ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on July 03, 2004. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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MODERATE EARTHQUAKE HITS DOGUBEYAZIT KILLING 18
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale hit Dogubeyazit town of eastern province of Agri killing 18 people including 13 children. 32 people were injured in the quake which was also felt in Agri, Igdir and Kars provinces.

CAR-BOMB ATTACK IN VAN KILLS THREE
A car-bomb ripped through a street in the eastern province of Van killing three people and wounding 24 others. It was revealed that the bomb planted in a parked car in the city center, was detonated by remote control. Police detained a person who once owned the car used in the blast. Governor Hikmet Tan survived the attack without any injuries. Terrorist organization PKK/KONGRA-GEL denied that it had anything to do with the attack. The blast shattered windows in surrounding buildings and tore holes in the bodywork of the official black Mercedes car carrying Tan.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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VICTIMS OF SIVAS EVENTS COMMEMORATED
A ceremony took place in central province of Sivas to commemorate 37 people who were killed in the events on July 2, 1993. Nearly 500 people marched to the Madimak Hotel by chanting slogans. Tight security measures were taken in the province for the ceremony.

BARTHOLOMEW: ''POPE COULD COME TO TURKEY''
Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Bartolomew said that he had held talks with Pope John Paul II in Vatican, and invited him to Turkey. He noted, ''the Pope's visit could take place on November 30. He will first visit Ankara, and then come to Istanbul.''

SABAH (LIBERAL)
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GUL: ''WE WILL NEVER ALLOW TERRORISM''
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said about the car-bomb attack targeting Governor Hikmet Tan of eastern province of Van, ''Turkey will never allow terrorism. We are determined to fight against terrorism till the end.'

EL AL TO RESUME FLIGHTS TO TURKEY
Israel's national carrier El Al will resume flights to Turkey on Sunday after a break of 10 days, following progress in talks between the two countries over security issues. The airline suspended flights to Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport on June 24 after Turkish authorities demanded changes to existing El Al security procedures at the airport. El Al officials said the issue over licenses for organizing security had been sorted out, but declined to give details. The Israeli airline has six regular flights a week to Turkey.

TREASURY TO REPAY 7.2 TRILLION TL DOMESTIC DEBT
Treasury will repay 7.2 trillion Turkish liras (TL) of domestic debt next week. The payment is due on July 7th. It will be the biggest repayment of domestic debt in July. Treasury will pay back a total of 13.5 trillion TL of domestic debt in July.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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TURKISH HOSTAGES RELEASED
Soner Sercali, 27, and Burak Kizil, 26, the Turkish workers who had been kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents, were released after their employer, the Turkish company Kayteks, agreed to stop supplying the U.S. military with air conditioners for soldiers' barracks. The two hostages, air conditioner technicians Kizil and Sercali, were reported missing on June 1. A group calling itself the Mujahadeen Brigade had captured them. Thousands of Turks work as truck drivers or contractors in Iraq. On Tuesday, Iraqi insurgents freed three other Turkish hostages.

FORMER DEP DEPUTIES CONDEMN ATTACK IN VAN
Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak, the former deputies of the outlawed Democracy Party (DEP), expressed profound sorrow over the car bomb attack in eastern province of Van killing three people and injuring 24 others. They condemned the attack, and offered their condolences to families of the victims of the attack.

RADIKAL (LEFT)
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TAN SAYS MISSION OF PEACE MONITORING FORCE IN IRAQ ENDED
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Namik Tan said that the mission of the Peace Monitoring Force (PMF), established to secure peace in the northern part of Iraq, ended. Tan recalled that PMF was formed in 1997 with initiatives of Turkey, the United States and Britain to monitor cease-fire after clashes between Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Iraqi Kurdistan (PUK). Stressing that PMF served to maintain peace and stability in the northern part of Iraq, Tan said that the two parties in the region were thankful on the success of the PMF. Tan noted that this force consisted of Iraqi local personnel that were trained with the contribution of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and added that it is obvious that those trained personnel could now be employed to assure the security in Iraq.

CARAMANLIS DUE IN TURKEY
Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis of Greece will come to Turkey on July 11 to attend the wedding of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's daughter. Prime Minister Erdogan invited his Greek counterpart Caramanlis to his daughter's wedding during the NATO Summit in Istanbul between June 28 and 29.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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''WE WILL GET A DATE IN DECEMBER''
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Europe had appreciated Turkey's steps in democratization and fulfillment of1 Copenhagen political criteria. ''I am sure that the European Union (EU) will set a date for the opening of accession talks with Turkey during its summit meeting in December of 2004. It will not be a unilateral development. After Turkey's accession, the EU will have a more pluralist and strategic identity,'' he added.

FOREIGN MINISTER GUL IN LEBANON
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul arrived in Lebanon on an official visit. Gul is paying an official visit to Beirut between July 2 and 4 upon the invitation of his Jordanian counterpart Jean Obeid. It is the first visit from Turkey to Lebanon on the foreign ministerial level after 21 years. Turkish-Lebanese Business Council Chairman and a group of Turkish businessmen will accompany Gul during the visit. Jordanian President Emile Lahud and Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri are expected to receive Gul. Bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues will be discussed at the meetings between Gul and Jordanian officials. Lebanese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister had visited Turkey in April and May, respectively.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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TURKEY TO SEND ADDITIONAL SOLDIERS TO AFGHANISTAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would send additional soldiers to Afghanistan in the coming days. Noting that Turkish soldiers would go to Afghanistan under the umbrella of NATO, Prime Minister Erdogan did not give detailed information about destination of Turkish soldiers in Afghanistan.

(UK) 03.07.2004