Ankara - Turkish warplanes hit suspected Kurdish separatist positions in northern Iraq on Wednesday, the second bombing run in two days, according to the Turkish military.

According to a short statement on the official website of the General Staff, war planes at around midday bombed suspected Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) positions in the Kandil region of northern Iraq, near the Iraqi border with Iran.

"After successfully completing their missions, our planes returned safely to their bases," the statement said.

The statement said the only aim of the raids were PKK targets and that precautions were taken not to harm civilians.

Ankara  - Turkish warplanes bombed suspected positions of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Tuesday, the general army staff in Ankara has reported.

The military statement said that the attacks took place in the Qandil mountains, inside Iraq and near to the Iranian border.

Turkish authorities believe the area to be the main hideout of PKK fighters, who have launched repeated attacks from there against the Turkish military.

Ankara - More than 5,000 Turks have signed up to apologize for the "great catastrophe" during the First World War when hundreds of thousands of Armenians died at the hands of Ottoman Turks.

The petition on the website www. ozurdiliyoruz. com, initiated by Turkish journalists and academics, is headed by the simple phrase "I apologize."

Ankara - As political distractions go, the court case to close down Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was up there with the biggest.

Ever since the Constitutional Court, in a case called by the party's political opponents, decided in July not to close down the AKP, momentum toward joining the EU seems to have stalled.

In September, the EU issued its progress report on Turkey's membership bid. For supporters of Turkish membership it was depressing reading.

Ankara- Turkey's justice minister on Monday said he was against moves to allow prison inmates conjugal visits, the Anadolu news agency reported.

"We treat with respect all requests but at the moment the Justice Ministry has no plans or thoughts to change the way it is at the moment," Mehmet Ali Sahin told reporters.

Sahin's statements came after the head of a parliamentary human rights commission said he had received many letters from prisoners seeking the right to have sex with their partners.

The suggested changes have received support from a number of members of parliament.

Ankara  - Two Kurdish separatists were killed Saturday in a clash with Turkish soldiers in south-east Turkey, the General Staff announced on Sunday.

The Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) militants were killed in fighting in a mountainous region of Sirnak, near the Turkish border with Iraq, according to a short statement posted on the official website of the armed forces.

Along with the militants' weapons and ammunition, more than two tonnes of supplies were seized after the clash.