HURRIYET
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ANOTHER TURKISH SHIP HIJACKED

Pirates, who hijacked a Turkish ship, "Yasa Neslihan", with 20 crew members offshore of Yemen 15 days ago, now hijacked Karagol, another ship of Turkish registry, in the same region.

There are 14 crew members on board the ship which was destined to Bombay port of India.

Turkey immediately contacted the NATO ships of British Navy off Dubai and asked them to intervene.

ANKARA FAILS TO MAKE CONTACT WITH OBAMA

While Barrack Obama, who was elected President of the U.S. on November 4, talked with several world leaders over the phone, Ankara failed to establish contact with him. Ankara was rather reluctant to contact Joe Biden who will take office as the Vice President on January 20.


MILLIYET
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PIRATES HIJACK SHIP OF AK PARTY DEPUTY

Pirates hijacked Turkish-flagged ship belonging to the company of Kemal Yardimci, a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, off the coast of Yemen. The ship "Karagol" carrying chemicals bound for India was hijacked on Wednesday. It is the second Turkish ship commandeered in the area recently.

MARKETS TURN UPSIDE DOWN

Impacts of concerns over global recession on emerging markets and the uncertainty in the relations between the IMF and Turkey have turned the markets upside down. Turkish lira (YTL) weakened against U.S. dollar and euro. U.S. dollar is traded at 1.6 YTL and euro exceeded 2 YTL at Istanbul's free market. The Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) main index slumped 2.1 percent and closed at 25,342.


SABAH
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TURKISH-ITALIAN COOPERATION TO CONTINUE SHOULDER TO SHOULDER

The first intergovernmental summit between Turkey and Italy took place in western province of Izmir on Wednesday. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi expressed that the solidarity between Turkey and Italy will continue at the highest level possible in all areas.

TRT'S KURDISH CHANNEL TO BEGIN BROADCASTING ON JANUARY 1

Director General of the Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) Ibrahim Sahin said that TRT was working on establishing a new channel that would broadcast programs in Kurdish language. The new Kurdish channel will begin broadcasting on January 1, 2009. "We may ask the people to suggest a name for the Kurdish channel," Sahin said.


VATAN
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MALL CRISIS BEGINS IN ISTANBUL

Retail sector is having hard times due to slump in markets. Shopkeepers have revolted against mall operators and exorbitant rents as their sales dropped after the financial crisis. After "close down" protests in some shopping malls in Ankara and some other central provinces, such protests may also take place at malls in Istanbul.

PIRATES HIJACK ANOTHER TURKISH SHIP

Pirates hijacked Turkish-flagged ship, "Karagol", bound for India offshore Yemen, Turkish maritime officials said. 14 Turkish personnel were aboard the ship carrying chemicals which was hijacked 16 miles off the coast of Yemen. Last week pirates also hijacked a Turkish ship offshore Somalia.


CUMHURIYET
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CIVIL SERVANTS WIN AT ECHR

Grand Chamber, the body of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in charge of appeals, did not change the court's verdict in the case filed by Kemal Demir, a member of Tum Bel-Sen --a civil servants' union in Turkey-- and ruled that Turkey violated the right to association. The court sentenced Turkey to pay 20,000 Euro as amends to the labour union's legal representative.

The verdict may pave the way for collective agreement between the government and civil servant unions. Union officials had filed a lawsuit at the ECHR about the Council of State ruling saying that Civil Servant Union officials could not attend collective bargaining talks and that the union itself could not be considered a legal entity according to law.

ANOTHER TURKISH SHIP HIJACKED

While talks on the Turkish ship hijacked by pirates in Aden Bay for ransom on October 30 continue, another Turkish ship named Karagol, destined for India was also hijacked by pirates offshore Yemen. Turkey's Maritime Authority announced that it contacted NATO ships of British Navy situated in Dubai and asked them to intervene. The ransom negotiations for Ukrainian ship (loaded with heavy weapons) hijacked on September 25th also still continue.


RADIKAL
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EARTHQUAKE SHAKES KAYSERI

An earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale shook central Anatolian province of Kayseri on Wednesday. Kayseri residents rushed to the streets in panic during and immediately after the earthquake.

THOUSANDS OF WORKERS LAID OFF IN TWO YEARS

Production in Turkey shrank by 4.1 percent in August and 5.5 percent in September. An official in the Turkish textile sector said that around 200,000 workers were laid off in the past two years in Turkey.


TURKIYE
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ITALY'S SUPPORT FOR TURKEY'S EU ACCESSION PROCESS

Izmir hosted a huge event on Wednesday. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi gathered within the scope of the strategic document which was signed earlier. Several Turkish and Italian ministers accompanied the two premiers. During the talks, Turkey's EU accession process as well as economic and political cooperation were discussed. Berlusconi said Turkey should have a place inside the EU.

IF TURKEY MANAGES CRISIS WELL, IT CAN LEAP FIVE YEARS AHEAD

Suzan Sabanci Dincer, chairperson of executive board of Akbank, said if Turkey took right steps during the global financial crisis well, it could leap five years ahead.


ZAMAN
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WE ARE YOU AND YOU ARE US, GEN. BASBUG

General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug and several other generals visited the western province of Izmir on Wednesday. Addressing the citizens in Izmir, Gen. Basbug said that "we are you and you are us".

TURKEY NEEDS 130 BLN USD OF FOREIGN RESOURCE IN 2009, WORLD BANK EXECUTIVE

The World Bank Turkey Director Ulrich Zachau said that the global economic crisis would affect Turkey and Turkey's need for foreign resources would increase in 2009. Zachaus stressed that Turkey would need 130 billion USD of foreign resource in the year 2009.


YENI SAFAK
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SPECIAL CEREMONY FOR LAST VETARAN

Turkey will bid farewell to Mustafa Birgol, the last veteran of its Independence War, with a special ceremony at the 1st Army HQs in Istanbul with the participation of General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug and Force commanders.

Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan announced that an formal ceremony would also be held for Bingol in front of the Parliament in Ankara.

WE WILL LEAP FIVE YEARS AHEAD WITH CRISIS

Akbank's Chairperson Suzan Dincer Sabanci said Turkish banks were in better situation than foreign banks.
"We have the capacity to fight the crisis. If the crisis is managed well, it could carry our country five years ahead," said Sabanci.

AA