Turkish Digest

Tiger Turkey at the crossroads

2012-01-27T20:16:00.000-05:00

Tiger Turkey at the crossroads

The country is one of success stories of the last decade, but is its increasingly autocratic government slowly threatening progress?

Istanbul

In the tea houses of Istanbul the mood is generally optimistic as customers listen to the news of the European economic crisis. "Turkey doesn't need Europe," says one tea drinker.

"Look at Greece – it was inside the European Union and they're going bankrupt." Osman, a middle-aged estate agent, adds that "when you compare Turkey today with Turkey 20 years ago, everything has got better."

More:Tiger Turkey at the crossroads - Europe - World - The Independent

Is Turkey the new home for Hamas?

2012-01-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

Is Turkey the new home for Hamas?
By Allen McDuffee

Hamas is developing new relations with Turkey, according to new reports coming from the region. The arrangement includes opening an official Hamas office in Turkey in a matter of weeks and a reported Turkish pledge of $300 million to help re-build Hamas-controlled Gaza.

More:Is Turkey the new home for Hamas? - Think Tanked - The Washington Post

Study shows one in five Turks reside in Istanbul

2012-01-27T20:13:00.001-05:00

Study shows one in five Turks reside in Istanbul

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Residents in Istanbul province make up 18.2 percent of Turkey’s entire population, or more than 13.5 million people, according to a recent annual demographic survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

More:LOCAL - Study shows one in five Turks reside in Istanbul

Kurd party refers Turkish air raids to Hague court

2012-01-27T20:13:00.000-05:00

Kurd party refers Turkish air raids to Hague court
January 27, 2012 10:19 PM

ANKARA: Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party said on Friday it had applied to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Turkish military air strikes on the Iraqi border last month that killed 35 civilians.

More:THE DAILY STAR :: News :: Middle East :: Kurd party refers Turkish air raids to Hague court

Cabinet backs the burka ban

2012-01-27T20:10:00.000-05:00

Cabinet backs the burka ban

Friday 27 January 2012

The cabinet on Friday voted to ban burkas and other face-covering garments from public places. Once the legislation has passed through parliament, the Netherlands will become the third country in Europe to ban the Islamic garment, after France and Belgium.

More:DutchNews.nl - Cabinet backs the burka ban

Turkey Marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day | Europe | English

2012-01-27T16:05:00.000-05:00

Turkey Marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Dorian Jones | Istanbul

Turkey marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day by becoming the first predominantly Muslim country to screen the iconic holocaust documentary, Shoah.

More:Turkey Marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day | Europe | English

Turkey's Erdogan strikes gold with Arab Spring [50180272] | African news, analysis and opinion – The Africa Report.com

2012-01-27T16:03:00.000-05:00

Turkey's Erdogan strikes gold with Arab Spring
By Nicholas Norbrook and  Marshall Van Valen

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for Muslim unity is not purely mechanicalRecep Tayyip Erdogan has rock-star status in the Arab world for standing up to Israel both in word and deed. He is at the head of one of the world's fastest-growing economies, with a China-beating 10.2 per cent of economic growth, and is the architect of a brand of business-savvy moderate Islam that hopes to export its 'model' overseas along with its cars, clothes and foodstuffs.

More:Turkey's Erdogan strikes gold with Arab Spring [50180272] | African news, analysis and opinion – The Africa Report.com

Istanbul and the Aegean coast offer seascapes, antiquities and most of all, a warm welcome - The Washington Post

2012-01-27T15:32:00.000-05:00

Istanbul and the Aegean coast offer seascapes, antiquities and most of all, a warm welcome

By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, January 27, 2:21 PM

ISTANBUL — The sea of Marmara shimmered to my right, a pod of dolphins played improbably in the ferry-and tankers-choked Bosporus strait, and minarets pierced my jet-lag fog on my first Istanbul evening.

More:Istanbul and the Aegean coast offer seascapes, antiquities and most of all, a warm welcome - The Washington Post

Beware of Turkish Delight

2012-01-27T15:03:00.000-05:00

Beware of Turkish Delight

By ANDREW PEAPLE

Talking Turkey is becoming a common market activity.

The Turkish lira has risen 5.2% against the dollar so far this year, putting it among the world's best-performing currencies. Turkey's government bonds rallied this week as investors' risk tolerance recovered. Yet Turkey is attracting prominent skeptics—among them, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Goldman Sachs—who see its wide current account deficit as a risk that bring its economy to a hard landing. That may prove too gloomy a forecast. But Turkey's policy makers would be wise not to declare victory too soon.

More:HEARD ON THE STREET: Beware of Turkish Delight - WSJ.com

Turkish diplomats saved Jews during Holocaust | The Canadian Jewish News

2012-01-27T14:21:00.000-05:00

Turkish diplomats saved Jews during Holocaust
Sheldon Kirshner, Staff Reporter, Friday, January 27, 2012
Tags: Canada Feb 2 print issue
Gunes Celikcan

TORONTO — A little-known but uplifting and inspiring chapter in the annals of the Holocaust was unveiled last week with the screening of a film about the rescue of Jews in Nazi-occupied France by Turkish diplomats.

More:Turkish diplomats saved Jews during Holocaust | The Canadian Jewish News

Turkish journalists seek release in conspiracy case | World | Reuters

2012-01-27T12:20:00.000-05:00

Turkish journalists seek release in conspiracy case
Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:33pm GMT

By Evrim Ergin

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish journalists in a high-profile case asked a court on Friday to release them from custody while they stand trial on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.

More:Turkish journalists seek release in conspiracy case | World | Reuters

From Military Tutelage to Civilian Authoritarianism? - Qantara.de

2012-01-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

From Military Tutelage to Civilian Authoritarianism?

Opinion in Turkey remains divided over whether the recent remand of a former chief of General Staff on charges of coup plotting represents a further blow against an older, less democratic order, or a move by the incumbent government to further consolidate its power. Fatma Kayabal investigates

More:From Military Tutelage to Civilian Authoritarianism? - Qantara.de

Turkey's Nurol says it bought Hurriyet Medya Towers | Reuters

2012-01-27T11:14:00.000-05:00

Turkey's Nurol says it bought Hurriyet Medya Towers

ISTANBUL | Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:42am EST

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Turkish real estate investment trust Nurol Gayrimenul said on Friday it bought from media company Hurriyet Gazetecilik its Medya Towers property in Instanbul for a total purchase price of $127.5 million.

More:Turkey's Nurol says it bought Hurriyet Medya Towers | Reuters

Turkey and Its Neighbours

2012-01-27T11:12:00.000-05:00

Turkey and Its Neighbours

Yusuf Fernandez

The relations between Turkey and its neighbours have entered an uncertain future. When Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party, the AKP, came to power in Turkey, they promoted a “zero problems with the neighbours” policy. However, Turkey´s tensions with these countries appear to have effectively nullified that doctrine.

More:Turkey and Its Neighbours

Nothing chicken about Turkey

2012-01-27T11:10:00.000-05:00

Nothing chicken about Turkey

January 27 2012 at 04:00pm
By Liz Clarke

When the idea of spending three days in Istanbul was first suggested, my immediate image was of streets overflowing with people, unwashed peddlers fighting to sell you anything from hashish to brass candlesticks and food that you won’t be able to recognise, pronounce, let alone enjoy.

More:Nothing chicken about Turkey - IOL Travel Europe | IOL.co.za

Human rights: Turkey has highest conviction rate in EU court - Turkey - ANSAMed.it

2012-01-27T11:09:00.000-05:00

Human rights: Turkey has highest conviction rate in EU court

27 January, 13:51

(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, JANUARY 27 - Turkey was the county with the highest number of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) convictions in 2011, the third year in a row as Today's Zaman reports. ECHR head Nicolas Bratza said at a press briefing on Thursday that Turkey topped the list of countries that violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) with 159 cases.

More:Human rights: Turkey has highest conviction rate in EU court - Turkey - ANSAMed.it

Asil Nadir 'needed 135 tonnes of cash to balance books' - Telegraph

2012-01-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

Asil Nadir 'needed 135 tonnes of cash to balance books'

The amount of cash Asil Nadir claimed had been paid into the accounts of his failing empire would have required a stack of banknotes 300 times the height of Nelson's Column, the Old Bailey heard.

More:Asil Nadir 'needed 135 tonnes of cash to balance books' - Telegraph

US envoy to Turkey: Face ghosts of the past

2012-01-27T11:04:00.000-05:00

US envoy to Turkey: Face ghosts of the past

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Hinting at France’s recent genocide bill, the US envoy to Ankara tells Turkey that it must confront its past if it wants to rank among the top economies by 2023

Serkan Demirtaş Serkan Demirtaş serkan.demirtas@tdn.com.tr

Turkey must deal with the ghosts of the past if it wants to become one of the world’s top 10 economies by 2023, Washington’s envoy to Ankara has said following controversy over a French bill to criminalize denials of Armenian genocide claims.

More:POLITICS - US envoy to Turkey: Face ghosts of the past

Turkish Lira Appreciates Third Day in Istanbul Trade - Bloomberg

2012-01-27T11:03:00.000-05:00

Turkish Lira Appreciates Third Day in Istanbul Trade

By Selcuk Gokoluk - Jan 27, 2012 2:43 AM ET

The lira advanced for a third day and headed for its strongest level since mid-November in Istanbul trade.

More:Turkish Lira Appreciates Third Day in Istanbul Trade - Bloomberg

Turkey 2011 Population Grew 1 Million to 74.7 Million - Bloomberg

2012-01-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

Turkey 2011 Population Grew 1 Million to 74.7 Million

By Steve Bryant - Jan 27, 2012 4:06 AM ET

Turkey’s population grew by 1 million people to 74.7 million at the end of 2011, the state statistics agency said.

More:Turkey 2011 Population Grew 1 Million to 74.7 Million - Bloomberg

Turkish state TV airs Holocaust film

2012-01-27T11:01:00.000-05:00

Turkish state TV airs Holocaust film

By SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press – 4 hours ago

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — An epic French documentary about the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime has appeared on Turkish television to mark international Holocaust Remembrance Day — the first time the film has been aired on public television in a majority-Muslim country.

More:The Associated Press: Turkish state TV airs Holocaust film

Moving to Turkey was a bumpy rite of passage - Telegraph

2012-01-27T10:59:00.000-05:00

Moving to Turkey was a bumpy rite of passage

9:32AM GMT 27 Jan 2012

Just imagine the absurdity of two openly gay, recently married, middle-aged, middle-class men escaping the liberal sanctuary of anonymous London to relocate to a Muslim country. The country in question was not Iran (we had no desire to be lynched from the nearest olive tree), but neighbouring Turkey, a secular nation practising a moderate, state-supervised brand of Islam. For us, Turkey was the perfect choice for our place in the sun since we’d been dipping our toes in this side of the Aegean for years and were already hooked. Added to this, we had to be within an easy commute of Blighty for family reasons; there could be no lazing on a beach in Thailand or Belize for us. The deal-clincher was that Turkey was outside the eurozone, so our money went that bit further.

More:Moving to Turkey was a bumpy rite of passage - Telegraph

'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' review: a beautiful bore | NOLA.com

2012-01-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' review: a beautiful bore
Published: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 5:00 PM
Mike Scott, The Times-Picayune By Mike Scott, The Times-Picayune

Despite its title, the Turkish import "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" is not a fairy tale, and, one can forget about a happy ending. That's especially true for the man at the center of the slow-moving but beautifully shot cop drama from writer-director Nuri Bilge Ceylan ("Three Monkeys").

More:'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' review: a beautiful bore | NOLA.com

World Traveler: A magical destination in Turkey

2012-01-26T21:17:00.001-05:00

World Traveler: A magical destination in Turkey
Yesterday at 23:25 | Mariya Manzhos
For most Ukrainians, a Turkish vacation means a packaged tour with the all-inclusive meal option, day-long sunbathing with hundreds of other Ukrainians and wild clubbing at night.

More:Kyiv Post. Independence. Community. Trust - Lifestyle - General - World Traveler: A magical destination in Turkey

Foreigners leave Turkey amid new residence law

2012-01-26T21:17:00.000-05:00

Foreigners leave Turkey amid new residence law

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
A high nubmer of Armenian and Georgian people working in Turkey are leaving the country in the wake of a recent law implementation that complicates working permits for foreign people. While workers complain of extreme financial difficulties, Labor Ministry announces that there will be exceptions for house workers

More:RIGHTS - Foreigners leave Turkey amid new residence law