QUOTE OF THE DAY “I’m standing here with a very heavy and sad heart.” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as he visited the Philippine villages that were decimated by Typhoon Haiyan, promising to help raise recovery funds Article, this pageTurkey premier threatens to expel envoys
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Saturday to expel foreign ambassadors, blaming them for a vast corruption and bribery investigation mounting against people close to his government. Riot police, meanwhile, stood guard as hundreds protested against Erdogan’s government.
Erdogan’s accusations come after two government ministers’ sons were arrested, along with several others including Suleyman Aslan, the chief executive of state-owned Halkbank.
In total, 24 people were jailed pending trial, accused of taking or facilitating bribes, the Dogan news agency reported.
Turkish media reports say the investigation relates to illicit money transfers to Iran and large-scale bribery for construction projects.
Erdogan said the “dirty operation” was timed to harm his government before March local elections.
The elections are seen as a vote of confidence in his decade-long tenure which has been shaken by summer protests over what critics call growing authoritarian rule. Erdogan is expected to run in August’s presidential elections as he is barred from running for a fourth term as prime minister. General elections are scheduled for 2015.
Freed Putin critic in Berlin with family
BERLIN - Former oil baron Mikhail Khodorkovsky was reunited with his family in Berlin on Saturday, a day after being released from a decade-long imprisonment in Russia.
Khodorkovsky, a prominent critic of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, was meeting with his eldest son, Pavel, and his parents, Marina and Boris, who had flown separately to the German capital to meet him, said Christian Hanne, Khodorkovsky’s spokesman.
“Today is family day,” Hanne said.
Khodorkovsky also spoke to the editor of the Russian weekly New Times in what is believed to be his first interview since his release. In a video recording released by the magazine, Khodorkovsky, wearing a blackpullover, looked tired but composed as he recalled tough prison conditions. He said the only break from a tough prison regime came when his wife and other family members were allowed to see him for a few days.
Khodorkovsky was released from prison Friday, hours after being pardoned by Putin, and was immediately flown to Berlin on a private jet organized by former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. The 86-year-old veteran diplomat had spent years working behind the scenes lobbying Putin for Khodorkovsky’s release.
Raiders on al-Qaida among Iraqi dead
BAGHDAD - A string of attacks across Iraq killed 17 people Saturday, including a senior military commander, a colonel and five soldiers who all died during a raid on an al-Qaida hideout, officials said.
Police officials said army Maj. Gen Mohammed al-Karawi, the colonel and the five troops were killed when they stormed the booby-trapped hideout in Rutba in Iraq’s volatile Anbar province.
Al-Karawi, who commanded the Iraqi army’s 7th Division, was leading an operation hunting for al-Qaida fighters in the area. Four soldiers were wounded in the operation, police said.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki extended his condolences in a statement to those killed.
“Those heroes were carrying the noblest battles against the enemies of God and humanity,” al-Maliki said.
He urged the Iraqi security forces to “eradicate the evil gangs and chase them everywhere.”
China bashes Japan’s defense plans
BEIJING - China’s military lashed out Saturday at Japan’s plans to boost defense spending, accusing Tokyo of raising regional tensions under the pretext of safeguarding national security.
China “resolutely opposes” the five-year defense plan adopted Tuesday by Japan, Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.
Japan “continues to deny its history of World War II aggression, challenge the post-war order, and harm the feelings of the people of those victimized nations,” Geng said.
The statement is the latest salvo in a string of accusations over who is responsible for a sharp rise in tensions in the East China Sea.
China’s military has taken an increasingly hawkish stance amid a bitter dispute with Tokyo over uninhabited islands in the sea controlled by Japan but claimed by China. Japan’s nationalization of the islands in September 2012 sparked violent demonstrations in several Chinese cities.
Under the arrangement adopted Tuesday, Japan will raise defense spending by 5 percent over the next five years to purchase its first surveillance drones, more jet fighters and naval destroyers, and set up an amphibious unit similar to the U.S.
Marines.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 12/22/2013