MERSIN (A.A) - Three ships of the Japanese Navy will arrive insouthern province of Mersin on Wednesday with 700 sailors on board to join in theactivities to remember the martyrs of the Ertugrul frigate that sank off thecoast of Japan 120 years ago.Around 1,000 Japanese tourists will also participate in the Mersinactivities.Chairman of the Turkish-Japanese Friendship Association in southern provinceof Mersin, Suleyman Cengiz said that the activities that began on Tuesday toremember the martyrs of the Ertugrul frigate will continue until September 3.Cengiz also said that soprano Satomi Ogawa will give a concert on Wednesdaywith the Mersin State Opera and Ballet (MDOB).Ertugrul, launched in 1863, was a sailing frigate of the Ottoman Navy. Whilereturning from a goodwill voyage from Japan in 1890, she encountered a typhoonoff the coast of Wakayama Prefecture, subsequently drifted into a reef and sank.The maritime accident resulted in the loss of 533 sailors, including AdmiralAli Osman Pasha. Only 69 sailors and officers survived and returned home lateraboard two Japanese corvettes. The event is still commemorated as a foundationstone of Japanese-Turkish friendship.(SOL-CE)

ISTANBUL (A.A) - Turkey's leading bank Is Bankasi will extend afinancial aid of 1 million Turkish liras to flood-hit Pakistan. (1 USD equals1.5280 TL)Releasing a written statement on Tuesday, Is Bankasi said that Indian andPakistani Muslims had financially supported Turkey during the country's war ofliberation led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.The statement noted that 250,000 TL of such monetary aid had been used forthe initial capital of Is Bankasi after the war.Is Bankasi Group, which supported Pakistan during the earthquake disaster in2005, would extend financial aid to the flood-stricken country through theTurkish Red Crescent this time, the statement added.Floods, caused by Monsoon rains, have killed thousands of people and leftmillions homeless in Pakistan since late July.(DO-CE)

KONYA/BURSA (A.A) - Turkish security forces confiscated 60kilograms of hashish in separate operations conducted in central Anatolianprovince of Konya and north-western province of Bursa on Tuesday.Four people were detained in connection with the illicit drugs.(SOL-CE)

ANKARA (A.A) - Turkish Energy and Natural Resources MinisterTaner Yildiz has said he was scheduled to participate in a meeting of theEuropean Union energy ministers on September 6-7 in Brussels.Yildiz told reporters on Tuesday he would hold a series of contacts duringhis stay in a bid to win support for the opening of the EU policy chapter onenergy in Turkey's membership talks.Yildiz said Turkey's performance grew noticeably better in achieving EUcriteria in energy issues specifically with the Nabucco natural gas pipelineproject.The Nabucco pipeline is a joint project undertaken by Austria, Turkey,Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, which will carry the Caspian natural gas toAustria through territories of participating countries. The project aims toreduce Europe's energy dependence on Russia.Shareholders of Nabucco Project are Botas (Turkey), Bulgarian Energy Holding(Bulgaria), MOL (Hungary), OMV (Austria), RWE (Germany) and Transgaz (Romania).(İMB-CE)

The first private university in Antalya's tourism heaven of Antalya gained Higher Education Board, or YÖK, approval last week and will open its doors in 2012.

Recai Yıldırım, deputy leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, has said the government is trying to appropriate the independence of the judiciary.