CB: “THE NEW THREE-YEAR IMF STANDBY WILL HELP OUR ECONOMY COUNTER RISKS”
The Central Bank yesterday announced that the Turkish economy was facing certain risks and that the CB needed to brief the public on them. In a written statement, the CB stated that Ankara’s planned new three-year standby with the International Monetary Fund could help blunt some of those risks. It added, however, that the recent rise in oil prices still posed a threat to the economy. It also stated that this year’s 12% inflation target was achievable, predicting that inflation would continue to fall next year if the government continues its reforms and tight monetary policy. /Aksam/

EU ACCESSION AID SLATED
Projects for using 300 million euros in accession aid from the European Union to Turkey for 2005 will be intensified next month. Within the framework of fiscal cooperation, the EU is planning to grant Ankara a total of 1 billion euros through 2006. /Cumhuriyet/

RICE: “TURKS KNOW THAT WE’RE DOING WHAT WE CAN WITH NON-MILITARY MEANS TO DEAL WITH THE PKK”
Asked yesterday about the continued presence of the PKK/KONGRA-GEL terrorist group in northern Iraq, US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said, “We’re in discussion with the Turkish government about what can be done on both sides of the border to deal with the threat of those irregular forces to Turkey. We’ve declared those as terrorist organizations. They continue to be terrorist organizations.” Rice added, “It’s obviously a complicated situation in Iraq right now, where resources are an issue. I think Turks know that we’re doing what we can with non-military means to try and make less active and less capable those forces. We’re working with the Turks and the Iraqis … to see if we can deal more forcefully and more effectively with those forces.” She further stressed that the US had no desire to have Turkey attacked by those forces, which Washington long ago declared to be terrorists, and added that the US would continue to work with its ally Ankara. /Milliyet/

IRAQI MILITANTS THREATEN TO KILL TURKISH HOSTAGE
Iraqi militants are threatening to kill a Turkish hostage if the companies he has worked for do not withdraw from Iraq within three days. Translator Aytullah Gezmen, 23, went missing in Iraq last month together with Murat Yuce, the first Turkish hostage killed by Iraqi militants. Turkish news channel NTV aired a video showing Gezmen speaking Arabic and Turkish and pleading for help from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. One of Gezmen’s employers, Bilintur Catering, said that it had already withdrawn from Iraq to avoid putting his life at risk, and another, the Tepe Group, declared that it would do the same. /Sabah/

MOODY’S WARNS OF POSSIBLE DEVALUATION DUE TO HIGH CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT
In a written statement, international rating agency Moody’s Deputy Chairmen Kristin Lindow yesterday warned that Turkey’s high current accounts deficit could lead to a devaluation, which could also raise the rate of public debt to the gross national product (GNP) from 70% to 100%. Lindow said that unemployment was one of Turkey’s most pressing problems in the long-term and added that the government should take concrete steps to overcome it. She further criticized the nation’s education system, adding that the Turkish government should provide adequate resources to improve it. Touching on Turkey’s European Union membership bid, Lindow predicted that Ankara could get a date from the Union this December to begin its accession talks, but that the negotiations could take a long time. /Aksam/

SAGIR WINS GOLD, BREAKS RECORDS IN WEIGHTLIFTING
At the 28th Summer Olympics in Athens yesterday, Taner Sagir broke two Olympic records in weightlifting and took the gold medal in the Men’s 77 kg class. Sagir lifted 172.5 kg in the snatch and 202.5 in the clean and jerk for a total of 375 kg. /All papers/