GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON AUGUST 18

These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in the Turkish press on August 18, 2008. Hurriyet English does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET

--TURKISH MILITARY HITS TERRORIST TARGET IN IRAQ'S NORTH

The Turkish military said that its war planes shelled a terrorist target on Saturday in Avashin-Basyan region in Iraq's north. War planes hit what the Turkish General Staff said was a cave which terrorists used as shelter before they staged attacks inside Turkey.

--FOUR CHAIN THEMSELVES UP TO PROTEST SHIPYARD KILLINGS

Four people chained and locked up themselves to the safety fences of Istanbul's Bosporus Bridge to protest worker deaths at shipyards in Istanbul's Tuzla region. Police cut the chains and arrested the protestors, who shouted slogans as police officers tried to cover their mouths.

MILLIYET

--TERRORIST HIDEOUT IN NORTHERN IRAQ HIT

Turkish fighter jets bombed a group of PKK terrorists in the north of Iraq the previous night. A statement by Turkish General Staff said Turkish warplanes hit a cave in which a crowded group of PKK terrorists took shelter in Avasin-Basyan region of northern Iraq.

--RESIDENTS OF GORI THANK TURKEY

Turkish aid organization, Kizilay's (Red Crescent), humanitarian aid reached the Georgian city of Gor,i which has been under the control of Russian forces. Humanitarian aid in five trucks was distributed to the people in Gori. The city's residents thanked Turkey for the assistance of the Turkish Red Crescent.

SABAH

--NEW LIFE WITH EU

The National Program of Turkey preformed by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan includes several arrangements that will change lifestyles of Turkey especially over the next five years.

According to the program, which will be made public in the coming days, definitions and ratios of taxes such as value added tax and private consumption tax will be changed. The program says restrictions on foreign capital in the finance sector would be diminished. Union rights of public workers will be expanded, the program says.

--PKK'S HIDEOUT IN NORTHERN IRAQ BOMBED

Turkish fighter jets waged an operation onto a crowded group of PKK terrorists in the north of Iraq on Saturday night. A statement by Turkish General Staff said Turkish warplanes hit a cave in which a crowded group of PKK terrorists took shelter in Avasin-Basyan region of northern Iraq.

VATAN

--TURKISH ATHLETE IN SEMI-FINALS IN 100 METERS HURDLES IN OLYMPIC GAMES

Turkish athlete Nevin Yanit powered to the semi-finals at women's 100 meters hurdles in Olympic Games in Beijing. Yanit ran at 12.94 and qualified for the semi-finals. The Turkish athlete is set to run on Monday for a place in the final.

--LAST 48 HOURS FOR BUYUKADA

Pervez Musharraf has been given 48 hours to resign as Pakistani President otherwise he faces impeachment. The chances grew stronger that Musharraf would resign and move to Buyukada, an island off the coast of Istanbul in the Marmara Sea, after the United States’ State Department has said the U.S. would not welcome the Pakistani leader.

CUMHURIYET

--TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS COUNTERPARTS OVER CONFLICT IN CAUCASUS

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan held phone conversations over the past two days with his U.S., German, French, Swedish and Finnish counterparts on recent developments in Georgia. Babacan told his counterparts about his impressions from his visits to Moscow and Tbilisi together with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

Babacan and his counterparts discussed efforts to establish an enduring ceasefire and exchanged views on future steps to preserve peace and stability in the region.

--EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS COMMEMORATED

Families and friends commemorated their loved ones, whom they lost nine years ago in a devastating earthquake that jolted Turkey's Marmara region killing thousands of people. On the anniversary of the magnitude-7.4 Marmara earthquake on Sunday, people shed tears for the victims in front of a memorial wall.

RADIKAL

--TURKEY STILL FEELS GREAT PAIN FOR VICTIMS OF MARMARA EARTHQUAKE

Turkey still feels a great pain for the victims of the massive earthquake in northwestern Turkey after nine years. Commemoration ceremonies took place in Kocaeli, Golcuk and Sakarya for those who lost their lives in the Marmara earthquake on Aug. 17, 1999. Although nine years had passed since the earthquake, its memories were still fresh in their minds, quake survivors said.

YENI SAFAK

--CAVE OF TERRORISTS HIT

The General Staff said in a statement that a cave in the Avasin-Basyan region in the north of Iraq, in which a group of terrorists sheltered, was bombed by Turkish jets. The terrorists, who were preparing to attack Turkey, were neutralized in the air strike, the statement said.

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