UN: Turkey, Israel at odd on aid flotilla

The two sides had not agreed on the document, a UN spokesman said. The report into the May 31, 2010 raid in which nine Turkish activists were killed was to have been handed over to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday.

But UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Turkey and Israel “have not come to a consensus” on the report. He did not give a new date for the work to be handed over but said the United Nations was still aiming for late August. Haq added that the inquiry members were still working on a final version. “We are hopeful that these efforts will bear fruit.”

Turkey has demanded an apology for the raid. Israel has categorically refused to make such a gesture. The two sides have blamed each other for the new postponement. “The demand to postpone came from Israel, like the previous demands,” Selcuk Unal, Turkish foreign ministry spokesman told Turkey s Anatolia news agency. In Jerusalem, an Israeli official said that “the Turkish side asked for the delay.”

Diplomatic ties between Israel and Turkey have been in crisis since Israeli commandos raided the flotilla trying to reach Gaza in defiance of an Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.

Russia, Turkey stand by Assad

Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000, is facing the most serious international isolation of his rule. The U.S. and its European allies Thursday demanded he leave power.

But both Russia and Turkey Friday dismissed calls for Assad to quit, offering the Syrian leader rare support despite a damning U.N. report Thursday on his “apparent shoot to kill” policy.

A Russian Foreign Ministry source said Russia opposes US and European calls for Assad leave power and believes he needs more time to implement promised reforms, while in Turkey. Turkey also believes it is “too soon” to call for Assad’s departure.

“We are not there yet. First and foremost the people of Syria must tell Assad to go. This has not been heard in the streets of Syria,” the Turkish official said.

“The Syrian opposition is not united and we haven’t seen yet a collective call from Syrians to tell Assad to go, like in Egypt and Libya.”

A Russian official, quoted in Interfax news agency said: “We do not support such calls and believe that it is necessary now to give President Assad’s regime time to realize all the reform processes that have been announced.”

The position sets Russia firmly against the West, which has stepped up pressure on Assad five months into a violent government crackdown against protesters seeking an end to his rule.

Russia, which holds veto power as a permanent Security Council member, has said it would not support a resolution on Syria but did back an Aug. 3 statement that criticized the violence and called for the clampdown to stop.

Moscow said this week that in the absence of formal sanctions it would continue its arms sales to Syria. Russia, which has a naval maintenance facility in Syria, has repeatedly urged Assad to carry out reforms and has taken a more positive view of the government’s actions than Western nations have.

Turkey warns of continued Jerusalem settlement

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has issued a warning to the Israeli government of the repercussions of its continued settlement activity in occupied Jerusalem, saying that settlement construction “aims at changing the demographics of this sacred city”.

In a press release issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, it strongly condemned Tel Aviv s continued settlement policies in East Jerusalem highlighting the Israeli government s contradictory stance on the issue of peace. “On the one hand, Israel has decided to construct 900 settlement units in Har Homa in East Jerusalem, while on the other, it calls on the Palestinian side to return to the peace negotiations table”.

The press release called on the Israeli government to listen to the calls of the international community to halt “illegal settlement activity” in East Jerusalem, and all attempts to change the demographics of the city. It warned that the settlement policy undermines trust and weakens the peace efforts between the parties of the conflict.

Turkish Airlines Hijack bid Foiled by Passengers

ISTANBUL: A Turkish passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight from Oslo to Istanbul tried to hijack the plane before being overpowered by other passengers Wednesday, security sources said quoted by local.

The would-be hijacker, named as Cuma Yasar, said shortly before the scheduled landing that he had a bomb on him, the sources were quoted as saying.

The suspect, who comes from a Kurdish village in the southeastern region of Anatolia, headed for the cockpit of the Boeing 737-800 less than an hour before arrival at Istanbul and demanded that the aircraft return to Oslo, claiming to have a bomb.

But the 40-year-old was tackled by Turkish and Norwegian passengers and the plane landed safely at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport at 1930 GMT.

The suspect was immediately arrested. No explosive device was found, media said.

Trade relations to be increased with Turkey, says Gilani

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan lays freat emphasis to its relations with Turkey as both the countries share a common nation , Dunay News reported on Tuesday. The prime minister also said that the close fraternal ties between the two countries are centuries old.

The prime minister, while addressing the session of Turkish Grand National assembly, thanked the Turkish Prime Minister and President for awarding him with Democracy Award. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani also declared this award as an honour for him. Yousaf Raza Gilani said that Pak-Turk relations are deep and intense and that they are not restricted any specific area. He also said that the people of both the countries are tied in close fraternal bonding. The prime minister also applauded the Turkish efforts for global peace. Yousaf Raza Gilani also announced to increase trade and business with Turkey.

Turkish rental power plant inaugurated in Karachi

Staff Report

KARACHI: The Turkish rental power plant has been officially inaugurated in Karachi on Sunday (today). This is the most expensive rental power plant of the world; it will start power supply to Karachi within a month.

This floating power plant was built by a Turkish company Kiyabe and it was commissioned in 1982. After commissioning, for a long time it generated power at a dockyard of United Arab Emirates and now it has been docked for next five years at Ibrahim Hyderi Dockyard of Karachi.

This power plant contains five units which can generate electricity through gas and furnace oil both.

The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has refused to provide gas supply and now this rental power plant will generate electricity by using 1200 tons of furnace oil daily. Trend Pk

Iran says nuclear talks could happen in Turkey

TEHRAN: Talks between Iran and major world powers, which have stalled for more than a year, could resume in Turkey “as soon as possible”, Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday.

The P5+1 group, the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, had proposed holding talks with Iran over its nuclear programme on Nov. 15-17 in Vienna. Iran indicated it was open to that idea but never formally agreed.

“We have told our Turkish friends that we are in agreement with regard to holding these talks in Turkey,” Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference. He said the venue, date and agenda were still under discussion. AGENCIES

Erdogan asks Israel to apologize for raid on Flotilla

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again urged Israel to apologize for, and compensate the victims of, a raid earlier this year on a flotilla trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Mr Erdogan said if Israel fails to make those gestures it would remain isolated in the Middle East. He accused Israel of committing state terrorism.Eight Turkish activists and one Turkish-American were killed during Israel’s raid in May on the ship Mavi Marmara. Israel said its troops acted in self-defense after being attacked by activists. A few days ago, Turkish lawyers for pro-Palestinian activists filed a complaint in the International Criminal Court, accusing Israel of war crimes in its flotilla raid. That filing revived an issue that has severely strained Israel’s relations with Turkey. A delegation representing 300 activists and a Turkish organization submitted the complaint to the prosecutor’s office in The Hague, seeking an investigation of the raid. The prosecutor’s office offered no comment on whether it intends to pursue the case. The court, which began work in 2002 as the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal, receives hundreds of complaints every year. So far, it has filed indictments against 17 war crimes suspects, all of them involved in African conflicts.

Erdogan calls on Gilani

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and discussed matters relating to flood victims rehabilitation, Dunya News reported Wednesday.
During a meeting at the breakfast table, the two men took stock of flood affectees and other issues of bilateral interest. Gilani thanked his Turkish counterpart for extending help to Pakistan to meet with the post-flood crises.
Tayyip would also visit the flood-ravaged areas where he would be briefed about the reconstruction and rehabilitation plans.

Turkish businessmen to celebrate Eid with flood victims

Staff Report

LAHORE: Around 160 businessmen from Turkey have decided to celebrate Eid-ul Fitr with Pakistan’s flood affected, SAMAA reported Sunday.



The Deputy Mayor of Istanbul, Ismail Haqi, during his meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, announced that not only will the Turkish businessmen celebrate Eid with flood affectees in Pakistan; but a mobile field hospital would also be established for them.



Ismail Haqi said that the rehabilitation of flood victims is one of the biggest challenges for Pakistan. He assured that his country would support Pakistan to overcome this grave situation.



The Punjab CM briefed the Turkish delegation about the damages of floods and expressed his gratitude to Turkish government for its timely support in this hour of need. SAMAA

Next Page »