TURKEY-PRESS SCAN (3)

ANKARA (A.A) - 30.04.2011 - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on April 30, 2011. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

TURKIYE
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"CRAZY" PROJECT TO EVERY PROVINCE
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that they had very important projects not only for Istanbul but also for other 80 Turkish provinces. "No one should think that we are ignoring Anatolia. What we do for Istanbul is the same as what we are doing for all other 80 provinces," Erdogan said. Erdogan will give details on the two new cities to be erected around Istanbul on Wednesday.

SYRIA BURNING
The fire of uprisings is in every corner of Syria. Security forces sprayed bullets on demonstrators after Friday prayers in Syria. 250 Syrian nationals entered Turkey on Thursday night after fleeing violence in Syria. The Syrians were carrying Turkish flags in their hands and chanted "we want to live like the Turks. We want democracy".

ZAMAN
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FOREIGN TRADE DEFICIT BREAKS RECORD IN MARCH
Turkey's imports rose by 44.1 percent to 21.6 billion U.S. dollars year-on-year March 2011. Turkish Board of Statistics, TurkStat, released on Friday foreign trade statistics for March 2011 and the period between January and March. Turkey's exports climbed by 19.6 percent to 11.8 billion U.S. dollars in the mentioned month, TurkStat said. Foreign trade deficit rose by 91.3 percent to 9.8 billion U.S. dollars in March 2011 when compared to the same month of 2010. Turkey's exports rose by 21 percent to 26 billion USD year-on-year between January and March 2011, while the country's imports increased by 45.6 percent to 56 billion U.S. dollars in the same period.

TURKISH CITIZENS WITH EXPIRED PASSPORTS TO BE UNABLE TO CAST VOTES AT BORDER GATES
Turkish citizens with expired passports will be unable to cast votes for the upcoming June 12 elections. Turkish citizens who are also citizens of other countries have to have valid Turkish passports in order to be able to vote.

YENI SAFAK
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HE HIMSELF CAUSED PROBLEMS
Syrian leader Bashar al-Asad, who promised to make reforms as he saw the domino effect of rebels in Tunisia and Egypt, has not taken any steps, which caused the nation to rebel. Tens of thousands of people rushed to streets after Friday prayers, which recalled the images at Egypt's Tahrir Square. 

LOCAL "ARMA" READY FOR MISSION
An armored vehicle named "Arma" and produced by Otokar has been introduced. Otokar's director general Serdar Gorguc gave information about the 8x8 armored combat vehicle, and said, "this vehicle has been equipped with advanced technology, and it can be used on land and water."