World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (October 26, 2011)

The Washington Post reported that two teachers and a university student were rescued from ruined buildings in eastern Turkey on Wednesday, three days after a devastating earthquake, but searchers said hopes of finding anyone else alive were rapidly fading. NTV television said 25-year-old teacher Seniye Erdem was pulled out around the same time that rescue workers also freed another teacher. The woman was thirsty and asked about her husband, who had died, it said. Excavators with heavy equipment began clearing debris from some collapsed buildings in Ercis after searchers removed bodies and determined there were no other survivors. The 7.2-magnitude quake Sunday has killed at least 461 people and injured over 1,350.

The New York Times published the article headlined “Iran Makes New Arrests in Fraud Case.” It says that the Iranian authorities have widened their investigation into what they say is a record $2.6 billion embezzlement uncovered in a network of Iranian banks last month, interrogating at least 67 people and putting 31 of them under arrest, state media reported. The top prosecutor, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, said in an interview broadcast Monday night on Iranian state television that some of the suspects had begun to provide information about the mechanics of the embezzlement case, which the authorities said involved using forged documents to obtain credit from at least seven Iranian state and private banks. The money was then used to purchase state-owned companies, they said.

“Turkish prime minister faults shoddy construction” is an article published by the Turkish information agency Hurriyet. It says that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today said that shoddy construction contributed to the high casualty toll in Turkey's earthquake, and he compared the alleged negligence of some officials and builders to murder. Three days after the devastating quake in eastern Turkey, a teacher and a university student were rescued from ruined buildings, but searchers said hopes of finding anyone else alive were diminishing. Excavators began clearing debris from some collapsed buildings in Ercis after searchers removed bodies and determined there were no other survivors.

The same agency reported that Iranian consular diplomats in Istanbul have organized a blood drive for the Van earthquake victims. Consul General Mahmoud Heidari was the first at the drive to donate blood for the earthquake victims. Iranians living in Istanbul also participated in the drive to donate blood. Heidari said Iranian rescue teams were the first foreign rescue teams to arrive and begin rescue work in Van. He also said Iran would do anything to help ease the sorrow of the earthquake victims.

The Press TV reported that ran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has cautioned against plots by arrogant powers to promote insecurity and create problems to exploit nations. Arrogant governments see their progress in the backwardness of other nations and also their welfare in insecurity of others, said President Ahmadinejad in an address to a crowd of people in the city of Boshrouyeh, located in the country's eastern South Khorasan Province on Wednesday. The Iranian chief executive further said that the 'unfaithful and unintelligent' are currently at the head of international power centers. President Ahmadinejad emphasized that measures by the US capitalists are the root cause of all woes in the world, saying that they are waging wars and sowing discord among nations in order to plunder other nations' wealth.