Novelist Pamuk will stand trial on December 16, upon Turkish publication of an interview with Swiss journalist on the Armenian deportation in Turkeys Aktuel magazine. The same charges have previously been filed against journalist Dink.

EU accession process expert Aktar emphasizes that its not the first time the EU is pressuring Turkey. Nobody is calling for a delay in negotiations despite the anti-Turkey sentiment in Europe, said Aktar.

A recent study has revealed that the least-trusted institutions in Diyarbakir are the police, media and the army. People say there is need for democratization and an end to pressures for overcoming violence and torture.

Representatives of political parties and non-governmental organizations said Kongra-Gels decision to halt violence for a month is a positive step toward peace. But the brief time period is creating concerns.

According to the Office of Religious Affairs, the survival of the family depends on women receiving religious education. The office appointed 196 women preachers to Turkish provinces under a project that was launched a year ago.

In southeastern Turkey, some 90,000 children between the ages of 12 and 14, 50,000 of whom are girls, comprise part of the workforce. Some 80,000 of those are in the agricultural sector, with Sanliurfa having the highest rate of child employment.

Five rights organizations, TIHV, IHD, Mazlum-Der, UAO and hYd, haveannounced the establishment of the Joint Platform for Human Rights. The platform will organize meetings and pursue projects to increase participation.

Ten local tv stations and radio channels who have applied to RTUK for permissions to broadcast programs in languages and dialects other than Turkish, are yet to be granted permission after having waited 18 months.

Reacting agains the army Chief of Staff General Hilmi Ozkoks complaints that recent anti-terror legislation curbs them of authority, human rights activist Yavuz Onen of TIHV warns:The army is already granted abundant power. Our rights are in danger.

Yektan Turkyilmaz, a Turkish citizen of Kurdish origin and an academic from the Duke University in the US, is freed after two months in an Armenian prison.

Arrest of one Kurdish journalist and a human rights activist for allegedly having footage of outlawed PKK militants raises concerns for renewed harassment of dissidents. Domestic journalist associations and Reporters Without Borders denounce the arrest.

People with the HIV virus can now live up to 20-30 years thanks to new medication, said Professor Doctor Simsek. People with this virus need constant medication. Otherwise, their standard of living can become very low.