GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON JAN 18

HURRIYET
-- RESPONSE OF ERDOGAN TO OPPOSITION
Reacting against the opposition that called him to halt relations with Israel, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey assumed a decisive posture against the problem and noted, "our relations with Israel are different. You were at the ruling before us, why did not you cut relations with Israel at that time?"
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-- GULER: DROP IN PRICE OF NATURAL GAS DEPENDS ON VALUE OF DOLLAR
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Hilmi Guler, while replying to questions about expectations on drop in natural gas prices, said value of oil and dollar was important in adjusting natural gas prices. Guler said oil prices entered a downward tendency, noting that price of dollar should not rise much, "everything will be more apparent by the end of this month."
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MILLIYET
-- PRICE OF NATURAL GAS IN TURKEY MAY GO DOWN
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that if the current trend in the price of oil continues, "then the price of natural gas in Turkey may be brought down soon. We are a government that does not target and have bad intentions on the money in the pockets of our people".
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-- TURKEY TO SPEND 300 MILLION LIRAS TO DEVELOP AIR TRANSPORTATION
Turkish Minister of Transportation Binali Yildirim said that Turkey will spend 300 million liras to develop air transportation in the country in 2009. "We will continue with investments despite the global financial crisis," Yildirim stressed. Among the projects of Yildirim's ministry are three new airports to be erected in 2009.
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SABAH
-- GUL TO TRAVEL TO EGYPT FOR CEASE-FIRE SUMMIT
President Abdullah Gul will travel to Egypt on Sunday afternoon to attend a summit on Gaza. The summit about the cease-fire, suggested by Egypt and given shape by Turkey and France, will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh. French President Nicholas Sarkozy, UN Secretary General Ki-moon, as well as representatives of Britain, Spain, Germany, Italy and Jordan will take place at the summit.
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-- LET US NOT LOSE MORALE
Ahmet Nazif Zorlu, the boss of Vestel company, said industrialists were going through a difficult period, "however everybody should fulfill his own duties. We have 28,000 workers, we can not stop. Let us not lose morale. Those who take risks, can continue production."

VATAN
-- PRESIDENT GUL TO GO TO EGYPT TODAY
President Abdullah Gul will attend a multinational meeting on Gaza to be held in Egypt today. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will host the meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero are also expected to attend the meeting.
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-- ERDOGAN: WE WILL REDUCE NATURAL GAS PRICES IN CASE DROP IN OIL PRICES CONTINUES
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the government may drop natural gas prices in case the drop in oil prices continues.
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CUMHURIYET
-- PARTIES SEEK CANDIDATES FROM CENTER RIGHT
Turkey's ruling party Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) are seeking for politicians who have roots in center right parties of Motherland Party (ANAP) and True Path Party (DYP). Both AKP and the CHP are seeking for ways to increase their votes in the upcoming local elections. One example of a transfer from ANAP happens to be former minister Bulent Akarcali. Akarcali served as an ANAP deputy for a long time. He is now a mayoral candidate of the AKP in Ankara's Cankaya town.
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-- RECORD AMOUNT OF DECLINE IN AUTO EXPORTS
Automotive exports of Turkey's Ford Otosan, OYAK Renault and Tofas factories declined by 69.3 percent in the first half of January when compared to the same term last year. Between January 1 and 15, total automotive exports were worth $250.8 million. During the same period in 2008, total automotive exports were worth $818.8 million. The three factories temporarily stopped auto production in the first 12 days of January, 2009.
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RADIKAL
-- HRANT DINK COMMEMORATED WITH WHITE PIGEONS
Hrant Dink, Editor in Chief of Agos Newspaper, was commemorated by flying white pigeons in central Anatolian province of Eskisehir. A group of around 1000 people, who gathered at Porsuk Square, made a press release for Hrant Dink who was killed in an armed attack on January 19,2007 in Istanbul. Reading out the press release, Eskisehir Peace Assembly Spokesman Zeynep Ekinci said the bullets that killed you in fact targeted peace and friendship.
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-- 3.5 TONS OF HASHISH IMPOUNDED
Turkish security forces confiscated around 3,500 kg of hashish in an operation conducted in south-eastern province of Diyarbakir's Lice town. A drug producing facility has also been discovered in Lice.

YENI SAFAK
-- RECORD NUMBER OF GERMAN TOURISTS MAKE RESERVATIONS IN TURKEY
Oger Group's executive Nina Oger has said that record number of German tourists have made reservations in Turkey in 2009. "Despite the global financial crisis, the Germans can not give up holidays just as they would not give up bread and water," Nina Oger said. Turkey will be the most favorite country of German tourists this year, Oger also said.
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-- TURKS DONATE 5 MILLION LIRAS TO PRIME MINISTRY'S CAMPAIGN FOR PALESTINE
Turks all across the country donated a total of five million liras to Turkish Prime Ministry's campaign for Palestine. The money was collected only in a week. Turkey will continue to provide aid to the Palestinians.