GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON MAR 04

HURRIYET
-- NEVRUZ SHOULD BE AN OFFICIAL HOLIDAY
Deniz Baykal, the chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), instructed his party management to launch all required initiatives to declare Nevruz (March 21) and May Day (May 1) as official holidays. Baykal said, "Turkey should be saved from getting affected by meaningless crises. Celebrating the two days (Nevruz and May Day) is not contrary to human rights, democracy and the indispensable integrity of our country." Baykal told Hurriyet that his party would submit a related bill to parliament on Wednesday if it is prepared in time, or the following week if not. "I think this is the best way to celebrate Nevruz and May Day in solidarity," he also said.Â
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-- HILLARY CLINTON TO ATTEND TV PROGRAM IN TURKEY
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to appear on a TV program during her visit to Turkey on March 7. Clinton guest star on program "Haydi Gel Bizimle Ol" (Come and Join Us) broadcast on the private NTV channel, hosted by journalist Cigdem Anat, actress Mujde Ar, author Pinar Kur and model Aysun Kayaci. Clinton will be received by President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. She will also meet Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.
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MILLIYET
-- DOWNWARD TREND CONTINUES IN INFLATION
The Turkish Board of Statistics said that consumer prices were down by 0.34 percent and production prices rose by 1.17 in February. The year-on-year inflation rate was announced as 7.73 percent in consumer prices and 6.43 percent in production prices.
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-- 1.3 BLN TL INVESTMENT FROM VODAFONE
Vodafone, the leader of global mobile phone operators, has not changed its outlook on Turkey despite the crisis. Vodafone has decided to invest 1.3 billion TL ($755 million) in Turkey this year.
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SABAH
-- "THE NEW OTTOMANS"
American strategist George Friedman said Turkey would come to rule over the former territories of the Ottoman Empire by 2040. "After a period of silence, Turkey has climbed back to the scene of the history and it has begun dominating the region. By its nature, Turkey will become a super power again to enjoy a different kind of rule over its former Ottoman territories," Friedman said.
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-- INFLATION DOWN
The consumer price index was down in February by 0.34 percent, Turkey's statistics authority said. The annual inflation rate dropped to 7.73 percent.

VATAN
-- DON'T BE AFRAID YOU WILL NOT BE MALAYSIA
In an exclusive interview with daily Vatan, U.S. analyst George Friedman assessed the next 10 years of Turkey which he described as becoming, "one of the four super forces of the world" in his latest book. "When I look from the United States, I see Turkey as European like Spain and Italy. Turkey will not be as Malaysia. I don't see the crisis Turkish people see. You are a strong, modern and secular country. And this will remain so. In the future, you will be a rich country where the secularists and conservative section compromise," Friedman said.
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-- KURDISH OPENING FROM CHP THIS TIME
Republican People's Party (CHP) will submit a draft to the Parliament to declare Nevruz and May Day as formal holidays. Hakki Suha Okay and Mustafa Ozyurek, two CHP executives, are carrying out works on the matter. Ozyurek, the CHP spokesman, said, "We will submit the bill in a few days."
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CUMHURIYET
-- OIL, GAS IN BLACK SEA
Head of Turkey's state-run oil company TPAO said they estimated that the Black Sea harbored 10 billion barrels of oil and an annual 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves. TPAO signed an agreement with U.S Exxon Mobil to explore oil and gas.
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-- TWO TURKS PULLED OUT FROM UNDER COLLAPSED BUILDING IN COLOGNE
Three buildings collapsed simultaneously in Cologne, Germany injuring seven people. Rescue teams rescued two Turks from under the debris.
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RADIKAL
-- CENTRAL BANK SAYS UNEMPLOYMENT WILL REACH PEAK IN THREE MONTHS
In a statement regarding the summary of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on Feb. 19, the committee said, "domestic and foreign demands are expected to stay weak in the near term, thus it will take some time for the economic activity to recover. Therefore, downward pressures on inflation are expected to prevail." "Readings on the labor market confirm the sharp weakening of economic activity. In the fourth quarter of 2008, non-farm employment fell quarterly on a seasonally adjusted basis, and non-farm unemployment surged rapidly. In light of these assessments, the committee noted that non-farm unemployment might display a historic high in the first quarter," the statement said.
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-- GOVERNMENT PLEDGES BEFORE ELECTION TO EMPLOY 95,000 CIVIL SERVANTS
On the eve of local elections, the government said it needed 150,000 new civil servants and pushed the button to employ 95,000 of them. Recruitment will begin in June until the end of the year. Some70,000 of them will be contracted. The Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Health will both recruit 20,000 contracted officers and the Ministry of Justice will employ 10,000. The Ministry of Interior will appoint 10,000 new police officers.

YENI SAFAK
-- DREADFUL NEGLIGENCE
It has been claimed that rescue teams that rushed to help the passengers of the Turkish plane that crashed in Amsterdam, the Netherlands did not try the window of the cockpit "that can be opened from outside", and left the pilots to die. A Turkish Airlines (THY) plane crashed when it was landing at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. When rescue teams rushed to help passengers and crew on the plane, they caused a scandal. They reached the scene of the accident eight minutes after the crash, and headed for the cockpit after evacuating the passengers. However, they could not reach the pilots who were waiting for help for hours due to the "steel door" used for cockpits door the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The teams removed the bodies of the pilots of the plane at 6:15 p.m. The plane had crashed at 10:26 a.m. The Boeing firm also noticed the ignorant rescue teams. The company said, "There is a 'life window' in the cockpit of the 737-800 planes in order to enter the cockpit in case of an accident. They did not try this method in Amsterdam."
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-- METROBUS CONNECTS CONTINENTS
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the Metrobus line between the Zincirlikuyu and Sogutlucesme districts of Istanbul, connecting Europe with Asia. During the ceremony in Kadikoy town, Erdogan said that the metrobus would carry 1 million passengers a day. Erdogan said there would also be metrobus lines between Avcilar and Beylikduzu, Kadikoy and Bostanci and Harem and Kozyatagi, and also said that 17 billion Turkish lira had been spent on Istanbul's transportation so far. (One USD is equal to 1.727 TL) One can travel between Avcilar and Sogutlucesme in 63 minutes on the metrobus.