Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Turkey and Armenia will sign two Protocols to normalize their relations 11 October at a ceremony in Switzerland, but details have not yet been released by the Swiss government, which has acted as mediator in the lengthy process. The Swiss federal government announced 1 September that the two countries had initialed two Protocols and were starting six-week internal consultations on these: “Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations” and the “Protocol on the development of bilateral relations.” The Protocols must still be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
The ceremony will be brief, with the parties shaking hands and signing the Protocols.
Update 11:15 Thirty-two people are known to have died in flash floods in Istanbul and northwestern Turkey Wednesday morning 9 September, and the death toll may climb as waters recede. Heavy rains that began Monday night caused flooding, and 24 of those who died were in the city of Istanbul. Seven of them were textile workers trapped in a shuttlebus that was taking them to a factory and 10 were truck drivers who were asleep in a parking lot. CNN, Huerriyet Daily News
A man working undercover for the BBC news service in Kabul, Afghanistan has found instances of voter fraud involving the sale of voter cards and offers to buy blocks of votes for cash, days ahead of the country’s presidential and provincial council elections 20 August. Some people reportedly have been issued multiple voter cards to enable them to vote several times. President Hamid Karzai is running against 30 other contenders in the election. Late Monday 17 August General Abdul Rashid Dostum arrived in Afghanistan from exile in Turkey to throw his weight behind Karzai, increasing concerns in the US and at the United Nations “that Dostum could return to government. Washington said he may have been responsible for human rights violations” according to Reuters. Western observers are currently saying that Karzai will not achieve the 50 percent vote needed to avoid a run-off.
Insurgent Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt the electoral process, and many parts of the country are inaccessible to government officals. The US military forces in Afghanistan have vowed to ensure security for the elections, but attacks in Kabul and elsewhere on coalition forces have increased over the past few days. Two rockets hit the presidential palace early 18 August, slightly injuring one person. CNN, Reuters, The Times, UK
Turkey joins the growing list of countries to ban smoking in public places such as restaurants and bars, starting 19 July. Turkey’s smokers consume 100 billion cigarettes a year, and half the male population smokes. It is the world’s eighth-largest cigarette market. Already bar owners and restaurateurs are worried the effect the ban could have on their business. A fine can be worth the equivalent of $45 for a smoker and a first-time offense for a bar-owner can cost $365. Smoking in offices and public buildings was banned 15 months ago. Polls indicate that 95 percent of the population is in favour of the ban. BBC, Financial Times
Drought but mainly poor water management is causing the Euphrates River to dry up and it is now about half the size it was just a few years ago, writes Campbell Robertson in a New York Times feature. One result is that Iraq has increased its grain imports, but the issue is also causing tensions to rise between Iraq and its neighbours, notably Turkey and Syria.
Istanbul, Turkey (GenevaLunch) – Jenson Button drove his Brawn GP car to his fourth consecutive Formula 1 victory. He has now won six of the seven races this season. He then thanked the team for producing a “monster of a car.” Only four other drivers have won six of the first seven, Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher (twice).
Morges tulip festival
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Mother’s day in Switzerland is coming up on Sunday 10 May. Many special activities will be taking place over the weekend that could be ideal for celebrating. The CGN lake boats company offers a special Mother’s day lunchtime cruise on Lake Geneva where mothers are the guests of honour. The final day of the Morges Tulip festival also falls on 10 May.
Title: Turkish day in Switzerland
Location: Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: A day to celebrate Turkish culture. Part of the program includes jazz from Istanbul, folk music, food and Turkish typical dances.
Date: 09 May 2009
Forty-five people were killed in Mardin province in Turkey when gunmen with hand grenades and rifles broke into a house where a wedding was being celebrated and they opened fire. Police say the motive of the masked gunmen is unclear, but some local media are speculating that it was a blood feud and others that one of the guests was a member of a militia. BBC
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Turkey and Armenia have “agreed on a comprehensive framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a mutually satisfactory manner,” the two note in a brief formal statement issued jointly with Switzerland Thursday morning 23 April. Switzerland has served as mediator for the two countries, which “have been working intensively with a view to normalizing their bilateral relations and developing them in a spirit of good-neighborliness, and mutual respect, and thus to promoting peace, security and stability in the whole region. The two parties have achieved tangible progress and mutual understanding in this process and they have In this context, a road-map has been identified. This agreed basis provides a positive prospect for the on-going process.”
US President Barack Obama made a gesture to improve relations with the Muslim world Monday 6 April in a speech to the Turkish parliament. “Our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject,” Obama said. Obama assured that the US supports the goals of both Palestine and Israel and wishes to see peace and security in the region. Reuters, Al Jazeera
Shimon Peres, Israel (photo: WEF)
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey (photo: WEF)
Davos, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Israeli President Simon Peres has told Le Temps, which interviewed him after a clash with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that there was nothing personal in his rebuff of Erdogan’s words during a Thursday night debate on Gaza at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He confirmed that he telephoned the Turkish prime minister last night, after their clash. Erdogan flew home early from Switzerland and was met by cheering crowds in Istanbul,
From the editor: the second part of the article on Switzerland’s 66 top wines, adapted from l’Hebdo, will be delayed to Thursday afternoon due to technical problems. If you haven’t yet checked out our most recent features and interviews (always below the international news on the home page), this is a great time to do it – wine and food and sports and business and more.
A senior Turkish official has accused Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and ex-daughter0in-law of the Queen of England, of a smear campaign because of an undercover report she did with ITV about state orphanages in Turkey. The show is scheduled to be aired the day after a European Union report on Turkey’s bid for membership, reports The Globe & Mail, Canada.
Turkey’s top court has ruled that the prime minister was involved in anti-secular activities. The court published the ruling, given against the PM last July, on 24 October. NYT
