Turkey's prime minister offered his condolences on Wednesday over the massacre of Armenians during World War I, calling it "our shared pain", the country's most significant overture yet over the deeply divisive episode.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement, on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the start of mass deportations of Armenians in 1915, is the first such overt comment by a Turkish leader over the killings, considered by many as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday he would not allow May Day gatherings on Istanbul's Taksim Square, the scene of protests that have dogged the government for months. 

A similar decision in May last year to ban the use of the square -- a traditional and symbolic rallying point -- led to violent clashes between police and protesters which were followed by a wave of nationwide anti-government demonstrations in June.

Turkey's prime minister will tour several European countries next month, a government source said on Tuesday, as he reaches out to expat Turkish voters ahead of a possible run for the presidency.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Germany, France and the Netherlands in May, the source said. Each has a large Turkish population that he is hoping to court ahead of presidential elections in August.

The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey has reached "almost one million," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, while pledging to keep accepting those fleeing the war.

"Are we supposed to ask our brothers not to come, and to die in Syria?" Erdogan said as he addressed his party's lawmakers in parliament.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul ruled out Friday a Russia-style job swap with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan but said he had no firm plans yet for his political future.

Gul is tipped as a possible prime minister should Erdogan run in the August presidential election, the first time voters will directly elect the country's head of state.

Turkey's prime minister said Saturday he will "go after" Twitter, accusing the site of tax-evasion, after it was used to spread damaging leaks implicating his inner circle in corruption claims.

In a televised speech, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also launched a tirade against the nation's highest court for ruling against a ban on Twitter, charging that it put the rights of businesses above that of Turkey's.

Turkey's constitutional court on Friday overturned sections of a controversial judiciary reform adopted in response to a corruption scandal roiling the government, local media said.

The court said the most controversial clause of the law, giving the justice ministry greater control over the appointment of prosecutors and judges, was unconstitutional, private NTV television reported.

A charity at which Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's son sits on the board, received more than $100 million of aid over a four-year period, the government said on Thursday amid graft claims roiling the government.

In a written answer to a parliamentary question, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said that Turgev received $99 million (72 million euros) of financial aid from abroad between 2008 and 2012.

The leader of Turkey's main opposition party was attacked as he entered parliament Tuesday by a stranger who punched and kicked him several times, local media reported.

The assault occurred as Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), was heading to a weekly party meeting to assess results of local polls on Sunday that were handily won by the ruling Justice and Development Party.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, emerging triumphant from last weekend's local polls, renewed his pledge of war against rivals he blames for illegal wiretaps and graft claims targeting his allies.

"All the culprits will go before the law" Erdogan said in his party's first parliamentary meeting since last Sunday's elections that gave the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) sweeping wins.