Turkey purges 4,000 civil servants, bans TV dating programs

ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkey has passed two new decrees - one that expelled more than 4,000 civil servants and another that banned television dating programs.

The country's Official Gazette published the decrees Saturday evening. The first named thousands of civil servants to be dismissed, including nearly 500 academics and more than 1,000 Turkish military personnel. The decree also reinstated 236 people to their jobs.

The second decree, among other things, bans radio and television programs for "finding friends and spouses."

The state of emergency that followed last summer's coup attempt has allowed the Turkish government to rule by decrees. Since then, more than 47,000 people have been arrested and 100,000 have been purged for alleged connections to terror organizations.

Turkey says U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen orchestrated the coup attempt. He denies the allegations.