ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on December 17, 2008. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

TURKIYE
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ERDOGAN: CRISIS WILL TURN INTO OPPORTUNITY
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who replied to criticisms of opposition party regarding 2009 budget at Parliament, said, "we solved all chronic problems of Turkey one by one. 2009 budget will turn the crisis into an opportunity for Turkey."

HIGH-SPEED TRAIN TRIPS TO START IN JANUARY
Turkish State Railways (TCDD) Director General Suleyman Karaman said that trips of high-speed train between Ankara and Eskisehir would start at the end of December or in January. Karaman added that they signed agreements with bus companies to ease transportation from surrounding cities to the cities which had high-speed train lines.

ZAMAN
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HIGH COURT ORDERS JOINT TRIAL FOR ERGENEKON CASE, ATTACK ON SENIOR JUDGES
High Court of Appeals ordered for joint trial in what is publicly known as the Ergenekon case and an attack in May 2006 on the country`s top administrative court that killed one senior judge and wounded others. The high court overruled a decision by a criminal court in Ankara which had said that there were no links between the attack on senior judges and the Ergenekon, an alleged criminal network with suspected ties to the bureaucracy and the military. The network was revealed after police seized 27 grenades, TNT explosives and fuses in a shanty house in Istanbul in June 2007.

TURKISH BASKETBALL PLAYER NOMINATED FOR BEST OF EUROPE LIST
Turkey`s NBA star Hidayet Turkoglu (Orlando Magic) was nominated for the Best Basketball Player in Europe in 2009 along with two other Turkish players. Country`s sixteen-year-old international talent Enes Kanter from Fenerbahce and Bahar Caglar from Galatasaray were also nominated for the European award.

YENI SAFAK
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TURKEY WILL DWINDLE IF INTEREST RATES DO NOT DROP
Insistence of several banks on high interest rates despite the Central Bank`s policy for low interest rates locks up the real sector. Expensive money is shown as the perpetrator of rapid drop in growth graphics.
Economic data showed that demand in production almost came to a halt in the third quarter.
Many countries are looking for a remedy against crisis by pumping money to markets with low interest rates.

UNAKITAN: BRING OUT HIDDEN SAVINGS
Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan called everybody to be calm in crisis period and noted, "our people should bring out their hidden savings".
Unakitan said Turkey may resist the crisis thanks to the measures it had taken.

VATAN
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SOMALI PIRATES HIJACK ONE MORE TURKISH SHIP
Pirates of Somali origin hijacked a ship belonging to Isko Denizcilik headquartered in Istanbul. The 100-meter cargo ship was carrying an Antigua-Barbuda flag. Somali pirates, who hijacked 40 ships in 2008, still hold in pledge 14 ships and their 250 personnel.

UNAKITAN CALLS PUBLIC NOT TO HIDE SAVINGS
Delivering a speech on the budget presentation, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said that nearly 24.5 billion USD worth gold had been imported in the last 5 years, however, 15-20 billion USD part of it was hidden as saving by citizens. Unakitan said such assets should be brought to light in order to be used by Turkish economy.

CUMHURIYET
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LOCAL ELECTIONS MAY BE POSTPONED
As allegations rise regarding the abnormal increase in the number of voters and problems concerning the registers of voters, the Higher Board of Election (YSK) decided to hold an extraordinary meeting to assess the issue. Officials from Turkish Board of Statistics (TUIK) will also attend the meeting.
Former deputy of Republican People`s Party (CHP) and researcher Bulent Tanla said that the registers should be prepared again and the wrong points should be fixed. "Local elections may be postponed until the new registers are prepared," Tanla also said.

RADIKAL
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ANOTHER TURKISH SHIP HIJACKED
Somali pirates hijacked a Turkish ship named "Bosphorus Prodigy" in Aden. The pirates previously kidnapped two Turkish ships named "Neslihan" and "Karagol".

FOUNDATION CONVICTION
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) was not satisfied with the amendment to Foundations Law of Turkey. ECHR decided Turkey to return properties of two Armenian foundations, otherwise, Turkey will pay 875,000 Euro of compensation.

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS: COUNCIL OF STATE CASE
SHALL BE CONSOLIDATED WITH ERGENEKON CASE
Supreme Court of Appeals took seriously the claims that the attack on Council of State and Ergenekon had connection, and decided to consolidate the two cases. Now the question is: where will the court hear the case; in Ankara or in Istanbul?

HURRIYET
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EUROPEAN COURT FINES TURKEY OVER ARMENIAN FOUNDATION CASES
The European Court of Human Rights ruled against Turkey in separate cases filed by two Armenian foundations. The court ordered Turkey to either return immoveables that belonged to the Samatya Armenian Foundation in Istanbul or pay a fine of 600 thousand euros to the foundation. In the other case the court said Turkey would pay 275 thousand euros to Yedikule Armenian Foundation in Istanbul.

FINANCE MINISTER SAYS CRISIS OFFERED OPPRTUNITY FOR TURKEY
Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said a global financial malady offered what he described as "great opportunities," adding that the country had "good days ahead." Unakitan also called for the introduction of hidden savings. "For the love of God, where did all that gold go? Pull out that 20 billion gold from under your pillows," the finance minister said as he presented country`s new budget at parliament.

MILLIYET
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ALPARSLAN ASLAN TO BE TRIED IN SILIVRI
Ankara High Criminal Court had sentenced Alparslan Aslan to aggrevated life in prison for two times and Osman Yildirim to life in prison on charges of being the perpetrators of armed attack on Council of State in Ankara and bomb attack on Cumhuriyet newspaper`s offices in Istanbul.
The court defended that there was no connection between this case and Ergenekon case so the actions could not be consolidated.
If the cases are consolidated, Osman Yildirim, who is also one of the most important witnesses of Ergenekon case, will be able to make use of "repentance" and his crime may fall to 9 years.
Supreme Court of Appeals asked decision on the case to be overruled and wanted the cases to be consolidated.

UNAKITAN: PLEASE TAKE OUT YOUR HIDDEN SAVINGS
Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, who presented 2009 budget, said although there was 53 percent savings in China and 35 percent savings in India, savings in Turkey was only at the level of 15 percent.
Unakitan said, "although Turkey imported gold worth of 24.5 billion dollars, it only exported gold worth of 4 billion USD. I want Turkish people to bring out their hidden savings and contribute to economy with this saving."

SABAH
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TURKISH SHIP HIJACKED
A Turkish cargo ship named M/V Bogazici Harikasi was hijacked by Somali pirates yesterday. Pirates have previously hijacked two Turkish ships in the Gulf of Aden. Spokesman for the U.S. Navy Nathan Christensen said that a cargo ship belonging to Isko Denizcilik company of Istanbul was hijacked. The company has not made any statements regarding the incident yet.

HIGH-SPEED TRAIN READY FOR TRIPS
It was reported that the high-speed train line, thanks to which the journeys between capital Ankara and the central Anatolian province of Eskisehir would be reduced to 1 hour and 15 minutes, would be ready by the end of 2008.
Suleyman Karaman, Director General of Turkish State Railways (TCDD), said that test drives continued successfully and the tickets for a trip between Ankara and Eskisehir would cost 30-40 YTL (1 USD equals 1.56).

(YMB-AY-DO-MS)