Grant applicants asked questions on 'decorum'

Small and Medium Industry Development Organization, or KOSGEB's, 27.000 Turkish Lira grant project is attracting a great demands although the applicants are asked eccentric questions in the pre-application examinations, like how they would act in a social gathering

The application examination involves questions like how candidates would behave in a social gathering or what would they do if they were forced to play chess against former world champion Gary Kasparov. (AA)

A new grant to small entrepreneurs in Turkey is attracting great demand, yet applicants have questioned the utility of parts of the application process which, among other queries, asks people what they would do if they played chess against Gary Kasparov.

The 27,000-Turkish Lira grant is part of the General Entrepreneurship Education Program from the Small and Medium Industry Development Organization, or KOSGEB, which aims to teach successful candidates how to turn their business dreams into a successful business plan, according to Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges, or TOBB, member and Konya Chamber of Commerce, or KTO, Chairman Hüseyin Üzülmez.

Üzülmez said the chamber was the project’s business partner in the Central Anatolian province of Konya, adding they started the application admissions on Monday.

“The number of applications was way beyond our expectations,” he said, adding that in the first three days, there were already 1,000 applications.

“The only precondition for application is that the applicants must not have any sort of business registration in the Treasury or the chamber of commerce. Other than that, we are approving eligibility for anyone regardless of their level of education,” Üzülmez said.

Several steps before grant

“During the application process, we make the candidates fill out a 25-question test. After the test results are evaluated, the candidates will be called in for interview. And those who successfully pass all these steps will be admitted to an education seminar in January which will take 60 hours in total,” he said.

Applicants, however, are asked everything from how they would behave if forced to play against former chess world champion Kasparov to how they would act in various social situations. The exam for the grant also asks candidates, “What attracts you when you are planning to produce a good or service?” “Which part of the following do you think is the most important step of a business plan?” “Which one of the following is the most important trait of today’s entrepreneur?”

Üzülmez said the chamber expected to receive around 5,000 applications just from Konya by the time the application process ends Jan. 7, 2010.

Those whose projects are ultimately chosen will be granted 27,000 Turkish Lira for one year.

A great majority of the applicants are primary-school graduates who currently have no job, as well as housewives who want to open stores to sell food or trousseau articles, Üzülmez said.

Many men, similarly, want to open stores to sell wholesale or retail goods rather than open manufacture bases.

At the same time, many of the applicants are also university graduates, the chamber head said.

Georgia's tourism sector increased in 2010

Georgia attracted more than 2 million visitors in 2010, the highest figure since 2003, a spokeswoman for President Mikhail Saakashvili said.

“The government saw a big increase in tourism, with visits up 35 percent compared with the same period a year ago,” Manana Manjgaladze said in Tbilisi on Tuesday.

The number of visitors has increased since Georgia’s brief war with neighboring Russia in 2008, when tourism’s share of gross domestic product fell to 3.6 percent, according to Statistics Georgia.

In November, Saakashvili promised free land and the construction of a new airport to lure hoteliers and other investors to build a tourist resort at the Black Sea ports of Anaklia and Kobuleti.

Georgia’s economy may expand as much as 6.5 percent in 2010, Prime Minister Nika Gilauri’s spokesman Nikoloz Mchedlishvili said by phone.

Opposition journalist to remain in Azerbaijani jail

The Supreme Court in Azerbaijan on Tuesday rejected an appeal for the release of an opposition journalist whose jailing has caused widespread concerns about free speech in the ex-Soviet republic.

Libel and terrorism charges against newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev were lifted last month, but he remains in prison after his appeal against a fresh two-and-a-half year sentence for alleged drugs possession was dismissed.

Fatullayev's supporters believe that the authorities are determined to silence the journalist, who was the chief editor of two newspapers that were critical of the government in the oil-rich state.

"The courts are satisfying the wishes of politicians, and that's why everything depends on the politicians' wishes, and not the decision of the court," said Fatullayev's lawyer, Elchin Sadikhov.

Fatullayev was first jailed in 2007, but his sentences under libel and terrorism legislation were lifted after the European Court of Human Rights called for his immediate release earlier this year.

He was then convicted of possessing heroin in prison, causing fresh criticism from the U.S. State Department, which said that the new sentence did not represent progress towards increased freedom of the media in Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani authorities have consistently rejected accusations by international rights groups that free speech in the country is seriously limited by restrictive legislation and punitive prosecutions of journalists.

Malaysia holiday after football win over Indonesia

VICTORY: Malaysia national football team celebrate its victory over fierce rival Indonesia in AFF Suzuki Cup final match at Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta. AP photo

Malaysia declared Friday a public holiday to celebrate its victory over Indonesia in the bitterly contested final of a regional football tournament that dominated Twitter for days with hate messages by fans from both sides.

Malaysia beat neighbor Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate in the two-match final to win the ASEAN Suzuki Cup, southeast Asia's premier tournament, for the first time on Wednesday.

Malaysia beat Indonesia in the first leg played Sunday in Kuala Lumpur 3-0. It lost the second leg played in Jakarta on Wednesday 2-1, but won on aggregate over two legs.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the holiday in a statement to the national news agency Bernama late Wednesday, saying that the victory marked "the greatest night in Malaysian football."

"Well done, Malaysian Tigers! You played well as a team and have made your country very proud. Congratulations!" he posted from his Twitter account.

Twitter was also the scene of a furious exchange of insults and accusations by fans from the two countries, who have been traditional rivals not only in sports but also in asserting regional influence and their versions of the Malay culture shared by both. Another sore point in their rivalry is the frequent mistreatment of Indonesian maids by Malaysian employers.

Furious Indonesians accused Malaysia of unfairly winning the first leg, alleging fans in Kuala Lumpur distracted Indonesian players by directing bright green beams from laser pens into their eyes.

During the game, officials told fans to stop using the pointers after Indonesia's goalkeeper and another player complained. Malaysia's three goals came after the directive.

Fearing revenge attacks, Wednesday's match in Jakarta was played amid high security with armored personnel carriers deployed outside the stadium. Malaysian officials were booed when they came out to inspect the pitch. But the game went off without violence.

On Tuesday, Indonesian fans managed to push the phrase "HATE MALAYSIA" to the top of the Twitter charts for an hour.

As Malaysians were glued to televisions Wednesday, Twitter was awash with comments on the match. Malaysian goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat even made it into Twitter's global "Trending Topics" chart as one of the most popular topics.

Other phrases among the top 10 trending were "Congratulations Malaysia," "loveindonesia" and "garudafightsback," a reference to the mythical Indonesia bird.

Indonesia - with a population of nearly 240 million people compared to Malaysia's 28 million - has Asia's largest numbers of Twitter users by country.

Dollar will remain as reserve currency, Pimco says

Anthony Crescenzi of Pimco says China and Europe are not developed enough for their currencies to replace the US dollar as reserve currencies. Bloomberg photo

The U.S. dollar will keep its reserve status in 2011 because China and Europe aren’t developed enough for their currencies to replace it, said Pacific Investment Management Co., which runs the world’s biggest bond fund.

“Rising powers such as China are not yet ready to absorb the $9 trillion in reserve assets the world holds, particularly because their bond markets are immature,” Anthony Crescenzi, a money manager at Pimco, wrote in a report Wednesday. “Europe, amid all of its financial woes, is not even close to ready to take the mantle.”

The U.S. “remains the world’s preeminent power economically, politically, and militarily,” Crescenzi wrote.

Growth in currency reserves to a record in 2010 helped curb an increase in Treasury yields as investors outside the U.S. scooped up the nation’s debt. The Obama administration is counting on foreign money managers, who own half of the outstanding $8.75 trillion in marketable Treasury securities, to keep buying as it borrows record amounts.

Low yields in Treasuries

“Support has been superfluous, as evidenced by both the relatively low level of market interest rates and the broad level of participation in the Treasury’s regular auctions,” Crescenzi wrote. “The U.S. will remain a ‘going concern’ and preserve investments in dollar assets, albeit at lower rates of return than in other countries, notably those in the emerging markets.”

U.S. two-year notes yielded 0.64 percent, after falling to a record 0.31 percent on Nov. 4. The yield has averaged 4.14 percent over the last 20 years.

At a Treasury seven-year auction Wednesday, indirect bidders including foreign central banks bought 64.2 percent of the notes, the highest level since June 2009.

Worldwide reserve assets rose to $9.05 trillion on Dec. 3, the most based on data compiled by Bloomberg going back to 2003.

Investors held 62.1 percent of reserve assets in dollars as of June 30, little changed from the end of 2009, according to the International Monetary Fund, or IMF. The figure has fallen from 72.7 percent in 2001. The next-largest holdings are in euros, comprising 26.5 percent, the IMF figures show.

The dollar declined 2.5 percent in 2010, extending a 10 percent slide in 2009, according Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes.

Pimco’s $250 billion Total Return Fund gained 7.6 percent this year, beating 71 percent of its competitors. The company is a unit of unit of Munich-based insurer Allianz.

Billy Taylor, pianist, jazz advocate, dies at 89

Jazz pianist and composer Billy Taylor died of a heart attack.

Billy Taylor, an acclaimed jazz pianist and composer who became one of the genre's most ardent advocates through radio, television and the landmark Jazzmobile arts venture, has died at age 89. Taylor died Tuesday of a heart attack in Manhattan, said his wife, Theodora Taylor.

Though he had a noteworthy career as a musician and composer that spanned decades, and played with luminaries such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, Billy Taylor was probably best known as a tireless jazz booster, educator and broadcaster.

Dr. Taylor, as he preferred to be called, was the first black to lead a television studio orchestra in the 1950s. He helped found Jazzmobile in the 1960s – which began as mobile, outdoor concerts on a parade float to bring free music to inner city neighborhoods. He was host of a popular jazz show on National Public Radio from 1977 to 1982.

And, in what he later called one of his more significant accomplishments, he profiled musicians for CBS' "Sunday Morning" show - winning an Emmy Award in 1983 for a piece on Quincy Jones.

Arnold J. Smith, a professor of jazz history at Jersey City University and friend of Taylor's, said the pianist was "one of our best spokesmen ever in the history of this music. To the point that, it's my feeling and others, that he sacrificed his jazz piano playing for the cause of jazz."

William Taylor was born July 24, 1921 in Greenville, North Carolina, but he grew up mostly in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Virginia State College, where he studied sociology and music in the 1940s, he moved to New York City to forge a career as a jazz pianist.

He lucked out, landing a gig playing with Ben Webster, Big Sid Catlett and Charlie Drayton opposite the Art Tatum Trio, he told an interviewer in 1994.

His went on to lead the Billy Taylor Trio, and composed dozens of pieces for ensembles as well as more than 300 songs, including the popular "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free."

Former Israeli president convicted of rape

Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav leaves the justice court in Tel Aviv. AFP photo.

Former Israel President Moshe Katsav was convicted Thursday of raping an employee when he was a Cabinet minister, the most serious criminal charges ever brought against a high-ranking official and a case that stunned the nation.

Katsav, 65, faces a minimum of four years in prison on two counts of raping one of his employees in 1998 when he was Israel's tourism minister. The Tel Aviv District Court also convicted him on lesser counts of indecent acts and sexual harassment involving two other women who worked for him after he became president in 2000.

Katsav has denied the charges. He claimed to be a victim of a political witchhunt, suggesting he was targeted because he comes from Israel's Sephardic community. Sephardic Jews, of Middle Eastern origin, were for decades an underclass in Israeli society. Katsav was born in Iran and immigrated to Israel as a child.

The verdict caps a four-and-a-half year saga that shocked Israelis, both with its lurid details and bizarre twists and turns. Katsav resigned in 2007, two weeks before his seven-year term expired, under a plea bargain that would have required him to admit to lesser charges of sexual misconduct.

He was replaced by elder statesman and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres. Although the post in Israel is largely ceremonial, the president is head of state, representing the country at ceremonies around the world.

But in a dramatic reversal in April 2009, Katsav rejected the deal and said he wanted to clear his name in court. Around that time, he held a news conference in which he lashed out at prosecutors and denied any wrongdoing. His behavior, in which he shook in anger and screamed at reporters in the room, was widely criticized.

Katsav served as a minister in several right-wing Likud governments before being elected president in 2000.

Turkish teachers put on sale in bid, say critics

The Social Serves and Child Protection Agency has hired teachers through a bidding process.

The Social Services and Child Protection Agency, or SHÇEK, has hired teachers, psychologists, nurses and sociologists through a bidding process despite warnings from the Labor and Social Security Ministry not to do so, daily Radikal reported Thursday.

“The duties embodied by nurses, teachers, sociologists and psychologists are the main duties of SHÇEK. They cannot be shifted to a contractor,” said the ministry. Nevertheless, the Istanbul Special Provincial Administration opened a bidding process for the recruitment of 429 occupational employees for SHÇEK.

There are openings for 71 teachers, 33 nurses, 32 sociologists, 109 computer trainers and 26 psychologists, along with computer technicians and cleaning ladies, said the bid, which was won by the Tüm-Pa Cleaning and Social Services Construction Tourism Company.

For its previous work experience, the company pointed to its cleaning job at Eskişehir’s Anadolu University, where it employs an average of 693 workers per month.

The bid attracted great interest but became subject to protests from the Public Bidding Institution by rival companies, who claimed that technical difficulties impeded the process.

Even though the institution said the bidding was flawless in terms of technical deficiencies and was conducted in accordance with procedures, two members from the institution rejected the decision and said the services could not be purchased via a bid.

Adem Kamalı and Erkan Demirtaş, two members of the Public Bidding Institution board, said teachers, sociologists and nurses should have permanent duties.

Authorities from SHÇEK, meanwhile, said they mostly hire teachers in the fields of music and math via such bids.

The head of the Psychologists and Psychotherapists Association, Dr. Bilal Semih, said he did not approve of the procedure and added that choosing employees via a contractor system was wrong in such a sensitive field as SHÇEK.

Education union Eğitim-Sen head Zübeyde Kılıç said job security was damaged by such a bidding process.

Refugee exhibition shows in Ankara

Turkish art and design students were presented awards by the UNHCR.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has recognized a number of Turkish academics and art students for their exhibition “Young Artists Talking about Refugees.”

The UNHCR has presented awards to the fourteen art and design students from Istanbul Kültür University who produced work for the exhibition, which was curated by academics Deniz Yengin and Dide Akdağ, under the direction of Istanbul Kültür University’s Dean of Art and Design Professor Zafer Ertürk.

As part of a wider social responsibility project, the exhibition was held at the Ankara Contemporary Arts Museum from Dec. 14 to 19 and aimed to foster social awareness about refugee issues, with the ambition of encouraging hospitality toward and solidarity with refugees.

Turkish political leaders ringing in 2011 around the country

Turkey’s politicians and party leaders are preparing to spend their New Year’s holidays in a variety of different locations.

President Abdullah Gül will enter the new year in Istanbul while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be in his hometown of Güneysu in the Black Sea province of Rize.

Republican People’s Party, or CHP, chief Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, meanwhile, will begin 2011 in Soma in the Aegean province of Manisa with coal workers. Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to depart for Soma on Friday.

Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, head Devlet Bahçeli will be at his home in Ankara while pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş will be with his family in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

Democrat Party, or DP, leader Hüsamettin Cindoruk and Democratic Left Party, or DSP, leader Masum Türker will both be at their homes in Istanbul.

Among the leaders who will enter 2011 in the capital are Great Union Party, or BBP, leader Yalçın Topçu, Felicity Party, or SP, leader Necmettin Erbakan and Turkey Party, or TP, leader Abdüllatif Şener.

Numan Kurtulmuş, leader of the People’s Voice Party, or HSP, will be in Istanbul where he will be the guest on various television programs on New Year’s Eve.

Former President Süleyman Demirel will ring in the new year at his home on Güniz Street in Ankara.

Cuba puts WikiLeaks disclosures online in Spanish

Cuba will translate and publish more than 2,000 U.S. diplomatic WikiLeaks cables that pertain to Cuba in a bid to highlight U.S. "imperialist" policy, the official Cubadebate website said Thursday.

A "Cablegates" page reached through a portal on cubadebate.cu includes Spanish translations of classified cables disclosed by WikiLeaks, especially those sent by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana to the U.S. State Department.

Of the 2,080 cables leaked by the self-described whistleblower website in which Cuba is mentioned, 507 were sent by the interest section, and to date only 62 have been made public. Cubadebate will publish all the cables over time, it said, and on Thursday opened the series with seven U.S. Interests Section messages it said "prove the links between the U.S. government and (Cuba's) so-called internal dissidence."

They also show how the United States favors Cuba's "counter-revolutionary bloggers in its attempts to organize networks of young people to subvert the Cuban revolution," Cubadebate added.

In some of the Wikileaks cables appearing Thursday, U.S Interests Section mission chief Jonathan Farrar apparently describes Cuba's opposition leadership as aging, divided, concerned with making money and disconnected from Cuba's every-day reality.

Cuban President Raul Castro last week said the treasure trove of some 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables being disclosed by WikiLeaks shows that Washington still acts as the "world's policeman" despite U.S. President Barack Obama's "friendly rhetoric."

Assange says 'high chance' he would be killed in US jail

WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange said in an interview published Thursday there was a "high chance" he would be killed in a U.S. jail if he were to be extradited from Britain on espionage charges.

The Australian is on bail in Britain fighting a bid by Sweden to extradite him over sex assault claims, but Washington is believed to be considering how to indict him over the leaking of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables.

Assange told The Guardian it would be "politically impossible" for Britain to send him across the Atlantic, adding that the government of Prime Minister David Cameron would want to show it had not been "co-opted" by Washington.

"Legally the UK has the right to not extradite for political crimes. Espionage is the classic case of political crimes. It is at the discretion of the UK government as to whether to apply to that exception," he said.

He said U.S. authorities were "trying to strike a plea deal" with Bradley Manning, the U.S. army soldier suspected of providing WikiLeaks with the cables. Assange added that if the United States succeeded in getting him extradited from Britain or Sweden, then there was a "high chance" of him being killed "Jack Ruby-style" in an American prison.

Ruby, a nightclub owner, shot dead Lee Harvey Oswald at a police station in Dallas, Texas days after Oswald was arrested for the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Ruby's alleged links to organized crime sparked conspiracy theories about his involvement in an overall plot surrounding the assassination of Kennedy.

Assange has previously said that he and other WikiLeaks staff have received death threats since the website began to release a cache of around 250,000 secret U.S. State Department cable in November.

Norwegian paper says it has all WikiLeaks cables

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wears mask featuring the American National flag during a protest in front of the of Sweden Embassy in Kiev. AP photo.

A Norwegian newspaper said it has obtained the entire trove of 250,000 uncensored U.S. diplomatic documents that WikiLeaks has been distributing.

The announcement Thursday appears to make Aftenposten the first media organization outside WikiLeaks' five partners to obtain the material - a development sure to heighten U.S. government fears that the public release of some uncensored diplomatic cables could endanger informants' lives.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has not been charged in connection with leaked documents but was jailed in England this month after two women in Sweden accused him of sex crimes, including rape. He was freed on bail last week and is confined to a supporter's country estate in Britain while he fights extradition to Sweden, where authorities want to question him in the sex crimes inquiry.

Assange said Thursday that extraditing him to the U.S. would be "politically impossible" for Britain if he is charged there, but that ultimately his fate will lie in the hands of British Prime Minister David Cameron if the U.S. seeks his extradition.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, the WikiLeaks founder also said he knows he can survive solitary confinement mentally but believes there is a "high chance" he would be killed "Jack Ruby-style" - a reference to the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald - if placed in a U.S. jail.

Assange reiterated claims that the U.S. attorney general wants to indict him, saying statutes on computer hacking and support for terrorism are being reviewed, and said WikiLeaks lacks the funds to pay for his mounting legal bills - which are approaching 500,000 pounds ($771,350).

So far WikiLeaks has released about 1,900 of the more than 250,000 State Department documents it claims to possess, many of them containing critical or embarrassing U.S. assessments of foreign nations and their leaders. The documents are also being published by The New York Times, France's Le Monde, Britain's Guardian newspaper and the German magazine Der Spiegel.

Managing editor Ole Erik Almlid said Aftenposten has no restrictions on how to use the material, and will be publishing articles about the U.S. documents that it finds relevant in its online and paper editions.

Aftenposten will also post parts of some of the original documents on its website, redacting sensitive information such as names if needed, Almlid said. "We have received these documents ... without restrictions and without paying anything for it," Almlid said, declining to say exactly how the paper obtained the material. "We never reveal our sources."

Earlier this year, WikiLeaks published tens of thousands of classified U.S. military documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not known who sent the U.S. documents to WikiLeaks.

A U.S. solider, Pfc. Bradley Manning, was charged in July with leaking classified material, including video posted by WikiLeaks of a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed a Reuters news photographer and his driver. Manning is now in a Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va.

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Manfred Nowak, the U.N.'s top anti-torture envoy, said Nowak was looking into a complaint that Manning, who visitors say spends 23 hours a day alone in a cell, has been mistreated in custody. The Pentagon denies the claim.

War rhetoric rises between North and South Korea

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak (C) points towards North Korean territory during a visit to a military observation post of the front-line unit. AFP photo.

One month after a deadly exchange of artillery fire, the two Koreas ramped up their rhetoric, with South Korea's president pledging unsparing retaliation if attacked again and a top North Korean official threatening a "sacred" nuclear war if provoked.

South Korean troops, tanks and fighter jets put on a thundering display of force Thursday as President Lee Myung-bak visited with soldiers at a base near the border, while North Korea's elite marked a key military anniversary by lashing out at the South for encouraging war.

For both countries, the rallying cries and military maneuvers mainly seemed designed to build support at home. But they raised fears anew of all-out war on a peninsula that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson called a "tinderbox" after returning from a visit to the North Korean capital this week.

The two Koreas and their allies called a truce in 1953 to end three years of devastating war, but violence has flared up from time to time, most recently in the disputed waters off their west coast. North Korea does not recognize the maritime line drawn by U.N. forces, and the territorial dispute in the Yellow Sea has erupted into deadly naval skirmishes.

In March, a South Korean warship went down in the western waters, killing 46 sailors. And a month ago, South Korean live-fire drills in nearby waters triggered a North Korean artillery shower on Yeonpyeong Island that killed four South Koreans, the first attack on a civilian area since the Korean War.

Caught by surprise, Seoul since has beefed up its rules of engagement and has staged military drills, including joint exercises with U.S. troops, meant to remind the North of its superior firepower. The South even carried out provocative artillery drills from Yeonpyeong Island on Monday in a bold dare to the North to retaliate.

According to a report released Thursday by the International Crisis Group, the Koreas' disputed maritime boundary and the volatility of North Korea's internal politics have "created a serious risk that any further provocation might turn into a wider conflict."

While the North would lose in an all-out war against the South and its U.S. ally, "Seoul is constrained in retaliating forcefully because it has so much to lose" economically and politically, the report said. "Pyongyang, isolated from global markets and domestic political forces, does not face such constraints. Rather, the disparity permits it to provoke the South at very little cost, even while falling behind in the overall balance of conventional forces."

The drills continued Thursday, with tanks firing artillery and fighter jets dropping bombs at training grounds in Pocheon, some 30 kilometers from the North. The boom of cannons echoed throughout the valley and the hills erupted in smoke during the brief but dramatic exercise.

There was a theatrical quality to the exercises: Dozens of excited schoolchildren in bright yellow jackets were shuttled to the site to watch from bleachers as military music blared from loudspeakers.

President Lee met with troops manning a front-line army base in the east on the type of morale-boosting visit more commonly seen in the North. He vowed to retaliate if attacked again. "I had thought that we could safeguard peace if we had patience, but that wasn't the case," he told the troops, according to his office. Any surprise attack will be met with an "unsparing" response, he warned.

After days of showing restraint, North Korea condemned the drills as a "grave military provocation." Defense chief Kim Yong Chun said North Korea was prepared to launch a "sacred war" and poised to use its nuclear capabilities to defend itself.

Kim said in Pyongyang that the military would deal "more devastating physical blows" if its rivals violate North Korean territory by even a millimeter. He also threatened to "wipe out" South Korea and the U.S. if they start a war, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

North Korea is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least a half-dozen atomic bombs, and also has revealed a uranium enrichment program that would give it a second way to make nuclear weapons.

After negotiating for years with its neighbors and the U.S. on dismantling its nuclear program in exchange for aid and concessions, Pyongyang walked away from the talks in 2009. China, North Korea's only major ally and the impoverished nation's main benefactor, has pushed for a resumption of the disarmament talks as a vehicle for dialogue.

Leak: Mexican army mistrusts other gov't agencies

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon (R) speaks with Mexican Secretary of Defence Guillermo Galvan Galvan in this file photo. AFP photo

A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable published Saturday depicts the leader of Mexico's army "lamenting" its lengthy role in the anti-drug offensive, but expecting it to last between seven and 10 more years.

The cable says Mexican Defense Secretary Gen. Guillermo Galvan Galvan mistrusts other Mexican law enforcement agencies and prefers to work separately, because corrupt officials had leaked information in the past.

The copy of the Oct. 26, 2009 cable describes a meeting between Mexico's top soldier and former U.S. national intelligence director Dennis Blair.

Mexico's Defense Department "runs the risk of losing public prestige and being criticized on human rights issues as its mandate is extended," the cable quotes the general as saying, "but he (Galvan Galvan) nevertheless expects the military to maintain its current role for the next 7 to 10 years. Galvan did suggest that increased U.S. intelligence assistance could shorten that time frame."

The cable published Saturday by The New York Times also quotes the general as saying that Mexico's army "would be willing to accept any training the U.S. (government) can offer," and noted that two Mexican army officers had been posted to the El Paso, Texas Intelligence Center, to speed the sharing of information.

Galvan Galvan is quoted in the cable as saying Mexican authorities are pursuing fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, but noted the capo moves between 10 to 15 locations to avoid arrest and has a security detail of up to 300 men.

The Mexican president's office was not immediately available for comment on the cable's release. Contacted about another cable earlier, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Lawrence Payne said the agency cannot comment about the WikiLeaks cable, because such cables are considered classified.

In a joint statement Saturday, the Defense Department and civilian law enforcement agencies said they were pursuing Guzman's Sinaloa cartel "equally intensely and systematically" as any of Mexico's other four major drug cartels.

More than 30,000 people have been killed in drug violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against powerful cartels in late 2006.

Assange says signed 1.1 million pounds in book deals

'I don't want to write this book, but I have to,' Julian Assange said. 'I have already spent 200,000 pounds for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat.' AP photo

WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange said in an interview published Sunday he had signed deals for his autobiography worth more than one million pounds ($1.5 million). Assange told Britain's Sunday Times newspaper that the money would help him defend himself against allegations of sexual assault made by two women in Sweden.

"I don't want to write this book, but I have to," he said. "I have already spent 200,000 pounds for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat."

The Australian said he would receive $800,000 from Alfred A. Knopf, his American publisher, and a British deal with Canongate is worth 325,000 pounds ($500,000 dollars).

Money from other markets and serialization is expected to raise the total to 1.1 million pounds, he said.

The latest project of Assange's whistleblower website is the gradual release of tens of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables. Since this latest project began Assange, who is on bail in Britain fighting a bid by Sweden to extradite him over the sex assault claims, has faced problems financing WikiLeaks.

Credit card companies Visa and MasterCard and the Internet payment firm PayPal have blocked donations to WikiLeaks, prompting Assange to label them "instruments of U.S. foreign policy."

The Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank, has also halted all transactions to WikiLeaks.

Washington has been infuriated by WikiLeaks as the site slowly releases the cache of around 250,000 secret U.S. State Department cables. The United States is believed to be considering how to indict Assange over the huge leak.

Assange has been staying at a friend's country mansion in eastern England since his release from jail on Dec. 16 on strict bail conditions that include reporting to police daily and wearing an electronic tag. A court in London is due to hold a full hearing on the Swedish extradition request starting Feb. 7.

Gbagbo warns I vory Coast intervention would provoke war

Jordanian soldiers members of the ONUCI ride past an electoral poster of incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo reading 'I am 8-years-old, I was born during the war. I want to grow up in a peaceful country' in Abidjan on Saturday. AFP photo

Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo on Sunday appeared bent on clinging to power, warning West African leaders any attempt to oust him could ruin the regional economy and trigger civil war.

On Tuesday, three West African presidents will visit Abidjan in a bid to convince the defiant 65-year-old leader to step down, a last-ditch plea that comes backed by a threat of military intervention.

But Gbagbo, who claims to have won last month's presidential election, is in no mood to stand aside for his long-time rival Alassane Ouattara, who has been recognized as the victor by U.N. vote monitors and world powers.

Several international leaders, including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, warn that Gbagbo's stubbornness could plunge Ivory Coast back into civil war.

But Gbagbo's supporters turned the warning around, claiming instead that it is the threat of military action by the West African bloc ECOWAS that poses the greater risk of mass civilian casualties and a regional conflagration.

The regime's spokesman Ahoua Don Mello branded the West African move a "Western plot directed by France" and warned that military action could put millions of regional immigrants in Ivory Coast in danger.

"The people of Ivory Coast will mobilize. This boosts our patriotism. This strengthens our faith in Ivorian nationalism," said Don Mello, who serves as minister for infrastructure and sanitation in Gbabgo's government.

"We're always open to dialogue, but within strict respect of the laws and regulations of the Republic of Ivory Coast," he said. Gbagbo's camp regards him as the lawful and duly-elected president on the country.

Threat of civil war

Gbagbo's spokesman said he did "not believe at all" that it would come to a fight, in particular because there are millions of West African immigrants who work in Ivory Coast's relatively prosperous cocoa-led economy.

"Ivory Coast is a country of immigration," he said. "All these countries have citizens in Ivory Coast, and they know if they attack Ivory Coast from the exterior it would become an interior civil war," he warned.

"Is Burkina Faso ready to welcome three million Burkinabe migrants back in their country of origin?" he demanded, in what some observers saw as a tacit threat that immigrant workers could be targeted in reprisal.

Despite a decade of crisis, Ivory Coast remains a significant economy. It exports more than a third of the world's supply of cocoa, has a small but promising oil production sector and operates two major ports.

Millions of immigrants from poorer West African countries have come looking for jobs, and in previous crises such as the riots of 2004 they have found themselves targeted for attack by mobs of Ivorian "patriot" youths.

Gbagbo has brushed off sanctions on its members by the United States and the European Union, but the tough stance taken by its neighbors has touched a raw nerve, and undermined his claim to be fighting Western colonialism.

On Friday, ECOWAS members said if Gbagbo does not go "the community will be left with no alternative but to take other measures, including the use of legitimate force, to achieve the goals of the Ivorian people."

This followed an earlier vote by the finance ministers of the West African Monetary Union single-currency bloc to block the regime's access to Ivory Coast's accounts in the Central Banks of West African States.

Meanwhile, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Saturday 14,000 Ivorians have fled to neighboring Liberia amid the post-election violence.

"With their numbers growing, the humanitarian needs are increasing for the mostly women and children refugees as well as for the villagers hosting them," UNHCR said, appealing for aid.

"UNHCR has already provisionally pre-positioned supplies to assist up to 30,000 refugees in the region," it added.

Gbagbo's forces remain firmly in charge in Abidjan, where they have been accused of carrying out scores of killings in pro-Ouattara areas.

Ouattara's shadow government is under siege in an Abidjan resort, protected by 800 U.N. peacekeepers, but unable to move beyond the grounds of the Golf Hotel nor take charge of the levers of state power.

US East Coast braces for major winter storm

Traffic slows while entering the New York state Thruway as lake effect snow bands again set up on Dec.14 in Buffalo, New York. AFP photo

The U.S. East Coast braced for a major winter storm Sunday, just as millions of Americans prepared to travel back home after visiting friends and families for Christmas celebrations.

The National Weather Service, NWS, issued winter storm warnings and storm watches across a 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) stretch of the U.S. east coast, from Georgia up to Vermont.

Heavy snow is forecast for the New York and Boston areas, continuing into Sunday night, with overnight temperatures in the 20s Fahrenheit (minus seven Celsius) and wind gusting up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) an hour.

Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina have declared states of emergency.

"We know many people are traveling for the holidays and we want everyone to be extremely cautious," North Carolina Emergency Management Director Doug Hoell told a local television station. "Anyone who is thinking of driving during the next few days, should pay careful attention to the weather and traffic forecasts before heading out."

Washington was facing the prospect of up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow Sunday.

At the airports in the national capital's regions, snow crews were standing by.

"We're just watching the forecast like everyone else," Courtney Mickalonis, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, told The Washington Post. "We won't know until the snow starts what we're dealing with."

While the U.S. capital region's schools are closed for the winter break between Christmas and New Year, a storm of that magnitude would heap misery on Monday morning commuters.

"Significant amounts of snow are expected" in the Washington area, and "this will make travel very hazardous or impossible," NWS said in an advisory.

Ice and snow has already snarled road traffic in several southeastern states, including Georgia's northern mountains where six inches were reported Saturday.

Flight cancellations

Asheville, North Carolina saw seven inches of snow, and the state's department of transportation reported interstate highways partially covered with snow and ice.

Delta Air Lines Inc. said Saturday that it has cancelled 500 flights nationally because of the storm, according to media reports.

The cancellations included 300 of the 800 flights from Delta's hub in Atlanta, which has been hit hard by the storm, the reports said.

Continental and United Airlines followed suit, canceling dozens of Sunday departures from Newark, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and other airports.

AirTran and Southwest Airlines cancelled flights, mostly in or out of Washington's Dulles Airport, Baltimore and Newark.

"At this point we're still looking at the weather, and we are advising customers that there will be more cancellations [on Sunday and Monday] if the weather moves north," Delta spokesman Kent Landers told Agence France-Presse.

Flights from Midwestern cities have been delayed or cancelled because of the weather, according to the reports.

Meanwhile, Americans in the deep south were treated to a very rare white Christmas Saturday, and several hundred flights were cancelled amid foul weather that could see much of the U.S. east coast snowbound by Boxing Day.

Light to moderate snow blanketed communities in the southern Gulf states of Alabama and Mississippi, meteorologists said, while Atlanta, Georgia reportedly enjoyed its first snowy Christmas in 128 years.

Snowfalls were expected to break records in the normally mild south, where residents including thrilled youngsters were surprised by the winter weather.

Snow blizzard in eastern US causes travel chaos

A winter storm is pounding the East Coast of the United States. AFP photo.

Millions of Christmas travelers were caught in the wintry grip of a massive snow blizzard Monday that brought chaos to air, road and train transit across the eastern United States.

Just as passengers trapped by freezing weather in Europe began returning home as flights resumed normal service on Christmas Day, it was the turn of U.S. travelers to face relentless snow, dangerous winds and unforgiving cold.

The inclement weather could not come at a worse time for millions of Americans who travel to see family or take holiday getaways during the Christmas week. It was also compounding the misery for some flyers in Europe, where carriers including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic cancelled several U.S.-bound flights on Sunday and were bracing passengers for further disruptions Monday.

The U.S. railway service Amtrak said it was halting service between New York and Boston, and in the process stranded thousands of travelers during one of the heaviest travel seasons of the year. "Due to the blizzard conditions affecting a good portion of the east coast, and presently affecting the New York and New England areas, Amtrak has canceled between Boston and New York tonight, Dec. 26th, with no alternate transportation," the rail carrier said.

The storm also caused more than 1,000 flight cancellations, compounding the national travel chaos. After record snowfalls last year, Washington and environs appeared likely to escape the worst weather this time around, with just a trace of snowfall expected.

But blizzard warnings were issued from coastal New England to New York City, where the massive storm was expected to dump as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) of snow, accompanied by powerful wind gusts.

Boston, Massachusetts was forecast to receive up to 55 centimeters of the white stuff by Monday, with wind gusts as high as 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour. Nearly 60,000 Massachusetts residents are without power late Sunday after the storm plowed across the northeastern state, The Boston Globe reported.

State Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency, warning the storm was "expected to produce widespread heavy snowfall, periods of zero visibility, high winds, power outages, coastal flooding, and beach erosion."

Heavy snow forced the National Football League to postpone an American football game for the second time in three weeks - this time for the Vikings-Eagles face-off in Philadelphia. The inflatable roof of the Minnesota Vikings' Metrodome collapsed during the last major storm earlier this month.

Even Americans in the southern United States were treated to a very rare white Christmas: light to moderate snow blanketed communities in Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Atlanta, Georgia enjoyed its first white Christmas in 128 years.

Ice and snow snarled road traffic in several southeastern states, including Georgia's northern mountains. Officials in eastern Canada said they also were bracing for the storm, which was expected to arrive in Nova Scotia sometime Monday.

The AAA, a membership association for U.S. road travelers, estimated that 92.3 million Americans would travel 80 kilometers or more from home during the year-end holidays from Dec. 23, 2010 to Jan. 2, 2011. Among those most likely to be inconvenienced are those whose plans included air travel.

Delta Air Lines said earlier Sunday it had cancelled some 850 flights: about one-sixth of its flights around the country. Continental Airlines cancelled 265 departures, mainly from Newark Liberty International Airport outside New York. But it also warned that most domestic and international flights would be canceled through mid-morning Monday due to the disruption at its main hub.

United Airlines cancelled scores of flights in Boston, Philadelphia and the three main airports in the New York City area: Newark, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International. "We tried to pre-cancel as many flights as we could so customers wouldn't have to go to the airport only to find that their flight was canceled," United spokesman Mike Trevino said. U.S. Airways has canceled a total of nearly 680 flights.

Fears of military intervention grow in Ivory Coast

Laurent Gbagbo. AP photo

Fears of a regional military intervention grew Monday in Ivory Coast following a threat from West African neighbors to force out incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo if he does not soon heed international calls to step down from power.

Dozens of people gathered outside the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan, holding signs that read: "We don't want a military intervention" and "Let Ivorians solve Ivorian problems." Nigeria has the strongest army in the region and is expected to play a major role if an operation is launched to oust Gbagbo.

Nigerians gathered outside the embassy said they feared they could be targeted in retaliatory violence if Nigeria and other neighbors intervene in the monthlong political crisis. Three presidents from the regional bloc ECOWAS are headed to Abidjan this week to confront Gbagbo before any intervention would go forward.

The U.N. declared that Alassane Ouattara won the presidential runoff election held nearly one month ago, but Gbagbo refuses to concede defeat and leave despite admonitions from the U.N., United States, European Union and the African Union.

Ouattara's supporters called for a general strike to begin Monday to step up the pressure, but shops were open and it was business as usual in central Abidjan by midmorning. In an interview with Associated Press Television News on Sunday, Gbagbo said he was not concerned about world opinion, insisting he was duly elected. He said of his detractors: "Maybe they do not want me, I admit it, but I am not looking to be loved by them. I respect and abide by the Ivorians' vote."

The U.N. has said at least 173 people have been killed in violence over the vote, heightening fears that the country once divided in two could return to civil war. The toll is believed to be much higher, though, as the U.N. mission has been blocked from investigating other reports, including an allegation of a mass grave.

Gbagbo supporters say at least 36 of the victims were police or other security forces who were targeted by gunfire coming from protesters. Gbagbo has been in power since 2000 and had already overstayed his mandate by five years when the long-delayed presidential election was finally held in October. The vote was intended to help reunify the country, which was divided by the 2002-2003 civil war into a rebel-controlled north and a loyalist south.

Instead, the election has renewed divisions that threaten to plunge the country back into civil war. While Ivory Coast was officially reunited in a 2007 peace deal, Ouattara still draws his support from the northern half of the country, where residents feel they are often treated as foreigners within their own country by southerners.

As part of a peace accord, the U.N. had been invited to certify the election results and declared Ouattara as the winner of the Nov. 28 runoff vote. But a Gbagbo ally overturned those results by throwing out half a million ballots from Ouattara strongholds in the north. The move angered people who had waited for years as officials settled who would be allowed to vote in the long-delayed election, differentiating between Ivorians with roots in neighboring countries and foreigners.

Ivory Coast's Gbagbo faces West African ultimatum

Laurent Gbagbo. AP photo

Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo faced a last-chance ultimatum Tuesday as three West African presidents jetted in to Abidjan to warn him to step down or risk military action.

The leaders of Benin, Cape Verde and Sierra Leone have a message from the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, that he must cede power or the group may use force to resolve Ivory Coast's political crisis.

Presidents Bon Yayi of Benin and Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone arrived first, and were to be joined at Abidjan airport by Pedro Pires of Cape Verde before holding separate talks with Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara.

Speaking to reporters before he flew out of Cape Verde, Pires said there had so far been no real attempt to reach a lasting solution to the crisis. "For the time being I do not see any attempt towards resolving the conflict in a sustainable manner. Instead, I see that all approaches are aimed at satisfying immediate interests," Pires said. "I am very concerned because the perception I have is that Ivory Coast is slipping towards a very complicated situation."

The three are not Gbagbo's fiercest critics within ECOWAS, but are armed with a resolution demanding he cede power to Ouattara, signed by more powerful figures such as the bloc's chairman, Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan.

There seems little chance of Gbagbo backing down, however, as he continues to insist he is the legally elected leader of Ivory Coast and has warned that ECOWAS' threat of military action could plunge the region into war.

The visit comes the day after Gbagbo appeared to have seen off one challenge when a general strike call was slow to take effect, but suffered a setback when his Paris embassy fell to supporters of Ouattara. The embassy was closed "until further notice" on Tuesday.

Both Gbagbo and his long-time rival claim to have won last month's election, and both have had themselves declared president, but Ouattara has been recognized as the president by U.N. vote monitors and world powers.

Floods force evacuations in eastern Australia

Emergency personnel rescue Dell Rutherford (C) from her flooded home in Chinchilla, Queensland. AFP photo.

Military helicopters were called in Tuesday to help evacuate hundreds of Australians stranded by rising floodwaters, as entire towns were inundated by the worst deluges in parts of the region in decades.

Torrential rains following in the wake of tropical cyclone Tasha, which last week crossed into the northeastern state of Queensland before quickly fading, have swollen rivers and flooded scores of farms and homes in the state.

Some towns saw their worst floods in 50 years, including Theodore some 400 kilometers northwest of Brisbane, which has been cut off for two days and whose 350 residents were being evacuated by helicopter.

Local Banana Shire Council Mayor Maureen Clancy said the town was "just a sea of water," telling Australian news agency AAP that floodwaters had even reached its evacuation centre. "Following a request from Queensland, the government is providing two Blackhawk helicopters to assist in the evacuation of Theodore," Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a statement. "Australian Defence Force personnel are on stand-by to offer further support if required."

By early afternoon, the Dawson River at Theodore was at 14.59 meters and rising - way beyond the town's 1956 record of 14.07 meters - and most of the town under water. As many as 1,000 people have been forced from their homes by the waters, which has affected large parts of central and southern Queensland, with more than 100 homes and businesses inundated.

Officials said while the rain was abating in some places, a vast amount of water upstream was yet to flow through the towns as it made its way to the sea. "There's an enormous amount of water still coming and I think that's the problem, the unknown we've got to face," Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown told ABC Radio after touring affected communities by air.

The Queensland government has declared several areas, including Theodore, Chinchilla and Dalby, disaster zones - a move that gives police the power to force people from their homes if necessary. "We are facing a really significant event here right across many parts of Queensland - a lot of flooding, a lot of people isolated, a lot of evacuations now occurring and a lot more rain to come," Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said.

The floods are estimated to have cost grain farmers more than 400 million U.S. dollars, while the crisis has closed hundreds of roads, shutting down parts of major highways. The government said that it would provide assistance to communities affected by the flooding, helping restore essential infrastructure such as roads, bridges and schools.

"While conditions across much of Queensland have eased, the threat from floodwaters remains in many areas," Gillard said, adding that while authorities had evacuated some people, other communities remained stranded.

Police have warned residents not to attempt to drive through waterlogged roads, after they were forced to rescue several people from vehicles - including two adults and two toddlers who were forced to cling to trees after their car was swept away.

They also arrested three teenagers after they attempted to use inflatable mattresses in a "foolish and dangerous" attempt to ride floodwaters for 30 kilometers to get to Brisbane on Monday. "It's tomfoolery ... people on li-los (inflatable mattresses) floating down rivers, it's madness, we implore people to stop the silliness," assistant police commissioner Brett Pointing said.

Blizzard spreads chaos in US northeast, Canada

Blowing snow shrouds a British Airways aircraft following a major blizzard at Newark Liberty International Airport. AFP photo.

The powerful blizzard that pummeled the U.S. northeast churned into Canada as swirling winds and snow kept much of the region in chaos early Tuesday, with air travel and roadways still struggling.

The storm that started early Sunday began to abate Monday as blue skies finally reappeared, revealing a snow-and-ice encrusted region, deserted highways, stranded cars and still stuttering public transport.

Although the National Weather Service lifted its blizzard warning for the U.S. northeast, the storm funneled into Canada, dealing the Atlantic coast a dose of the same snow and gale force winds.

More than 5,000 flights were canceled as winds whipping up to 150 kilometers per hour hit areas from North Carolina to Maine. Officials said they may not unravel the colossal mess until Friday, the start of another holiday weekend.

The fierce storm left hundreds of cities and towns, highways and bridges, all but paralyzed under a shroud of icy white. Emergency crews rescued hundreds of motorists from snow-draped roads, and hundreds of passengers on one of New York City's seemingly invincible subways endured a long cold night on a snow-stuck train.

The storm dumped some 80 centimeters of snow in parts of New Jersey and New York City's Central Park was buried 50 centimeters. In the hard-hit New York metropolitan area, businesses, homeowners and municipal services slowly got back on track and after almost 24 hours of being shut down, the three big area airports were struggling to their feet.

La Guardia Airport was open by late afternoon, with John F. Kennedy International Airport following shortly after, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Newark International in New Jersey was the last to reopen.

Even after reopening, huge delays were expected as airlines worked their way through the aftershock of thousands of cancelled flights. Other airports in the region, including Boston and Philadelphia, remained open throughout, but with on-and-off delays.

Ground transport was little better off. The Amtrak rail network said it was resuming limited service between New York and Boston after blizzard conditions halted trains along the heavily used corridor for 13 hours. But Amtrak warned passengers to "expect delays on travel throughout the day."

New York commuter routes and bus services were crippled, while roads made hazardous going for the few drivers who had actually been able to escape their snow-clogged parking spaces. In Brooklyn, cross-country skiers took over the middle of a major road as children played in the deep snow.

In six states - Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia - governors called up a total of 430 National Guard troops to help authorities get life back to normal. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg came under fire for what critics saw as a slow response to the well forecasted storm.

The commuter train line between the city and Long Island was paralyzed, as were portions of the city bus and subway systems, with ice and snow blocking tracks, and sometimes even collecting inside underground stations.

Newspaper kiosks and fruit stands that open in the bitterest cold and heaviest summer rains were shut. Some businesses, though, made the extra effort. "People are snowed in, so they'll be needing food. Some others will be getting cabin fever and will want to come out," explained David Chiong, owner of Cascabel Taqueria, which does eat-in and take-outs of spicy Mexican food.

Roads and highways around Boston appeared nearly deserted as many offices and stores closed for the storm. Officials in eastern Canada said the blizzard was already dumping heavy amounts of snow and forcing the cancellation of flights from Fredericton and Moncton in New Brunswick. Some 40,000 homes lost electricity in the region. The weather service said gale-force winds will reduce visibility to near zero in some areas.

Australia PM urges help for 'unprecedented' floods

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday warned "unprecedented" flooding would worsen after entire towns were cut off and soldiers airlifted hundreds of people from northeastern towns.

Drenching rains unleashed by a tropical cyclone have left vast tracts of the state of Queensland under water, with 1,000 evacuations and 38 regions declared natural disaster areas.

Gillard launched a public appeal for relief funds, pledging $1 million of government money to help those hit by the "particularly devastating" deluge. "Some communities are seeing floodwaters higher than they've seen in decades, and for some communities floodwaters have never reached these levels before (in) the time that we have been recording floods," Gillard told reporters. "For many communities we haven't even seen the peak of the floodwaters yet, that's a number of days away."

Hundreds fled their homes in the coastal city of Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, and in nearby Emerald, while the inundated town of Theodore was completely emptied by soldiers with Black Hawk helicopters. The area resembled a vast inland sea, with crops and farmland worth billions of dollars drowned by the downpour, said local MP Vaughan Johnson. "I flew over the area from Alpha to Barcaldine in a helicopter yesterday and I've never seen water laying in that country (area) like it is now - never," Johnson told ABC radio. "It's like a delta system draining, and you've got to see it to believe it."

Some people were left homeless after the surge and were camping in evacuation centres with little more than the clothes on their backs, while others took refuge in mining camps or with family and friends.

"We've got nowhere to go, we've got no family here," said Bundaberg man Daniel Bell, whose home was completely swamped. "You feel powerless. Absolutely powerless. All you can do is pray."

Floodwaters are expected to peak Friday at Emerald, with authorities warning the disaster will exceed major floods there in early 2008 that forced 2,700 evacuations and left a damage bill in excess of 50 million dollars.

Residents of the town of Rockhampton may be forcibly evacuated later this week as the flooding spreads and there is further rain, potentially closing the city's airport and all inbound roads and railways, said mayor Brad Carter.

Rockhampton's river is forecast to sit near flood levels for as long as 10 days, putting about 400 homes at risk.

Chavez dares US to cut ties over envoy row

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dared the United States to "cut off diplomatic relations" over his opposition to U.S. President Barack Obama's choice of a new ambassador.

"If the (U.S.) government wants to expel our ambassador there, let them! If they cut off diplomatic relations, let them," Chavez said Tuesday on state television.

Last week Venezuela's foreign minister expressed hope that the two sides could resolve the row over diplomat Larry Palmer, who has been nominated by Obama but not yet confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

But Chavez has insisted Palmer is not welcome after the veteran diplomat sharply criticized Venezuela's populist-socialist government during his U.S. Senate confirmation hearings months ago. "We have denied recognition to this gentleman (Palmer) and now the United States government is threatening to retaliate. Well, they can do whatever they want, but this man is not coming," Chavez said.

"To come here, an ambassador must respect the country," Chavez added. "It would be an indignity if I allowed this man to come to Venezuela." Washington has warned that ties could suffer over the dispute.

Relations between the United States and Venezuela have been strained in recent years as Chavez has repeatedly denounced "American imperialism" and cultivated ties with U.S. bugbears, including Cuba, Syria and Iran.

U.S. lawmakers spoken out last week against a raft of new measures approved by the pro-Chavez legislature granting the president temporary dictatorial powers, restricting press freedoms, and punishing legislators who switch parties.

The laws were pushed through by the ruling Socialist Party just weeks before a new assembly, in which pro-Chavez legislators lose their supermajority, takes office on Jan. 5.

Turkish Press Scan for Dec. 30

These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on December 30, 2010. The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review does not vouch for their accuracy.

From Anatolia News Agency:

HÜRRİYET

-- NARCOTIC FILM SET

Ankara police constructed a film set to follow a drug network in Çinçin and Hıdırlıktepe neighborhoods saying they were "shooting a documentary film." A police commander served as film director and 15 police officers as the team. Police followed the streets in two neighborhoods for three months, and staged an operation on Dec. 10, seizing 21 kilograms of hashish and two unlicensed guns. Police detained 24 people, however only 14 people, including gang leader Kadir I., were arrested.

-- TWO LANGUAGES CANNOT BE ACCEPTED

The National Security Council, or MGK, held its last meeting in 2010 Wednesday that lasted for five hours under the chairmanship of President Abdullah Gül. The council released a statement at the end of the meeting in which it said: "A single flag, a single nation and a single homeland is our common denominator. Turkey's official language is Turkish. Initiatives aiming to change this fact are unacceptable. Provocations targeting at integrity cannot bear any result."

-- PRESIDENT TO BE IN DİYARBAKIR FOR TWO DAYS

President Abdullah Gül will visit the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Thursday and Friday to hold talks. Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir will welcome President Gül at the airport, serve Menengiç coffee during Gül's visit to the municipality, and present a Turkish-Kurdish dictionary as a gift.

MİLLİYET

-- EFFORTS WILL NEVER YIELD TO ANY RESULTS

National Security Council, or MGK, which emphasized the importance of "single flag, single nation and single state", put an end to discussions on the autonomy issue. A council statement said efforts to that end would not yield any results.

The MGK, which convened in an atmosphere made tense by discussions over "two languages & two flags,” made public the state's opinion on the matter very clearly. The statement released after the council gathering said: "Any effort aiming at changing the understanding of 'single flag, single nation, single country and single state' as well as the fact that this country's official language is Turkish is unacceptable."

-- OBAMA ASSIGNS AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA

U.S. President Barack Obama, taking the advantage of the congressional recess in his country, by-passed the senate and appointed an ambassador to the Turkish capital city. Francis Ricciardone became the new U.S. ambassador to Ankara. Ricciardone had been previously nominated for the ambassador's office, however his appointment had not been approved by the senate for a long time.

SABAH

-- OBAMA APPOINTS AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA

U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Francis Ricciardone as U.S. Ambassador in Ankara which has been vacated for a while. Obama made the appointment of Ricciardone by using his own authority. Ricciardone's appointment had not been made by the Senate previously.

-- CAPTURED WITH FAKE PASSPORT

Greek Elefterotipia newspaper claimed that Mustafa Sarıkaya, former deputy chairman of banned Democratic Society Party, or DTP, was captured with a fake Bulgarian passport at Thessaloniki airport.

-- HERE ARE THE BULLIES WHO STABBED THE DIPLOMAT

Emrah Yahşi, Cihan Tekmen and Haydar Kaydır, who stabbed the Legal Counsel of the German Embassy in Ankara Thomas Schultze, were arrested. The German Embassy thanked Turkish police.

VATAN

-- "HELLO" IN KURDISH FROM GÜL

President Abdullah Gül's visit to the southeastern province of Diyarbakır will begin today. Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir will present a Kurdish-Turkish dictionary as a gift to Gül. The president will attend the Rojev (Agenda) program at channel TRT Ses, which broadcasts in Kurdish. Gül will say "hello" in Kurdish and his speech will be translated into Kurdish.

-- "SINGLE" VOICE OF MGK

Summit of the state said the last word to those who demanded "two language and autonomy": the understanding of "single flag, single nation, single motherland, single state" cannot be changed. The meeting of National Security Council, or MGK, which took place prior to President Abdullah Gül's visit to the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, lasted for five hours.

CUMHURİYET

-- DOCUMENTS ARE IN SAFE

Republican People's Party, or CHP, chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said that the file regarding the corruption allegations in central Anatolian province of Kayseri were being kept in a bank safe. Recalling that he had made public the records kept by the person that had received bribe in Kayseri, Kılıçdaroğlu said, "Why aren't these records examined?"

-- HARSH STATEMENT FROM MGK

In the last National Security Council, or MGK, meeting of the year, which was held during the ongoing discussions over two languages and autonomy, it was emphasized that concerns previously expressed by the Turkish Armed Forces were reiterated by the Chief of General Staff. The declaration released after the meeting underscored the importance of "single flag, single nation, single country and single state".

RADİKAL

-- TEACHER TENDER

The Social Services and Children's Protection Agency, or SHCEK, recruited teachers through a tender despite the warnings of the Labor & Social Security Ministry that "it was a fraud." The state reacted to this move this time, not the politicians. SHCEK recruited psychologists, sociologists, teachers and nurses. Upon objections, the Labor Ministry intervened and assigned its inspectors to deal with the issue. The inspectors said SHCEK could not appoint subcontractors to key positions. Despite this, 271 new staff, including 71 teachers, was recruited by tender this year. SHCEK said this way, it could appoint more specialized teachers like music and math teachers.

-- MGK REACTION TO AUTONOMY: SINGLE HOMELAND, SINGLE FLAG

The National Security Council, or MGK, discussed "autonomy" and "bilingual life", brought up by the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, in its last meeting for 2010. The MGK meeting took place only a day ahead of President Abdullah Gül's visit to the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. The MGK gave the message that Turkey had a single homeland and a single flag during the meeting. It stressed that the official language could not be changed.

TÜRKİYE

-- NEW DAVOS: ERZURUM

Turkey's eastern province of Erzurum, which will soon host the UN secretary-general, the Greek prime minister and tens of ambassadors, is becoming a rival to the Swiss town of Davos. The Turkish city, which will be the venue of 2011 Winter Universiade, will also gain a political identity. Thanks to the "Ambassadors Conference" to be held on Jan. 6, Palandöken will resemble Davos which hosts thousands of politicians and economists every year.

-- MGK UNDERSCORES TURKISH IS ONLY LANGUAGE

A statement released by National Security Council, or MGK, said, "None of the efforts aiming at changing the understanding of 'single flag, single nation, single country and single state' as well as the fact that Turkish, one of our major common values, is our official language, are acceptable."

ZAMAN

-- DEADLOCK ON 'TWO LANGUAGES & AUTONOMY' IN CHP

Views of deputy chairmen Sezgin Tanrikulu and Gürsel Tekin, who wanted the demands of "two languages" and "autonomy" to be discussed, caused a new dissolution in main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP. Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said that political autonomy was against unitarian structure, and warned as "we should unite, not dissolve".

-- NO INCREASE IN PRICE OF ELECTRICITY TILL APRIL

Energy Market Regulation Board, or EPDK, which assessed the demands of electricity distribution companies asking for a rise in the electricity prices, decided not to change the prices. The prices will not increase till April 2011.

YENİ ŞAFAK

-- ISTANBUL, DOOR OF HOPE FOR NEIGHBOR

Many Greek people started to migrate to Turkey after the economic crisis. Once one of the first stops of Turks who wanted to migrate to Europe, the people of Greece are coming to Turkey to have better living standards. The citizens of the country we were at the brink of a war in the past now have the opportunity to be employed in many areas in Turkey from tourism to academic career. Istanbul is the main city where Greek people want to work. Eleni Varmazi, who started to work in a private university, said she was happy to be in Turkey. "It is easier to live here than trying to live in London or Berlin," she said.

-- MR. KEMAL COULD NOT OPEN HIDIR'S SACK

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, chairman of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, who accused the mayor of Kayseri by depending on the remarks of a convicted person, ignored the corruption allegations that there was a sack full of documents in İzmir Municipality. Erzu Hızır, who was taken from the Secretariat-General of the Municipality on charges brought by the claims, was then reappointed to the position.

-- WORLD CAN BE SHAKEN, WE ARE IN GOOD POSITION

Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Ali Babacan said the crisis in Europe could spread to the world. "However, we are in good condition. If a surprise happens in the world, it should have a positive reflection on Turkey, and we are getting prepared to any surprises," he said.

Sucu says dismissial more painful than losing a child

Ayşe Sucu, the dismissed head of the Religious Affairs Foundation’s women’s center, said her dismissal is more painful for her than “losing a baby,” in remarks to private news channel Habertürk on Wednesday.

An official informed Sucu that she was dismissed from office, she said, adding that she found this way strange. “I would like at least the head [of the Religious Affairs Directorate] to come and talk to me. This hurt me,” she said. Sucu said she lost her second baby and she knows what it’s like to lose a child. “But this is heavier,” she said.

After Sucu’s summary dismissal, 28 other women employed in the women’s unit resigned. There had been rumors that Sucu was removed from office due to her headscarf style, which does not cover her whole head. It was also said in some media reports that Sucu might have been removed from office as atheists and Christians also became members of the center.

Sucu said she carried out her work-related duties with honor. Sucu said her position was not one that would have changed with a change of leadership, as it is apolitical, and that she has been working on some of the foundation’s projects for years. Sucu said her dismissal hurt her deeply.

Response from minister

Talking to private news channel NTV, Faruk Çelik, the state minister responsible for the Religious Affairs Directorate, said it is not right for Sucu to make statements to gain popularity. Çelik in a previous statement to daily Milliyet had said Sucu’s dismissal had nothing to do with her clothes or ideas.

“If doing a duty is important, dismissal from that duty should be respected as well,” Çelik said on NTV.

Çelik said Sucu was in this post for 16 years and that the women’s center is a civilian initiative. Sucu had retired from the Religious Affairs Directorate five years ago, Çelik said.

“The services and potential of a person who remains in a post for 16 years are obvious. Maybe the new administration [of the Religious Affairs Directorate] and the foundation wanted fresh blood,” he said. “We already made a change in the directorate’s administration.”

“Mr. Ali Bardakoğlu [the former head of the directorate, who was recently removed from office] really served well and at the end of eight years, he delivered his mantle to his successor in a beautiful ceremony. We expected this woman who served for 16 years to similarly pass on her mantle rather than turning this into a [popularity] issue.”

Turkish security board reaffirms unity amid autonomy debate

The country’s top security board has underlined Turkey’s “one flag-one nation” status in a move to respond to pro-Kurdish groups’ demands for autonomy, including a semi-autonomous regional parliament and self-defense force.

“Attempts to change the understanding of ‘one flag, one nation, one motherland, one government,’ and the fact that the official language of the Republic of Turkey is Turkish, will not be accepted,” the National Security Council, or MGK, said in a written statement released late Wednesday after a five-hour meeting. The MGK is an advisory board made up of civilian and military officials under the leadership of President Abdullah Gül.

The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, and the Democratic Society Congress, or DTK, have launched a campaign to promote a number of proposals comprising what they call “democratic autonomy” as a solution to the Kurdish issue. The government and other opposition parties, as well as the military, have issued statements criticizing the proposals, which are seen by opponents as a threat to the unitary republican system.

“The greatest assurance of the unity and togetherness of the Turkish Republic is the determination of the people to live together in brotherhood and peace,” the MGK said in its statement. “Provocations and attempts that target the unity and peace of citizens will not prevail in the face of our peoples’ will to live in brotherhood.”

The council noted that attempts to cause public outcry and approaches that would damage democracy, rights, freedom, peace and brotherhood in the country must be avoided.

BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş issued a strong reaction to the MGK communique. “I call on the MGK members: Kurds will not accept the division of this country even though you attempt to do so. I call on the president: How will you protect the cultures you call [Turkey’s] richness? As the head of the nation you have to put [forth] the formula,” Demirtaş told reporters Thursday.

The leader of the main opposition also responded to MGK’s statements, saying the source of the problem is the government’s miscalculated attempts and policies. “Those who have to obey the board’s decision are the [members of the] government,” Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu told reporters late Wednesday. “Among the MGK members are the prime minister, interior minister and other ministers. As they have put their signatures on these decisions, they must take the necessary steps outlined by the MGK.”

Arguing that the current situation was the result of the government’s “democratic opening” process, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “There was no such thing eight or nine months ago. Now the MGK seems to have stepped into the issue. This is in fact evidence proving the government’s failure.”

Turkish Parliament passes renewables law

Turkey’s Parliament approved a law Wednesday on regulating the renewable energy resources market in Turkey, Anatolia news agency reported.

The new law limits the volume of energy that the state is allowed to buy and determines the long-term prices for electricity purchases.

It calls for the preparation of a regulation to define and evaluate the regions to be used as resource fields in cooperation with the related state institutions.

“We have enacted a law that will create jobs and encourage industrialists in new sectors,” said Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız in a speech to Parliament thanking deputies for approving the bill.

The climate and the political sustainability in Turkey are encouraging for new energy investments, the minister said.

However, Tanay Sidki Uyar, a professor at Marmara University and head of the Turkey branch of European Association for Renewables, or Eurosolar, thinks the new law will present obstacles for renewable energy investors.

“A law which is enacted during a period in which United Nations’ regulations [instruct] countries to use more renewable energy should have been much more encouraging,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

“While Germany is seeking to get 100 percent of its energy from renewables by 2050 and England aims to reduce carbon emissions to zero, Turkey’s law – a country which has great wind and solar energy potential – should have promoted [renewables] far more. Instead of support, the law brings limitations to renewable energy production,” he said.

The law limits the total production of licensed solar energy companies to 600 MW annually until Dec. 31, 2013, and authorizes the Cabinet to determine the limits afterwards.

On average 1 MW of power can supply electricity to as many as 300 households per year.

The law guarantees a price of 7.3 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour for wind and hydroelectric power and wind energy, 10.5 U.S. cents for geothermal energy and 13.3 U.S cents for energy from waste products and solar energy.

These prices will cover energy firms that are established between May 13, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2015.

For energy purchases from companies founded later than Dec. 31, 2015, new prices defined by the Cabinet will be implemented. The prices for the new companies will not exceed the current figures, the law said.

“No one should say these prices are not convincing for the industry and that we should have given a few more cents,” said minister said. “I am sure that our investors will do business at these prices.”

The state-run Market Fiscal Reconciling Center, or PMUM, will carry on in the decisive role of billing the parties, Yıldız said.

In the event that operators use local equipment and technology in renewable energy facilities, an additional support of 0.4 cents to $2.4 per kilowatt will be provided for a five-year term to companies that started producing energy before the end of 2015.

Noting that this support is too low to support the usage of local equipment, Uyar raised concerns that some old and unproductive equipment could be imported. “This low support may force electricity producers to import old technology from the United States or China,” he said.

The appointments for building renewable energy plants will be defined by a regulation to be prepared by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority, or EPDK, in coordination with the Energy Ministry, Interior Ministry and the State Waterworks Authority, or DSİ.

“Considering how slow bureaucracy moves in Turkey, we may foresee that the preparation of the regulation will consume time,” Uyar said. “We have already lost time. The first wind map of the country was drawn 21 years ago.”

Turkish commission dubs Diyarbakır 'city of lost children'

Diyarbakır is the “city of lost children,” according to Parliament’s human rights review sub-commission’s recently released report on orphanages in Diyarbakır and Mardin.

In Diyarbakır, 319 children went missing in 2007 and that number increased to 547 in 2010. The commission included reports that 13- and 14-year-old children were being given away as “second wives” and that children were going hungry due to the lack of an allowance.

Local police forces launched nationwide investigations that returned many children reported missing to their families. However, 52 children are still missing. The reasons behind the disappearances were reported as “violence within the family, wandering, marriage, theft, job searching, kidnapping and joining a crime ring.”

Statistics of crimes committed by children in Diyarbakır were also alarming. In 2009, 486 crimes against property by minors were reported, with the number rising to 560 in 2010. Crimes against individuals by minors were reported as 576 in 2009 and 618 in 2010.

The report also pointed out that minors who have committed crimes are housed in orphanages with other children instead of at rehabilitation centers. The report called for a remedy to the problem immediately.

As for orphanages in Diyarbakır, the report said that while a lot of good was being done by these schools, certain limitations stem from insufficient staff and resources. The report said schools must be renewed and classroom sizes must be reduced to benefit the children.

The main problem in this respect is “poor planning,” according to the report. While one school has 20-25 students per classroom, another school one kilometer away has 70 students per classroom.

Another problem the commission encountered was children who sell paper tissues on the streets instead of going to school.

The commission spoke directly to 257 children in Diyarbakır while compiling the report. Forty-three of these children were sent to a treatment center for substance abuse. In addition, four children who had stopped going to school were directed to occupational training classes.

Child brides in Mardin

The report on Mardin also contained red flags. According to the report, children at orphanages were going hungry due to a lack of a basic subsistence allowance.

The report included statements from Deputy Gendarme Commander for Mardin Dursun Aklaya that public pressure prevented them from gathering information from villages. However, information obtained from hospitals indicated that 21 children had been sexually abused due to being married off at a young age.

Mardin Gov. Hasan Duruer was quoted in the report as saying that 13- and 14-year-old girls in the region were being married off and even being given away as “second wives.”

President embraces use of Kurdish, reaffirms Turkish as official language

During his visit to Diyarbakır, President Gül emphasizes the official language of Turkey is Turkish while embracing other languages used in the country. Saying he is proud of the different elements in Turkey, Gül adds, 'We should work together in a constructive, positive manner in order to solidify our country'

While paying a visit to Diyarbakır, President Abdullah Gül emphasizes that Turkey's official language is Turkish. AA photo

Traveling to the Southeast during a period of tensions over the Kurdish issue, the president reaffirmed Thursday that Turkey’s official language is Turkish, but said other languages used in the country are also “Turkey’s languages.”

“The official language of the Republic of Turkey is Turkish. This will continue in this way. The language of the state and the public offices is Turkish, too. However, we have citizens using different languages,” President Abdullah Gül told reports in Diyarbakır on Thursday. “Kurdish is used here and there are some other citizens using Arabic in other places. All these are ours, [they are] our languages.”

Gül was warmly welcomed by a large group of citizens in the Southeast Anatolian city, where he was greeted with flowers instead of protests. Visiting the office of the governor of Diyarbakır, the president said he had visited the city two times since assuming office and that he was very pleased to be back.

“Diyarbakır is one of the most important provinces in Turkey. Diyarbakır has been the center of civilization, trade and culture throughout history. I am here to see the problems of Diyarbakır,” Gül told reporters.

The president gave his political messages regarding the recent debate over “democratic autonomy” and bilingualism while in the office of Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir. Reminding that Turkish is the official language of Turkey, he also embraced other languages used in the country. “The Constitution already protects cultural heritage. We should consider the issue in a healthy way under this framework. We should work together in a constructive, positive manner in order to solidify our country,” Gül said.

“Today, Diyarbakır is of great importance. I believe the province will further develop,” he said, emphasizing that each province in Turkey has its own characteristics. “Turkey is a big country. We are a great nation,” the president added. “We are proud of the different elements in our nation. We consider those different elements as our assets.”

Baydemir gave Gül a Turkish-Kurdish dictionary as a gift, telling the president that Turkey’s biggest problem is the Kurdish issue. “Impatience on the demands and proposals of Kurdish politicians regarding the use of mother tongues and democratic autonomy is a matter of concern,” the mayor said in his presentation to Gül, according to the Anatolia news agency.

The essence of the problem is the lack of ability to use the rights deriving from being human and a part of society, Baydemir said. “Turkey’s Kurdish problem is a constitutional and administrational democracy problem,” he said, adding that it could be solved by decentralization, democratization and a new constitution.

“We should not forget that we can only restore peace by listening to and understanding each other, and by becoming free from prejudices,” Baydemir said.

When he arrived in the city, he met the locals and those people requested “food and work,” Gül said when he spoke to businessmen in the Diyarbakır industrial zone. “Talking solely on politics is unfair to Diyarbakır,” he said.

Saying that there were prejudices toward Diyarbakır, Gül said, “If you want to attract investment, the image of this city should not be harmed.”

“Diyarbakır should show off its investment potential. The potential of the western part of the country is already full. Diyarbakır could be the trade center of Mesopotamia. We should solve problems in a constructive way and take Diyarbakır back to its prosperous days,” he said.

Gül was scheduled to meet with civil-society representatives from Diyarbakır at a dinner when the Daily News went to press.