Kurdish rebels killed in Turkey border clash

At least 12 fighters, including two women, killed as they tried to infiltrate from Iraq, Turkish security forces say. Last Modified: 02 Oct 2012 17:05

Turkish security forces have killed 12 Kurdish rebels in fighting, including two women who attempted to infiltrate from neighbouring Iraq, local security sources said. The cross-border clashes erupted overnight on Monday on the second day of a large-scale operation launched by Turkish security forces in the southeastern town of Semdinli, they said. The fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had targeted a military post on the Turkish-Iraqi border, they added. Semdinli is often the scene of intense fighting between Turkish forces and members of the PKK. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, said last month 144 members of the security forces and 239 rebels had been killed since the start of the year, marking one of the deadliest phases of the confrontation in more than a decade. In all, about 45,000 people have been killed since the PKK, which is blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms for autonomy in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984. Turkish jets also sometimes violate Iraqi airspace to strike rebel hideouts in northern Iraq. The government asked parliament on Monday to renew the mandate for its armed forces to attack Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq for another year.

Report says EU nuclear reactors need repair

A leaked report on Europe's nuclear reactors found that up to $32bn needs to be invested to prevent disaster. Last Modified: 03 Oct 2012 09:23

Almost all of Europe's nuclear reactors are in need of an urgent overhaul that could cost as much as $32bn, according to a leaked draft-report by the European Commission.

The Commission is expected on Thursday to finalise its stress test report, which was designed to ensure that a disaster similar to the one at Japan's Fukushima could not happen again.