NEWS SCAN for Turkey – Oct 24th, 2013
Down below you will find a summary of topics from major Turkish papers and internet sites
US envoy concerned about Turkey’s China missile deal, praises intelligence chief
The top U.S. diplomat in the country has sung the praises of Turkey’s top intelligence official, who has recently been the target for harsh criticisms in international media, particularly in some U.S. leading newspapers.
Being generous with the praise of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan, U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone was blunt to the same extent of his generosity, as he was speaking of his administration’s position over Ankara’s decision to co-produce a long-range air and missile defense system with a Chinese firm under U.S. sanctions.
HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
Erdogan attends airport opening ceremony in Kosovo
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Kosovo yesterday for the opening of the Pristina Adem Jashari International Airport’s new airport terminal building and accompanying facilities, built by the Turkish-French consortium Limak-Aéroports de Lyon. Erdogan was accompanied by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and a number of ministers from three countries at the opening. Addressing the audience at the opening ceremony, Erdogan placed emphasis on the developing bilateral ties between the two countries, saying, “Whenever we are in Kosovo, it feels like we are home. Kosovo and Turkey share a common history, culture and civilization. We are so close and even the composer of the Turkish national anthem, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, was from Kosovo.”
DUNYA.COM
Global tech companies look at Turkey to establish R&D centers
Turkey is likely to become a home to research and development labs for global tech companies in the near future, according German business software firm SAP’s Europe, Middle East and Africa head, Franck Cohen.
Talking to the press about the company’s third quarter earnings, Cohen told the Turkish daily Habertürk that Turkey was in the top 3 fastest growing markets for the German company, which has operations in more than 130 countries. “We consider Turkey in the top 3 for its potential as well.”, the SAP executive noted. “Our July announcement about setting up an R&D center in Teknopark Istanbul is a reflection of this. Turkey stands out with its developing infrastructure and growing economy,” he said, expressing his belief that more multinational tech companies will follow SAP’s example of setting up R&D centers in Turkey.
Known for its enterprise solutions, SAP will employ a research staff of 300 engineers at its Teknopark Istanbul R&D center, which will receive EUR 20 million of investment over the next 3 years. The Turkish facility will be a part of the company’s worldwide development centers (SAP Labs), currently located in 15 countries across the world.
INVEST.GOV.TR
Main opposition claims Court of Accounts ‘blind to corruption’
A Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy has claimed that the government has been pressuring the Court of Accounts to delete instances of corruption detected by the court’s auditors in public agency accounts from its reports submitted annually to Parliament, saying the Court of Accounts administration is violating the law by omitting information regarding irregularities in public spending.
The Court of Accounts audits the finances of public bodies and is arguably one of the most important organs that can ensure honest and transparent public expenditure.
The CHP parliamentary group’s deputy chairman, Akif Hamzaçebi, held a press conference in Parliament on Thursday. He claimed that the government failed to limit the auditing power of the Court of Accounts as much as it had desired, and that is why it ordered a change in the format of its financial reporting. “The government, which failed to pass its proposal on the Court of Accounts, simply created a de facto change by pressuring the Court of Accounts to alter its reports. The Court of Accounts, instead of being the eyes of the public, is now blind to those committing corruption.”
TODAYS ZAMAN
Turkish foreign minister raps international failure to tackle Syria aid crisis
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu deplored what he called an international failure to tackle the humanitarian crisis in war-ridden Syria, saying food and medicine are running out and snipers are shooting pregnant women.
Turkey, which has received more than 600,000 Syrian refugees, would keep its border with Syria open to people fleeing the violence but the world needed to share the humanitarian burden, Davutoğlu said.
“I have to express our deep disappointment and frustration because of the absence of a proper reaction by the international community regarding the humanitarian situation on the ground,” he told reporters in Kuwait during a bilateral visit on Oct. 24.
“Those who can come to Turkey, they are the lucky ones, those who are back in Syria, they do not have anything to eat, they do not have hospitals, medicines, anything,” Davutoğlu added.
HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
24.10.2013
compiled by Editor BTT,
We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.
