* General elections are tomorrow in Turkey. The British weekly Economist had an editorial article that endorse the opposition in Turkey.
  However, in a cunning vote getting move Turkish prime minister Erdoğan and his ruling party are using the article in their campaign. The Turkish prime minister claims that the endorsement of the opposition by the Economist as Israeli and American interference. Turkish public these days overwhelmingly have a negative opinion of the two countries.
   Here are excerpts from the Economist editorial: That Turkish voters are poised to return Mr Erdogan to power in the general election on June 12th is not surprising. It is, however, worrying. Mr Erdogan is riding sufficiently high in the polls to get quite close to the two-thirds parliamentary majority that he craves because it would allow him unilaterally to rewrite the constitution. That would be bad for Turkey. The real worry about the Justice and Development (AK) party’s untrammelled rule concerns democracy, not religion. Ever since Mr Erdogan won his battles with the army and the judiciary, he has faced few checks or balances. That has freed him to indulge his natural intolerance of criticism and fed his autocratic instincts. Corruption seems to be on the rise. Press freedom is under attack: more journalists are in jail in Turkey than in China. And a worrying number of Mr Erdogan’s critics and enemies, including a hatful of former army officers, are under investigation, in some cases on overblown conspiracy charges. It would be better if a new Justice And Development Party government were to take a more broadly inclusive approach. Turkey’s constitution does indeed need a makeover, but it should be rewritten in consultation with other political parties and interest groups, and not as an Justice And Development Party project. The best way to make sure this happens would be to push up the vote for the main opposition party, the centre-left Republican People’s Party. The Justice And Development Party party is all but certain to form the next government. But we would recommend that Turks vote for the Republican People's Party. A stronger showing by Mr Kilicdaroglu’s party would both reduce the risks of unilateral changes that would make the constitution worse and give the opposition a fair chance of winning a future election. That would be by far the best guarantee of Turkey’s democracy. Following The Economist, British economy newspaper the Financial Times called for a support to opposition in Turkey. It wrote: the Justice and Development Party disturbingly started to display authoritarian tendencies. Turkey needs a stronger opposition, not a stronger president. In joining the chorus, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was criticized also by the British newspaper The Observer and Time magazines and the New York Times. The article in The Observer says Erdoğan’s real problem is not his driving away of the Kemalist secular people, but the rising number of liberal intellectuals who once supported the prime minister but are now starting to see him as a fragile, domineering and authoritarian leader.

* Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey had horrifying stories to tell Thursday about what they went through over the last week, especially in the northwestern town of Jisr Al-Shughour, the site of numerous killings. A Syrian security officer who fled with the civilian refugees told the Hürriyet Daily News that they received an order by phone Friday to kill all the protesters in the town.
  Another refugee who fled to Turkey on Wednesday night said the Syrian security forces were killing everyone, including women and children.
  The refugee added that there are still hundreds of people waiting to enter Turkey, and that the Turkish army has given tents and food to those who are waiting at the border.
  More than 200 wounded refugees fled from Jisr Al-Shughour to Hatay, Turkey.

* Turkcell, the biggest mobile operator in Turkey, breached competition rules regarding distribution and was fined 91.9 million Turkish Liras ($58.2 million), said the deputy chief of the competition board.

* Turkey will have a new ministry on gender equality if the main opposition Republican People’s Party comes to power after the June 12 general elections, the party’s leader said Thursday.
  “We do not see women’s rights as a side issue, to be addressed by the ministry responsible for family and social policies,” CHP chief Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said at a press conference where he announced the party’s new report on women.
  He said the new ministry would follow a policy of zero tolerance for violence against women. “We will take measures so that all our cities, our streets and squares become secure for women,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, adding that the picture regarding women’s rights in Turkey is unacceptably dark.
  In his remarks, Kılıçdaroğlu also noted that women’s labor force participation rates are between 24 and 28 percent in Turkey, compared to 52 percent globally. The CHP promises in its report on women to increase their labor force participation rate to 40 percent by the Turkish Republic’s 100th anniversary in 2023.
  The average amount of education received in Turkey is 6.5 years for adults in general and 5.5 years for women, according to the report, which also said some 4 million women are illiterate.

* Activities of a school group in Texas are raising questions about whether the schools are using U.S. taxpayer dollars to benefit the Fethullah Gülen religious movement, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
  The Harmony Schools in Texas contribute by giving business to followers of Gülen, a Turkish preacher who resides in the U.S., or through financial arrangements with local foundations promoting Gülen’s teachings and Turkish culture, according to the report. Gulen is believed by many to pull the strings of the Justice and Development party, or the AKP, in power in Turkey.
  The report highlights a particularly suspicious case in which TDM Contracting, a one-month-old company, won its first job to build the Harmony School of Innovation, a publicly financed charter school that opened last fall in San Antonio, for $8.2 million.
  New York Times writes that a local company bid much lower but was not able to get the contract.
  The New York Times report also highlighted another controversy involving the schools that centers on the hundreds of Turkish teachers and administrators working with special visas. Those visas are required for highly skilled foreign workers who fill a need the American workforce cannot meet.

* Attack is the best form of defense, legendary Dutch football player Johan Cruyft once said. The attack strategy, however, has failed to solve lingering budget problems for domestic clubs in Turkey and other top European football teams, even though they have seen revenue gains despite the economic crisis. Football in Turkey and in Europe’s top five teams’ countries achieved significant revenue growth during the 2009-2010 season despite the crisis, according to a report revealed Thursday by the U.K.-based audit and consultancy company Delloite. Salaries and transfer fees of players are opening a big gap in Turkish club’s budgets, according to Burç Seven of Delloite. “With revenues far from meeting costs, the clubs’ budget gaps are growing constantly,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News on Thursday. Considering the debt trend, we can foresee that the four big club’s debt will hit 1.5 billion liras in six years.” The Delloite report showed that Turkish football is somehow imitating the nation’s overall economy as the sector has proven its capacity of “solid defending” against crises, but high costs require strong measures.
  The Turkish economy grew by 8.9 percent in 2010, but the current account deficit of the country, which reached $60.5 billion in the 12 months through March, is still a lingering problem that negatively affects the country’s international credibility.

* U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has criticized Turkey as one of five European NATO members that he said were not doing enough in the air campaign in Libya, according to media reports Thursday.
  Flight crews are increasingly fatigued, the cost of fuel and ammunition is mounting and maintaining aircraft at a rapid rate is proving a challenge, U.S. officials said. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has made a similar appeal for alliance members to share the burden more widely, but he said Thursday no country had responded with an offer so far.

* Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdağ said regarding the E-coli, EHEC, outbreak that killed several people in Europe that they were following developments and have taken necessary measures on the issue.
  "But EHEC bacteria could come to Turkey as well." Akdağ warned citizens against EHEC bacteria and said they should not eat salad at restaurants and vegetable must be washed well.
  Germany, Britain, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the United States are countries where the disease has occurred.

* Turkish President Abdullah Gül called for "change in Europe," saying global power balances had shifted. "The power balance has moved to Asia. It is time to rethink Europe. It is time for change," he said in a conference as part his visit to Poland, which is set to assume the rotating helm of the European Union.

* A Turkish Airlines Airbus 319 was forced to make an emergency landing when one of its cockpit windows cracked on a flight from Istanbul to the southeastern province of Mardin. The plane safely landed at the Malatya Airport for repair. The passengers resumed the flight after the cracked window was replaced.

* Turkey's first intelligence satellite will be sent to space from China. Turkey signed a contract with China on the satellite and the contract is worth 20 million USD. The Gokturk-2 satellite will be sent to space in December 2011.

* Foreign patients who had chosen Turkey for medical treatment in 2005 was around 126,000. By the end of 2010, 500,000 people chose Turkey for treatment. Turkey earned 3 billion USD from health tourism in the past five years.

* Turkish automotive sector grew by 56.26 percent in the first five months of 2011 compared to the same period of last year. A total of 339,650 cars and light commercial vehicles were sold between January and May 2011.

* Some 217,000 people watched aerial acrobatic teams in the western province of İzmir over the weekend during celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Air Force. Teams from eight countries joined the celebrations.

* The number of Turkish people returning from Germany to Turkey permanently has boomed due to the economic crisis and chronic visa problems in Europe. Economic Development Foundation Chairman Professor Haluk Kabaalioğlu said that fractures in the European Union's economy made Turks in Europe buy one-way tickets back to Turkey.

* The Turkish Petroleum Corporation and Iraq’s Ministry for Oil have signed two agreements on the operation of the Iraqi natural gas fields of Siba and Mansuriya. Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız attended the signing ceremony in Baghdad along with Iraqi Oil Minister Abd al-Karim Luaybi. Turkish Petroleum Corp. will make investments worth more than $1 billion.
  The Siba field is located in Basra Governorate and has a natural gas reserve of nearly 43 billion cubic meters, while the reserve of Mansuriya field, located in Diyala province, is around 128 billion cubic meters.

* A restoration project carried out at Istanbul's Topkapı Palace Weapons Section has been completed. Thanks to special animations made for the project, which will cost a total of $3 million, virtual Janissaries will introduce the weapons and dresses of the period, while the Ottomans’ deployment on three continents will be seen in miniatures
  Hundreds of war- and weapons-related miniatures kept in the shelves of the museum’s archive are now seeing the light of day as part of the renovation project; many of these paintings, meanwhile, will feature in short films using the latest film techniques. These films will serve to inform visitors through LCD screens in different parts of the section.
  Two 150-sq.ft. white walls in the venue will be used as screens for the animations, which were made using miniatures obtained from the Vienna State Library and depict many characters of the Ottoman army. Visitors will be able to see the march of the Ottoman army on these two walls.
  Visitors will see arrows and archers in the entrance to the section; as they follow the route, they will see swords and firearms.
  A map taken from the Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis’ maritime guide book, “Kitab-ı Bahriye,” has been turned into a huge screen on which the deployment of the Ottomans on three continents is depicted through the troop movements during seven big wars. Miniature depictions of various wars will also be seen through monitors placed on a map measuring 100 sq.ft.
  During the restoration, the concrete floor on the ground was removed, revealing three tombs and a baptismal font. In addition to these findings, a 60-ft-deep well was also unearthed.
  After the completion of the restoration project, a new project will be launched for the display of the works. The project will cost a total of $3 million.

* One of the most notable music events in Turkey, the International Istanbul Music Festival, started last Saturday, announcing the arrival of summer with a prestigious program featuring more than 600 local and foreign artists. This year's festival, which runs through June 29, includes 21 events featuring symphony and chamber orchestras, vocal concerts, chamber music, recitals and jazz improvisations.
  The Istanbul Music Festival will take place between June 4th and 29th this year, hosting three world, and six Turkish premieres and more than 600 artists performing at 24 venues across the city.
  Stars at the festival include Gidon Kremer, Renée Fleming, Christoph Eschenbach, and one of the most significant orchestras of classical music, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, as well as more than 600 local and foreign artists. In addition to pre-concert talks and colloquiums, for the first time this year master classes will be available at the festival.
  As a new concept for the festival starting this year, the Istanbul Music Festival will construct its program around a theme. The theme for 2011 is “Journeys to Far Away Lands,” and audiences will hear music ranging from the west coast of US to Russia, from Spain to Buenos Aires, Argentina, Venice, Italy, the Indian Ocean and Mexico.
  The festival offers music lovers an intense marathon of concerts ranging from performances by young solo stars of the classical music world to breathtaking shows by prestigious orchestras.
  Beginning from this year, the festival is taking a step in enriching its contemporary music repertoire through commissioning works to local and foreign composers. Hereafter, the festival will commission a work every year, and the world premiere of the work will be organized within the scope of the festival.
  The Istanbul Music Festival is commissioning its first work to one of the most significant composers of today, İlhan Usmanbaş, and the world premiere of this work will be organized on Thursday June 16 at 8p.m., at the Hagia Eirene Museum with a concert titled “On the Road & Off the Road.”
  In this year's Istanbul Music Festival, there will be 24 concerts including, symphony and chamber orchestras, vocal concerts, chamber music and recitals. The festival this year will also attract attention with its different concert venues. As an addition to the classic venues of the festival such as the Hagia Eirene Museum, Archaeological Museum, and Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center, different venues like Galata Mevlevihanesi, Istanbul University Rectorate Building, Istanbul Modern and santralistanbul Energy Museum also participate in the festival this year.

* The Mediterranean province of Antalya’s popular tourist destination, the 2,000-year-old Roman theater in Aspendos, welcomed the 18th Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival Thursday night with a performance of the Carmen opera.
  The festival,over the years, has done much to promote Turkey on the world stage and has become a visual feast during which history, music and people from different nations come together.
  Continuing until July 2, the festival will host eight events, two from international guests. The biggest surprise of this year’s festival will be a concert by one of the world’s largest art institutes, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Daniel Barenboim will perform as the soloist at the concert, which will take place on June 21, while world-famous conductor Zubin Mehta will lead the orchestra.
  Another impressive performance will be the “Medea Opera” by the Antalya State Opera and Ballet. “Medea” is one of the most interesting tales of the Greek Mythology, it tells the story about the search for the Golden Fleece and will make its premiere on June 13.
  “Swan Lake,” one of the most performed ballets in the world, will also offer a great visual feast to the audience at the festival this year. Tchaikovsky's famous work will be on stage on June 29. The İzmir State Opera and Ballet Orchestra will accompany the ballet to be performed by a group composed of 100 artists from State Opera and Ballet Directorates in six Turkish cities.
  Fleet Admiral Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha’s life will also be on stage on June 20. Contemporary dance and drama project “Barbarossa” depicts the pasha’s life and the Turkish impact on the Mediterranean region in 16th century through contemporary dance and theater; Beyhan Murphy is responsible for the work’s choreography while the music is by Mercan Dede.
  The closing event of the festival will be the “Tosca” Opera to be performed by the Abay Kazakhstan Academic State Opera and Ballet .

* World-renowned Turkish visual designer Emrah Yücel, who lives in Los Angeles and works in Hollywood, won a tender launched by the Culture Ministry for Turkey's promotion abroad and created visuals that resembled Hollywood film posters. Thanks to the campaign, the number of US tourists to Turkey has increased by 30 percent compared to the previous year.
  “Bringing tourists to Turkey is not only possible by taking the photos of the Maiden’s Tower, Ephesus and Ölüdeniz and advertising them in Times Square and The New York Times,” visual designer Emrah Yücel recently told Anatolia news agency. “A strategy is necessary behind this activity; it is necessary to know American people. We pay attention to give the right message in right times.”
  The designer, who has worked in Hollywood for many years, said his promotion team attached great importance to Easter and Thanksgiving, which are very important to Americans, as well as April 23 Children’s Day.
  “When preparing posters for places like the Maiden’s Tower, Ephesus, Nemrut, Ölüdeniz, Cappadocia and Side, we added characters that would appeal to the feelings of Americans,” Yücel said.
  “For example, we used a child figure in front of the ruins of Side. When seeing it, an American child feels like he is a hero in Troy and his mother decides to go to Turkey when realizing the motivation of the child. Rather than the Trojan horse that we know, we used the one used in the film ‘Troy’ that was given as a gift to Turkey by Disney Studios,” he said.
  Americans love to spend holidays in theme parks populated by cinematic figures, he said. “Such strategies have carried us to success.”
  He said they had built up a profile of American tourists visiting Turkey and made their plans accordingly.
  “One of the most interesting pieces of data is that all of the American tourists who spent at least 10 days in Turkey on a recent trip to the country had previously come to the country and stayed one or one-and-a-half days. It was a surprising fact for us. We learned that they saw a Turkey that was totally different from the image they had in their minds during the one-day trip, and they came once again for a longer vacation,” Yücel said.
  The designer said Turkey’s image abroad was very different than what Turks had and that one of their goals was to change this perception.

* Renowned musicians Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour will give concert at Istanbul Jazz Center (JC'S) on June 17 and 18, 2011.