GUL TO VISIT QATAR
President Abdullah Gul is set to go to Qatar next week at the invitation of its emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Accompanying Gul during his visit will be Turkish businessmen, most from the energy and construction sectors. /Turkiye/

TOPTAN PLEDGES PARLIAMENTARY ACTION ON HEADSCARF PROPOSALS
Constitutional changes to lift the headscarf ban at universities will be considered by Parliament in due course, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan told reporters yesterday. "After Parliament's Presidential Council has examined the proposal, the process will begin," said Toptan, who was in Egypt to attend the fifth conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Conference Member states (PUOICM). Toptan and his wife also visited Cairo Museum and the Great Pyramids. /Cumhuriyet/

ERDOGAN: "WE ONLY WANT TO PROTECT GIRLS AT UNIVERSITIES"
Speaking to his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) parliamentary group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a new proposal to lift headscarf restrictions at universities had been prepared after taking into consideration all concerns about the issue. Erdogan added that their only goal is to end the "unjust treatment" of girls at university gates and nothing else. "The government is the guarantor and protector of the republic, secularism, democracy and the rule of law," he said. Erdogan stated that his government has never and will never take steps contrary to those principles. /Turkiye/

AKP, MHP SEND HEADSCARF PROPOSAL TO PARLIAMENT
A package of constitutional changes to lift the ban on wearing headscarves at universities was submitted yesterday to Parliament after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) reached agreement on the package. The proposal was sponsored by 348 deputies, 278 from the AKP and 70 from the MHP. The proposal's preamble stressed that no similar restrictions exist in other Council of Europe member countries. /Aksam/

BABACAN: "CROSS-BORDER OPS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE PKK IS ERADICATED"
Iraq and the terrorist PKK will be major issues for the government this year, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday. "The next issue will be Cyprus," he told news channel 24. "We seriously want to start a negotiation process after elections are held in the south (next month). This year we'll discuss the Aegean problems with Greece. After elections in Armenia (also next month), I think that there will be an opportunity to discuss the Armenian issue." Stating that anti-PKK operations both in Turkey and in northern Iraq will continue to be pursued when needed, Babacan said, "When this terrorist organization is eradicated, then military instruments will be put aside." /Star/

BAYKAL CRITICIZES AKP-MHP ACCORD ON HEADSCARF ISSUE
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday criticized the agreement reached by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on a package of constitutional changes to lift certain headscarf restrictions. He claimed that if headscarves are allowed at universities, next, inevitably, girls will be able to wear them in high schools. In related news, speaking about the agreement, opposition MHP leader Devlet Bahceli said, "The arrangements will be confined to universities. Institutions offering primary and secondary education will be excluded from this arrangement." /Hurriyet/

MACEDONIAN DEFENSE MINISTER DUE IN TURKEY
Macedonian Defense Minister Lazar Elenovski will visit Ankara today. Elenovski will meet with Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit. /Sabah/

REHN: "THE EU CAN HELP TURKEY WITH ITS PLANS FOR NUCLEAR POWER"
European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn yesterday said that the EU is ready to offer Turkey assistance and advice on its plans to build nuclear power plants. Rehn said that the decision to build the plants belongs to the Turkish government, though he cautioned that Ankara should carefully assess its ability to provide high security throughout the plants' construction and operation. /Turkiye/