Personality

Education Minister Costas Gavroglou accused the opposition of attempting a "character assassination" over his decision not to do his military service. Gavroglou came under fire in recent days as a result of the government's decision to stop the process of schools assigning flag-bearing duties at parades to students based on their academic achievements and to replace this with a draw.

The monthly and economic index of Gallup International shows that the new parliament of Bulgaria is starting its work with a level of trust of 24%, or 66% of the people do not trust the current formation inside, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio.

Director of the IMF’s Communications Department Gerry Rice lowered the bar of expectations of an imminent agreement with Greece on the conclusion of the second review in a press briefing. Mr. Rice said that serious differences between the sides still existed, despite progress on some fronts in the talks.

I first met the journalist Kadri Gürsel more than 20 years ago. But I got to know him better after I moved to Istanbul from Ankara in 2005, when I began to see him more frequently. Each time we met, developments in Turkey had taken a worse turn than they were in our previous meetings.

A janitor who discovered 24,500 euros ($26,000) in the bathroom of Istanbul's Ataturk Airport has been praised for his "good character and inner conscience."

Emrah Evrensel, who earns minimum wage -currently 1,000 Turkish Liras a month (approx. $350)- cleaning the airport's VIP area, found a bag full of cash on Nov. 6, which he then turned over to the authorities.

According to ‘Scientific American’s’ peer-reviewed studies and a vast number of market surveys the pet you own can say a lot about the type of person you are. Dog owners are generally considered more extroverted, agreeable and conscientious, while cat lovers are more likely to be divorced, widowed or separated. Here is a list of pets say about you (at least in America):

A photo taken on Tuesday showed Greece’s new Finance Minister posing with Eurogroup Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem. Visible under his arm was a page of handwritten notes in English. Legible was a bit that warned – “no triumphalism” – possibly as a note to self regarding the Greek referendum.

My first article appeared in Hürriyet on Oct. 23, 2010, with the headline; “Do we have any other choice but to be optimistic?”

What is being reflected in this sentence is my essential conviction in life.

Obviously all of us get into the downward spiral of pessimism, but this feeling cannot go on for a long time; its continuation is not healthy.