Turkish riot police launched round after round of tear gas against protesters on the fourth day of violent demonstrations as the president and prime minister took competing positions over the unrest.

Turkey’s president has said his country will take “necessary” but unspecified action against Syria, a day after Damascus said it had brought down a Turkish military plane that had entered its airspace.

AN AFGHAN girl severely tortured for months by her in-laws in an attempt to force her into prostitution will be sent to India for medical treatment.

Nato and Afghan forces killed a former Guantanamo detainee who had become a key al-Qaida affiliate after returning to Afghanistan, officials said today.

The UN Security Council has committed to broadening its approach to safeguarding global peace and security.

A solid majority of Turkish voters approved sweeping changes to their military-era constitution – a referendum hailed by the government as a leap towards full democracy in line with its troubled bid to join the European Union.

Pakistan's intelligence agency today denied claims that they secretly aid the Taliban, detailed in leaked US military reports.

The Taliban have offered to exchange the body of a US Navy member they said was killed in an ambush two days ago in exchange for insurgent prisoners, an Afghan official said today.

Two US Navy service members disappeared in a dangerous area of eastern Afghanistan, prompting a massive search and appeals for their safe return, Nato and Afghan officials said today.

Two people were killed today when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a press club in north-western Pakistan, officials said.

The Turkish army clashed with Kurdish rebels in the south east and northern Iraq in their deadliest battle in eight months, as the government pledged there would be no let-up.

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 bombs have exploded minutes apart in a crowded Istanbul square, killing 16 and injuring more than 150 in the deadliest attack against civilians in Turkey in almost five years.

A “GREEDY and wicked” estate agent, who hoped to pocket a fortune kidnapping and torturing her former boss, was jailed for 10 years yesterday.

Turkey’s top court decided yesterday to put the Islamist-rooted ruling party on trial for alleged anti-secular activity, in a case that could threaten national stability and Ankara’s bid to join the European Union.

A raid by US forces has killed six civilians in eastern Afghanistan, including two children and a woman, an Afghan official said today.

A top Pakistani police official accused an al-Qaida linked militant today of orchestrating the deadly attack on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, saying police had “solid evidence” of his role in the killing.

Turkey’s president today said his country “has decided” on how to proceed against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and had informed the US.

Turkish helicopters attacked Kurdish rebel positions in mountains near the Iraq border today as troops kept up pressure on the guerrillas.

Turkish troops killed more than 30 Kurdish rebels as they set up an ambush near the border with Iraq, it emerged today.

Foreign secretary David Milband today said Britain would continue to guard supply routes in Iraq despite the British forces’ move out of the southern city of Basra.

A devout Muslim with a background in political Islam won the Turkish presidency today, in a major triumph for the Islamic-rooted government after months of confrontation with the secular establishment.

Turkey’s Islamic-oriented ruling party has decided to nominate Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul again for president despite strong opposition to his candidacy, a party official said.

Turkish authorities today announced the final results of the country’s general elections, confirming the ruling party’s victory.

FOREIGN Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday said he might make a fresh bid for Turkey’s presidency, in comments sure to stir unease in the country’s powerful secular establishment.

Polls opened in Turkey today for parliamentary elections that were called early amid a growing rift over the role of Islam in society.

Hundreds of thousands of secular Turks demonstrated on the seafront of Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city today, fearful that the Islamic-rooted government is conspiring to impose religious values on society.

Turkish people – instead of legislators – will be allowed to elect their president under a constitutional amendment approved by parliament.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the head of the country’s armed forces today, a week after the military threatened to intervene in an ongoing presidential election if it thought secularism was in danger.

Turkey's Islamic-rooted ruling party today appealed to parliament to declare early general elections, opening the way for an easing of tensions with the secular establishment.

Hundreds of thousands of pro-secular Turks flooded central Istanbul today to demand the resignation of the government, which they fear is leading Turkey toward Islamic rule.

Turkish politicians today began voting to choose a new president in an election that has been marked by tensions between the Islamic-rooted government and defenders of Turkey’s secular ideals.

Turkey’s governing political party in has chosen Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as its candidate for president, the prime minister announced today.

Afghan journalists covering the aftermath of a suicide attack and shooting in eastern Afghanistan say US troops deleted their photos and video and warned them not to publish any images.

US forces opened fire on civilians in eastern Afghanistan today as they fled a militant ambush involving a suicide car bomb and gunmen, Afghan witnesses said.

European Union foreign ministers today struggled to agree on how to sanction Turkey for refusing to open its ports to trade with EU member Cyprus.

Tens of thousands of people chanted slogans against Pope Benedict XVI and waved banners against his upcoming visit in a defiant display of the pro-Islamic anger that could await the pontiff on his first papal trip to a mostly Muslim nation.

Turkey’s foreign minister today said there would be no response to deadlines on the Cyprus problem, a day after the European Union warned Turkey that it must speed up efforts to resolve the stalemate.

European Union officials today warned that time was running out for Turkey to open its ports to Cypriot planes and ships or face a possible break in EU membership negotiations.

French presidential hopeful Segolene Royal said that Turkey must recognise the mass killing of Armenians early last century as a genocide if it hopes to join the European Union.

Iraqi police today found the blindfolded bodies of three people dumped in two separate parts of eastern Baghdad, while the US military command in Iraq said two American soldiers had been killed.

Turkey became the second Muslim country to commit troops to the expanded United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, with the Ankara parliament voting in favour of deployment despite widespread public opposition.

Afghan and US-led coalition forces backed by helicopter gunships killed 19 suspected Taliban in southern Helmand province as NATO prepares to take command of the volatile region, a local official said today.

TURKEY’S membership negotiations with the EU are back on track, after EU foreign ministers resolved a stand-off with Cyprus over Ankara’s relationship with the divided island.