TURKIYE
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     PAIN AND TEAR REMAIN AFTER QUAKE
     Citizens of Elazig who lost their children, spouses or relatives in the quake measuring 6 on the Richter scale try to continue living with their sorrows.
     Screams causing great pains come from the villages who experienced the disaster.
     Quake victims whose houses were destroyed had to spend the night in the tents. Some people left the village and some others spent the night at the houses of their relatives.
     Aftershocks caused further concern in people.
    
     GREAT HONOR TO ERDOGAN
     Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was presented with the "King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam" at a ceremony held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
     King Abdallah decorated Erdogan with the prize.
     Prime Minister Erdogan said, "I will be honored to bear this dignity as long as I breath".
    
     ZAMAN
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     MERKEL TO COME TO TURKEY AFTER 4 YEARS
     German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay a visit to Turkey on March 29 and 30 with a large delegation. Merkel will focus on economic and political issues during her talks in Turkey.
    
     SWINE FLU OVER, TURKEY TO GIVE 10 MILLION DOSES OF VACCINES BACK
     Health Minister Recep Akdag said that swine flu petered out in Turkey. Akdag said the government had ordered 43 million doses of vaccines, however it would give back 10 million unused doses. He said 2-3 million doses would be kept in reserves for emergency.
    
     ERDOGAN: AMBASSADOR WILL NOT GO BACK UNTIL A CONCRETE STEP
     Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish Ambassador to United States Namik Tan, who was recalled after a House committee adopted so-called genocide resolution, would not return to Washington until Turkey sees a clear stance from U.S. administration.
     "I do not believe that United States would give up on a strategic ally such as Turkey for cheap political interests," he said.
    
     YENI SAFAK
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     REVENGE RAID
     Volkan Ozbudak, who claimed that he was tortured in Ukraine and deported unfairly, raided Ukraine's Consulate General building in Florya district of Istanbul. Ozbudak entered the building with a package and claimed it was a bomb, and started to fire randomly. Police stopped Ozbudak who was learned to be married with an Ukrainian woman. He was shot with five bullets.
    
     OUR AMBASSADOR IS HERE FOR NOW
     Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish Ambassador in Washington D.C. --who was recalled to Turkey after U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs approved a resolution about Armenian allegations-- would not be send back before clear results were taken.
 

HURRIYET
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     MR. GOVERNOR TO KABUL
     NATO's new representative to Afghanistan said that they would solve the tribe problem in the country with the help of Turkish governors who were experienced in this issue in the southeastern Anatolia region. Speaking to Hurriyet, British ambassador Mark Sedwill said that the real cause of the problem in Afghanistan was the leaders of local tribes, adding that there was the same problem in the southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Sedwill noted that Turkish ambassador invited Turkish governors to Kabul, and these governors would train Afghan governors and share their experiences.
    
     GOVERNMENT'S EARTHQUAKE ACTION PLAN
     Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek explained to Hurriyet the action plan which would be implemented following the earthquake in the eastern province of Elazig. Cicek said, "residences will be moved away from fault lines. Construction of new adobe houses will be banned. TOKI (Housing Development Administration) will build new residences in new places. Prime Ministry Emergency Aid Fund donated 500,000 Turkish lira and Social Aid Fund granted 125,000 TL to Elazig. Following the damage assessment, new aids will be made to the region."
    
     MILLIYET
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     WARDROBE PREVENTED ROOF COLLAPSE
     Apaydin family living in Yukarikanatli village survived in the devastating earthquake that demolished eastern province of Elazig.
     Side walls of the house were devastated in the quake but a wardrobe prevented the roof from collapsing.
     Abdullah Apaydin, his wife, and two children --who were sleeping in the same room-- could survive.
     The wardrobes in a dormitory similarly rescued lives of students in southeastern Bingol province in 2003.
    
     WE WILL NOT SEND OUR AMBASSADOR
     Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signalled that Namik Tan, Turkey's Ambassador to the United States, who was recalled to Ankara following approval of the Armenian resolution, would stay in Ankara for sometime more in case a positive development does not occur.
     Erdogan said, "we will assess the situation in the largest scale. We will not send our ambassador back if we do not see the consequences clearly."
    
     SABAH
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     SCANDAL IN MUSEUM
     18 paintings, 13 of which were made by prominent Turkish painter Hoca Ali Riza, were stolen from Ankara State Museum of Paintings and Sculpture.
     The robbery was discovered during inventory counting at the museum that houses important samples of Turkish art. Police launched an investigation into the robbery and found out that stolen pieces were replaced by photocopies or fake paintings.
    
     IMF TO COME TO TURKEY IN MAY FOR ARTICLE 4
     Turkish Treasury said that an IMF delegation was invited to Turkey for talks on article 4. An IMF official, Caroline Atkinson, said IMF agreed with Turkish officials to conduct an annual review of Turkey's economy, the outlook for which has "strengthened" as the global economy and financial markets recover.
 

VATAN
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     "SERVICE TO ISLAM PRIZE" TO ERDOGAN
     King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia presented the "King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam" to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was announced that Erdogan deserved this prize for political and administrative success as well as his leadership qualities in Islamic world. Prize winners are also given 200 grams of golden medallion, a golden medal, and 200,000 USD.
    
     WE DON'T SEND BACK OUR AMBASSADOR
     Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that approval of a resolution on Armenian allegations in U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs worried Turkey. He noted, "I do not believe the U.S. would sacrifice its strategic partner for simple political discussions. If the U.S. will take this risk, then we cannot say anything. The attitude the U.S. will assume from now on is very important for us. We are assessing the situation in a large scale. As long as we don't see clear results, we will not send back our ambassador to U.S."
    
     CUMHURIYET
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     AMBASSADOR WILL WAIT
     Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish Ambassador to United States Namik Tan, who was recalled to Ankara after a U.S. House panel adopted a resolution that labels the incidents of 1915 as "genocide", would not return to Washington until things get clear. Erdogan said he does not believe that U.S. would not give up on a strategic partner such as Turkey.
    
     800 AFTERSHOCKS IN ELAZIG
     Quake-hit Elazig is trying to recover after Monday's strong temblor that killed more than 50. The region felt 800 aftershocks on Tuesday. People spent the night in tents.
     Authorities discovered that collapsed buildings were stone masonry, not made of sun-dried bricks. Experts said buildings made of sun-dried bricks were twice resistant against an earthquake when compared to stone masonry buildings.
    
     RADIKAL
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     AMBASSADOR WAITS, NO BILATERAL CONTACT
     Reaction continues against the "genocide decision" of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
     None of the ministries will have any bilateral talks with the United States till the speech of U.S. President Barack Obama scheduled for April 24.
     Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "Turkey will assess the situation in a large scale, and will not send back its ambassador before seeing a clear result. We will not send our ambassador back unless we see the clear results."
    
     POLITICIANS IN THE REGION
     President Abdullah Gul, who stated that, "we should draw lesson from quakes" noted he would not go to the region.
     Gul said, "disorganization occurs when president or prime minister go to the region".
     However, visits of the politicians continue to the region.
     Cetinkaya of Justice & Development (AK Party) said the region was an old settlement place, "you cannot knock over the house of a citizen unless a quake occurs."
     Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) said, "I saw lack of coordination. We are sorrowful but the citizens should make damage assessment well.",
 

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