ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on June 24th, 2006. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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YILMAZ: ''I RETURN TO POLITICS IF THERE IS SUCH A NEED''
Turkey's Supreme Court suspended the trial of former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz on technical grounds yesterday. Yilmaz gave the signal of returning to the politics. Mesut Yilmaz said, ''I am about to start my contacts for the politics. I return to politics if it is seen necessary.''
CYPRUS EXPERT APAKAN TO BE UNDERSECRETARY OF MFA
There will be an important appointment in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Deputy Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan, an expert in Cyprus issue, will be assigned as Foreign Ministry Undersecretary. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer verbally approved his assignment.
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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11 TERRORISTS KILLED IN HAKKARI
Turkish security teams killed 11 PKK terrorists in a major clash in the furthest southeastern town of Cukurca (in Hakkari). Operations continued all day in Cukurca which borders Iraq. A total of 11 terrorists who attempted to sneak into the country were killed.
CENTRAL BANK CANNOT DROP U.S. DOLLAR
Turkish Central Bank announced an extraordinary Monetary Policy Committee meeting be held on Sunday. The announcement of the meeting followed a round of market intervention by the central bank to support the Turkish lira against U.S. dollar. But after the central bank first bought dollars at 1.71 lira, it weakened to the day's low at 1.7650, just above the all-time low of 1.77.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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YILMAZ IS BACK!
Saying farewell to the politics in 2002, former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz is coming back to the politics. Yilmaz said, ''I am about to start my contacts for the politics. It is not important if it is right or left wing, the point is to be able to establish the team for the future of our country.'' Former President of Turkey Suleyman Demirel assessed the decision of Yilmaz and said, ''I think it is very proper and reasonable decision. I wish him success.''
BINAY: ''WE HAVE NOT MISSED OPPORTUNITY YET''
Turkish Central Bank's former deputy governor Sukru Binay stated that inflation rate in June would be lower than expectations. Binay indicated, ''decrease in inflation figure in June is an opportunity to stop the setback in the economy. It is necessary to plan urgent measures and the targets should be clearly defined.''
VATAN (INDEPENDENT)
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WHICH ONE IS TRUE?
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer does not take any businessmen with him to Russia, however Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan went to Moscow with 509 businessmen nearly one and a half years ago. Rifat Hisarciklioglu, chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), said that they were expecting the President to invite Turkish businessmen to his entourage.
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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NIGHTMARE IN ECONOMY
The government which did not take into consideration the warnings on current account deficit and hot money cannot find a solution to current fluctuations. Concessions that the government made for foreign investors and interventions in markets cannot stop fluctuations. Turkish Central Bank intervened in foreign exchange market yesterday but rise in foreign exchange rates against Turkish lira did not stop. The bank decided to convene in an extraordinary meeting of Monetary Policy Committee tomorrow.
BUSY DIPLOMACY TRAFFIC
British Prime Minister Tony Blair requested Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to continue Turkey's efforts for a solution to the problem regarding nuclear program of Iran. Erdogan told Blair that that Turkey would continue to do everything in its power. Erdogan called President Mahmud Ahmadinejad of Iran, stressing that the problems should be resolved through diplomatic ways.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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MESUT YILMAZ COMING BACK!
Turkish Supreme Court suspended the trial of former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz on technical grounds on Friday. ''I was not interested with (political) proposals during the trial but beginning from today I will start making contacts,'' Yilmaz said.
DISK PLATFORM BECOMES A MOVEMENT
''December 10th Platform'' that was led by the Confederation of Progressive Turkish Trade Unions (DISK) for an integrity in the left wing replaced its name with ''December 10th Movement'' in its last meeting.
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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11 TERRORISTS KILLED IN HAKKARI
Turkish security teams killed 11 PKK terrorists in a clash in southeastern city of Hakkari. A total of 11 terrorists including a woman were killed in the operation in rural area near Cukurca town of Hakkari.
ERDOGAN: ''PEOPLE SHOULD BE CALM''
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated regarding rise in foreign exchange currency against Turkish lira that people should not panic on the current situation in economy. ''Turkey experienced similar problems earlier. Central Bank does what is required.''
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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CENTRAL BANK DETERMINES SPECULATORS
Despite measures taken to stop fluctuations in the markets, 1 U.S. dollar becomes 1.71 YTL and interest rates rose to 22.36 percent. Experts said that foreign banks caused this situation. Turkish Central Bank is preparing an action package against the speculation. Central Bank intervened in the foreign exchange market on Friday by a ''direct sale'' aiming to calm extreme volatility.
IMF: ''TURKISH GOVERNMENT TOOK SOUND STEPS IN ECONOMY''
International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Director for External Relations Masood Ahmed stated that Turkish government took sound steps to bring stability to the current situation in economy. Ahmed underlined that IMF was sure that Turkish Central Bank would take necessary measures to keep inflation in medium term targets.
YENI SAFAK (CONSERVATIVE)
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5.8 BLN USD LEAVES TURKEY
The amount of hot money that left the country in one and a half months reached 5.8 billion U.S. dollars. Foreign investors' portfolio of 61.7 billion USD dropped to 40.3 billion USD.