GUL RECEIVES PM ERDOGAN FOR WEEKLY MEETING
President Abdullah Gul late yesterday afternoon received Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. During their one-hour regular weekly meeting, the leaders reportedly discussed recent developments on the terrorism issue. /Turkiye/
PRESIDENT GUL SAID TO FAVOR UNIVERSITIES ELECTING THEIR RECTORS
President Abdullah Gul yesterday received a delegation led by Tahsin Yesildere of the Association of University Scholars. Speaking afterwards to reporters, Yesildere said that they had discussed issues related to academics. He added that Gul favored a system where universities elect their own rectors. In addition, the president yesterday hosted a luncheon for Professors Talat Halman and Halil Inalcik. During their one-and-a-half-hour meeting, a number of issues were taken up. Gul will reportedly continue holding occasional meetings with leading Turkish intellectuals to exchange views on various topics. /Milliyet/
YAS MEETING SET FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW
The regular winter meeting of the Supreme Military Council (YAS) will be held today at Military Staff headquarters. The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the attendance of Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, force commanders and other top officers. During the two-day meeting, issues related to the staff, training and discipline of the Turkish Armed Forces will be addressed. Decisions made at the gathering will be presented to the president for his approval. /Cumhuriyet/
SERBIAN PRESIDENT DUE IN TURKEY TODAY
Serbian President Boris Tadic will arrive in Ankara today at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. During his two-day official visit, Tadic will be accompanied by a delegation of high-level bureaucrats and businessmen. In addition to Gul, the Serbian leader is expected to meet with Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan and Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He will also attend a meeting of the Turkish-Serbian Business Council in Istanbul. /The New Anatolian/
PRINCE CHARLES VISITS ISTANBUL
Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, duchess of Cornwall, yesterday visited Istanbul's Eyup Sultan Mosque, Grand Bazaar, and Koc Museum, among other historic and cultural sites. During their visit to the Kariye Museum, the couple was accompanied by Mesrob Mutafyan, patriarch of the Armenian community in Turkey, along with Ishak Haleva, the head rabbi of Turkey's Jewish community, and Istanbul Assistant Mufti Yusuf Izzettin Konuk. /Star/
TURKISH BUSINESSMEN AWARDED SPAIN'S ORDER OF CIVIL MERIT
Spanish Ambassador to Ankara Luis Felipe Fernandez de la Pena yesterday presented two Turkish businessmen with awards in recognition of their contributions to economic relations between Turkey and Spain. At Istanbul's Spanish Consulate, the ambassador awarded the Order of Civil Merit to Alarko Holding Chairman Ishak Alaton and Zorlu Holding CEO Ahmet Nazif Zorlu for their contributions to economic relations between the two countries. /Today's Zaman/