A wave of public anger has swept through much of Turkey after Wednesday's deadly attack by the PKK, and thousands of troops have been sent to the Iraqi border to pursue the insurgents. The Turkish military has now publicised the results of its operation. In a statement on its website, it says 49 PKK fighters have been killed over the past three days. Army units have recovered dozens of bodies from a valley which was bombed from the air and by ground

artillery

. The statement says operations against the PKK are continuing on both sides of the border.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned the Central Asian states of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan against restrictions on religious freedom. Mrs Clinton met the presidents of both countries during a tour of the region to promote greater economic integration. She said efforts to suppress religious freedom could lead to increased sympathy for radical views.

More details have emerged about a

flash flood

on Thursday in central Burma with dozens more bodies recovered and scores still missing. A doctor told the BBC he'd counted 83 bodies.

Torrential

rain swept away several hundred shanty homes in Pakokku, built around a riverbed which had been dried for several years.

The medical team in charge of the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has reiterated that he is in excellent health. The team spoke out to deny a prognosis by another doctor, Salvador Navarrete, who had given Mr Chavez less than two years to live. A spokesman for Mr Chavez's medical team said Mr Navarrete was wrong and had no access to the president's clinical records.