NEWS SCAN for Turkey – July 9th, 2013
Down below you will find a summary of topics from major Turkish papers and internet sites.
Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan says Turkey needs stronger industry
Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan stated after industrial output data was released by TUIK yesterday that Turkey needed a faster industrial production rise to reach its midterm targets as the global economic outlook remained obscure.
The minister alsso said; “The industry sector’s share within the GDP should increase. Turkey’s future is based on production and particularly industrial production,” Çağlayan said.
The data announced by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) yesterday showed that seasonally and calendar-adjusted industrial production decreased by 0.6 percent compared with the previous month.
Turkish court releases Swedish woman accused of insulting Turkish PM
It is reported that a Swedish tourist called Sarah Olsson was released by an Istanbul court after being detained by security for two days on charges of “insulting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan” in Turkish during protests in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on June 29.
Sarah Olsson was detained on June 29 during a protest in Taksim Square regarding the deadly police intervention in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır’s Lice district. Olsson, 24, was charged for insulting state officials in Turkish with the rest of the protesting group. It is reported however, she has denied the accusations as she does not speak Turkish.
Olsson was one of a group of 11 people including a 14-year-old boy who were fiercely intervened with and detained by police. Olsson’s lawyer, Burak Mengü, said his client was studying journalism at Stockholm University and she was there to observe the ongoing protests. The lawyer also said she did not speak Turkish. Olsson is supposed to return to Sweden tonight at 9 p.m. The lawyer added that if Olsson had not been detained, she had planned to travel in southern Turkey for the rest of her vacation and remain in the country until Aug. 13.
Istanbul realizes a great portion of Turkey’s exports
It is reported that Istanbul ranked first with highest exports in the first half of 2013. Exports of this giant city increased by 3.1 percent and accounted for 31.2 billion USD in the first half of 2013.
Based on data released by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, exports of Istanbul increased 3.1 percent compared to the first half of 2012 and accounted for USD 31.2 billion of Turkey’s USD 71.4 billion total exports in the first half of 2013.
According to report ready-made clothing ranked the first in sectors among exports with 6.2 billion USD. Goods exported to Germany made up 3.1 billion USD of Istanbul’s exports.
In terms of sectoral exports, steel was the most exported good among 20 different sectors across Turkey followed by mines and metals and clothing. On a state basis, Germany ranked the first among the states Turkey exported, followed by Iraq. Exports of Turkey’s southern province of Kilis to Syria also drew attention as it was worth 5.3 billion USD in the same term.
Çukurova to pay $1.6 bln for Turkcell shares
A British court ruled that Turkey’s Çukurova Group must pay $1.57 billion to Russian telecoms firm Altimo to recover Turkcell shares appropriated for a defaulted loan, opening the way to end an eight-year dispute between major shareholders.
Shares in Turkcell, Turkey’s biggest mobile phone operator, rose 3 percent on Tuesday after the announcement of the figure, which includes the interest accrued over the years the dispute has been running.
The announcement follows a British Privy Council ruling in January that Altimo had been entitled to appropriate the shares but that Çukurova should have an opportunity to recover them “on appropriate conditions”.
Top judge says those under arrest without conviction for over 5 years should be released
Constitutional Court President Haşim Kılıç has stated that individuals who have been under arrest without a conviction pending trial for more than five years should be released, as per a recent Constitutional Court decision on lengthy trial periods.
Last Thursday, the Constitutional Court annulled a recent law that doubled the detention period stipulated in the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK) for serious crimes against the state. The annulled law was adopted by Parliament as part of the 3rd Judicial Reform Package last summer and went into effect after the president’s approval in the same period. Article No. 6352 of the 3rd Reform Package doubled the prison term for those convicted of involvement in espionage and crimes against the security of the state, constitutional order, national defense or state secrets. Many legal experts welcomed the court’s decision, saying it is in line with the standards of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
09.07.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA
We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.
