Some Turkish troops leave northern Iraq`s

INDIA: GROWTH IS RAPID, BUT
UNEVEN AS ECONOMY RECOVERS
OVER 700,000 EVACUATED AS
TYPHOON HITS EAST PHILIPPINES
The Indian economy is growing rapidly but with uneven
results, experts told Anadolu Agency on Friday.
A full-blown recovery will be 12-18 months away, the
Mumbai-based brokerage firm CLSA forecast, after its
18th India Investor Forum on Nov. 18.
India, the third largest Asian economy, recorded industrial
growth of 9.8 percent in October as consumer products and
capital goods performed well, according to the data released
from Central Statistics Office (CSO)on Friday. >>ECONOMY
FOOTBALL: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND
OF 16 DRAWS MADE
Typhoon Melor located near Catarman city in Samar, one
of hardest hit islands in deadly Typhoon Haiyan in 2013
More than 700,000 people have been evacuated in the east
Philippines as Typhoon Melor made landfall Monday,
prompting school closures and flight cancelations.
State weather bureau PAGASA said in a bulletin that as
of 11 a.m. (0300GMT), the storm – locally called Nona -was tracked 60 kilometers east of Catarman city in Samar
-- one of the hardest hit islands in deadly Typhoon Haiyan
in 2013. >>WORLD
Some Turkish troops leave
northern Iraq’s Bashiqa camp
Tuesday December 15, 2015
Soldiers leave in convoy for another site in northern
region, military source says
Iraqi FM calls
for dialogue to
resolve row with
Turkey
Some of the Turkish troops deployed
at the Bashiqa training camp in
northern Iraq have been withdrawn
to another part of northern Iraq, a
Turkish military source said Monday.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the force
left the camp in a convoy of 10 to
12 vehicles but did not say how
many soldiers left the camp, when
or where they were headed. An unspecified number of tanks also left.
Baghdad complained about the
Dec. 4 deployment of troops to the
site near Mosul, calling it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and insisting the force was withdrawn.
Turkey said the 150 soldiers and up
to 25 tanks were stationed at Bashiqa
to protect servicemen training Iraqi
volunteers to fight Daesh.
The training mission has been in
operation since March and is not
assigned combat duties.
The president said that Iran, Russia
and Iraq were involved in “virtually
establishing a sectarian authority”
in the region. Erdogan also addressed the downing of the Russian warplane on Nov. 24, which
Ankara says violated Turkey’s airspace despite repeated warnings.
Erdogan dismissed the idea that
the Russian jet was downed with
the knowledge and coordination
of Washington. “There is no such
thing. But of course, we informed
them afterwards,” he said. >MORE DETAILS
Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim
al-Jaafari on Sunday stressed his
country’s keenness to maintain
good relations with Turkey and to
resolve the current diplomatic row
between Baghdad and Ankara over
the deployment of Turkish troops to
northern Iraq.
“We are keen to keep our good relations with Turkey and are committed to finding a political solution to
the crisis that has recently surfaced
between the two countries,” al-Jaafari said at a press conference in the
Iraqi capital.
Nevertheless, the Iraqi FM stressed
that “the sovereignty of Iraq is a red
line that must not be crossed”.
During Sunday’s parliamentary session, he added, “we reviewed the
history of Iraqi-Turkish relations
and confirmed the absence of any security agreements or memorandums
of understanding with Turkey”.
“All that we have in this respect are
the minutes of a session that took
In a related development, Ayad Allawi, head of the Iraqi National Accord
and a former prime minister, likewise
urged the government on Sunday to
resolve the row with Turkey through
dialogue and protect Turkish nationals working in the country.
“The Baghdad government must
work through multiple channels to
end tensions with Turkey,” Allawi
said in a statement.
These channels, he added, should
include meetings with Turkish officials in addition to formal complaints lodged with the UNSC, the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League.
He went on to urge Baghdad “to be
honest with the Iraqi people about
the true size of the Turkish military
intervention”.
“We have to exercise self-control and
safeguard the rights of Turkish citizens working in Iraq,” Allawi said.
>MORE DETAILS
Turkey ‘not in favor of tension’with
Russia, says FM
Statement comes after Russia says one of its ships fired a
warning shot to avoid Turkish fishing vessel
Hours after the Russian Defense
Ministry reported an incident in the
northern Aegean Sea, Turkey’s Foreign Minister said his country was
“not in favor of tension”.
On Sunday, Russia claimed one of
its ships -- the destroyer Smetlivy -fired a warning shot to avoid a colli-
sion with a Turkish fishing vessel 22
kilometers [14 miles] from Greece’s
Lemnos Island.
“We have seen the Russian statement,” Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in
Rome, where he had been following
an international conference on Libya.
Russian airstrikes
‘kill 50 outside
Damascus’
Russian jets target residential
areas in Douma, Zamalka, Jobar,
Hamuriye and Arbin districts
“But we are always saying: ‘We are
not in favor of tension’. We are in favor of overcoming tension through
dialogue,” Cavusoglu added, claiming that Turkey’s initiatives following
“Nov. 24’s sad event” -- the downing
of a Russian warplane -- had always
been in that direction.
‘Russia targeting civilians in
northern Syria’
Fifty civilians were killed and another 200 injured on Sunday in airstrikes
reportedly carried out by Russian
warplanes on the opposition-held
Douma district in eastern Ghouta, a
suburb of Damascus.
According to local civil defense
sources, Russian warplanes carried
out 25 airstrikes on residential areas
in the Douma district.
The same sources said the airstrikes,
which began Sunday morning, had
targeted several opposition-held
Russian jets are deliberately targeting
civilians in northwest Syria, a local
journalist said Monday.
Sadettin Molla, editorial coordinator
for the Bayirbucak News Agency,
said Russian bombers were attacking
Turkmen areas close to the Turkish
border in “an intense way”.
“Four or five Russian jets hit the area
at the same time,” he told Anadolu
Agency. “The mosques, schools and
bridges and civilians are deliberately
targeted.” Direct Russian military
involvement in the Syrian conflict
since Sept. 30 had intensifiedPresident Bashar al-Assad and says it has
been carrying.... >MORE DETAILS
Sunday’s incident comes at a time
when tension between Ankara and
Moscow remains high following
Turkish F16s’ downing of a Russian
SU-24 aircraft near the Turkish-Syrian border. >MORE DETAILS
Turkey lists 676
‘wanted terrorists’
Previous list in October included
101 names
neighborhoods, including Zamalka,
Jobar, Hamuriye and Arbin. >MORE DETAILS
The Turkish Interior Ministry has
updated its list of “wanted terrorists”,
which now includes 676 names, up
from 101 in October.
In total, 583 PKK terrorists have
been included. There were 52 in the
previous list in October.
The list is divided into five color-coded categories, red designating the
most wanted, followed by blue,
green, orange and grey.
The red list includes the name of the
U.S.-based preacher, Fethullah Gulen, leader of the so-called “parallel
state”.
The “parallel state”, known also by
the initials FETO/PDY, is a pur-
Barcelona face Arsenal, Real Madrid take on Roma, Juven-
ported clandestine group of Turkish
bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country’s institutions,
including the judiciary and police,
led by Gulen and his Hizmet (Service) movement, which is allegedly
plotting to overthrow the elected
government.
In addition to Gulen, the red list contains the names of “top” PKK terrorists such as Cemil Bayik, Murat
Karayilan, and Duran Kalkan.
Bayik is one of five founders of the
terrorist PKK organization while
Karayilan is its acting leader, and
Kalkan a senior commander.
In the list, appear the names of 20
members of Daesh, 19 from FETO/
PDY, seven DKHP-C (far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front) militants and 10 MLK-P
(Marxist-Leninist Communist Party). >MORE DETAILS
Monday
tus draw against Bayern Munich Holders Barcelona face
SUNNY
England’s Arsenal in the final 16 of the Champions League
7 °C
following the draw in the Swiss city Nyon on Monday. The
round’s fixtures are as follows: Gent (Belgium) vs Wolfs-
Tuesday
burg (Germany), Roma (Italy) vs Real Madrid (Spain),
PARTLY CLOUDY
Paris Saint-Germain (France) vs Chelsea (England),
8 °C
Arsenal (England) vs Barcelona (Spain), Juventus (Italy) vs
Bayern Munich (Germany... >>SPORT
Turkey’s EU membership talks
restart on economy chapter
Opening of Chapter 17 on Turkey’s EU
membership bid will boost investments in the
country, says Deputy PM
place in 1983,” said al-Jaafari, “which
were later canceled by parliament in
2009.” >MORE DETAILS
Sovereignty
‘under threat’
WEATHER / ANKARA
The opening of the economy
chapter on Turkey’s accession
into the European Union is
a “crucial moment” for the
country’s future membership
in the 28-nation bloc, according to Turkish officials.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister who is responsible for the
country’s economy, Mehmet
Simsek, EU minister Volkan
Bozkir and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu are in
Brussels on Monday for the
opening of Chapter 17 on economic policy.
“We are experiencing a crucial moment,” Bozkir said at
a joint press conference with
Simsek in Brussels.
“We have a very comprehensive
reform program; these are all reforms that will positively influence [Turkey’s accession] process
with the EU,” Simsek said.
“I believe the revitalization of
the accession process will have
a positive reflection on strong
investments in Turkey,” Simsek said.
Chapter 17 aims at bringing
Turkey in line with the EU’s
economic and monetary policy, as part of the country’s plan
to join the 28-nation bloc. The
Can Russia and
Germany repair
relations?
Some German
officials call for
improved
relations, but
each side is
suspicious of
the other
Relations between Russia
and Germany have been
strained by Russian actions
in Ukraine and Syria -- but
the two nations are trying to
repair the damage.
The issue has become critical as the German parliament, on Dec. 4, voted to
participate in airstrikes over
Syria. This will place German forces right on the same
line as those of Russia.
But the issue is critical for
the future of Europe, according to Hannes Adomeit,
a foreign policy expert with
the Institute for International Relations in Paris.
“Relations between Russia
and Germany deteriorated
markedly in 2014, and have
remained strained,” Adomeit
wrote in a note published in
February 2015.
“The question is: Is this a
temporary falling out, or a
permanent shift in policy?”
Adomeit asked. Germany
has had a special relationship
with Russia, and all of Europe has benefited from it. Is
that all changed?
German Vice Chancellor
Sigmar Gabriel on Dec. 6
called for “for an end to the
ice age in the relations with
Russia,” in an interview with
German newspaper Bild am
Sonntag. He also stressed
that “in the long term there
is no point in asking Putin
to solve geopolitical problems like those in Syria, and
at the same time to keep him
from participating in the G8.”
But it is clear that, beyond
expressions of goodwill, the
expectations of the two sides
remain far apart.
As Germany assumes the
chairmanship of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
in 2016, chairman of the
non-governmental Council on Foreign and Defense
Policy Fyodor Lukyanov
emphasized the need to find
new solutions.
“Presently Russia and the
EU are in a fluid state,” Lukyanov said in an interview
with Deutsche Welle on
Nov. 14. “What’s needed is a
new negotiating process and
a new post-Helsinki agreement for which the principles must again be discussed
collectively.”
“The cold relations between
Russia and the West will not
change by themselves. This
requires sustained purposeful engagement, Lukyanov
added. “Expectations that
business interests will prove
powerful enough to change
policy have been disappointed.”
Russia imports $45.5 billion
from Germany, and exports
$29.5 billion to it, so business is a key issue for the two
countries. Western sanctions after Russia’s actions
in Ukraine have bit heavily
into the trade between the
countries, however.
Nonetheless, there seems to
be no clear way forward, experts on both sides admit.
The German government
is suspicious of Putin’s intentions in Syria, analysts
said. “There is a growing
likelihood of falling into a
trap set by Russian President
Vladimir Putin who aims
to maintain his influence in
th...e>MORE DETAILS
chapter includes compliance
with the Copenhagen criteria
-- a full and freely functioning market economy.
“Turkey does not have major
shortcomings regarding this
chapter,” Simsek said.
Out of 35 chapters, which
must be completed in order for
the country to join the 28-nation bloc, only 13 have been
opened.
The Cyprus issue remains a
major obstacle to Turkey’s
EU accession plans, as several chapters, including chapter
15 on energy, are blocked by
the Greek Cypriot administration.
>MORE DETAILS
Turkey,
Pakistan connect
to help the poor
Investment, Turkish role models could help lift Pakistani
women from poverty, says
minister Turkish investors can
help to raise new businesses
from poverty in Pakistan and
empower women, Pakistani
State Minister Marvi Memon
told Anadolu Agency.
Pakistan’s $1.02 billion Benazir Income Support Program
(BISP) is a fund to provide cash
to 5.2 million of Pakistan’s
poorest families - and with
the help of Turkish investment
and Turkish businesswomen to
act as role models for Pakistani
women it could have a greater
impact, Memon said.
Turkey’s
presidential
spokesman
criticizes
Trump
Ibrahim Kalin says ‘cheap policies’ against Muslims aimed at
Republican base
Turkey’s presidential spokesman became the latest to criticize U.S. presidential hopeful
Donald Trump’s remarks on
banning Muslims from entering the U.S.
“Donald Trump is making
cheap policies with his expressions against Muslims and conducting a policy on a conservative Republican base,” Ibrahim
Kalin told a think-tank meeting in Ankara.
“He is playing a political
game, but the main worrisome
[thing] here is the positive reaction from his base.”
>