PRAGUE, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Czech state-run energy giant CEZ has bought a 37.4 percent stake in Turkish energy distributor Akenerji Elektrik Uretim, CEZ spokeswoman Eva Novakova said Wednesday.

'Today we have accomplished another milestone in the CEZ Group's international expansion,' said CEZ board chairman and chief executive Martin Roman.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - A police officer was killed and 14 other people were injured Wednesday when suspected Kurdish militants, armed with bombs and other weapons, attacked a police bus, security sources said.

The attack took place as the bus, carrying employees of the local police academy, was passing through a residential area in the region's main city Diyarbakir.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Four people were killed and 14 others wounded Wednesday when suspected Kurdish militants, armed with assault rifles, attacked a police bus in Turkey's southeast, local officials said.

ANKARA, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Turkey's parliament Wednesday voted to extend the government's mandate to order strikes against Kurdish rebels holed up in northern Iraq.

Of the 529 lawmakers present in the 550-seat chamber, 511 backed the motion giving the government another year-long mandate for cross-border operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Suspected Kurdish rebels, armed with assault rifles, attacked a police bus in Turkey's southeast on Wednesday, killing five people and injuring 19, officials said.

ANKARA, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Turkey's parliament Wednesday to vote on extending the government's mandate to order strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, days after 17 soldiers died in an attack near the border.

ANKARA, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish lawmakers were expected to vote Wednesday for extending the government's mandate to order strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, days after 17 soldiers died in an attack near the border.

ISTANBUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish shares plunged 5.98 percent in morning trading on Wednesday as fears deepened over the global financial turmoil.

The national index of the Istanbul stock exchange (IMKB-100) lost 1,887.11 points to close the session at 29,674.76 points.

ANKARA, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish warplanes on Tuesday bombed more than 20 Kurdish rebel targets both inside Turkey and across the border in northern Iraq, the Turkish army said.

The jets struck 21 targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party in the Avashin-Basyan region in northern Iraq as well as the Buzul and Iki Yaka mountains in Turkey's southeast, it said in a statement.

ANKARA, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish warplanes Tuesday bombed more than 20 Kurdish rebel targets inside Turkey and across the border in northern Iraq, intensifying an onslaught triggered by a deadly militant attack last week.

ANKARA, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Tuesday to launch an incursion into northern Iraq to target Kurdish rebels if necessary, after a bloody attack last week left 17 soldiers dead.

ANKARA, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Tuesday to launch a fresh incursion into northern Iraq as warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets across the border after a deadly attack killed 17 troops.

ISTANBUL, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish authorities said they found the bodies of 10 suspected illegal immigrants washed up in the north-west of the country, Anatolia news agency reported Tuesday.

The bodies of eight men, a woman and a child were discovered on the coast along the Gulf of Saros, according to local official Adnan Cakiroglu.

BERLIN, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Cologne's mayor on Tuesday called on Turkey's prime minister to back a Turkish shrine for Saint Paul in return for support for the construction of a hotly disputed mosque in the German city.

ANKARA, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish warplanes carried out a bombing raid against Kurdish rebel hideouts in neighbouring northern Iraq on Monday, the military said.

The strike followed an initial operation Sunday night, in which Turkish forces fired artillery at rebel positions in northern Iraq, the statement said.

ANKARA, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish warplanes carried out a bombing raid against Kurdish rebel hideouts in neighbouring northern Iraq on Monday, the military said.

The strike followed an initial operation Sunday night, in which Turkish forces fired artillery at rebel positions in northern Iraq, the statement said.

ANKARA, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel hideouts in neighbouring Iraq Monday as senior ministers met to discuss fresh measures against the separatists after the killing of at least 15 soldiers last week.

ISTANBUL, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish shares plunged 8.62 percent as global financial turmoil deepened on Monday.

The national index of the Istanbul stock exchange (IMKB-100) lost 2,978.26 points to close the day at 31,574.74 points.

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - The rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday claimed it had the bodies of two Turkish soldiers killed in a raid last week in southeastern Turkey near the border with Iraq.

ANKARA, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to meet with his ministers Monday after a deadly rebel attack against Turkish soldiers and weekend reprisals that the army said killed nearly two dozen insurgents.

ANKARA, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Turkey Sunday began burying 15 soldiers slain in a bloody attack by Kurdish rebels as the country's civilian and military leaders vowed that crushing them would be a top priority.

ANKARA, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Eighteen people died when a truck carrying illegal immigrants veered off the road and fell into a ditch in northwestern Turkey Sunday, a local official told the Anatolia news agency.

Twenty-three others were injured in the accident near the town of Malkara, Tekirdag province, governor Aydin Nezih Dogan said.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Saturday condemned the attack by separatist Kurdish rebels in Turkey near the Iraqi border that killed 15 soldiers, his spokesperson Michelle Montas said.

ANKARA, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - The Turkish military Sunday accused Iraqi Kurds of aiding separatist Turkish Kurdish rebels taking refuge in their autonomous region in neighbouring northern Iraq.

ANKARA, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - The Turkish military Sunday accused Iraqi Kurds of aiding Turkish Kurdish rebels holed up in their autonomous enclave in northern Iraq after the militants killed at least 15 soldiers in a daytime attack near the border.

Fifteen Turkish soldiers and 23 Kurdish rebels were killed during a rebel attack on a military post near the Iraqi border

ANKARA, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Fifteen Turkish soldiers and 23 Kurdish rebels were killed after an audacious rebel attack near the Iraqi border, the army said Saturday, in the bloodiest skirmish in a year.

ANKARA, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Saturday vowed a strong response after 15 Turkish soldiers and 23 Kurdish rebels were killed in heavy fighting sparked by a rebel attack near the Iraqi border.

Gul described Friday's attack by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as 'treacherous' and said Ankara was determined to pursue action against the militants.

PARIS, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - The European Union condemned Saturday an attack by Kurdish separtists on a military post in southeastern Turkey which left at least 15 soldiers dead.

'Europe expresses its complete solidarity with the Turkish authorities and offers its condolences to the families and friends of the victims,' it said, in a statement released by the Union's French presidency.

ANKARA, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Turkey said Saturday the destruction of separatist Kurdish rebels would take precedence over all other concerns after 15 soldiers and 23 militants died in clashes sparked by a rebel attack near the Iraqi border.

ANKARA, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Turkey on Saturday vowed a strong response after 15 Turkish soldiers and 23 Kurdish rebels were killed in heavy clashes sparked by a rebel attack on a military post near the Iraqi border.

ANKARA, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish civilian and military leaders met here Saturday to discuss Ankara's response after 15 soldiers and 23 Kurdish rebels were killed in heavy fighting sparked by a rebel attack near the Iraqi border.

ANKARA, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - Turkey will return to its old currency, the Turkish Lira, on January 1, after a major money reform four years ago that saw the introduction of the New Turkish Lira, officials said Friday.

Central Bank governor Durmus Yilmaz predicted that inflationist pressure triggered by the global financial crisis would have only a minimal effect on the new currency.

ANKARA, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - Nearly 40 people were arrested in a town in western Turkey following riots triggered by the death of two men who were deliberately run over by a Kurdish van driver, news reports said Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Thursday welcomed Senate confirmation of a new US ambassador to Turkey and a new commander of US forces in Afghanistan.