GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON MAR 12

HURRIYET
-- THREE CAUSES IN REPORT
Officials completed their initial investigation into the flight data recorder of the Turkish Airlines (THY) plane that crashed near Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport last month. According to the preliminary report, there were three causes of the crash. The altimeter, which indicates the altitude of the plane, was faulty. Airport tower asked the THY plane to land immediately due to heavy air traffic at the airport and pilots lost their concentration. The automatic power control system was initialized according to the faulty altimeter.
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-- "TURKEY'S BRAD PITT"
Reuters news agency introduced Turkish actor Kivanc Tatlitug as "Turkey's Brad Pitt" and the man who has captured the hearts of women across the Arab world with his TV melodrama series "Gumus (Nour)". "With his blond hair, blue eyes and romantic gestures, Turkish actor Kivanc Tatlitug has captured the hearts of women across the Arab world, his fame creating a wave of regional interest in his homeland," Reuters said.
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MILLIYET
-- LAST TALKS IN COCKPIT
The content of the last conversations between the cockpit crew of THY's plane that recently crashed near the main airport in Amsterdam were made public yesterday. According to news by Star TV, the plane was under the control of the pilot in training Murat Sezer when it crashed. When the plane, which reduced gas due to a problem with the altimeter, had difficulty in staying in the air, the second pilot sitting at the back seat told Sezer to increase gas. However, the plane which was only 70-80 meters above the ground, could not ascend and it crashed.
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-- EU ASKS FOR FULL RESPECT FOR FREEDOM OF PRESS
Speaking at the general assembly of the European Parliament where a debate was held on a report on Turkey, EU Commissioner Olli Rehn said that freedom of the press, a basic principle of Turkey's democratic transformation process, should be literally respected. While rapporteur Ria Oomen-Ruijten said things were not going so well in Turkey regarding freedom of the press, German parliamentarian Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said that the recent tax penalty given to Dogan Media Group was an arbitrary act and it raised questions regarding the government's commitment to the law.
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SABAH
-- GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE TAX INCENTIVES
State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren said that the government will announce the fourth financial crisis package before the local elections on March 29. According to Ekren, the new package will provide tax cuts and incentives, especially in the automotive sector. "We will revise our growth expectations that were initially thought to be as four percent," Ekren said.
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-- PRESIDENT GUL ACTS AS MEDIATOR BETWEEN IRAN AND U.S.
President Abdullah Gul is acting as a mediator between Iran and the United States. Having completed his talks in Tehran on Wednesday, Gul will convey the thoughts of the Tehran government to the United States next week. Thanks to Gul's mediation, the Iranian leadership has refrained from politically criticizing the United States.

VATAN
-- HIS NEW TARGET: BOSSES
After the media, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was this time angry at businessmen who voiced their economic problems. Erdogan said, "Some people are saying that giant enterprises and banks are in tough situation. No one is in tough situation. The truth is different. They are accustomed to taking advantages by driving governments into corner. Now they want us to sign a deal with the International Monetary Fund so that the IMF money should be given to banks."
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-- TAX CUT IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ON WAY
State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren announced that the government was working on a stimulus package to increase domestic demand. The government is focused on a VAT reduction for consumer goods for two months and a cut in private consumption tax for motor vehicles from 1600cc to 2000cc.
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CUMHURIYET
-- REACTION OF SCIENTIFIC WORLD
The administration of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), which censored information regarding Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, was asked to resign. A group of scientists convened in capital Ankara and released a statement calling on TUBITAK's executives to resign. Reading out the statement, Prof. Semih Koray said that censorship was one of the most disgraceful acts in the history of the republic.
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-- GREEK CYPRIOTS COMING, TURKISH CYPRIOTS LEFT ASIDE
The World Water Council invited the Greek Cypriot administration on behalf of Cyprus to the World Water Forum to convene in Istanbul next week. Efforts of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not yield results and Ankara had to accept the Greek Cypriot party's participation in the forum under the name Republic of Cyprus, which Turkey does not recognize diplomatically.
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RADIKAL
-- OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS EXTRAORDINARY INTEREST IN TURKEY, AMBASSADOR JEFFREY
United States Ambassador in Ankara James Jeffrey said that the Barack Obama administration had extraordinary interest in Turkey. The Obama administration believed that finding solutions to regional problems without Turkey's contribution would be very difficult, Jeffrey said.
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-- 11 YEARS IN PRISON FOR THROWING STONES AT POLICE OFFICERS
A Turkish court sentenced one individual to 10 years in prison and two others to 11 years in prison for throwing stones at police officers in an illegal demonstration that took place in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir in 2008.

YENI SAFAK
-- 300 TL CRISIS SUBSIDY FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES AND RETIRED PEOPLE
Turkish government is set to distribute a one-time payment of 200 TL or 300 TL to public employees and retirees, in an effort to reinvigorate the domestic market. State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren said the government would make public packages of measures for six industries (textiles, automotive, iron and steel, maritime, construction and tourism) to overcome a recession in the domestic market.
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-- 15 DAYS OF BREAK FOR ERGENEKON
The Istanbul court hearing the Ergenekon case will have a 15-day break from proceedings to examine the second indictment. At the end of the two weeks, the court will decide whether to accept the 1,909-page indictment and its annexes of 240 folders.