GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON FEB 17

HURRIYET
-- FIRST MESSAGE FROM OBAMA TO TURKEY
U.S. President Barack Obama telephoned both President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. In his 40-minute telephone conversation with President Gul, Obama said he gave high importance to the leadership assumed by Turkey in the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Afghanistan. Obama also pledged that U.S. support to Turkey's EU bid would grow. In his telephone conversation with Prime Minister Erdogan, Obama said he would like to state that the leadership of Erdogan was of vital importance for the Middle East peace process.
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-- TURKEY RANKED 4TH IN WORLD IN UNEMPLOYMENT
Unemployment, which was triggered by the global crisis, has recently turned into the worst period of the past five years. The number of unemployed rose by 645,000 and reached 2,995,000 people. The unemployment rate rose 2.2 points to 12.3 percent, with 525,000 jobs lost in November 2008.
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MILLIYET
-- OBAMA CALLS ERDOGAN AND GUL
U.S. President Barack Obama had telephone conversations with President Abdullah Gul and Premier Tayyip Erdogan. Obama told Gul that he appreciated Turkey's leadership in the region, a statement from the Presidential Palace said. According to a statement from the Prime Ministry, Obama said during his conversation with Erdogan that Erdogan's leadership was of vital importance for the Middle East peace process.
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-- ARE YOU AWARE OF THE DANGER?
According to the figures of the Turkish Board of Statistics (TURKSTAT), the unemployment rate, which had been 10.1 percent in November 2007, rose to 12.3 percent in November 2008. The number of unemployed people on record reached 3 million. Worse than that, 1 in 4 Turkish youths is unemployed. The number of those who gave up looking for work rose to 2 million.
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SABAH
-- I WILL NOT QUARREL WITH THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said his ministry requested the file on the Deniz Feneri cases from Germany on two occassions, "I will not have quarrel with them." "The German authorities said on Dec. 6 that they would send the file in a month. We are still waiting. The delay does not stem from us. The file will immediately be sent to prosecutor's office," Sahin said.
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-- SAUDI WARSHIP PROTECTS TURKISH CARGO SHIP
A Saudi Arabian ship protected a Turkish cargo ship from attacks of pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The Turkish frigate that would be assigned in the region will set sail on Tuesday.
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-- DOUBLE EULOGY TO ANKARA
U.S. President Barack Obama called President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on the phone. Speaking to Gul, Obama said U.S. appreciated both Turkey's leadership in the region and the efforts made by Turkey in Afghanistan and the Caucasus. While speaking to Erdogan, Obama said he would like to express that Erdogan's leadership held a vital importance for the Middle East peace process.

VATAN
-- OBAMA HAS 40-MINUTE PHONE CONVERSATION WITH GUL
The U.S.'s new president Barack Obama had a 40-minute telephone conversation with President Abdullah Gul during which the two leaders discussed regional issues. Obama called Gul 28 days after he took over the U.S. presidency. Obama did not use the word "Israel" during the conversation, moreover, he said that "Turkey's leadership in the region was of great importance for the U.S.", sources said. The U.S. president also spoke to Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the telephone yesterday.
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-- 1 IN 4 YOUNGSTERS UNEMPLOYED
Turkey cannot create employment opportunities for its young population who have reached working age. The rate of unemployment for Turkey’s young rose up to 23.9 percent. On the other hand, 524,000 people lost their jobs in the last 3 months of 2008.
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CUMHURIYET
-- CRISIS DOES NOT SLIGHTLY TOUCH WORKERS
The economic crisis hit Turkey in November 2008 and left more than half a million people jobless. According to the figures of the Turkish Board of Statistics (TURKSTAT), the number of unemployed people increased by 645,000 and the rate of unemployment rose to 12.3 percent in November 2008 compared to the same month of 2007. The total number of the unemployed people reached 2.9 million.
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-- NEW DISCOVERY IN MEDICINE
A team of Turkish scientists, headed by Prof. Tayfun Uzbay from Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA), has discovered that the excessive secretion of "agmatine" by the brain caused schizophrenia, which is a mental disorder with no treatment and detected in one in every 100 people. Sources said that the recent discovery of Turkish scientists would open a new road in the diagnosis and treatment of the illness.
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RADIKAL
-- EULOGY FROM OBAMA TO TURKEY'S REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
U.S. President Barack Obama telephoned President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and discussed the Middle East and Armenia. He said the U.S. appreciated Turkey's leadership on regional matters. The Caucasus was the main topic of discussion in Obama's telephone conversation with Gul and Erdogan. Obama praised rapprochement with Armenia and relayed a message that they would not "hurt" Turkey regarding "genocide". In his telephone conversation with Erdogan, Obama stated that the leadership of Erdogan had vital importance for the Middle East peace process. Obama said he wanted to work with Turkey in dealing with the PKK and on relations with Armenia. Erdogan for his part emphasized the importance of an impartial and fair stance from the United States.
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-- THERE IS SNOW EVERYWHERE
Cold weather prevails in almost every region in the country. The weather is partly cloudy only in the southern region and snowy in all other regions. Water levels at dams in Istanbul reached 70 percent.

YENI SAFAK
-- WE APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP
U.S. President Barack Obama, who held a telephone conversation with President Abdullah Gul and Premier Tayyip Erdogan, said that the U.S. highly appreciated Turkey's leadership on regional matters. Obama also said that his country desired to carry on with its cooperation with Turkey.
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-- COMMANDER'S REMARKS ARE HIDEOUS
the Israeli press described statements delivered by Israeli Ground Forces Commander Gen. Avi Mizrahi and the country's ministry of foreign affairs regarding Turkey as "hideous". According to the Israeli press, it was not commander Mizrahi's duty to formulate Israel's foreign policy.