World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkish dailies on Tuesday mainly covered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to call a snap election plus landslides in northeastern Turkey which have killed at least eight people.

“Election decision for Turkey,” was STAR’s headline, reporting that Erdogan called a new general election after talks with Ismet Yilmaz, speaker of the Turkish parliament, on Monday.

STAR reported that Erdogan would meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday to give him a mandate to form a provisional government.

Erdogan’s announcement comes a day after an Aug. 23 deadline to form a coalition government expired without agreement between the four parties represented in parliament.

Polling is expected to be held on the first Sunday following a 90-day period.

Also, the caretaker government is supposed to be formed within five days of the publication in the official gazette of the decision to hold a new election.

Political parties in the parliament are expected to provide names for ministers in the provisional government, their number in proportion to the amount of seats they have.

However, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have refused to take part.

Gursel Tekin, the CHP’s Secretary-General, has threatened deputies with expulsion from the party if any of them accepts an offer from Davutoglu, according to BUGUN.

Similarly, HURRIYET reported Oktay Vural, a senior MHP figure, stating that no-one could say “yes” to such offer from his party.

HURRIYET claimed that Davutoglu could offer a ministry to people who had close links to these parties.

“These people could be politicians, academicians, writers or bureaucrats,” HURRIYET reported.

YENI SAFAK wrote that Davutoglu could opt to nominate bureaucrats from within the ministries, other than selecting people from the CHP or MHP.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party announced that their deputies would, however, take part in a caretaker government.

Flood and landslides in the northeastern Turkish province of Artvin were widely covered by today’s dailies.

“Disaster in Artvin,” was MILLIYET’s headline, reporting that at least seven were killed while one child is still missing.

The daily reported that Nedim Cihan, mayor of Hopa, a district in Artvin where the rainfall hit hardest, said he could not recall such a deluge.

Officials said Hopa saw a record amount of rainfall.

MILLIYET said rainfall also affected Rize, a neighboring province of Artvin.

“Flood hits Artvin: 7 dead” was HURRIYET’s headline while HABERTURK wrote: “Disaster at Hopa”.

In economic news, Turkish dailies reported on fears the Chinese economic slowdown has hit the global economy and stock exchanges.

“Black Monday: China smashed, global stock exchanges plunged,” was financial paper DUNYA’s headline, reporting that panic in China hit the country’s stock exchange. The daily said this mood also affected other exchanges around the globe.

“Chinese earthquake,” was YENI SAFAK’s headline, claiming that depreciation in European stock exchanges reached €400 billion ($461 billion) on Monday.