Officials once more slam neighbors for backing the terrorist groupMETEHAN DEMIR Diyarbakir, Sirnak - Turkish Daily News Turkish military officials have repeated their calls to the international community to outlaw the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and have once again accused Turkey's neighbors -- Russia, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Greece, and the Greek administration in southern Cyprus -- of deliberately aiding the activities of the illegal organization. "Germany and France have banned the

Touchy issue: The Supreme Court will examine whether Quebec has a right under the Canadian constitution to declare independence unilaterally Ottawa- Reuters Quebec politicians staged a noisy demonstration on Parliament Hill on Monday as Canada launched a hard-line strategy in the courts against any unilateral declaration of independence by Quebec. The Supreme Court of Canada opened hearings on the long-anticipated case which goes to the heart of the existence of the Canadian federation -- whether the

Bonn - Reuters Controversial German writer Ernst Juenger died on Tuesday, officials in the state of Baden Wuerttemberg said on Tuesday. He was 102. Juenger was branded a Nazi apologist, warmonger, mystic, and master stylist during his long career. But he was held in high regard in France where his admirers included the late president Francois Mitterrand. His first book, "In Storms of Steel,"published in 1920, glorified the horrors of World War One and promoted Juenger to the ranks of militant

Efforts intensify to avert strikes on Iraq; Mubarak warns attack could worsen Arab situation Baghdad- Reuters Signs grew on Monday that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan might make a personal eleventh-hour mission to Iraq to avert war. Annan and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council were to meet in New York to try to agree on proposals he could take there to defuse the showdown between Baghdad and Washington. The United States has threatened military attacks against Iraq unless it

Barnsley battles to Cup draw at Manchester United Ankara - Wire Dispatches Real Madrid replaced Barcelona at the top of the Spanish league when they beat bottom club Sporting Gijon 3-0 and their rivals were held 0-0 at home by Mallorca. In Italy a hat-trick from Brazilian striker Ronaldo helped Inter to a 5-0 win over Lecce but Juventus retained their four-point lead with a 3-0 win over Sampdoria. Elsewhere in Europe, Manchester United had a lucky escape in England's F.A. Cup.Spain Reigning Spanish

San Jose, Calif.- Reuters Andre Agassi snapped an 18-month winless drought by knocking off old rival Pete Sampras, the world number one, 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday to win the $340,000 Sybase Open. Agassi, in winning this event for a fourth time, claimed his first ATP Tour title since winning the ATP Championships in Cincinnati on August 11, 1996. He earned $45,000 for winning his 35th career singles title. For Agassi, the victory over Sampras provides a major boost to a career that floundered in 1997 when he

]The company is a real dynamo, its world-class dancers rank it with dance companies in Europe Popper: 'It has its strange framework around it, which is Turkish culture and the Turkish mind. And no other company that I go to has this strange thing around it. Turkey is divided between European ideas and Islamic ideas' Murphy: 'We may be, in someways, luckier because we can have one foot in the West and one foot in the East. We can become a true synthesis and we can become a very important source of

Turkish Daily News Ankara - Turkey's large population and relative economic backwardness were two of the main factors behind Turkey not being included on the list of full membership candidates at the European Union's (EU) Luxembourg summit last December, a study has concluded. Turkey, with its population of some 63 million and the inadequate state of its economy, would have brought to the EU "a burden which would have been hard to bear," the study conducted by the Germany-based Center for

Turkish Daily News Ankara - Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, the first Turkish minister to visit China in 14 years, said on Sunday that the country was among those which had given full support to Turkey's diplomatic efforts to peacefully end the Iraqi crisis. Cem said, while meeting with China's first Deputy Foreign Minister Tian Zengpei, that, along with China, Russia and France had expressed full support for Turkey's efforts to prevent a military strike on Iraq and establish peace in the Middle East, and

Iraq again denies having any weapons of mass destruction Reuters Baghdad- Technicians sent by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to survey Iraqi sites arrived in Baghdad on Sunday in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to find a peaceful solution to the crisis over suspected weapons of mass destruction. "I hope the present crisis will be solved. That's why I am here," team leader Steffan de Mistura was quoted as saying bythe official Iraqi news agency after landing at Habbaniyah airbase, about 90

By Mine Sungun / Turkish Daily News Ankara -"What is the subject of theater nowadays? Is it the emancipation of theater? Is theater not an independent art? It was in the past, but it has lost its freedom. The first thing Andre Antoine (French director-actor-instructor who was invited to Turkey before the establishment of the Republic to form a conservatory in 1914) did was to search for a person of Turkish type in Topkapi or Edirnekapi... Both in the Palace theater and Western-type theater (which

UN team to survey Iraq sites, Annan ponders trip to Baghdad Reuters Kuwait-The U.S. air force chief-of-staff arrived in Kuwait on Saturday to discuss preparations for possible use of force against Iraq and an Omani minister reportedly said Baghdad hadless than a week to avoid such an attack. In Beijing, China reiterated its opposition to a military strike, apparently unmoved by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who met Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen for an hour. Four-star

A double-blink both by Saddam and Clinton could be the best outcome for Turkey, at the cost of building up Russia's hand in the region Given the widespread opposition to a military strike among the US allies and the aid Baghdad gets from Kofi Annan in coming up with 'new alternatives,' there is a slight chance that both Clinton and Saddam will hug a face-saving compromise, call it 'victory' and lay low until the next confrontation -- or until one of Saddam's generals dares to pull off the unthinkable It

Reuters Paris- Brigitte Bardot wants to be buried with her dogs in her garden in the south of France, the film star said in an interview with Paris Match magazine. The former sex symbol who has become a standard bearer for the animal rights movement, told the magazine she did not want to be buried in the nearby Saint-Tropez cemetery because "I don't like to be hemmed in. "I would really like to stay at home, with my dogs around me, in my garden which faces the sea," the 63-year old

Reuters Washington- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is near to a formal conclusion that a natural gas deal with Iran by France's Total SA TOTF.PA. and two other foreign firms violates U.S. laws, U.S. sources said. There has been no firm decision about what comes next, but the expectation is that Albright will opt for consultations that delay temporarily a final resolution of the controversy rather than impose sanctions or waive sanctions, they said. "They've made a decision in principle

Turkish Daily News Electronic Edition, 'Washington Insight' By Harun Kazaz, February 14 1998 14 February, 1998, Copyright © Turkish Daily News 'Washington Insight' By Harun Kazaz "We all hope we can avoid the use of force in Iraq," President Bill Clinton said this week, for the second straight day. "But let's face it, in the end it is up to Saddam Hussein. He must let the weapons inspectors back with full and fresh access to all suspect sites. If he will not act, we must be prepared

Nightmare: Istanbul representative blows a 17-point lead against AEK; Efes beats Turk Telekom PTT Turkish Daily News Ankara- Ulkerspor had a golden chance to seal a Round 3 place in basketball's EuroLeague on Thursday when it led group leader AEK Athens 57-34 two and a half minutes into the second period. It looked curtains for AEK, but throughout the season we have observed Ulker's incredible ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and so it proved again. Following a Greek timeout, the host

Reuters Los Angeles-Luis Hernandez scored the golden goal in sudden death overtime to give Mexico a 1-0 win over Jamaica and a berth in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final.On Sunday, the Mexicans, who won the tournament two years ago, will face the United States -- surprising winners over Brazil in the other semifinal on Tuesday. In a matchup of two teams who will be playing in this summer's World Cup finals in France, Hernandez could have won it for Mexico with just two minutes to go in regulation. But his

Namibia and Angola share spoils in six-goal thriller Reuters Ouagadougou- Unfancied Togo scored a spectacular injury-time goal to stun Ghana 2-1 in an enthralling African Nations' Cup match. Substitute Mohamed Coubadja beat off a rash challenge, sped down the right wing, homed in on the Ghana goal and then sneaked the ball into the net deep into injury time in the Group B game. Minutes earlier a black bat flew from Ghana's end of the pitch to Togo's -- a sign that won't have gone unnoticed in a region

What is the logic of it? From a Feb. 13 article by Milliyet's Sami Kohen: The United States is determined to hit Iraq unless Saddam unconditionally agrees to open up all the doors to the U.N. weapons inspectors. Unfortunately it seems that the situation is proceeding towards a fresh clash. Convinced that a new clash in the region will cause big problems and losses for Turkey, Ankara does not favor a U.S. military intervention. The attitude specific countries have adopted on the issue of whether Iraq