Istanbul - The second in command of the al-Qaeda terrorist franchise, Ayman al-Zawahri, has lashed out at the Saudi royal house and the president of Yemen in a new audio taped message carried by Islamist websites on Monday.

The person on the tape, his voice sounding not unlike earlier authenticated recordings of al-Zawahri, says: "The rulers of the house of Ibn Saud and (Yemeni President) Ali Abdullah Salih have sold out their religion." He accuses them of being "agents" of the United States.

Luxembourg  - It is illegal to make Turkish lorry drivers apply for visas if they want to perform short-term services in the European Union, the EU's top court ruled on Thursday.

The case concerns Turkish truckers Mehmet Soysal and Ibrahim Savatli, who were employed by a Turkish contractor to drive German-owned trucks from Turkey to Germany.

In 2001 the German authorities refused to grant them visas - a decision the two men challenged in court.

The European Court of Justice ruled that Germany was wrong to demand visas from the two men, as the current agreement between Turkey and the EU forbids it.

Manama - Russia and Turkey on Thursday came out in support of Bahrain, in face of renewed Iranian claims that the Gulf island was an historical province of Iran.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan both expressed their countries' support for Manama in separate press conferences with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al Khalifa at the Bahraini foreign ministry.

Ankara - Council workers in Turkey were on Monday cleaning up the debris left from a weekend of clashes between police and protesters marking the 10th anniversary of the capture Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan.

At least 25 people were injured and dozens more taken into custody at protests across the mainly Kurdish-populated southeast, Turkish media reported on Monday.

Police in Diyarbakir used tear gas and water cannons on Sunday to disperse a group of around 5,000 people who had gathered near the local headquarters of the pro-Kurdish Democratic and Society Party (DTP). Authorities had refused to give permission to a request from the DTP mayor of Diyarbakir to stage a march in the city.

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.