NEWS SCAN for Turkey – Aug 9th, 2013
Down below you will find a summary of topics from major Turkish papers and internet sites
Erdoğan critizes situation in Syria and Egypt
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan who spoke at a meeting of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in Istanbul held to celebrate Eid al-Fitr made the following statement on Thursday; “A mentality in Syria which has stepped on the holiness of Ramadan has massacred individuals fasting”. Erdogan also said “Our brothers and sisters in Syria have entered Eid al-Fitr full of blood and tears and were subjected to massacres during Ramadan.”
As for the situation in Egypt the PM went on to say “Some people could not see the injustice in Egypt. Some people could ignore the oppression and massacre in Egypt. Some people could also refuse to call a military coup a ‘military coup’. We see our brothers and sisters in Egypt and feel their pain in our hearts and support their legitimate fight.”
Turkish PM did not fail to criticize the Vice President of Egypt Mohamed El Baradei by saying “El Baradei received the Nobel Peace Prize and is now the Vice President of the Egyptian government which realized a military coup. I call on Nobel, how do you award the peace prize. This individual who received it took place beside people who made a military coup.”
CEO of ATOS Turkey says Olympics will accelerate Istanbul’s tech infrastructure
Mr. Orhan Akbulut, CEO of ATOS TURKEY has stated that it would be to the benefit of Turkey to win the 2020 Olympic bid as it would accelerate the technological development regarding infrastructure of Istanbul. Akbulut has said preparations would create a technological infrastructure worth billions of dollars and thus become a turning point for the city.
The winner of the 2020 Olympics will be announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) early September and Istanbul is to compete with its two remaining rivals, Madrid and Tokyo.
Akbulut stated that Atos’ presence in İstanbul would benefit the Olympics, adding that the preparations in İstanbul would be more organized than in countries with no Atos offices. The Turkish branch of Atos, which is an official information technology partner of the Olympics Committee, was recently responsible for the main technology integration of the Mediterranean Games held in the Mersin province of Turkey from June 20-30.
French aircraft maker Airbus set to produce plane parts in Turkey
It is reported that French aircraft maker Airbus is to manufacture electronic and mechanical components in plant in Turkey via its subsidiary
The company is said to be planning to invest in a plant in Turkey where a subsidiary of it will manufacture various electronic and mechanical aircraft components, according to some reports.
Airbus has acquired a plot of land in the European Free Zone (EFZ) in the Thracian province of Tekirdag, the reports quoted the owner of the land as saying.
“Airbus has acquired an area of 10,000 square meters in EFZ,” said Kemal Şahin, the chairman of Şahinler Holding, the owner and operator of Turkey’s largest private industry park. The company is expected to break the ground for the production facility in the coming months.
President of Turkey calls on Egypt to restore democracy
President Gül has called the current rulers of Egypt and urged them to restore the democracy. GUL has listed four steps to put democracy back on track in Egypt. He stated that those four steps were vital to put democracy back on track in the crisis-torn country in which he described the situation as “worrying and unsustainable.”
Gül also said “The coup that ousted Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, was a clear derailment of the country’s progress. Perhaps the deadlock could have been avoided. Maybe this situation could have been averted by calling for early elections. But problems should, in any case, have been corrected through democratic mechanisms.”
Turkish Airlines pilots kidnapped in Beirut
Turkish pilots Murat Akpinar and his assistant Murat Agca are reported to have been abducted in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
Lebanese security sources declared that gunmen had abducted a Turkish pilot Murat Akpinar and his assistant Murat Agca in Lebanon’s Beirut city, on Friday.
A shuttle including the pilot, the assistant pilot, and the crew of the Turkish Airlines plane which flew to Beirut from Istanbul was stopped by four gunmen on the way from airport to the hotel. Contact has been made with the Lebanese authorities immediately after the event. However, perpetrators who abducted the pilots and released the crew are unknown yet.
The crew, on the other hand, is reported to have been placed in a hotel and they are expected to return to Turkey in the afternoon.
Israeli energy companies consider exporting to Europe via Turkey
A group of energy companies that discovered large amounts of natural gas off Israel’s Mediterranean coast said they were in talks to export the gas to Europe via a pipeline to Turkey.
They are also studying options to export gas to Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, Avner Oil & Gas said on Tuesday. “The partners are negotiating with various officials,” Avner, one of the partners in the project, said.
A spokesman for Delek Group, the parent company for Avner and for Delek Drilling, said the group – led by Noble Energy – was already in advanced talks with companies in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority about buying Israeli gas and building pipelines. The talks show that the gas project is moving ahead, with prospects of eventually boosting Israel’s export revenue and economic growth. They also indicate reduced tensions between Israel and Turkey. A pipeline could improve relations between the two countries, which have been poor since 2010.
09.08.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA
We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.
