gezi protests. As we were watching Erdogan’s rally, all of a sudden Erdogan said, “I want to thank my brothers from the MHP.”

More:The ‘gray wolf’ threat to Erdogan and the AKP - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

The large Jewish debt to Turkey - Opinion Israel News | Haaretz

The large Jewish debt to Turkey

Israelis do not remember that in the year of the expulsion, 1492, the country that opened its gates to the exiles from Spain - without constructing prison facilities for them - was Ottoman Turkey.

More:The large Jewish debt to Turkey - Opinion Israel News | Haaretz

SEMİH İDİZ - Turkey takes another step backwards

Turkey takes another step backwards

By signing the new Internet law President Abdullah Gül has not only gone against a strong body of domestic and international pubic opinion, but has also disregarded warnings from the EU, whose criteria on democracy and freedoms he has ostensibly been plugging.

More:SEMİH İDİZ - Turkey takes another step backwards

Energy: Key to EU-Turkish relations? - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

Energy: Key to EU-Turkish relations?

EU member states must realise that getting Turkey to adopt EU regulations is in their strategic interest too.

More:Energy: Key to EU-Turkish relations? - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

Turkey quits EXPO 2015, shocking Italy

Turkey quits EXPO 2015, shocking Italy

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News
Italy is left bewildered after Turkey abruptly pulls out of next year’s expo in Milan, amid rumors of either Turkish anger at Rome’s failure to endorse İzmir’s Expo 2020 bid or a lack of finances

More:INTERNATIONAL - Turkey quits EXPO 2015, shocking Italy

EU should prepare Turkish Cypriots for membership

EU should prepare Turkish Cypriots for membership
Nami said that the current resolution process that started in Cyprus is different than the preceding ones due to a number of factors.

Nami said that the current resolution process that started in Cyprus is different than the preceding ones due to a number of factors.

BRUSSELS - Foreign Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ozdil Nami asked the European Union on Wednesday to prepare TRNC for the post-resolution period.

More:EU should prepare Turkish Cypriots for membership

Some in Turkey feel less free now that women are free to wear headscarves | Public Radio International

Some in Turkey feel less free now that women are free to wear headscarves

February 19, 2014 · 5:45 PM EST

Almost immediately after coming into power, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced he would work to end a long-standing ban on wearing Islamic headscarves in schools and government buildings.

More:Some in Turkey feel less free now that women are free to wear headscarves | Public Radio International

Obama, Turkish leader discuss Mideast conflicts - The Washington Post

Obama, Turkish leader discuss Mideast conflicts

By Associated Press, Published: February 19

TOLUCA, Mexico — The White House says President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (REH’-jehp TY’-ihp UR’-doh-wahn) have discussed Mideast conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Israel.

More:Obama, Turkish leader discuss Mideast conflicts - The Washington Post

MURAT YETKİN - Turkey, lies and videotape

Turkey, lies and videotape

The videotape in question nowadays is a security camera recording from June 1, 2013. It shows the bus and tramway stops region of the Kabataş ferry station on the European side of Istanbul. It was shot when the Gezi protests had started to gain momentum and many young people were taking to the streets.

More:MURAT YETKİN - Turkey, lies and videotape

MURAT YETKİN - Second round kicks off in Turkish file-fights

Second round kicks off in Turkish file-fights

When I say file, you can take it as the voice or video files, besides the ones on paper, legally or illegally obtained.

On the one hand, the leaked files could be regarded as ways of knowing at least parts of the truth nowadays, when further limits to the right to knowledge are attempted through laws like the recent one on the Internet.

More:MURAT YETKİN - Second round kicks off in Turkish file-fights

All flights suspended at İstanbul airport due to dense fog - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

All flights suspended at İstanbul airport due to dense fog

All flights in and out of İstanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen International Airport have been suspended due to dense fog, which paralyzed public transportation and air traffic on Wednesday.

More:All flights suspended at İstanbul airport due to dense fog - Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Turkey’s Hundred Years of Identity Crisis « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT

Turkey’s Hundred Years of Identity Crisis

With Turkey in a year of elections that could determine its general direction for a decade or more, the core issue at stake is that of Turkey’s mixed secular, national and Islamic identity.

More:Turkey’s Hundred Years of Identity Crisis « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT

Turkish president loses Twitter followers - The Washington Post

Turkish president loses Twitter followers

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 4:10 AM

ANKARA, Turkey — Media reports say close to 80,000 people have stopped following Turkey’s president on Twitter after he signed a controversial bill increasing government controls over the Internet into law.

More:Turkish president loses Twitter followers - The Washington Post

Turkish central bank signals no more rate hikes for now -economists | Reuters

Turkish central bank signals no more rate hikes for now -economists

ISTANBUL Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:26pm IST

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Turkey's central bank told economists on Wednesday it expects average funding costs to hover at around 10 percent for the foreseeable future, signalling it has no plans to hike interest rates further in the short term.

More:Turkish central bank signals no more rate hikes for now -economists | Reuters

‘Ultra-luxe' Trump Home by Dorya to debut in Istanbul - 2014-02-19 14:29:14 | Furniture Today

‘Ultra-luxe' Trump Home by Dorya to debut in Istanbul
Upholstery, case goods line also will be in High Point
Cindy W. Hodnett -- Furniture Today, February 19, 2014

ISTANBUL — Trump Home by Dorya will be launched internationally on Feb. 27 during a gala at the manufacturer's flagship store in this Turkish capital.

More:‘Ultra-luxe' Trump Home by Dorya to debut in Istanbul - 2014-02-19 14:29:14 | Furniture Today