ERDOGAN ATTENDS TUBITAK’S SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD MEETING
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the 10th meeting of the Science and Technology Board of The Scientific and Technical ResearchCouncil of Turkey (TUBITAK). Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that the meeting would create new scientific strategies, adding that it was a golden opportunity for the nation’s future. Erdogan stated that a new era was beginning and that information could be easily conveyed throughout the world. “Now we need to bring together the information and life,” he said. “But we need to improve ourselves in order to do this.” The premier praised Turkey’s recent progress in producing information, adding that this resulted from competition. “We have been carrying out r&d work for a long time, but we need to increase this,” he said. Touching on terrorism, Erdogan said that international cooperation was needed to fight terrorism. /Turkiye/

GUL WARNS TALABANI,BARZANI NOT TO SUPPORT PKK/KONGRA-GEL
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul held meetings with Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (IKDP) senior official Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani visiting Ankara. During their talks with Barzani on Tuesday and with Talabani yesterday, recent developments in Iraq were taken up. In addition, terrorist organization the PKK/Kongra-Gel’s taking shelter in northern Iraq and attacks to Turkish businessmen and drivers in the country were also discussed. Reiterating that Ankara favored Iraq’s territorial integrity, Gul wanted all groups in the region to be represented in the new administration. Furthermore, underlining Turkey’s sensitivity over Kirkuk issue, the foreign minister called on Kurdish officials not to support the terrorist group the PKK/Kongra-Gel. /Turkiye/

GUL TO VISIT BALTIC COUNTRIES
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is set to pay an official visit to the Baltic countries, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, on Sept. 8-13. According to a foreign ministry statement, Gul is to visit these countries upon the invitation of his counterparts. He is expected to exchange views with his counterparts on their nations’ EU membership bids as these three countries are among the recent EU entrants. /Sabah/

19 KILLED IN MINE FIRE IN KASTAMONU
A fire that raged through a copper mine in Kastamonu yesterday killed 19 workers and injured 17 others. The fire broke out inside the mine in the town of Kure in Kastamonu province. In related news, Kure Subgovernor Alper Tanrisever said, “We can reach the trapped workersby phone. However, we can not reach them physically.” /All papers/

VERHEUGEN VISITS IZMIR
On his third day of Turkey visit, European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen yesterday visited Aegean province of Izmir. After holding meetings with Governor Yusuf Ziya Goksu and other officials as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations, Verheugen said that his visit to Turkey had been very fruitful. “Although certain shortcomings still exist, Turkey have fulfilled political reforms and began to implement them,” added Verheugen. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters yesterday, asked if the EU Commission will postpone its report on Turkey for one week due to technical matters, Verheugen stated that the report would be issued on October 6, as scheduled before. /Aksam/

ISLAMIC MILITANTS DEMAND TURKEY AND JORDAN TO CLOSE THEIR EMBASSIES IN IRAQ
An Islamic website published a statement threatening Turkey and Jordan with painful reprisals unless they closed their embassies in Iraq. “We demand that the Jordanian and Turkish governments close their embassies in Iraq and leave the country because of their attitude in terms of supplying … the invading forces in our country, which encourages them to prolong their stay in Iraq,” the statement said. The statement was signed by the “Al-Hussein Islamic brigades” and published on the site www.islamic-minbar.com. “If our demand is not met, we will, in our own way, carry out painful reprisals,” threatened the group. /Hurriyet/

GERMAN FM: “TURKEY HAS STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE FOR THE EU”
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said yesterday that Turkey had a strategic importance for the European Union, adding that it would contribute to the Union’s security. In related news, European Commission Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Chris Patten said that he hoped Ankara would soon begin accession talks with the EU. /Milliyet/

TRNC CABINET BANS FOREIGNERS’ OWNERSHIP OF REAL ESTATE
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) yesterday approved a bill regulating the purchases of real estate by foreigners in the northern Cyprus. The bill bans selling real estate to foreigners as the real estate sectors boomed in the wake of this year’s referendums on the United Nations Cyprus plan. According to the bill which is to be presented to the TRNC Parliament for approval, the foreigners will hold the usufruct right for 125 years but cannot have the ownership of immovable properties in the TRNC. /Star/

CONDOR ADVISERS PREDICTS A NEW ECONOMIC CRISIS FOR TURKEY
Economic imbalances that led to earlier crises in Turkey have reappeared, says Jeph Gundzik, the President of Condor Advisers, an investment risk analysis company based in the United States. According to Condor Advisers’ analysis, economic growth has become unsustainably strong in Turkey. “If the government does not slow the economy immediately, Turkey may find itself in the throes of a lira devaluation and severe economic crisis next year,” Gundzik says. Condor Advisers provides risk analysis to investors world-wide. /Star/

TUSIAD REPORT PREDICTS $15 BILLION CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT BY YEAR’S-END
Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) delegation which met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan on Tuesday presented a report to them. The report warned that domestic demand could continue to increase next year, making risks more important. It predicted that current accounts deficit could reach $14-15 billion by the end of this year. The report further stressed that the nation could face an energy shortage if the economy continued to grow. “We should cooperate more with Russia in the energy sector,” added the report. /Milliyet/

WORLD BANK PRAISES GOVERNMENT FOR ITS STRUGGLE TO REDUCE RED TAPE
The World Bank yesterday issued an investment report evaluating the opportunities of doing business in the new EU entrants and candidate countries. The report praised the Turkish government for its efforts to reduce red tape for business. “Among countries enacting reforms, Turkey streamlined the process for starting a new business, cutting the time from 38 days to 9 and making the list of top 10 reformers in entry regulation,” said the report. /Sabah/

TURKEY, GREECE DRAWS 0-0
Last night, during a World Cup qualifying match in the second group in Athens, Turkish and Greek soccer teams drew 0-0. Turkish national team is set to play against Kazakhstan on Oct. 9. /All Papers/

TURKISH BASKETBALL TEAM DEFEATS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
During European Championship qualifying match, in-group E, Turkish national basketball team yesterday defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina’s team with a score of 75-65. Turkish team will play against Estonia on Saturday in Istanbul. /All Papers/