ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on May 10, 2004. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER IN EDIRNE
Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha of Bulgaria has inaugurated the St. Georgi Church in northwestern province of Edirne. Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg Gotha first visited the famous Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. Later, he attended the inauguration of St. Georgi Church which was restored earlier.

FENERBAHCE BECOMES CHAMPION
Fenerbahce soccer club has announced its championship in the Turkish Superleague one week before end of the season after defeating Denizlispor 4-0.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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MARMARAY PROJECT STARTS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has laid the foundation of the system which will connect Istanbul's Asian and European sides with an immersed tube tunnel under the Istanbul Strait. Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan said they felt the excitement of fulfilling this project which has been delayed for years. The project called ''Marmaray'' includes a 13.3 km Istanbul Strait crossing and the upgrade of 63 km of suburb line to create a 76.3 km high capacity line between Gebze and Halkali. The Istanbul Strait crossing will be done by a 1.8 km earthquake-proof immersed tube, assembled from 18 sections. This tube will be accessed by bored tunnels from Yenikapi on the European side and Sogutlucesme on the Asian side of Istanbul. Intermediate stations will be done at Sirkeci and Uskudar. An interchange station with Istanbul metro and light rail will be built at Yenikapi.

FOREIGN TRADE DEFICIT INCREASES TO USD 6.4 BILLION
Imports increased 44 percent to 19,3 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2004. According to data of the Customs Undersecretariat, exports rose 28.55 percent to 13 billion U.S. dollars. Foreign trade deficit climbed 88.6 percent to 6 billion 434 million U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, rate of exports meeting imports became 67 percent. In the January-March period of 2003, imports were 13 billion 497 million U.S. dollars, exports were 10 billion U.S. dollars, and foreign trade deficit was 3 billion 411 million U.S. dollars.

SABAH (LIBERAL)
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BRITAIN AND FRANCE EXTEND SUPPORT TO TURKEY'S EU PROCESS
Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain has said that they should overcome the problems to stem from Turkey's membership to the European Union (EU) instead of delaying efforts to find solutions to those problems. In an interview with the French LCI TV Channel, Blair noted that Ankara should be implemented the same criteria with the other candidate countries. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin of France said that the EU could not keep its gates closed against Turkey.

TREASURY TO CONDUCT THREE AUCTIONS THIS WEEK
Treasury will hold three auctions, including two bond and one state note, this week. Treasury will hold 91-day Turkish lira (TL) discounted reference bond auction on May 10. The bonds denominated in TL will be issued on May 12, 2004 and repaid on November 24, 2004. Treasury will sell 196-day discounted Treasury bonds denominated in TL on May 11. These bonds will be issued on May 12, 2004 and repaid on October 5, 2004. Treasury will also hold an auction on May 11 to sell 511-day discounted state notes denominated in TL. These state notes will be issued on May 12, 2004 and repaid on October 5, 2005.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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TWO SOLDIERS KILLED IN DIYARBAKIR
Members of the terrorist organization of PKK (KONGRA-GEL) have detonated a remote-controlled land mine as a military vehicle passed by, killing two soldiers in Lice town of southeastern province of Diyarbakir. Two soldiers were killed when the land mine went off as the vehicle was transporting soldiers to a routine change of guards in Kiralan region near Dernek village. Security forces have launched an operation in the region to capture the terrorists.

ROTH COMES TO ANKARA
German parliamentary delegation headed by German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Turkish-German Parliamentary Friendship Group Chairperson Claudia Roth has come to Ankara to hold a series of meetings. The delegation will proceed to Southeastern Anatolia region after completing their meetings in Ankara. The delegation will also hold talks with representatives of religious minorities and Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul.

RADIKAL (LEFT)
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''EU SHOULD TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE FUTURE''
Releasing a message to mark the May 9 Europe Day, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has said, ''European Union (EU) membership is a national target of Turkey supported by all sections of Turkish society. Reform process in Turkey is a sign of this ideal. The EU should take into consideration the future as making a decision about opening of accession talks with Turkey.''

PAMUK'S LATEST NOVEL IN BRITISH MARKETS
The latest novel of famous Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has been published in Britain. The novel ''Snow'' was translated into English by Maureen Freely and published by Faber & Faber Publishing House. Meanwhile, leading British daily the Guardian described Pamuk as an ''Occidental Hero''. The article written by Nicholas Wroe said, ''Pamuk was one of the most unusual literary creatures, 'both a best-selling author and an avant-garde writer'. Pamuk's novels exuberantly embrace postmodernist narrative trickery and his work has been compared to Kafka, Borges, Calvino and Garcia Marquez.''

TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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ANKARA CONDEMNS KILLING OF KADYROV
Turkey has expressed its profound sorrow over killing of President Akhmad Kadyrov of Chechnya in an attack. Releasing a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, ''on numerous occasions, Turkey has stressed that the issue of Chechnya should be peacefully resolved under territorial integrity of Russia and on the base of mutual respect.'' The Ministry harshly condemned the latest acts of terrorism in Chechnya. President Kadyrov was killed when an explosion ripped through a stadium in the capital Grozny during a Victory Day parade. 24 people were killed and 46 wounded in the explosion.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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ANOTHER DREAM COMES TRUE
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has laid the foundation of the system which will connect Istanbul's Asian and European sides with an immersed tube tunnel under the Istanbul Strait. Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan described the system as the project of the century. The project called ''Marmaray'' includes a 13.3 km Istanbul Strait crossing and the upgrade of 63 km of suburb line to create a 76.3 km high capacity line between Gebze and Halkali. The project is expected to be finalized in 2008.

(UK-AÖ) 10.05.2004