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European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 17 Dec. 2004

Bulgaria: Turkey Not to Build NPP on Bulgarian Border

Bulgaria: Turkey Not to Build NPP on Bulgarian Border – Report

The construction site of what could become a Turkish NPP is said to be visible from the Bulgarian Black Sea village of Rezovo. Map from bivol.bg

Turkey does not intend to construct a nuclear power plant several kilometers away from its border with Bulgaria, a Bulgarian official has stated, denying earlier reports.

Konstantin Grebenarov, district governor of Bulgaria’s Burgas, has assured that Turkey only plans to build a thermal power plant

“Currently there are only private investment intentions for the construction of a thermal power plant there,” Grebenarov told reporters on Monday.

However, the Bulgaria Greens have expressed concerns over the potential power plant near the Bulgarian border. Even a thermal power plant may pose serious environmental risks, Greens party representative Petko Kovachev has told the Bulgarian National Radio.

“Our reaction should be very strong if Turkey is building a nuclear power plant near our border without notifying Bulgaria and the European Commission,” Kovachev declared.

Last week, it emerged that the municipality of the small Black Sea Turkish town of Igneada has received a letter from the central government in Ankara announcing the upcoming construction of a nuclear power plant and thermal power plant on the spot.

Igneada is a town of some 2 000 inhabitants, located 5 km south of the Rezovska (Rezovo) River, which marks the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The first reports that Turkey was planning to build a nuclear power plant there emerged in 2011.

Back in April 2011, the Turkish Consul in Burgas Sibel Arkan told Burgas Mayor Dimitar Nikolov that Igneada is only the project with the third highest possibility to become Turkey’s third NPP and the Turkish government is yet to take a decision on its construction.

In May 2010, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia for the construction of what will become Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Mersin’s Akkuyu district. Turkey’s second NPP is to be located in Sinop on the Black Sea.

Locals in both Bulgaria and Turkey are said to be alarmed by the reports that a NPP may be built in Igneada.

Tags: Sinop NPP, Igneada NPP, EDF, GDF Suez, Areva, Ankara, Tekirdag, France, Sinop, Akkuyu NPP, Nuclear Power Plant, NPP, Taner Yildiz, Black Sea coast, Black Sea, Igneada, Bulgaria Greens

via Bulgaria: Turkey Not to Build NPP on Bulgarian Border – Report – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency.

November 6, 2012
British Soldier Stabbed To Death In South Cyprus

A British soldier has been stabbed to death during a fight with UK tourists in a Cyprus nightclub, police have said.

Cypriot police said four off-duty soldiers stationed on the island got involved in an altercation with three tourists in the early hours of Sunday morning.

One of the tourists then allegedly drew a switch blade knife and stabbed the teenage soldier, according to police spokesman Georgios Economou.

He said: “Today at around 3.30am while a group of British soldiers from Dhekelia garrison were enjoying themselves at a club in Ayia Napa they had a confrontation with three of their compatriots.

“During the confrontation one of the three drew what is believed to be a knife injuring the soldier in the chest.”

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Famagusta General Hospital in nearby Paralimni.

Connie Pierce, a British military spokeswoman, said the incident took place in a part of Ayia Napa that is off limits to British soldiers because of past trouble there.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed a British soldier was killed following a fight on the island. The dead soldier has not been identified.

Britain retains two military bases on the island after the former colony gained independence in 1960, with around 9,000 troops stationed there.

Ayia Napa is a popular resort destination for young holidaymakers, especially British tourists attracted by the nightlife.

Sky News

November 4, 2012
Erdogan signals Turkish Air, Lufthansa joint management

ISTANBUL | Sat Nov 3, 2012 1:53pm EDT

(Reuters) – Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) and Turkish Airlines (THYAO.IS) should deepen their existing ties, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, but it was not immediately clear what he meant and both companies declined to make specific comment.

The airline world has seen a flurry of partnerships recently as carriers band together to counter tough market conditions.

Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa are already joint owners of the SunExpress airline and members of the Star Alliance, one of the global airline networks.

Erdogan said he had agreed to a proposal by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to establish “joint management” of the two carriers.

“During my visit to Germany, Merkel made this proposal: ‘let’s put Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines under joint management’. I said okay,” Erdogan said in a speech to his ruling AK Party.

“This is currently among our projects and God willing we can, and will, take this joint step with Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa,” he said.

A German government spokesman declined to comment and Turkish officials were not immediately available to clarify.

A Turkish Airlines spokesman told Reuters he had not heard of such a development.

“There is nothing concrete that we have been informed of. If a big decision is to be taken here, a management board decision would be necessary. But there is no such thing at the moment,” the spokesman said.

Lufthansa spokesman Klaus Walther said Germany’s largest airline had a long-term relationship with Turkish Airlines via Star Alliance and joint venture Sun Express.

“We are always in talks about how we can further improve and intensify the cooperation between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines for the benefit of our customers,” he said.

But he declined to comment on what form a deeper cooperation could take.

A Turkish Privatisation Administration (OIB) official said last month there had been no decision on the method or size of a privatization of some of the government’s 49.12 percent stake in Turkish Airlines after a newspaper report said the state planned a 30 percent block sale.

Lufthansa is currently in the middle of a 1.5 billion euro cost cutting program to combat rising fuel costs and increased competition from low cost and Gulf rivals. It has said that the program is needed so it can afford new fuel-efficient planes and that’s its focus at present rather than any acquisitions.

(Additional reporting by Evrim Ergin in Istanbul and Victoria Bryan in Frankfurt; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Jon Hemming)

via Erdogan signals Turkish Air, Lufthansa joint management | Reuters.

November 4, 2012
Ex neo-Nazi: Joining Taliban – terrible mistake

German man who joined Afghan jihad says he regrets decision due to lack of comforts on battlefield; ‘my wife missed her cell phone,’ he says

Ynet

Published: 11.03.12, 17:58 / Israel News

A former neo-Nazi turned jihadist who attacked an American base near the Afghan-Pakistan border has told a German court that he regrets his decision to become a terrorist, The Times reported Saturday.

The German man, identified only as Thomas U, said that signing up for the German Taliban Mujahidin (DTM) and travelling with his wife to the war-torn Afgfhan-Pakistan border was a “terrible mistake.”

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At court, the jihadist lamented his fellow combatants’ drug habits, lacking hygiene, contracting hepititis A and the loss of his friends on the battlefield.

His wife, he said, also missed comforts such as shopping at the supermarket and her cell phone.

Turkish prison

According to the report, the couple were arrested upon escaping to Istanbul, Turkey, in 2010 after the wife became pregnant. She gave birth in a Turkish prison.

Thomas U, 27, is being charged with being a member of the DTM and taking part in an attack on an American base.

According to the report, he paid 5,000 euros to travel to the Afghan-Pakistan border in 2009, and was locally trained in the use of firearms and explosives. He even appeared in a Taliban propaganda video, boasting that the attack “disrupted the Christmas spirit” on the base.

The aspiring terrorist became disillusioned with the violence in April 2010, when DTM’s German co-founder Eric Breininger and a Dutch national only identified as Danny R were killed in an attack by Pakistani force.

The 1.87 meter-tall man had shriveled to only 53kg after contracting hepatitis A.

“It was a terrible experience,” he said in a court statement. “I was shocked at the lack of hygiene, people were spitting and vomiting.

“My wife was very unhappy because traditionally women are treated badly,” he added.

He expressed his relief at escaping the dreadful conditions.

“Finally I could hold hands with my wife in public,” he was quoted as saying.

via Ex neo-Nazi: Joining Taliban – terrible mistake – Israel News, Ynetnews.

November 4, 2012
Bulgaria: FM: Bulgaria Supports Turkey EU Membership

Bulgaria supports Turkey’s eventual becoming a full member of the EU, said Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikolay Mladenov in one of the rare high-ranking Bulgarian statements on the matter.

“Bulgaria approves of Turkey’s accession to the European Unon,” said Mladenov in an interview for Darik Radio Saturday.

However, the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that the negotiation process is complicated

“There are huge parts of Turkish legislation that still have to be harmonized with EU standards,” said Mladenov.

He also added that Bulgaria is aware that other EU member states are not so favorable towards Turkey’s future accession.

“Attitudes and position in some member states could give ground for a halt in enlargement,” commented Mladenov.

via Bulgaria: FM: Bulgaria Supports Turkey EU Membership – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency.

November 4, 2012
German Turks ‘send a billion euros to Turkey’

The majority of Germans with a Turkish background – 57 percent – have their own income, revealed the study, carried out by Berlin-based research institute Info and published in the Handelsblatt newspaper. Seventeen percent receive social support.

Info director Holger Liljeberg attributed the transactions to Turks’ “very strong” connection to their homeland. The study also found that some 18 percent of German Turks send goods and food to their friends and relatives – at an average value of €250 a year.

Altogether that amounts to around €90 million in goods and a billion euros in money.

Around half of the 1,000 German Turks asked in the survey said they owned property either in Germany or Turkey, while a third had property in Turkey.

“These figures also underscore the desire of many Turks to make provisions should they move back to Turkey one day,” said Liljeberg.

The study also found that the strong connection to Turkey led many to travel there on a regular basis. “On average the Turks in Germany travel to Turkey 1.9 times a year,” said Liljeberg, adding that one in four Turks travel to Turkey three or four times a year.

“The strong family connections guarantee lively traffic between the two countries, and ensure that contacts don’t break,” he said.

The Local/bk

via German Turks ‘send a billion euros to Turkey’ – The Local.

October 31, 2012