Only the government here appears to be pleased with its new economic recovery programme. Announced on the weekend, the programme, which is backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has spawned a wave of criticisms and labour rallies.

Journalist Celal Baslangic faces 1-6 years for his collection of articles Temple of Fear, previously published by Istanbul daily Radikal. Documenting ordinary human tragedies in Southeast none of the articles were banned when published in the daily.

Ongoing economic crisis leads to unemployment among Turkeys specialized workforce, say Engineers Chambers officials. New raduates as well as experienced engineers are seeking jobs outside of their profession or overseas.

Turkeys Health Minister Osman Durmus remains under heavy criticism by womens organisations for his circular on virginity tests. Although Minister Durmuş had to withdraw the circular under pressure, women urge for more profound measures.

Greece and Turkey have signed an agreement that will allow Greece to send back illegal migrants that have entered the country through Turkey.

Proposals of replacing the ruling cabinet with a technocrats government, in order to overcome the Nationalist Action Partys (MHP) unwillingness in implementing the IMF backed austerity programme rebuffed. Political analysts comment on the issue.

On the 27th year of Turkeys military intervention, Northern Cypruss Patriotic Unity Movement (YBH) anlyses the current situation in the divided island. Unemployment increases and the standard of living falls, say report by the groups youth arm.

-Type prisons are specially designed maximum-security facilities, which Human Rights Watch, the global human rights group, calls physically and psychologically damaging to prisoners. The prisons are designed to keep prisoners in isolation.

Last week, thousands of protesters closed businesses and blocked highways in Ankara and Istanbul, shouting, The government must resign! and waving placards with the words Youre sucking our blood.

The death of a political prisoner in Turkey last week may spark a chain of similar action by other inmates on hunger strike in the countrys prisons, a medical doctor has warned.

Turkeys new economic chief, Kemal Dervis has been hailed as the man who will sort out the countrys financial mess. This week, Dervis, sold government bonds worth 3.3 billion US dollars to local investors, as part of his austerity measures.

In just two days Gul, like an elephant in glasshouse, tore down all what his Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli had done to clean up the image of their party, stained by blood and intolerance in the three decades of violence during 1970-2000.

The letter of intent, released Tuesday, pledges that major public banks, the strongholds of Turkeys crony capitalism, will be merged and privatised in three years. State subsidies to beetle and tobacco farming will be stopped.

The strikers seek abolition of state security courts, which are used for political trials and other sensitive cases. They demand more rights for the Kurdish people in Turkey and a break with an economic reform agreement reached with the IMF.

It is vital that we explore anti-American sentiment. It is especially urgent that we study Americas Middle East policy, with emphasis on U.S. dealings with Iraq and Israel.

The schism between the governments attitude and the public sentiment is so apparent that, football matches in Istanbul have witnessed loud anti-USA protests when the audience is called for standing for condolence for the victims of the attack on USA.

Ersen Korkmaz, columnist and editor of local daily Demokrat Iskenderun prosecuted for his column criticisng Turkeys foreign policy. Charged with violating Article 159 of the Penal Code, Korkmaz is faced with 18 months in prison.

Nadire Mater, an award-winning journalist has fallen prey to the flimsiest of whisper campaigns. She is accused of accepting a payment to produce a book critical of the Turkish military at the behest of the CIA.

An IHD (The Human Rights Organisation of Turkey ) fact finding mission to Southeast Turkey is reported to have faced arassment during their visit to the region. In an urgent appeal yesterday the IHD calls for intervention for the release of detained local

The exhibition stretches over three floors and explores the cultural heritage of Turkish Jews over the passed seven centuries starting from the Ottoman conquest of Bursa in 1326. A large number of these Sephardic Jews found refugee in the Ottoman Empire.