Amsterdam  - At least nine people were killed and more than 80 injured, 31 of them seriously, when a Turkish Airlines plane crashed near Schiphol airport just before landing on Wednesday.

Flight TK 1951 had 134 people on board, comprising 127 passengers and seven crew, and crashed on its approach to the airport at 10.31 am (0931), a press conference at the airport was told.

Three of the dead were the pilot, co-pilot and a trainee pilot of the Boeing 737-800, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed later in Ankara.

Amsterdam - One of the survivors of the Turkish Airlines c

Istanbul - Turkish Airlines and Transportation Minister Binal

Ankara  - Israeli prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu should recognize Palestine as a state if Israel genuinely wants lasting peace in the Middle East, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday night.

Keeping up his fierce criticism of Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, Erdogan said the only solution to the problem is for Hamas to be brought to the negotiating table.

Ankara - Iran has asked Turkey to play a role in bringing Tehran and Washington together to discuss mutual concerns, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday night.

"We have said this before: we are ready. Iran wants us to play a role," Erdogan said in a panel interview including Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa during a flight to Ankara, after local election campaigning in the south-eastern city of Mardin.

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.