IRAQ'S HASHEMI MEETS WITH GUL, ERDOGAN
Visiting Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi was received yesterday by President Abdullah Gul in Ankara. Afterwards, he proceeded to Istanbul and met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Also at the latter meeting were Prime Ministry chief advisor Ahmet Davutoglu and members of the Iraqi delegation. During the meeting, such issues as Turkey's expectations of Iraq for fighting terrorism and measures to counter the global economic crisis were discussed. /Cumhuriyet/

ERDOGAN ANNOUNCES CANDIDATES FOR ISTANBUL, KOCAELI IN LOCAL ELECTIONS
In local elections set for next March, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has decided to stay the course with the current mayors of the Istanbul and Kocaeli greater municipalities. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday announced the re-nomination of the AKP mayors: Kadir Topbaº in Istanbul, and Ibrahim Karaosmanoglu in Kocaeli. Speaking at a press conference at the AKP's Istanbul branch, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that some believe anything is justified to win elections, but the AKP sees things differently. Pledging that the party will continue its commitment to abide by democratic principles, Erdogan added that candidates who are open to change and improvement, and have a vision, will stand as candidates again for the AKP. Also attending the ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister Hayati Yazici, Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay, Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim, and other top party members. /Aksam/

TOPTAN PAYS VISIT TO MACEDONIA
Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan left for Macedonia yesterday at the invitation of his Macedonian counterpart Trajko Veljanoski. Toptan will be received by Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and address the Macedonian Parliament today. Tomorrow, Toptan will proceed to Albania, where he is expected to hold meetings with Albanian President Bamir Topi and Prime Minister Sali Berisha. /Hurriyet Daily News/

MAIN OPPOSITION CHP REVISES PROGRAM AT CONGRESS
At its 14th congress in Ankara over the weekend, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) worked on changes to the party's program and bylaws. At the congress, CHP's leader Deniz Baykal criticized Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recent statement saying that a newspaper should report the news correctly or it would be closed down. "Will he (Erdogan) set the criteria for closing down papers?" Baykal asked. "Just closing a paper won't end his annoyance. If he can, he'll establish a media monopoly." Baykal also criticized corruption as well as a recent initiative to apologize for the World War I-era killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans. /Cumhuriyet/

BABACAN DECRIES ATTEMPTS TO WATER DOWN EU MEMBERSHIP COMMITMENT TO TURKEY
In an interview in daily Today's Zaman, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan put the blame for slow progress in Turkey's European Union accession talks on the bloc's current Term President France, saying that during a recent meeting of EU foreign ministers Paris seemed to have put new hurdles on Ankara's membership path. Stating that there were attempts to water down the EU's membership commitment to Turkey on the eve of that meeting, he criticized the EU for failing to open talks on six more chapters, despite the fact all technical preparations were complete. /Today's Zaman/

REHN: "NEXT YEAR WILL BE A REAL TEST OF TURKEY'S EU BID"
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn yesterday said that the coming year would be a critical one for Turkey's EU accession bid, adding, "Next year will be an important test of whether Turkey is serious about its EU accession perspective." In an interview with Reuters, Rehn said, "I am aware of the dilemma emanating from Turkey's more religious and secular ways of life. But Turkish society has to find a way to compromise. The energy to be used for to fulfill necessary legal and economic reforms is wasted for domestic tensions." On the Cyprus issue, Rehn said that a comprehensive solution to the issue should be reached next year, urging all parties of the issue to work to create a win-win situation for the two communities on the divided island. /Milliyet-Turkiye/

GEORGIAN PM TO VISIT IN TURKEY
Georgian Prime Minister Grigol Mgalobishvili is set to arrive in Turkey tomorrow for two days of official talks. Mgalobishvili, a former ambassador to Ankara, will be accompanied by a large delegation including his finance and energy ministers. The premier will be received by President Abdullah Gul and then will meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, before proceeding to Istanbul on Wednesday to hold talks with businesspeople. His visit to Ankara is his first official trip since becoming Georgian premier. /Hurriyet/

AKP PREPARES PROJECTS FOR GAP REGION
The ruling Justice and Development Party has prepared a package to fight cultural and social underdevelopment in nine cities of the southeastern region. The package includes nearly 400 social and cultural projects in line with the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) action plan, which has been led by Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren. The government will allocate nearly 50 million YTL for the package. /Star/

TURKEY, SYRIA PLEDGE TO BOOST FINANCIAL COOPERATION
In talks in Syria including Turkish banking sector representatives, Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren over the weekend met with Syrian Prime Minister Naci Otri and his Syrian counterpart Abdallah Dardari. Ekren's talks focused on economic and financial cooperation with Syria. Speaking at a joint press conference afterwards, Ekren said that better relations and political stability between Turkey and Syria in recent years have paved the way for developing economic cooperation between the two neighbors. In view of the strong will of the Turkish and Syrian leaders, bilateral economic ties should be strengthened, Ekren said. He also stressed the importance of better regional economic cooperation to help weather the global economic crisis. For his part, Otri said that they came to agreements on many matters after talks with Turkish bank officials ahead of a Turkish-Syrian joint economic commission meeting. Dardari said that economic and technical cooperation would be launched soon between the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) and the Syrian Planning Institution. /Turkiye/