GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON AUGUST 23

Anatolian Agency

These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in the Turkish press on August 23, 2008. Hurriyet English does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. (UPDATED)

HURRIYET

-- TURKISH ATHLETE CLAIMS SILVER IN BEIJING GAMES

Turkish athlete Elvan Abeylegesse won Friday her second silver medal in women’s 5,000 meters in Olympic Games in Beijing. Abeylegesse became the first Turkish athlete ever to claim two medals in a single Olympic Games. Abeylegesse won her first silver in Beijing in women's 10,000 meters.

U.S. WARSHIP IN BLACK SEA

U.S. warship USS McFaul -- en route to Georgia carrying humanitarian aid --transited through Turkey's Canakkale and Istanbul straits on Friday to set sail in the Black Sea. Polish navy vessel "General Plasky" also passed through the Turkish straits to join an exercise in Romania.

MILLIYET

-- "COVER YOUR HEAD" CALL IS A SOCIAL VIOLENCE

Supreme Court of Appeals accepted a case opened by a woman to divorce from her husband on charges that he forced her to wear headscarf. The woman, identified with the initials T.L., wanted to divorce from her husband that he forced her to cover her head. The Supreme Court of Appeals said act of the husband in forcing his wife to wear headscarf was an act towards social violence.

-- U.S. SHIP IN THE BLACK SEA

U.S. warship "McFaul" and Polish warship "General Plasky" passed from the Canakkale and the Istanbul Straits on Friday. The U.S. warship did not give information to the Canakkale Strait Ship Traffic Services Directorate General about the port of arrival. Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the passages of the ships were in line with the Montreux Convention. A group of 200 people, which convened at Dolmabahce Square, protested passage of the ships.

SABAH

-- TURKEY'S NOBEL-WINNING AUTHOR'S NEW NOVEL TO HIT BOOK STORES

Turkey's Nobel-winning author Orhan Pamuk's new novel, Masumiyet Müzesi (The Museum of Innocence), will go on sale by the end of August. The author says he started working for the novel ten years ago and he finished it in six months. The new novel tells the story of Kemal, a thirty year-old man, who falls in love with eighteen year-old Fusun, a distant relative.

-- TURKCELL SUPER LEAGUE TO LAUNCH AT WEEKEND

Turkcell Super League, Turkey's premier soccer loop, is set to make a kick-off with games this weekend Galatasaray, last year's champions, will take on Denizlispor, for the starter on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium. Fenerbahce will play Gaziantepspor in an away game starting on 9:45 p.m.

VATAN

-- ELVAN'S NAME RECORDED IN HISTORY

Turkish athlete Elvan Abeylegesse became the pride of Turkey at the Olympic Games. Elvan, who earlier won silver medal in women's 10,000 meters in Beijing Olympics, this time claimed silver medal in women’s 5,000 meters in athletics at 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on Friday.

-- 10 OF 18 INJURED DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL

Ten of the 18 people who were injured in blast in the Aegean province of Izmir were discharged from hospital. Colonel Ahmet Kılınc, who gets treatment in ear, nose and throat service at hospital in Izmir, gradually recovers. However, his driver Private Huseyin Arisoy is still in critical condition.

CUMHURIYET

-- PRIVATIZATION TO BE ACCELERATED

Draft of the National Program, which will be submitted to the European Union (EU), included privatizations to be fulfilled by the government. According to the draft, the state will not intervene in many areas extending from processing of tea products to purchase of goods. Areas like education, national defense industry, radio and television broadcasting, mining, will be privatized partially.

-- SECOND SILVER FROM ELVAN

Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey won silver medal in women's 5,000 meters in athletics at 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Abeylegesse ran 15.42.74 behind gold medalist Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba who ran 15.41.40. Abeylegesse also won a silver medal in women's 10,000 meters in Beijing Olympics.

RADIKAL

-- BABACAN CONVEYS PROPOSALS TO EASE TENSION IN CAUCASUS

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has telephoned his Russian counterpart and conveyed a set of proposals as part of Turkey's efforts to ease tensions in the Caucasus, a spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday. "In a telephone call to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Mr. Babacan conveyed to the Russian side our concrete proposals about a platform for cooperation and stability in the Caucasus," Burak Ozugergin said. The spokesman said Turkish and Russian diplomats would meet next week to work on the issue, and the two ministers had agreed to meet early in September.

-- ELVAN BRINGS ANOTHER SILVER MEDAL

Turkish athlete Elvan Abeylegesse won her second silver medal in Olympic Games in Beijing in women's 5,000 meters, after her title in 10,000 meters. Abeylegesse ran 15.42,74 behind gold medalist Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba with 15.41,40.

YENI SAFAK

-- "HUMANITARIAN DESTROYERS" ARE IN BLACK SEA

After passage of NATO ships belonging to Germany and Spain, this time U.S. and Polish ships carrying humanitarian aid to Georgia passed to the Black Sea. General Plasky of Poland left for Constanta, however Mc Faul-74 of the United States did not give information about the final arrival. Russia described entrance of the United States to the Black Sea as "concerning".

-- ELVAN AGAIN MAKES US SMILE

Turkish athlete Elvan Abeylegesse won silver medal in women's 5,000 meters in athletics at 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Abeylegesse also won a silver medal in women's 10,000 meters in Beijing Olympics. With this result Abeylegesse became the first Turkish Athlete to win two medals in a single Olympic Games.