Ankara  - Turkish President Abdullah Gul Tuesday pardoned Islamist former prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, 81, who was under house arrest for embezzlement.

Gul's office said in Ankara the decision had been taken on grounds of Erbakan's ill-health.

Erbakan was placed under house arrest in May after a court ruled that his Islamist Refah Welfare Party, which was banned in 1998, had misused funds.

Turkey's military pushed Erbakan out of office in 1997 ahead of a coup in 1980.

Istanbul - Turkish President Abdullah Gul met Tuesday with his visiting Sudanese counterpart, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and urged his guest to make every effort to end the suffering in the crisis region of Darfur.

The meeting took place within the framework of a Turkey-organised African summit in Istanbul, but to the backdrop of criticism of Istanbul for allowing the visit.

Media reports said al-Bashir expressed his regret about the situation in Darfur, but denied any responsibility for massacres there.

Istanbul - Turkey and Iran are to move forward with negotiations on a major agreement on the transport of natural gas, following Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Istanbul last week.

Turkey and Iran had signed a memorandum of understanding in 2007 that would see the transport of natural gas from Iran via Turkey to Europe. According to officials however, disputes over the terms and conditions of the deal had impeded progress thus far.

Ahmadinejad said in Istanbul on Friday that "I hope that we are very close ... Turkey is the key country for the transport of Iranian gas to Europe."

Istanbul, August 18 : Archaeologists have unearthed a 1,700-year old Apollon statue in Soloi Pompeipolis ancient city in the southern province of Mersin in Turkey.

Istanbul - Ankara and Tehran were unable to reach an agreement on natural gas Friday as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ended his visit to Turkey, Turkish media reported.

A row about how revenues would be divided up and investment terms are believed to be the sticking points, but the reports said the talks would continue.

"Turkey is the most important country for the delivery of gas to Europe," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying Friday. He said he hoped an agreement would be reached soon.