ERDOGAN TO ATTEND NEXT MONTH'S D8 SUMMIT
Speaking at his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Yozgat province congress, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said that his party was working to propel Turkey into the ranks of the world's 10 largest economies. Erdogan also touted his party's passage through Parliament of social security reform, as it promised. Sharply criticizing the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Erdogan said, "The CHP ran away while we were working on the reform package. They thought, `If we empty these seats, the AKP will also vacate the chamber.' But we have work to do. We can't leave the chamber. We're here to do business. I have photos of the empty CHP seats. I had them taken especially. I will show them to the nation at election time." In related news, Erdogan has decided to participate in a summit of the developing countries, known as the D8, which is made up of predominantly Muslim countries. A delegation led by Erdogan will attend the Fifth D8 Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held on the island of Bali close to Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city, on May 13. /Star-Aksam/

AGAR CRITICIZES GOVT'S ANTI-TERROR EFFORTS
Speaking at a weekend meeting of his party in Samsun, opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar commented on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent arguments that there are efforts in Turkey to exclude religious people from politics. Agar stated that in past years when it was in power, the DYP had provided freedom for the nation to participate in politics. He added that though Turkey faces some difficulties, they could be overcome. Agar further criticized the government's performance in its fight against terrorism. /Turkiye/

BAHCELI: "THE MHP SHOULD COME TO POWER ALONE TO FIGHT TERRORISM"
Speaking at a meeting of his party in Adana over the weekend, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said that "external powers" had helped a renewed campaign of terrorist attacks in Turkey, adding that the MHP should come to power alone in order to counter such attacks. He further called on the citizens living in Turkey's southeast not to give in to provocations. "We should, all of us together, protect our unity," he added. /Star/

RICE COULD VISIT ANKARA NEXT WEEK
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is reportedly due to arrive in Ankara next Tuesday for a two-day official visit. During her brief stay, Rice is expected to meet with Turkish officials to discuss the Cyprus issue, natural gas to be transported to Mideast countries through Turkey and Greece, and developments in Kosovo. /Sabah/

TUZMEN: "HOLDING INTL IRAQI FAIR IN GAZIANTEP WILL BE KEY"
State Minister Kursat Tuzmen yesterday said that June's International Iraqi Fair will be held in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, adding that this was a very important development. "Turkish companies and other companies which want to sell products to Iraq will gather in Gaziantep," said Tuzmen. "This proves the importance of Turkey. In the future, Turkey will be the center of trade to Iraq and it will earn much from both exports and export transit." The fair is set to be held in Gaziantep on June 7-11, and more than 1,000 countries are expected to participate. /Cumhuriyet/

CRISIS IN TURKISH-EU RELATIONS FEARED THIS FALL
Turkey's not opening its harbors and airports to Greek Cypriot ships and airplanes could well cause a crisis between Turkey and the European Union before the end of this year. The crisis would begin with the EU Commission stating in its fall progress report that Turkey isn't abiding by its obligations under the Customs Union agreement to open its harbors and airports to all EU member states. The EU Commission's determination would first be debated by the EU foreign ministers and then at a December leaders summit during Finland's term presidency. The harbors issue will be debated for the first time at the EU-Turkish Partnership Council meeting to be held on May 16. /Hurriyet/

REMOVAL OF TOXIC WASTE BARRELS BEGINS
The disposal of toxic waste barrels uncovered in Tuzla, near Istanbul, began yesterday as teams of experts from the Istanbul Directorate of the Environment and Forestry, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and IZAYDAS, the only licensed waste disposal facility in Turkey, started work by digging up the buried barrels. Environment and Forest Minister Osman Pepe said the results of tests showed that the waste came from more than one firm. "We can track the waste to its origin with an accuracy rate of 80-90 percent. This will be taken to court, so I can't give details. But we've concluded that there's more than one violator." Pepe said they believed this area was used several times as an illegal dumping site. He said about 70 barrels containing toxic material have been detected thus far. /Turkish Daily News/

GREEK OFFICIALS LEND SUPPORT TO ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS
Greek Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopulos has sent a written message to the Armenian National Commission saying that so-called Armenian genocide was deeply etched in the memory of the Greek nation. He added that hopefully, the international community would correctly evaluate the so-called genocide. In related news, speaking at a gathering in Athens, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Teodoros Kasimis urged Turkey to accept the Armenian allegations. /Turkiye/

NEW PASSPORTS SET FOR NEXT YEAR
The Security Directorate General is planning to make changes in passports beginning next year. Under the project, all passports will have computer chips containing all necessary personal information and will be issued for 10 years. These tough security measures are expected to help prevent passport forgery and fraud. /Cumhuriyet/

CENSUS PLANNED FOR YEAR'S-END
State Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said yesterday that at the end of this year, a census with a home curfew would be held for the last time. He stated that a bill has been submitted to Parliament concerning the matter. In this curfew a broad-based count will be done, and subsequent censuses will be online, added the minister. /Turkiye/