Pamuk to receive honorary doctorate from Berlin's Free UniversityMarch 9, 2007 - 12:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Nobel literature laureate Orhan Pamuk's German publisher said on Thursday he would visit Germany in May for a reading tour which was planned for February but reportedly cancelled for security reasons. "We are delighted that Orhan Pamuk is prepared so soon already to carry out the visit cancelled on short notice in February," Carl Hanser Publishing said. German newspapers had said the writer called off the trip because he feared for his life after the murder in January of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, but Pamuk did not confirm the reports. Dink is believed to have been killed by ultra-nationalists in revenge for remarks he made about the massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman empire, reports the AFP.Pamuk, the author of "Snow" and other novels mulling Turkey's clash between Muslim and Western culture, has angered Turkish authorities with similar remarks. He was prosecuted for telling a Swiss magazine that 30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians had been killed during World War I under the Ottoman Turks, but the case was dropped on a technicality. Pamuk's tour of Germany will begin in Hamburg on May 2 and will also take in Berlin, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart. He will receive an honorary doctorate from Berlin's Free University on May 4. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |