“Democracy does not only mean elections,” President Gul was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying on the fourth day of nationwide anti-government protests. “The messages delivered with good intentions have been received.  I am calling on all my citizens to abide by the rules and state their objections and views in a peaceful way, as they have already done,” Mr. Gul added.

His comments came amid reports of a 20-year-old Turkish man dying when a taxi drove into a group of demonstrators on an Istanbul highway during an anti-government protest.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said that protesters were manipulated by extremist groups and should show their discontent “at the ballot box,” urging them to end their demonstrations immediately.

The president said the protesters should watch out for “illegal organizations” infiltrating their demonstrations. He warned against actions that would tarnish Turkey’s image.

The protests started out as a local environment campaign and quickly turned into one of the biggest demonstrations against Erdogan’s government since it took power a year ago.

[Turkey has seen violent demonstrations since Friday, when police launched a dawn raid against a peaceful sit-in protesting plans to cut down trees in Istanbul’s main Taksim Square. Since then, the demonstrations by mostly secular-minded Turks have spiraled into Turkey’s biggest anti-government disturbances in years, challenging Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s power.

The protests are seen as a display of frustration against Erdogan, who has appeared to be increasingly authoritarian and is accused of forcing his conservative, religious Islamic outlook on the lives of secular Turks. Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003 after winning three landslide elections, inflamed tensions by calling protesters “a bunch of looters” and by branding them a “minority” who are trying to force demands on his majority.]

Earlier, Prime Minister Erdogan dismissed the street protests as being organized by extremists, described them as a temporary blip and angrily rejected comparisons with the Arab Spring uprisings. Appearing defensive and angry, he lashed out at reporters who asked whether the government had understood “the message” by protesters or whether he would soften his tone.”What is the message? I want to hear it from you,” he retorted. “What can a softened tone be like? Can you tell me?” he said ahead of leaving for a trip to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

He also lashed out at Twitter, used by many of the protesters. “There is a troublemaker called Twitter, the worst of lies are in there,” he told the Haberturk television channel on Sunday, citing false tweets about attacks against protesters and fatalities.

The agreement between Bogota and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia [FARC] would compensate those who have lost land or were displaced from their property, said Cuban diplomat Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, whose country played host to the months-long negotiations.

So far, the talks at the Havana Convention Center have focused almost entirely on land reform – the first of five agenda items to be discussed.

Land distribution was one of the triggers of the protracted conflict in Colombia, where gaping inequality divides wealthy landowners and poor peasants.

The agreement on agrarian development “seeks to reverse the effects of the conflict and that the victims of forced displacement and looting obtain restitution,” said Fernandez de Cossio, as he read a joint statement from the parties.

The step, the first major advance in six months of peace talks in Havana, was widely celebrated – but it is part of a larger package still being bargained.

The joint statement warns that the advance on agrarian reform is “conditioned on reaching an agreement on the totality of the agenda,” because the talks are based on the principle that “nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon.”

Chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle, a former vice president, said in a statement to AFP that what the negotiators agreed upon “pertaining to the agricultural issue allows for a radical transformation of life in rural Colombia.” …

Both delegations will take a break of several days, and then begin talks on political participation, the second agenda point.

They are set to also discuss illicit drugs, decommissioning weapons and how to handle victims of the armed conflict.

FRANCE – Government to ban electronic cigarette ‘smoking’ in public places

France will ban electronic cigarette smoking in public places by imposing the same curbs enforced since 2007 to combat tobacco smoking, Health Minister Marisol Touraine said on Friday (May 31).

Amid mounting global concern over the public health implications of so-called e-cigarettes, Touraine said they faced the same fate as traditional ones: a ban on smoking in public spaces and sales to minors and a blackout on media advertising.

In a country where the pungent waft of Gaulloises and Gitanes once seemed an unassailable part of cafe culture, smokers have long been banished to outdoor terrace seats.

The near-odorless electronic alternative – battery-driven devices that allow users inhale odorless nicotine-laced vapor rather than smoke – are gaining ground in no-go zones such as bars, cafes, trains, waiting rooms and offices.

A government-commissioned report said this week that around 500,000 people in France had turned to e-cigarettes, which are designed to look like cigarettes although some come in different colors, and recommended a crackdown on public use. 

Health officials in many countries say the impact of electronic cigarettes on health needs further study.

Another worry they cite is that the electronic alternative will increase the general temptation to smoke, including enticing those who have quit to start again, or that smokers may use them alongside rather than instead of regular cigarettes.

“This is no ordinary product because it encourages mimicking and could promote taking up smoking,” said Touraine, who announced her plans at a news conference.

In the United States, the number of smokers who have tried out e-cigarettes doubled to one in five in 2011 and the number of all adults trying it doubled too, to 6 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In France, a country of 66 million, the government says tobacco smoking kills some 66,000 people a year and another 5,000 are killed through passive exposure to smoke.

The expert in charge of the French report advised against an outright ban on e-cigarettes, however, saying they still seemed safer than tar-laden tobacco.

Electronic cigarettes, whose invention is widely credited to a Chinese pharmacist a decade ago, usually comprise disposable cartridges of liquid such as propylene glycol that is easily turned to vapor and can contain artificial flavors alongside concentrated liquid nicotine.