
Over a dozen Turkish businesswomen visited Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, which neighbors Kenya and Rwanda in East Africa, from Friday to Sunday with an aid program organized by the İstanbul-based nonprofit Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) foundation.

By the help of this center [Kimse Yok Mu, Hizmet’s Relief organization vocational training center ] numerous women including many widows in Albany will have professions. Training in twenty different professions will be offered at the center, which consists of workshops and sales rooms. Trainees will get economical benefits through sold items at the center that aimed to reintegrate women into the society.

The Supreme Court of Appeals has asked a senior Justice and Development Party (AK Party) official to hand over any evidence regarding his allegations about US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen amid claims by the official that a judge at the high court had acted contrary to legal procedures and contacted Gülen before issuing his final verdict in a case against a businessman several years ago.

Al-Jazeera America reporter Jamie Tarabay interviewed Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen in his home last spring. It was published in The Atlantic last August. Gulen is a Turkish spiritual leader to millions of Turks, both in Turkey and around the world, and the head of the Gulen movement. His network of followers spans the globe, and it has opened academically-focused schools in 90 countries, including the U.S.

Hon. Maggie Hassan, Governor of New Hampshire visited the Turkish Cultural Centers’
headquarters in Manhattan.Hassan spoke very highly of TCC-New Hampshire’s activities and underlined the contributions of
these intercultural dialog organizations to the society.

The exhibition, which shows Turkey from the lens of 25 masters of photography, has been on display in New York for the last six days and will be open to visitors until Jan. 9. The exhibition, which hosted millions of visitors in 19 other cities around the world, will end its global tour in New York.

Mr. Gulen’s followers vehemently deny claims that his adherents control state institutions. They argue that if his sympathizers are well represented within the police and judiciary, it is because they are well educated and highly qualified for their jobs.

Professor Büşra Ersanlı, who is among suspects in an investigation into the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) on terrorism charges, has said she doesn’t believe claims raised by some officials linked with government that the faith-based Hizmet Movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen is behind major trials.

Ala’s remarks were widely interpreted as a reference to Bank Asya, a participation bank affiliated with the Hizmet movement, which the government has tried to scapegoat through conspiracy theories to evade corruption allegations. Some news stories broke soon after Ala’s claims, reporting that Bank Asya’s accounts were being scrutinized for misconduct.

“In those days [of the corruption debate], it was conveyed to us that President Abdullah Gül, having held meetings with various groups in the name of peace for the nation and to prevent debates from escalating further, wished to send an envoy to Gülen to transmit his thoughts as well as to learn Gülen’s considerations,” Şimşek explained.