HakkariTurkish

Turkey's Central Bank may cut its overnight lending rate next week, despite stubbornly high inflation and a volatile lira, an advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said on March 17.

Advisor Cemil Ertem said markets were expecting the Central Bank to keep rates on hold at its meeting next week, but there was also the chance of a rate cut.

Turkey's Renaissance Construction has won a tender to build a terminal and tunnel at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, Mikhail Vasilenko, Sheremetyevo's chief executive, said on March 18.

The choice of a Turkish firm is unusual because Moscow imposed sanctions on Ankara after Turkey downed a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border in November.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is to make a visit to Turkey on March 19, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on March 18.

Zarif will conduct talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu after meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu, the statement said.

A bomb-laden car parked near a government office was found in the Hani district of the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r late March 17. 

Bulgarian tobacco company Bulgartabac said it would halt sales to the Middle East as of April 1, following media allegations its products made up a large part of the cigarettes illegally smuggled into neighboring Turkey.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Devleopment Party (AKP) has submitted a bill to parliament to recruit 15,000 new police officers to boost counter-terrorism efforts after the Ankara suicide car bombing, according to documents seen on March 16 by AFP.

The immunities of all parliamentarians subject to criminal summaries of proceedings should be lifted regardless of their party, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has said.

A prosecutor in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman has demanded 350 years in prison for a teacher on accusations he sexually assaulted 10 male students in a house owned by a foundation in which he lectures.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu visited the site of the March 13 car bomb attack in commemoration of the victims on March 17.

Arriving at the site at K?z?lay Square in Ankara with his wife, Sare Davuto?lu, the prime minister left cloves and prayed for the victims.

Davuto?lu also lifted the Turkish flags on the ground at the site to a higher level in a show of respect. 

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a terror group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack that killed 37 people in the capital Ankara, according to a statement on its website on March 17.