SECOND ROUND FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The second round balloting for the presidential election will be held today at 03:00 p.m. A candidate, Oguz Aygun, from the Democratic Left Party (DSP) announced that he would withdraw from the election. Other candidates who obtained few votes during the first voting are also expected to withdraw. Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the strongest nominee, is assumed to get the majority of votes again. The candidate who obtains 367 votes will be the 10th President of Turkey. Otherwise, on Friday the third round of balloting will be held, at which point, 276 votes will be adequate. /Star/

ALBANIAN PRESIDENT IN ANKARA

Yesterday, President Suleyman Demirel met with Albanian President Recep Meydani, who is in Ankara for a working visit. Both presidents discussed regional and bilateral relations. Stating that Turkey supported Albania's development as much as possible, Demirel noted that he had visited Albania five times in the last eight years. Albanian President Meydani emphasized that Demirel was not only a friend of Albanians but also a great political and statesman. Before Demirel, Meydani had received Premier Bulent Ecevit and they exchanged views on economic and military cooperation between the two countries. /Star/

CEM TO BE HONOURED WITH STATESMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will fly to New York today to receive the Statesman of the Year award presented by the East-West Institute, said a Foreign Ministry statesman. The award will be presented during a 'Towards a United Europe' seminar on May 2, which will be attended by statesmen and business sector representatives from several countries. Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou will share the same award with Cem. Cem is expected to meet with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright while in New York. /All papers/

BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE PROJECT

The last link of the agreements necessary for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project, 'Georgia Transit Country' Agreement was signed by the Azerbaijani, Georgian and the Turkish delegations in Washington, US on 28 April. Now the parties will try to enact the agreements in their assemblies in May. Vice President of the US Al Gore's International Security Advisor, Leon Fuerth, was also present in the signing ceremony and his presence there gave rise to the impression that the project will be supported by the future government in the US because Fuerth is expected to be appointed to replace the US President Clinton's International Security Advisor, Sandy Berger. After the approval of the assembly, a meeting will be held in order to determine the project's sponsors and the petroleum producer and transporter companies in the Caspian region will be invited to this meeting. /Sabah/

M/V JUMBO VISION IS READY

Madenci Ship Industry, launched the ship 'M/V Jumbo Vision' in Eregli during a ceremony that was also attended by the State Minister Hasan Gemici and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mumtaz Soysal. This ship had been made by the Turkish engineers and workers in 13 months and then exported to Holland, which is well-known in the world's ship industry. Chairman of the Executive Board of Madenci Ship Industry, Orhan Madenci, stated that they were very happy to implement this project as the other leading ship industrialists first stated that they would not be able to build this ship. Meanwhile, State Minister Hasan Gemici stated that they were proud of this ship which had the seal of 'Made in Turkey' and which was made by a Turkish company. /Sabah/

P.M. PERSPECTIVE'S NEWS ON THE TURKISH ARCHEOLOGY

The fact that Turkey has a very important and special place place in archeology, being the site of the most important archeological excavations still continuing in the world was pointed out once more. The world's leading 32 archeological excavations were listed in Germany's popular science magazine, 'P.M. Perspective' and Turkey's Trojan, Bergama, Hattusas and Kirklareli sites were among the highest places on this list. Anatolia, which is the birth place of excavations and archeology in Turkey, was discussed in detail in this magazine. One of Tubingen University's lecturers, Prof. Manfred Korfmann, who directed the Trojan excavations, pointed out that the Turkish land embraced hundreds of civilizations since the pre-historic age. /Cumhuriyet/

TOURISM VOLUME TO REACH 73 BILLION DOLLARS IN 2010

According to the research made by the World Tourism and Travel Council, tourism and travel activities will reach a volume of 73.4 billion dollars in the year 2010 and, thus, their contribution to the Turkish economy will increase by 5.8% each year. It is expected that the tourism sector in Turkey will meet 13.2% of the gross domestic product with 61.6 billion dollars, 17.8% of the export with 26.6 billion dollars and 11.9% of the collected taxes with 12.7 billion dollars. The tourism sector in Turkey is also expected to create new job opportunities for 1.5 million people and its share in the personnel expenses will reach 10.1% and the private capital investments in the sector will climb to 13.2 billion dollars. /Sabah/

TURKISH EXPORTERS TO VISIT SYRIA

A delegation of 100 businessmen will go to Syria under the coordination of the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat with the organization of Association of the Exporters in Istanbul between 7 and 11 May. This delegation will meet Syrian businessmen there and will hold meetings to increase the trade volume of the two countries. In addition, the Turco-Syrian Joint Economic Commission meeting will be also held on the day in which the Turkish delegation will visit Syria. During the meeting, the Turkish delegation will be chaired by the State Minister Recep Onal. Again during the same period the 'Turkish Export Products' Fair will be organized by TUYAP in Damascus. /Cumhuriyet/

HOUSE IN WHICH ATATURK WAS BORN TO BE RESTORED

The house in which Ataturk was born in Salonica will be restored by the Ministry of Culture. The historical house numbered 75 in Salonika's Aya Dimitriya district's Apostolu Pavlu Street was previously mended and looked after and turned into a museum under the title of 'Ataturk house' in 1981. 'Ataturk House', which has three floors including its cellar, is in the same garden with the Turkish General Consulate. /Cumhuriyet/

SIRALHATIM VISITS TURKEY

The Sudanese Minister of Defence, Abdurrahman Siralhatim, who was in Turkey for a one-week official visit, stated that Turkey should improve its economic relations with Sudan so that it can open to Africa. Abidin issued a speech during the dinner given by Sudan's Honorary Consul to Istanbul, Zeynel Abidin Erdem, and stated that the warm welcoming in Turkey had pleased him, which is proof of the culture of the noble Turkish nation. Siralhatim further stated that more than two million citizens of the Turkish origin were living in Sudan and that the cultural and historial ties between Sudan and Turkey were increasing daily. Sudan's Minister of Defence also hoped relations between the two countries could improve. Siralhatim also pointed out the economic potential of Sudan and said, "Turkey is Europe's gate and Sudan is Africa's gate." /Zaman/

EU-TURKISH RELATIONS IMPROVE

The relations between Turkey and the European Union (EU) are intensifying daily and the Partnership Council, during which important decisions concerning the next process were taken and which was held in Luxembourg in 11 April, was a turning point in this process. According to news received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, eight committees attached to the Partnership Council were established for the 'screening process.' It was decided that discussions concerning the process of the Customs Union will be started and the issue of public purchases within this process will be also discussed. These discussions, which are envisaged as being completed by the end of the year 2000, are expected to be started in June. In addition, the Participation Partnership document, which will be prepared by the Commission, will be presented to the EU by the end of October. /Zaman/

TURKISH ECONOMY GROWS

Between the years 1965 and 1998, Turkey ranked seventh with its annual growth rate of 4.3 % in the world. During the same period, Turkey's national income grew from $50 billion to $200 billion. Meanwhile, according to research published in the 'Economic Forum' magazine by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), there are 11,247,534 refrigerators and 11,156,057 televisions in 11,549,759 dwellings. /Aksam/

INVESTMENTS IN GAP REGION

The Head of the Executive Board of the Bayindir Holding, Kamuran Cortuk, said that they would make large investments in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) region especially in the field of irrigation with the support of Israeli firms. Cortuk made a series of observations while in the region and stated that Bayindir Holding's aim was to increase their investments in the region. /Aksam/

IMKB EXPERIENCES HEAVIEST TRADING AMONG EMERGING MARKETS

The Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) saw the fourth heaviest trading among emerging markets in the first two months of this year, the Federation Internationale des Bourses de Valeurs (FIBV) announced. Taiwanese exchange topped the FIBV list with a trade volume of $250.6 billion in January and February this year. South Korea followed with $127 billion and Hong Kong with $99 billion. Two-month trading in the IMKB amounted to $43 billion, followed by the Athens exchange with $28.7 billion. IMKB topped the list among European emerging markets, followed by Athens and the Lisbon exchange with $13.5 billion. /All papers/

TURKISH PRICES THIRD LOWEST IN THE OECD

Turkey is the third least expensive country among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to research released by the organization yesterday, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Prices in the Czech Republic and Hungary are the OCED's lowest. OECD's calculations show that prices in Turkey are 54 % lower than those in the US. Prices in Turkey are 58 % lower than those in Germany, 23 % lower than Mexican prices and 67 % lower than Japanese prices.

INVESTMENTS BY 'BIRLIK ENERGY'

It is reported that the power station to be set up in the Denizli Organized Industrial Region by the 'Birlik Energy' will cost 22 million Euros. The power station which will provide energy to the industrial facilities in the Organized Industrial Region will produce 288 million kw/hr every year. /Aksam/

EASTER CELEBRATED IN ISTANBUL

The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter in Istanbul yesterday in front of an unusually large crowd of worshippers -mostly Greeks attracted by the recent rapprochement between Turkey and Greece. Busloads of Greek faithful filled the Partiarchate on the shore of Istanbul's Golden Horn, leaving many outside its gates during the candlelit procession led by Fener Patriarch Bartholomeos I. /All papers/

'MAGNIFICENT TURKEY' EVENTS HELD IN JAPAN

As part of the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, events involving fashion, dance and music are currently being held in Japan under a programme entitled 'Magnificent Turkey'. Celebrations began yesterday in Kashiwazaki, and will continue in the cities of Omiya, Shimoneseki, Tonomi and Tokyo through this Friday. Popular Japanese newspapers are covering the events and emphasizing the importance that Turkey attaches to its cultural heritage. /All papers/

GUNSHIP CONTRACT CLOSE TO FINALIZATION

On March 6 the Undersecretariat for the Defence Industry (SSM) eliminated both the Boeing AH64D Apache and the Franco-German Eurocopter Tiger from the tender for the coproduction of a total of 145 helicopter gunships for the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The reason for the rejection was that they failed to live up to the specified criteria. The companies left competing for the $4 billion contract are the Russian-Israeli Kamov-IAI group with the Ka-50-2 Erdogan, US Bell-Textron AH1Z King Cobra and Italy's Agusta with the A-1291. The SSM will receive the final proposals from the remaining three groups of companies on May 10. The final selection of the company that will co-produce the first 50 helicopter gunships will be made in July. Meanwhile, France's Eurocopter is to deliver one AS-532 Cougar search and rescue helicopter to the TSK tomorrow in a ceremony to be attended by Chief of General Staff Gen.Huseyin Kivrikoglu. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKEY TO SEND A DELEGATION OF PEACE TO KADDAFI

Turkey has decided to establish friendly relations with Libya following Greece, Iran and Syria. Therefore, Turkey will send a delegation of peace to the Libyan Leader Kaddafi. A delegation headed by the Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal will go to Libya today and will hold meetings with Libyan officials to normalize the relations between the two countries. The delegation will stay in Libya for three days. /Aksam/

SECOND UNIT OF ZORLU ENERGY CYCLE POWER STATION

The second unit of the Zorlu Energy Bursa Combined Cycle Power Station was opened by Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Cumhur Ersumer during a ceremony yesterday. Ersumer delivered a speech and said that the auto-producer facilities established in order to meet the energy demand of the private sector could produce 14 billion kw/hr of electricity every year. The second unit of the power station will produce 55 megawatts of energy. /Aksam/

AMERICAN MODEL AGAINST EARTHQUAKES

The Head of the Kandilli Observatory, Prof.Ahmet Mete Isikara, stated that a model to prepare for earthquakes developed by the US would be used in Turkey. A project prepared with the support of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) consists of every measures which should be taken before and after the earthquakes. Prof.Isikara said that meetings and a series of contacts would be held between the Turkish and US delegations in order to develop a model which will be beneficial for Turkey. /Aksam/

ONAL: "IMF STATEMENT WILL EASE BORROWING CONDITIONS"

The State Minister responsible for the economy, Recep Onal, predicted that the most recent IMF statements accompanying the release of the second tranche of a stand-by agreement would improve borrowing conditions for Turkey in international markets. Before speaking to a group of businessmen in Eskisehir at the weekend, Onal said the $305 million coming from the IMF would be added to Central Bank foreign currency reserves. Onal remarked that IMF statements will also contribute to Turkey's rating: "We will do even better. We are fulfilling every commitment we have made in the economic programme". /Turkish Daily News/

RELIGIOUS FORUM TO EXPLORE WAYS OF BRINGING TURKEY IN LINE WITH EU

The Head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, announced that an international and EU forum is to be convened on May 3-7 in order to outline new targets and policies and contribute to efforts to bring Turkey in line with Europe, the Anatolia News Agency reports. He said that at the forum, to be held in Istanbul, claims that the republic, secularism and democracy are incompatible with Islam would be discussed, adding that renewed efforts have to be made to show that these concepts did have their place in Islam. According to Yilmaz, some 125 scholars and men of religion from Turkey and 25 from across Europe will be participating in the forum.

TURKISH TRADITION CONTINUES AT IPI

The executive board of the International Press Institute (IPI) decided to add a new Turkish member to its ranks at yesterday's annual meeting in Boston. The board chose Vuslat Dogan Sabanci to replace Metin Toker, a Milliyet journalist whose term is ending. The board decision is expected to be presented for general assembly approval today. With Sabanci's election to the board, the tradition of having a Turk as a member of the IPI board will continue unchanged. Dogan Medya Group Chairman Aydin Dogan also attended the meeting, which took on added significance because it was also celebrating the IPI's 50th anniversary. /Turkish Daily News/

BOSPHORUS NAVIGATION SYSTEM CONTRACT FINALIZED

Lockheed Maritime Overseas has been awarded the contract to build the Turkish Straits Vessel Traffic Management and Information System, which is worth some $20.4 million, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The announcement was placed in the Official Gazette by the Maritime Undersecretariat. The bid process began last April and five companies took part.

TURCO-MONGOLIAN RELATIONS TO GAIN MOMENTUM

Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk left for the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator on Saturday on an official visit to the country on the invitation of his Mongolian counterpart. Prior to his departure for Mongolia, Turk said at the airport that the great distance between Turkey and Mongolia is becoming shorter, considering the historically close ties between the two countries. Turk announced that an agreement on judicial assistance for legal, commercial and bilateral affairs between the Republic of Turkey and Mongolia will be signed during his visit. /Turkish Daily News/

MAY 1 CELEBRATIONS

Before the celebrations for May 1, which will be organized in Sisli Abidei Hurriyet Square in Istanbul, security forces took precautions to prevent any illegal demonstrations. Turk-Is, DISK, Hak-Is, KESK, various political parties and democratic public organizations are expected to attend the celebrations. /Hurriyet/

OYMEN: "MAY 1 SHOULD BE PROCLAIMED AS WORKERS DAY"

The Republican People's Party (CHP)'s Leader, Altan Oymen, asked that May 1 be proclaimed "Workers' Day". Making a statement to mark May 1, Oymen said, "We want May 1 to be celebrated as Workers' Day starting next year." Emphasizing that increasing the standards of living of workers and support for working were among the duties of Government, Oymen congratulated citizens' on May 1 Workers' Day. /Hurriyet/

TURKEY: EXEMPLARY IN FIGHTING TERRORISM

The US administration praised Turkey for its accomplishments in fighting terrorism, in the terrorism report, issued by the US Department of State annually. While Turkey was given as model of struggling with terrorism, Greece was defined as the one of weakest links in the chain when it came to fighting terrorism in Europe. Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria were listed as "countries supporting terrorism". PKK and DHKP-C were also included among the list of foreign terrorist organizations. /Hurriyet/

INVESTMENT INCENTIVES INCREASE BY 58%

651 investment projects, which amounted to 1 quadrillion 536 trillion TL during the first three months of this year and envisaged employment for 32,000 people, were within the incentive programme. The amount of these investments increased by 58.4% when compared to the same period last year. The Marmara Region received the highest share in the investments. However, this region's share in total investments decreased due to the damage caused during the earthquake on 17 August. /Milliyet/

FOUNDATION OF PERMANENT HOUSES LAID

The Minister of Public Works and Housing, Koray Aydin, stated that the construction of the permanent houses in the earthquake-hit region would be completed by the end of this year. Aydin issued a speech during the foundation-laying ceremony of the infrastructural construction of the permanent houses in Adapazari's town of Karaman, and said, "As the government, we have worked very hard. In addition, the Turkish nation worked very hard to heal the wounds of the earthquake and gave a good lesson to those who think that Turkey cannot overcome this problem. Our aim is to complete the construction of these permanent houses by the end of this year." /Milliyet/

TURKEY BECOMES THE SECOND IN THE EUROPEAN WEIGHT-LIFTING CHAMPIONSHIP

The Turkish National Team, came in second for all of Europe, after Bulgaria, in the 79th European Weight-Lifting Championship. Bulgaria became the first with 610 points in the category of team and Turkey became the second with 464 points. Halil Mutlu, who broke the world record in the category of 56 kg and who won three golden medals, was elected the world's best sportsman. Abdulaziz Alpak, became the 8th in the snatch and became the 7th in the clean and jerk in the category of 105 kg. /Cumhuriyet/

THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF TOURISTS FROM GERMANY

One million, 123 thousand, 559 people visited Turkey during the first three months of this year, with Germany the country from which the highest number of tourists arrived, that is, 168 thousand 130 people. According to the data of the State Institute of Statistics, Romania came in second by sending 93,085 tourists to Turkey and it was followed by Bulgaria with 72,916 people. In terms of the groups of countries, the European countries within the OECD became the first with the rate of 33.7%. /Zaman/

FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...

TRUST BY SUKRU ELEKDAG (MILLIYET)

Former Ambassador Sukru Elekdag writes on the Presidential Election and the nomination of Constitutional Court Chairman. A summary of his column is as follows: "Last week Turkey witnessed a development described as a 'historical compromise' by the press. The nomination of Constitutional Court Chairman Ahmet Necdet Sezer for President by the leaders of five parties led to great optimism among the general public. Sezer is a respectable man of law who reached the highest office in the highest judicial organ of the country. He can guide the country in reaching the goal of creating a society respectful of human rights issues and conforming with legal order in line with the Copenhagen criteria. Therefore, the nomination of Sezer was seen as a development widening the horizons of Turkey and was perceived as positive. Therefore, it was expected that Sezer would be elected President in the first round of voting, however, this did not materialize. It is understood that in the second round of voting Sezer will not be able to receive the required number of votes and can only be elected in the third round of balloting. This is not a great surprise as the party leaders generally sign a proposal in front of the public and do not keep their promises in a secret vote. However, this damages the trust people have in politicians and politics lose its importance in the eye of the public. At present, the public does not believe in politicians and in a scale of trusted figures they take the last place at 15%. When trust in political leaders is so low in a country, it is very hard to motivate the public to work for the interests of society. We hope that our politicians are aware of this fact and act accordingly."

PIPELINE PROJECTS AND RUSSIA BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)

Columnist Ferai Tinc writes on the Eurasia-2000 summit held by World Economic Forum in Kazakhstan. A summary of her column is as follows: "During the World Economic Forum it was accepted that Russia was the centre of Eurasia and both the US and Europe were ready to accept this fact. The second important issue taken up during the conference was the energy sources in the Caspian basin. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov stated right out that stability could not be achieved in Eurasia without Russia. With this statement he sent the message that the Caspian oil and Turkmen gas could not follow their own path without Russian control. This is not the only message sent by Russia. Other speakers in the conference also made similar statements. Kazakhstan State Petroleum Company spokesman Nurlan Balim Bayev said that he was not optimistic regarding on Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. 'Kazak oil is necessary for this pipeline to work efficiently and we shall send our oil to Russian port of Novorrosiysk.' Kazakhstan Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev approached the issue more delicately. He did not say that Baku-Ceyhan cannot operate but he implied as much. 'At the moment, there is no need for a new pipeline. However, we shall drill oil from new beds after 2015.' Nazarbayev added that they have already made an agreement with China on the issue. The Director of the American Petrolium Finance Company, which has an important say concerning the energy and especially the gas market did not give hope concerning the Caspian project. She stated that Russian gas reserves in Siberia were decreasing and it would be expensive to open up new beds. Therefore, Europe needed Turkmen gas and the aim of Russian Gasprom Company was to reach Central Asian reserves. She believed that Blue Stream would kill the Turkmen gas project and therefore Turkmenistan would have to sell its gas at a lower price to Russia rather than Turkey."

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