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Turkey: No time to lose for truce in Gaza Gaza cannot tolerate the international community’s wait-and-see policy because civilians have been dying at every moment in Israel’s ongoing attacks, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday, calling on the international community to assume a sense of urgency in getting the sides to agree to an immediate cease-fire and noting that Turkey would not shy away from taking responsibility in an international monitoring mechanism once a cease-fire is put in place.

Superpower keeping super silent on Gaza As the response of the global public to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip grows larger and more organized, the only power that can stop the Israeli atrocities, the United States of America, continues to keep silent.

Rival Cypriot leaders condemn Israel Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders yesterday released a joint statement denouncing Israel′s ongoing attacks on Palestinian people living in Gaza and its display of disproportionate force.

No decrease in natural gas flow from Russia, says BOTAŞ Officials from the state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) on Monday said Turkey’s pipelines are continuing to operate at normal capacity, adding that there are no problems in natural gas flow from Russia, the Anatolia news agency reported.

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2009 to be tough year for Turkey-EU relations Despite the serious slowdown -- or halt -- of some reforms, Turkey′s relations with the European Union were on track for the last two years, but now it seems that without reigniting a vigorous reform spirit, it could be difficult to keep EU-Turkey relations afloat.	High-speed train trial runs with passengers to start in February Turkey′s new high-speed train line will begin making trial runs with passengers by the end of February at the latest, Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım announced yesterday.
‘Normalization of violence serious risk for children in war zones′ Turkish Psychiatry Association (TPD) President Şeref Özer has said when faced with war, most children are left with lingering psychological issues, with many facing the risk in the future of understanding violence as part of normal daily life.	EU lost in Gaza once more As in almost every major international crisis, the European Union is having great difficulty creating a consistent response to the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

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Japan auto executives hope for US recovery Japan auto executives gathered for an annual New Year′s party Monday expressed hopes for a US turnaround and a strengthening dollar to fix the faltering global market.	Iran and Bahrain officials call for oil as weapon An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander is calling on Islamic countries to use oil as a weapon to end the fighting in Gaza, echoing a similar call days earlier by lawmakers in Bahrain.
Oil supported above $46 as OPEC cuts back Evidence that OPEC cutbacks were taking hold helped keep oil prices above $46 a barrel Monday, with crude also getting support from new unrest in oil-rich Nigeria.	BOTAŞ, coal facilities may enter privatization The government may move to privatize more public ventures, including the state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and the Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKİ), once fallout from the ongoing global financial crisis clears, Privatization Administration (ÖİB) President Metin Kilci has said.