GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON MAY 6

HURRIYET

--ENVIRONMENTALIST JUDGE SENTENSES TO PLANT 20,000 SAPLINGS

Tamer Demirsoy, a judge in Kazan town in the Turkish capital Ankara, rules in support of reforestation. In nearly 150 legal cases that he has sentenced, such as robbery, forgery and armed attacks, Demirsoy ruled that offenders found guilty of a crime should plant saplings.

--"AVERAGE TURK" CONTROVERSY

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's definition "average Turk" could not be explained by sociologists. Sociologists agreed that "it is really hard to draw a picture of an average Turk. There is no average Turk."

MILLIYET

--WOUNDED PKK'S ANGER AT BARZANI

The PKK terrorist organization has suffered a heavy loss during the Turkish Armed Forces' strikes supported by Washington D.C. and Baghdad. The PKK is angered at Massoud Barzani, head of the local administration in northern part of Iraq, for remaining silent against the strikes. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that their government would intensify dialogue with the local administration in the days ahead.

--CRITICAL MEETING WITH EU

The Turkey-EU Troika meeting will take place in Ankara later today. The closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), events during the country's May Day celebrations and concerns that Turkey's reform process has been at a standstill will the top agenda of the meeting.

SABAH

--TROOP REINFORCEMENT TO BORDER

Security forces trapped PKK terrorists attempting to infiltrate Turkey in Uzundere town of the southeastern province of Sirnak. Two terrorists were killed. Special Forces were dispatched to the border in Sikorski helicopters. The military also sent prefabricated construction equipment to the region.

--SHE COMES WITH HER SHIP

Ankara will be the first stop of Britian's Queen Elizabeth, who will visit Turkey on May 13 accompanied by an aircraft carrier. The Queen will stay in the western province of Bursa for five hours and will later proceed to Istanbul. The Queen will host a cocktail aboard her aircraft carrier "Lusty," which will anchor in the Bosporus, and then return to Ankara.

VATAN

--182 SHOPPING MALLS TO BE OPENED IN 5 YEARS

According to the 2007 report of the Association of Shopping Centers and Retail Dealers, 182 shopping centers will be opened in Turkey in the next five years.

Separately, Alkas Consultation company's data said that last year 38 shopping centers were currently being constructed in Istanbul.

--THIS TIME AERIAL SACK

A Boeing 737-800 type passenger plane of the Turkish Airlines (THY) took off from Istanbul at 9.45 p.m. (07:45 GMT) for Kuwait on April 27. U.S. warplanes warned the plane over Mosul, Iraq to reroute to the southern province of Adana. After refueling in Adana, the plane landed at Kuwait via Syria-Saudi Arabia.

Ercan Uysal, a passenger aboard the plane, told daily Vatan that U.S. planes thought that THY's Boeing 737 was a "tanker plane."

CUMHURIYET

--TARGETS TURNED TOPSY-TURVY

The mid-term fiscal outline for the period 2008 and 2012, announced at the weekend by Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan and State Minister Mehmet Simsek, abandons the fiscal discipline which is highly rated by foreign markets. The outline shatters the government's targets set last year.

Unakitan said the primary surplus target, which was 5.5 percent was reduced to 3.5 percent. The State Planning Organization forecast an upward trend in inflation until Q4 in 2008.

--DEMOCRAT FOR ITSELF

The case filed against the ruling AKP will be high on the agenda of the Turkey-EU Troika meeting in Ankara. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan is expected to ask for the continuation of support for his party. The ruling AKP will also present a "democratization package" to the EU.

RADIKAL

--"EVEN IF WE ARE CLOSED DOWN, OUR MISSION WILL CONTINUE"

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated at a dinner with journalists that even if his ruling AKP was banned by the Constitutional Court, their mission would continue.

--TURKEY, DON'T KILL DOGS

The international animal rights group, PETA, staged a demonstration in front of the Turkish Consulate in Stuttgart, Germany, to protest the killing of stray dogs in Turkey. Demonstrators carried a banner reading "Turkey stop killing dogs. The EU is watching you."

The group is planning to hold another protest in front of the Turkish Consulate in Berlin in the coming weeks.

YENI SAFAK

--"LUCKILY WE DON'T HAVE ANY PARTIES"

Foreign Minister of United Arab Emirates Abdallah bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan said they were monitoring the closure case filed against Turkey's ruling AKP. But he said, "Luckily we do not have political parties."

--ARDA: 10 BLN EUROS

Galatasaray's midfielder Arda Turan scored three goals against Sivasspor to crown his team "almost champions" a week before the end of the season, and he also raised his price.

Arda's manager Adnan Bulut said there were several European teams eager to contract him. "But they will have to pay 10 billion euros," he said.