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It looks like EU membership is going to be a big issue in Turkey today. The Pope has reversed his position, and given his support to Turkey's membership, but the the European Commission is that parts of the EU's talks with Turkey should be suspended. Should Turkey become part of Europe? Is it doing enough to gain EU membership? Are EU leaders turning their backs on decades of promises to Turkey?

suggests that the majority of people surveyed in Britain want to ban Muslim women from wearing the veil in some public places. Sixty-one percent would approve a law banning the wearing of veils in airports and more than half said it should be outlawed in courts and schools. Do you agree? Would you like to discuss this issue with people in Turkey? Post your thoughts and join our .

Another you could discuss with our Turkish listeners is the situation in Turkey's southern neighbour - Iraq. The rhetoric has changed a lot recently, from staying the course and victory, to engaging Syria and Iran and pullin gout western troops. Today George W. Bush is for talks with the Iraq PM. I wonder what people in Turkey make of all this.

There's a going on in the Latvian capital Riga. Leaders at the summit have agreed to relax restrictions on how their troops are used in Afghanistan - several countries have not allowed their troops to operate in the south, where Nato faces fierce fighting with the Taleban. Are all countries pulling their weight in Afghanistan?

Also in the news:

A claims that street robbers often carry out their crimes for the thrill as much as for the financial gain. It's a scary thought - what's the situation like where you live, is there a culture of violence for its own sake? ?

Schoolgirl Misbah Rana , a judge in Pakistan has ruled. The 12-year-old has been at the centre of a custody battle after Misbah, also known as Molly Campbell, travelled to Pakistan to be with her father. What do you think about this story?

And if you have a while, here's a couple of longer articles:

A : the producers of Al Gore's climate change documentary "" decided to offer 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for them to use in their classrooms. But the teachers said no. One reason they gave was that accepting the DVDs, would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." One of those supporters, it turns out, is the Exxon Mobil Corp, a big oil company. Is there too much corporate influence in education?

There's another in the New York Times (it's long but worth the read). It's saying that in many occupations, from medicine to the financial world, there are certain paths that allow people to make very large amounts of money. This has all sorts of effects, but this bit caught my eye:

"Three decades ago, compensation among occupations differed far less than it does today. That growing difference is diverting people from some critical fields, experts say. The American Bar Foundation, a research group, has found in its surveys, for instance, that fewer law school graduates are going into public-interest law or government jobs and filling all the openings is becoming harder."

Is the opportunity to make large amounts of money drawing people away from needed occupations? Perhaps it's not just the opportunity - do our lifestyles put us under pressure to earn more and more money? Is this a problem all around the world - if you're in a developing country, do jobs in booming global industries pull people away from much needed local occupations?