An explosion rocked Istanbul’s main square today, injuring several people.

A strong earthquake hit eastern Turkey today, killing at least 57 people and knocking down houses in three small villages, the government said.

Turkish police detained 52 military commanders for allegedly planning to blow up mosques in order to trigger a military takeover and overthrow the Islamic-oriented government.

Police clashed with stone-throwing demonstrators across the country’s predominantly Kurdish south- east today during protests marking the 10th anniversary of a separatist rebel leader’s capture, state-run media said.

Turkey's military says 15 of its soldiers have been killed in the south east of the country in an attack by Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.

Turkish police have arrested three teenagers in connection with two bomb blasts in a packed Istanbul square which killed 17 people, a newspaper reported today.

Two explosions in the Turkish capital Istanbul have killed at least three people and injured several others, it was reported tonight.

Three police officers and three attackers were killed in a shoot-out outside the US consulate in Istanbul, the city’s governor said today.

Turkish troops have launched a ground incursion across the border into Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels.

AN EXPLOSION ripped through an unlicensed fireworks factory in an industrial section of Istanbul yesterday, killing 20 people and injuring 117, said officials.

Two men claiming to be carrying a bomb hijacked a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul today.

Turkey has sent large contingents of soldiers, tanks and armoured personnel carriers to reinforce its border with Iraq amid a heated debate over whether to stage a cross-border offensive to hit Kurdish rebel bases.

A powerful bomb ripped through one of the Ankara's busiest commercial centres today, killing five people and injuring more than 50, the Turkish city's mayor said.

Turkish authorities today detained a man who threatened to blow up a passenger plane to divert it to Iran, officials said.

A gas tank exploded at a Turkish five-star Mediterranean hotel today, killing one person and injuring 11 others, including two foreign tourists, the governor's office said.

Holidaymakers at a Turkish hotel have been injured in a gas explosion.

Iran’s foreign minister said Britain must admit that its 15 sailors and marines entered Iranian waters in order to resolve a standoff over their capture.

A British servicewoman held captive by Iran may be released later on Wednesday or on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Turkey’s CNN-Turk television.

Turkish diplomats may be allowed to meet with the 15 British service personnel who were seized by Iran, a Turkish television station reported today.

A teenager detained over the killing of an ethnic Armenian journalist has confessed to the killing, the prosecutor said today.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was admitted to hospital today after experiencing a sudden drop in blood pressure, news reports said.

The two Turkish hijackers of a Turkish Airlines jet carrying 113 people from Albania to Istanbul have surrendered to Italian police, Ansa News Agency reported tonight.

Catholic bishops met in Istanbul today and decided the Pope’s visit to Turkey in November should go ahead despite anger in the Islamic world over his comments about Islam and holy war, Vatican spokesman George Marovic said.

An explosion in the south-eastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir tonight killed at least seven people and injured more than 10 others, local television station CNN-Turk said.

Ten British people were injured, one of them seriously, in a bomb blast on a bus at a popular Turkish holiday resort.

A police helicopter crashed in the Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya today, a spokeswoman for the local governor said. CNN-Turk television reported two dead in the crash.

An explosion today near a bus terminal in Istanbul, Turkey, has injured at least four people.

Police in Turkey have foiled an alleged plot to attack premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and have detained nine suspects, including military officers, newspapers reported today.

A HUGE fire engulfed the cargo section of Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport yesterday, temporarily disrupting air traffic and causing thousands to flee nearby terminals.

British foreign secretary Jack Straw expressed hope today that renewed Turkish initiatives would help resolve the Cyprus dispute, which threatens to hinder Ankara’s efforts to join the European Union, Turkish media said.

Authorities have urged citizens to avoid contact with fowl today, as Turkey reported a 15th person had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Two commuter trains collided in Istanbul today injuring at least six people, private CNN-Turk television said.

A passenger train rammed into a truck carrying farm workers in southern Turkey today, killing nine people and injuring at least 18 others, officials said.

A gunman opened fire at a school in south-east Turkey today, killing a teacher and wounding four students, private CNN-Turk television reported.

Armoured police cars were guarding government offices and authorities were distributing bread in a south-eastern Turkish town today, after a violent Kurdish riot left at least three people dead and 16 injured.

Some 2,000 birds died overnight in Turkey of bird flu, CNN-Turk television reported.

EU ambassadors meet today in an effort to overcome differences that threaten to derail the start of Turkey’s formal EU membership negotiations – with opposition from Austria appearing to be the biggest obstacle.

Turkish police today detained more than 10 people suspected of preparing to attack Israeli tourists, including one who they believe manufactured the bombs for the 2003 attacks on the British Consulate and British-owned HSBC bank in Istanbul, private NTV television said.

An explosion in a rubbish bin in an Istanbul suburb killed a woman and her daughter and injured five people as they left a wedding party early today, television reports said.

Turkish police shot a suspected bomber this morning as he ran towards the Justice Ministry in Ankara, CNN-Turk television reported.

Kurdish rebels have killed three Turkish soldiers in an overnight clash in Turkey, reports said today.

A strong earthquake shook eastern Turkey today, damaging buildings and injuring five people, two days after another quake in the region.

TURKEY'S Islamic-rooted ruling party will press ahead with its plan to criminalise adultery despite earlier statements the controversial measure had been shelved, a party member said yesterday.

Amid protests from women’s groups and warnings from the EU, Turkey’s government agreed to measures that would appear to scuttle its plans to introduce legislation making adultery a crime.