GUL ADDRESSES BAHRAIN'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
President Abdullah Gul yesterday addressed Bahrain's National Assembly as part of his two-day visit. He said that US President Barack Obama's messages in Turkey to the Muslim world had created a positive atmosphere in the world, adding, "In this respect, it is the right time for the world, especially the Muslim world and Arab countries, to voice their views in unison." He underlined that Turkey, in the midst of its full membership process with the European Union, could express the concerns and views of the Muslim world to the EU. He also expressed concern over Israeli attacks on the Palestinians, reiterating that the Middle East should be free of weapons of mass destruction. /Star/
BABACAN TO ATTEND BSEC MEETING IN YEREVAN
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will go to Yerevan, Armenia today to attend a Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Foreign Ministers' Council meeting. At the end of the meeting, Armenia will hand over the BSEC term presidency to Azerbaijan. Baku will have the post until October 31. /Milliyet/
TURKEY'S BORDER WITH ARMENIA WILL STAY CLOSED UNTIL THE OCCUPATION OF KARABAKH ENDS, TOPTAN TELLS AZERI DEPUTIES
A group of Azeri women deputies yesterday visited Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan to express concern over reports that relations between Turkey and Armenia might be normalized and the border between the two countries might be opened. "There is a misconception about Turkey's efforts to normalize its relations with Armenia," Toptan told the lawmakers, assuring them that Turkey will not open its border with Armenia before the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is solved. "There are 1 million Azerbaijani people displaced from their homes due to the Armenian occupation of Karabakh," he added. "While this occupation continues and those Azeri people struggle to survive, Turkey opening its border with Armenia is unthinkable." The deputies also met with main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in response to Armenia's occupation of the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. In related news, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan yesterday said, "It seems preconditions for the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia have been met," expressing his country's readiness for this. /Turkiye/
TRNC'S TALAT MEETS WITH US SEC'Y OF STATE CLINTON
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington. During their meeting, Talat conveyed the Turkish side's desire for a solution on Cyprus through negotiations and asked for the US' help with this. /Cumhuriyet/
GOVT TO OFFER SALARIED JOB COURSES TO STEM JOB LOSSES DUE TO ECONOMIC CRISIS
Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Celik yesterday said that the government would offer vocational training courses as part of efforts to curb rising unemployment due to the global economic crisis. Stating that the courses wouldn't be short-term, Celik added that they would focus on vocational training requiring up to six months. Celik also said that the trainees would be paid salaries of TL 350 and that they hope to train some 150,000 people every year. /Turkiye/