Turkey

Turkish rail authorities have endured a barrage of criticism over the past few days, after a high-speed train hurtled off its tracks last week, leaving 37 dead. Two further railway disasters then followed, with collisions between trains, a minibus and a car. Now, with the condition of the rail system under great public scrutiny, many onlookers are wondering to what extent the accident reflects the more general state of Turkey's transport infrastructure.

The visit of the Israeli deputy prime minister to Ankara last week came as a respite for the tension that has been simmering over the last couple of months between Israel and Turkey. Whilst officials have long tried to talk down the gravity of friction over Palestine, the visit was nonetheless intended to patch up and reconfirm old ties. However, the question is whether recent tensions mark a broader trend in otherwise close bilateral political relations.

When the European Union's much-anticipated aid package to Cyprus was unveiled last week, reactions were decidedly mixed among both Turks and Turkish Cypriots. While any steps to end the economic isolation of the Turkish side of the island - and its dependency on the "mother country" - are welcome in Ankara, it seems that there is still a long way to go before a serious revival of Turkish Cypriots' fortunes can take place.

Meeting on the margins of the NATO summit in Istanbul earlier this week, the Greek and Turkish defence ministers discussed still further measures to reduce their respective military's deployments in the Aegean. With Greece also expressing strong support for Turkey's European Union membership bid and a host of other steps aimed at rapprochement underway, the two old rivals seem to be taking every opportunity these days to declare their newfound friendship. Meanwhile, although this is good for peace in general, it is also bringing some important economic benefits. Central in these is a plan for a gas pipeline between the two countries that may see Turkey become an important intercontinental energy hub.

Amidst this year's positive news on inflation, economic growth, exports and industrial output, certain Turkish officials could perhaps be forgiven a little for allowing themselves a little slack earlier this year when they wondered out loud if the country really needed a new IMF programme. Yet talk of the Fund's imminent departure from Turkish affairs - after several decades of involvement - now seems highly premature. As the Treasury geared up to meet this week's huge domestic debt redemption, it was time to remember that while the recovery may have been underway for some time now, there are still some significant burdens for the country to shoulder - and for which the IMF still seems badly needed.

With the courts taking two steps back - and then one giant leap forward - in the privatisation of Turkey's giant state oil refiner this week, the country's troubled sell-off programme appeared to be stumbling forwards once again. Yet there is still a long way to go if the government is to meet its ambitious privatisation targets, while the inventory of assets still up for sale by the state grows steadily longer.