TURKIYE
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LIFE BUOY FOR SMEs
Details of a loan package which aims to assist the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) were made public by Industry and Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan. Caglayan said SMEs can benefit from interest-free loan of 350 million YTL as of November 26.

TURKEY HAS RIGHT TO FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
U.S. president-elect Barack Obama said that he believed Turkey had the right to fight against terrorism within the framework of its right of self-defense. Obama returned telephone call to Turkish President Abdullah Gul who had called after the November 4 elections to congratulate him for his victory. During the phone conversation with Gul, Obama emphasized the importance of the special relations between the two allies, Turkey and USA.

ZAMAN
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EUROPEAN BUSINESSMEN MEET IN ISTANBUL FOR INVESTEMENT IN DEFIANCE OF CRISIS
As the world struggles against a global financial crisis, a confederation of industrialists and businessmen in Turkey brought together 360 businessmen from 16 countries with 600 Turkish entrepreneurs in Istanbul on Tuesday. Businessmen discussed cooperation opportunities under a program for foreign trade bridge for central and eastern Europe as they set a target of 1 billion USD volume.

TURKEY TO SET UP SPECIAL COURTS FOR DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES
A parliamentary committee in Turkey has drafted a project to struggle against the use of illicit drugs, which had become a major threat even for small children. The plan foresees special courts and prosecution offices for drug-related offenses and a council for preventing addiction.

YENI SAFAK
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THE NEW NATO MEMBER
Somalian pirates hijacked Saudi Arabian super tanker that was carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil. Tension mounted in the region. NATO has not intervened yet and it raised questions if the United States turns a blind eye.
Turkish Naval Forces commander Admiral Metin Atac complained about the lack of authority in Somalia, saying, "we are against a new problem. Nineteen vessels were hijacked this year so far. This thing is going bigger and we can not find any authority to talk to."

3-BLN-DOLLAR DEAL
Turkey's leading operational car rental firm Intercity signed a partnership deal with Mitsubishi, Japan's largest conglomerate. Three billion USD of investments will be made in four years. Intercity's executive Vural Ak said that his company plans to own 100,000 cars after three years.
VATAN
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"CRISIS IS OUT OF QUESTION IN OUR COUNTRY AT THIS MOMENT"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke about the global economic crisis at his return from Switzerland.
"Such a crisis is out of question in our country at this moment. But of course this blow or wave may have effects on us too, especially in the first half of the next year," Erdogan said.

CHADOR CONTROVERSY IN CHP
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has started to question Chairman Deniz Baykal's accepting women wearing black chadors and headscarves as party members.
Necla Arat, a CHP deputy and mastermind of the rallies for the Republic, said, "it was not suitable for the history and identity of CHP. It caused disappointment in our party grass-roots."
However, CHP general controller Mustafa Ozyurek said that it was an opening.
"We are trying to carry CHP further by embracing all segments of the society," he said.

CUMHURIYET
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MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST ECONOMIC CRISIS
Turkish industrialists have begun to take some measures in order to overcome global economic crisis with minimum loss. Some automotive companies suspend manufacturing time to time and distributors carry on their campaigns to revive the market.

FIRST SNOW
Meteorology authorities said that rainy weather would continue across the country this week. First snow fell at ski centers in Turkey. Snow thickness on Kartalkaya Ski Center in northwestern province of Bolu has reached eight centimeters.

RADIKAL
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ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION DOWN AS INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT PLUNGES
Electricity consumption in the first half of November plummeted by 6.5 percent over the same period last year, which signalled a prospective slowdown in industrial output because the last time the electricity consumption dropped from 4.5 percent to 2.4 percent in September the industrial output was down by 5.5 percent. The consumption gradually increased between 2003 and 2007 with an annual average of 7.4 percent. Further downfall in electricity consumption and industrial output would mean bad news for the economy which might see even worse days than it did during a crippling economic crisis in 2001.

TURKISH MINISTER: UNEMPLOYMENT IS HERE TO STAY
A budgetary committee at Turkish parliament discussed on Tuesday the unemployment problem which got worse when it increased 207 thousand over the last year to reach 2.3 million. Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Celik had no promising news: "Seven hundred thousand people enter into the labor market each year but only 400 thousand jobs are created. The unemployment rate is likely to linger around 9-10 percent."


HURRIYET
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AYDIN DOGAN RECEIVES GOLDEN VICTORIA
The President of the Executive Board of Turkey's Dogan Holding, Aydin Dogan, received on Monday the Golden Victoria award from the German Union of Magazine Publishers (Verband Deutscher Zeitschriftenverleger-VDZ). Attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Turkey's Ambassador in Berlin Ahmet Acet, the award ceremony recognised Dogan's contribution to the Turkish-German friendship and integration between the two countries.

MHP READY TO WORK TO SOLVE PROBLEMS OF ALEVIS
Devlet Bahceli, chairman of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP), delivered a speech at his party's group meeting in the parliament and said that they were ready to work for solution of problems of Alevis. "We cannot ignore problems of Alevis and efforts must be exerted for the ways to solve their problems," Bahceli stated.

MILLIYET
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U.S. DOLLAR ABOVE 1.67 LIRA
The Istanbul Stock Exchange closed Tuesday with losses due to uncertainty over the IMF deal and concerns in international markets. The benchmark index fell 2.9 percent to 23,495 points, three-and-a-half year low.
U.S. dollar gained strength against Turkish lira to 1.6755 YTL in interbank market but later weakened to 1.64 YTL after an energy company sold U.S. dollar.

OBAMA PHONES GUL
U.S. president-elect Barack Obama phoned Turkish President Abdullah Gul and thanked his for his congratulatory message. Obama said he felt admiration to Turkey and Turkish people and stated that he believed Turkey has the right to fight terrorism.

SABAH
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FIRST MESSAGE FROM U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT ON PKK
U.S. President-Elect Barrack Obama telephoned Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday saying that Turkey had the right to fight against terrorism to protect itself. "I admire Turkey and the Turkish people. Exclusive relations of alliance between the two countries are indispensable," Obama told Gul.

TURKISH PREMIER PARTICIPATES IN OPENING OF ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS HALL
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated at the opening of the Alliance of Civilizations Hall at the United Nations building in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday. "Ankara and Madrid, Istanbul and Granada and Barcelona are parts of the Mediterranean cultural climate. Spain's flamenco and Turkish sufi music give the same messages and, despite Mevlana and Cervantes have used different languages, they display the same spirit," Erdogan said.

GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES $350 MLN LOAN PACKAGE
Turkish government said Tuesday it would give away a total of 350 million USD interest-free loans to small and medium scale enterprises. The package comes with a condition: Enterprises will not fire employees.

AA