The case involving Italian peace activist Pippa Bacca's rape and murder is postponed once again. The police declared that CCTV recordings are terminated. The court demanded phone records of the suspect. Next hearing is on April 22.

President Gül meets with his counterpart Talabani as well as the head of Kurdish regional government, Barzani. Calls for improved relations between two countries and an end to armed conflict between Turkey and Kurdish rebels.

South African rights-activist Setshedi, explains women's experience in the struggle against the commercialization of water, at the Alternative Water Forum in ıstanbul.

Samir al Kuntar, the most popular representative of the Palestine-Lebanese resistance, says Palestinians want solidarity, not a recreation of the Ottoman Empire, from Turkey.

Senior adviser to the president of the UN General Assembly, Maude Barlow criticizes the World Water Forum as corporations dominate it. "Right to water is a human right" says Barlow and urges for public control over water management.

Water rights activist Öngür says that the World Water Forum’s primary aim is to commercialise water. Of the 30 or so members from Turkey joining the forum, 27 are construction companies, he points out.

The Istanbul Water Tribunal has demanded that the government fufill its obligations under national and international agreements and legislation. All projects should be evaluated in terms of environmental effects.

The Global Peace and Justice Coalition is marking the 60th anniversary of NATO with a protest fair in Kadıköy, Istanbul on 13 and 14 March. There will be debates, music and games.

Associate Professor Çalışkan believes that Obama’s impending visit is aimed at getting Turkey to support the US withdrawal from Iraq.

A report by the State Auditing Commission (DDK) on shipyards has been found to contain racist descriptions of Greeks, such as “lazy” and “a genetic hostility towards Turks”. When reported, parts of the reports were taken off the website.

Two women politicians apply to the ECHR regarding Italy's PM Berlusconi's insulting remarks about women. bianet talks to Anna Paola Concia about their stance, their expectations from the case and situation of civil rights in the country.

Sex workers in Istanbul and Ankara have protested on occasion of International Sex Workers' Rights Day (3 March). They demand acceptance of their work as an occupation and the right to organise.

Pacifists have accused the USA of withdrawing from Iraq not out of respect for human rights but in order to intensify the occupation. They have also protested at the USA’s planned use of Turkey in the withdrawal process.

A report on human rights in Turkey published on the Internet by the U.S. Department of State highlights ongoing human rights violations in the country.

Early Wednesday morning, a Turkish Airlines plane said to have been flying from Istanbul crashed at Amsterdam's airport. Nine are reported to have died, while fifty are injured, 25 of them seriously.

A decree by the European Court of Justice may mean that business trips from Turkey to EU member states will not require visa in future.

Although Istanbul will be hosting the World Water Forum soon, the city is itself guilty of endangering its vital water supplies and denying people access to clean water.

The newly announced November 2008 data on unemployment does not reflect the rapid decline in the economy since the end of October. Future prospects for employment are bleak.

Minister of Justice Şahin told parliament that 1,042 people were tried under Article 301 in 2006 and 2007. 11,720 people were tried under the Anti-Terrorism Law; 17,510 more were accused of “membership in an illegal organisation and 6,582 people of leading such organisations.

Nearly 20 percent of Israel's population is the Arab minority. Fascist Yisrael Beitenu's success in elections leaves us in dismay, Ra'am party's Abed al-Alhim told bianet. "Already facing discrimination, we'll call for a boycott if it enters the new government."