Yeni Şafak
-- Grannies show at inheritance meeting
Some 620 inheritors, including 20 octogenarian women, gathered in the Aegean town of Bodrum to take their share from a disputed $10 million inheritance, daily Yenişafak reported Tuesday.
A meeting was organized to inform inheritors of how 37.5 hectares of land in the Güvercinlik and Sazköy districts of Bodrum would be shared between the inheritors. After several people with claims to the inheritance previously went to the Kocaeli Criminal Court of Peace, 620 inheritors were recognized, the report said. In order to select six people to represent them, the 620 people gathered at a wedding hall in the Mumcular district of Bodrum.
While some of the inheritors attended the meeting with their children, 20 octogenarian women also were among the inheritors. According to reports, they received assistance walking from others present, and some used canes in order to move. The grannies told reporters that their purpose in attending the meeting was to able to leave a better future for their grandchildren. State official Tuncer Rıfat Arın said there would be some cases opened in the local courts to investigate the matter. “There were 1,129 inheritors when the first case opened,” Arın said. “But after it was revealed that some of the marriages were between immediate relatives, the number of inheritors decreased.”
Radikal
-- Cafeteria boycott ends in suspensions
High school students enrolled at Behçet Kemal Çağlar High School in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district have been punished and expelled for launching a successful boycott of lunch pricing that managed to lower cafeteria prices for the student body, daily Radikal reported Tuesday. The school administration opened investigations into six students, gave three of them official reprimands and suspended the other three after the students released a press statement, participated in a live broadcast and spoke out against the administration. According to a statement by the Sarıyer People’s House, or HE, the parents of the students will air their reactions with a press release on Tuesday. Radikal called the school administration but were unable to reach the school manager. The deputy manager declined to comment. The rise in cafeteria prices was protested starting Dec. 27, when a group of students started a boycott, saying, “We have friends who cannot eat at the cafeteria.” The students shared servings of cake, pastries and sesame rings that they brought from outside, but the deputy school manager intervened, saying, “How can I be sure that you haven’t put drugs into the sesame rings?” After tensions escalated between the students and school administration, police were called to the school and took three students into custody.
Zaman
-- Red Crescent to open exhibit to public
The Turkish Red Crescent will open an exhibit of artifacts from its history, including an eye check set that was used to pass Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s eyes during the Turco-Italian War, 300,000 identification cards of Turkish and foreign soldiers and many letters from prisoners of war, daily Zaman reported Tuesday. The Red Crescent’s first car, which was donated by prominent late businessman Vehbi Koç, and a picture of a vessel which sank while it was bringing aid to Greece will appear in the exhibition. Tekin Küçükali, head of the Turkish Red Crescent, said they would create a world-standard exhibit. The Turkish Red Crescent has been active since 1868, both in Turkey and abroad; Küçükali said the Red Crescent’s archives were thus full of history and has many documents that may not even be in the Turkish official archives. “As such we started a study of our archives and search the bags in which many documents, pictures and letters were stored,” said Küçükali. They eventually decided that the documents should be available for the public to see, leading them to cooperate with Middle East Technical University. “The documents are being classified by Professor Seçil Karal Akgün from the history department and former lecturer Murat Uluğtekin,” Küçükali said.
Taraf
-- Smoking-free hamlet in Anatolia
None of the residents of a small hamlet in eastern Anatolia are smokers; the town even asks visitors not to smoke, daily Taraf reported Tuesday. Buzlugöze village, in Muş province’s Varto district, has a hamlet called Ziyaret with a population of 80. They call themselves “smoke enemies” and notify their visitors of this sensitivity. Since none of the adults smoke, children born in the hamlet do not know what a cigarette is. Cahit Şener, a local Ziyaret man, confirmed nobody in the hamlet smokes: “Everybody living in the hamlet are relatives. We do not have a teahouse in our hamlet either. We gather at a house every night and have conversations. Not one cigarette is smoked during these conversations.” Şener said this provides a better conversation with fresh air and oxygen. A younger local said there were smokers in the hamlet about a decade ago: “We are aware that smoking is very bad for people’s health. For that reason we are very grateful to our fathers and mothers [for not smoking].” A ban outlawing smoking in all enclosed public places, including bars, cafes and restaurants, came into effect in Turkey on July 19, 2009. The law also prohibited the sale of cigarettes on the premises of educational and health institutions.
From Anatolia News Agency:
HÜRRİYET
-- TURKISH, SYRIAN, QATARI LEADERS MEET, DISCUSS HOW TO HANDLE LEBANON CRISIS
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Syrian President Bashar al-Asad and Qatari Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani on Monday held a meeting in Damascus over a new political crisis in Lebanon which has seen Hezbollah withdrawing support from Saad Hariri's government to force him to step down. The three leaders agreed to seek Syrian and Saudi Arabian mediation between Hariri and Hezbollah. In related news, a pro-Hezbollah TV channel revealed a voice recording that reportedly belonged to Saad Hariri speaking to a United Nations investigator and accusing Hezbollah for the 2005 assassination of his father, Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah has asked Saad Hariri to reject any ruling by the U.N. tribunal and state that the government would not arrest those the tribunal indicted.
-- JOBLESS RATE DOWN TO 11.2 PERCENT
Turkey's statistics authority on Monday put unemployment rate for October at 11.2 percent which marked a 1.8 point drop over the previous month. The number of the employed surged by 953 thousand in October to reach 2,901 thousand. The number of jobless dropped by 398,000 in the previous month.
MİLLİYET
-- ERDOĞAN REFERS TO TURKEY AS ROBUST MAN OF EUROPE
In an article he wrote for the weekly U.S. magazine Newsweek, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referred to Turkey as the "Robust Man of Europe." Erdoğan said that Turkey was no longer a country begging to enter the European Union. Erdoğan said that Turkey was a rising power.
-- GRADUATES OF ISLAMIC DIVINITY HIGH-SCHOOLS MAY BECOME POLICE OFFICERS
A draft law submitted to the Turkish Parliament opens the way for graduates of Islamic divinity high-schools to become police officers. Under the current laws and regulations, graduates of Islamic divinity high-schools can not become police officers.
SABAH
-- NICE SURPRISE ABOUT BUDGET DEFICIT
Turkey's budget deficit shrank 25 percent in 2010 and was recorded as 39.6 billion Turkish Liras. In 2010, budgetary expenses were recorded as 293 billion liras while budgetary income was recorded as 254 billion liras.
-- NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED DROPS 398,000 IN OCTOBER
The percentage of unemployed people in Turkey went down 11.2 percent in October 2010 when compared to the same term in the previous year. In October, the number of unemployed people went down 398,000 to 2,901,000.
VATAN
-- WIFE OF SLAIN JOURNALIST FILES PETITION AGAINST FORMER GOVERNOR, POLICE CHIEF
Rakel Dink, wife of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, has filed a petition against 28 people, including former Istanbul Governor Muammer Güler, now head of the newly founded Public Security Undersecretary, as well as former Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah, former Trabzon Police Chief and former head of Police Intelligence UInit Ramazan Akyürek as well as Trabzon's former Gendarmery Commander Ali Öz, accusing them of premeditated murder and being members of a terrorist organization. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Turkey failed to carry out an effective investigation into the killing of the Turkish-Armenian journalist, who was shot dead on Jan. 19, 2007 outside the offices of his weekly Agos.
-- EUROPE'S BEST BUDGET PERFORMANCE IN TURKEY
Turkey ran a budget deficit of 39.6 billion liras in 2010, achieving the best budgetary performance in Europe. Turkey's deficit-to-GDP ratio dropped to 3.6 percent. The same figure in Britain was 11.4 percent and it was 7.5 percent in France.
CUMHURİYET
-- WIKILEAKS CABLES: TURKEY ALLOWED U.S. TO USE AIRBASE FOR RENDITION FLIGHTS
According to Wikileaks cables, Turkey let the Unites States use İncirlik airbase as a refueling stop in the extraordinary rendition of suspects to Guantanamo Bay since as early as 2002. The latest disclosure of the diplomatic cables was published by the German daily, Die Welt, and it was written by then U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson.
-- MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY SETS OWN TARGETS IN ECONOMY
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party has announced a new economic program, setting out its own targets to pursue if it comes to power. The new program promises 700 thousand new jobs each year to reduce the jobless rate to six percent in 2023, the centennial anniversary of the foundation of modern Turkey, as well as paying 600 liras to the poor a month.
RADİKAL
-- SARKOZY SENDS ERDOĞAN LETTER TO SOLVE POLITICAL CRISIS IN LEBANON TOGETHER
French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offering Erdoğan cooperation to solve the political crisis in Lebanon. Erdoğan received Sarkozy's invitation warmly and asked France to determine a date for a meeting to be attended by leaders of seven countries on Lebanon.
-- THE GUARDIAN'S ASH SAYS TURKEY TO BECOME AN EU MEMBER SOONER OR LATER
A columnist for The Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash, said that he did not believe there was a shift of axis in Turkey's foreign policy or that Turkey had turned its back on the EU. Ash told Turkish daily RADİKAL that Germany and France's attitude was temporary. "Turkey will become an EU member sooner or later," Ash said.
TÜRKİYE
-- TURKISH TROOPS PROTECT PEACE IN 3 CONTINENTS
Turkish troops have become guarantors of peace in three continents. Turkish troops have assumed critical roles in regions of war and internal clashes. Units from the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, are presently serving in Cyprus, Georgia, Kosovo, Albania, Timor, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine, Iraq, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United States, Pakistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan.
-- TURKEY'S AGENDA WITH IRAQ BECOMES ECONOMY
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said that the number of Turkish companies operating in Iraq is rapidly increasing. "Turkey and the Gulf are the rising economies of the world. Iraq will be a bridge between Turkey and the Gulf region," Davutoğlu said. He added that the topic of security is being discussed less and less with Iraqi officials.
ZAMAN
-- DAMASCUS SUMMIT EXTENDS SUPPORT TO STABILITY OF LEBANON
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Qatar's Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on recent political developments in Lebanon at a summit held in Damascus on Monday. Leaders attending the summit decided to extend support to Lebanon for the stability of the country.
-- NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED IN TURKEY GOES DOWN 398,000 IN OCTOBER
The Turkish Statistical Institute, or TurkStat, said that the amount of unemployed people in Turkey went down to 11.2 percent in October, 2010. In October, the number of unemployed people in Turkey went down 398,000 when compared to the same term in the previous year.
YENİ ŞAFAK
-- FORMER TOP SOLDIER REPORTEDLY FOILS PLOT TO SPLIT UP TURKISH GOVERNING PARTY
Turkey's ex-top general, Hilmi Özkök, foiled a plot to split the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, according to a recently published book written by journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan. Arslan claims in his book that Özkök re-assigned Colonel Hasan Atilla Uğur, the alleged mastermind of the plot and suspect in the Ergenekon case, who reportedly planned to disassociate a group of lawmakers from the AKP.
-- COURT SENTENCES FORMER MEDIA MOGUL TO FOUR YEARS IN PRISON FOR EMBEZZLEMENT
A court in Turkey sentenced ex-media mogul Dinç Bilgin to four years and 10 months behind bars on charges of embezzlement in connection with the Etibank case. His son, Şevket Onay Bilgin was sentenced to three years and two months in prison on the same charges.
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