The lowest net salary starting as of the 1 of September will be 2,279 Turkish Liras. The new minimum wage, the second this year, was raised by the "commission in charge of determining the minimum wage".

Speaking after yesterday's meeting, so-called minister of labour and social security Zeki Celer stated that the minimum wage was something which concerned everyone.

Pointing out that it was impossible for a family of four persons to get by for a whole month on a minimum wage; Celer said that the four- party coalition's "government" views on the matter are clear.

He added that the time has come to determine minimum wages according to the different sectors in the economy. Celer also stated that should conditions dictate, it would be possible to review the minimum wage once more before the end of the year. He also reminded that the minimum wage had been raised by 445TL since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, commenting on the determination of the minimum wage, columnist Sami Ozuslu in a commentary in Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (07.08.18) reports that the new minimum wage in the "TRNC" is actually 350 sterling pounds. Ozuslu wonders how a family can afford to live with such a wage, if it has to pay 200-250 sterling for house rent, or to pay electricity and other house expenses.

(…)

[04] An agreement with a foreign lobbying company has been cancelled; efforts to purchase lobbying services continue

It has been revealed that as a result of the agreement signed four years ago with the foreign lobbying company, a very high amount of money was paid to the company every month and until today ten million Turkish Lira were transferred to this company by the "foreign ministry".

In a statement to the paper, Kudret Ozersay, "deputy prime minister and foreign minister", confirmed that they ended the contract with the above mentioned company without wanting to say anything more about the company's name. He explained that examining the productivity data of the company they came to the result that the cost was very high and they terminated the agreement. He added that "the ministry is trying to purchase lobbying services for some time with more than one company".

It is further reported that "the ministry of foreign affairs has bought services from different lobbying companies in the past, but it is said that there were not as expensive service purchase as it was the agreement made four years ago. The above mentioned companies were helping the TRNC officials to have meetings with foreign diplomats and to publish their articles or responding to articles in foreign newspapers and other publications".

(DPs)

[05] Five workers are injured due a hand grenade explosion

Due to the explosion, five workers were injured and one of them had his arm cut from the shoulder. It is also reported that a large number of shrapnel pieces hit the bodies of the workers. They are all treated in the "Near East hospital".

(DPs)

[B] Turkish Press

[01] Turkey and the US have reportedly reach preliminary agreement on sanctions crisis; Turkish Lira recuperates losses after Turkey-US meeting report

According to sources speaking to daily Hurriyet, the agreement covers "certain subjects" and a Turkish delegation is scheduled to visit Washington DC in the coming days to "finalize the details."

Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, is at the centre of one of the most serious crises in relations between the NATO allies in years.

The pastor was moved to house arrest last month after nearly two years in jail on terror-related charges, but the change only increased tensions.

The U.S. responded to the failure to fully free Brunson by hitting two top Turkish Ministers with sanctions, prompting Ankara to announce a similar measure.

Meanwhile, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (07.08.18-http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-lira-recuperates-losses-after-turkey-us-meeting-report-135523) reports that Turkey's currency has rebounded on Aug. 7 after it hit a record of 5.42 against the U.S. dollar on Aug. 6, marking the biggest daily drop of 5.5% in 10 years.

Lira was traded for 5.26 against the dollar in the early trading, after local reports pointed to a meeting between a Turkish delegation and their American counterparts that will take place in Washington in two days.

The tension between the NATO allies has rose in a couple of issues ranging from the differences in the policies regarding the Syrian conflict to imprisoned U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, and Turkey's unmet request for the extradition of U.S. based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen who has been accused of masterminding the coup attempt on July 15, 2016 in Turkey.

Washington on Aug. 3 said it was reviewing Turkey's duty-free access to the U.S. market, a move that could affect $1.7 billion of Turkish exports.

After the announcement triggered a sell-off in Turkish Lira on Aug. 6, the Turkish Central Bank stepped in and loosened the upper limit of banks' reserve requirements, increasing the liquidity $2.2 billion. However, that did little to prop up the lira, which also hit a record low versus the euro hitting 6.16.

The Turkish currency has lost some 27% of its value this year.

[02] Ruling AKP prepares for general congress

The ruling party prepares for the grand congress to be held on Aug. 18, while the party management is planning to make changes in Central Executive Board (MYK) and Central Decision and Management Board (MKYK), party sources revealed to daily Hurriyet on Aug. 5.

Former Prime Minister and current Parliamentary Speaker Y?ld?r?m and Deputy Speaker Mustafa Sentop will not be on the MKYK due to his post.

According to the party sources, Erdogan has not assigned AKP members who have served in parliamentary commissions to the top party executive boards before and due to this attitude, Constitutional Committee head Bekir Bozdag, Equality in Opportunity Between Genders Committee head Julide Sar?earoglu, and National Education Committee head Numan Kurtulmus may not be on the list for the top bodies.

However, it was stated that Erdogan may make an exception for Bozdag and Kurtulmus if he is considering them in the execution.

Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu are voiced as the names who will continue to take place in the party's top board.

In addition, it was stated that Nurettin Canikli, former Defense Minister who has not taken place in neither Cabinet nor Parliament after the election, may be on the list for the MKYK.

(…)

[03] CHP not to convene congress amid lack of delegate signatures

The headquarters announced on August 6 that the number of signatures admissible for the convention of the extraordinary congress is 569, falling short from 630, which is the necessary number of bringing a party to the congress with a leadership change.

The CHP has been tackling with in-house debates over two weeks as Muharrem Ince and his supporters have been in the process of signature collection to change the party management.

After two weeks of signature collection, dissidents announced last week that they have 630 signatures sufficient to bring the party to a congress. However, the headquarters argue they have received only 605 admissible signatures.

It was stated by the party administration that five of 605 signatures grounded their demand for a congress in different reasons and to be admissible, all signatures should address the same reason for such demand. The administration also said 31 of the delegates have withdrawn their signatures, leaving 569 admissible signatures.

According to the party by-law, a simple majority of all delegates have to issue their signatures with notary approval to the administration to bring the party to a congress with an agenda of leadership change.

It was reported the dissidents may bring the signatures to the judicial authorities for further assessment.

Some dissident members have posted on their social media accounts that if the party would not convene the congress, they will not stand for local elections, while some 15 delegates have held a sit-in protest outside of the party headquarters before the announcement.

(…)

[04] Good Party in distress as founding members resign

The members that resigned – Yusuf Halacoglu, Ozcan Yeniceri and Nevzat Boz – shared a statement to the press regarding their resignations holding the party administration accountable for the unsuccessful results of the June 24 elections and blamed them of "disloyalty" in preparing the Deputy lists. "The party administration opted for figures who joined the party later, while founding members were pushed aside," Halacoglu said in a news conference, who read the statement on behalf of the resigned trio.

Halacoglu and Yeniceri were former Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Deputies, while Boz was the former head of Grey Wolves, a group that constitutes the youth branch of the MHP. All three members were among a dissident faction in the MHP who left the party and founded the IP in 2017.

The resignations are expected to have a devastating effect on the party, which has been engulfed in intraparty debates since the party's poor June 24 election results. The party's chairwoman, Meral Aksener, gained 7.3% of the votes in the presidential elections, while the IP garnered 9.6% of the votes in the parliamentary elections, well below expectations. However, IP was able to send 44 Deputies to Parliament thanks to the alliance formed with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). (…)

The politicians who resigned also criticized the party's administration, particularly Aksener, for joining an alliance with the Republican People's Party (CHP), which, according to them, caused a decrease in IP's votes. (…)

[05] More arrest and warrants for FETO suspects in police and army

Suspects are accused of being infiltrators for the group, which is blamed for the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, in the military and law enforcement.

The Chief Prosecutor's Office in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for nine military officers, including two on-duty and seven former majors, for their links to the group. Suspects, all from the army's Land Forces Command, were identified after they communicated with their handlers in FETO through payphones. Tens of thousands of people linked to the terrorist group were detained and/or arrested in the wake of the coup attempt that killed 250 people. (…)

In the north-western city of Bursa, police arrested 24 of their former colleagues for their links to the terrorist group. All were previously dismissed from their jobs for suspected affiliation with the group. Another wanted former police officer remains at large. Also in Bursa, police nabbed 3 civilian FETO members in "gaybubet" (absence) houses, the name given by the group to safe houses used to hide wanted members. One suspect was caught while trying to delete an encrypted messaging app in his cell phone after locking himself in a bathroom. Twelve others were arrested in Bursa in another operation targeting gaybubet houses on Saturday.

TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

(AK/ AM)

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