Ankara - Thirteen Kurdish rebels were killed in Turkish air force raids in the last week on Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) camps in northern Iraq, a spokesman for the Turkish General Staff said on Fr

Ankara  - The Egyptian and Turkish presidents on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to joint efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire in the Middle East.

Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak speaking in Istanbul after meeting his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that the world must focus on helping Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"We give great importance to rebuilding," Mubarak said, noting that Egypt would host an international conference next month to discuss reconstruction efforts. Mubarak also said that aid to Palestinians in Gaza must be allowed through Israeli checkpoints immediately.

Ankara - The alleged murderer of an eight-year-old girl in Germany was taken into custody by Turkish police late Tuesday night in the western Turkish town of Didim after his father-in-law helped track him down, the Dogan news agency reported on Wednesday.

Ali Kur, 29, fled Germany after allegedly sexually assaulting and murdering Kardelen Kirac, 8, at a lake outside the town of Paderborn. German police said Kur's business card was found near the girl's body and that DNA found in his home matched evidence from the crime scene.

Ankara  - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Ankara Friday evening for talks with Turkish leaders who are expected to push him to support some kind of reconciliation between his Fatah movement and Hamas.

Abbas is scheduled to hold meetings with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday night and with President Abdullah Gul on Saturday before leaving Ankara on Sunday.

Ankara - The Turkish navy is preparing a naval frigate to join an international force to help combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, a military spokesman said on Friday.

Ankara - The number of Israeli tourists visiting Turkey has fallen drastically in the wake of Turkey's harsh reactions to Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, the Dogan news agency reported on Friday.

Around 3,000 Israeli tourists flew into the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya in January, a fall of almost 60 per cent compared to last year's almost 10,000 arrivals.