The Syrian National Council, which is trying to unite opponents to the regime of President Bashar Assad, was holding negotiations behind closed doors in Istanbul on Saturday.

Several opposition movements are trying to reach an alliance, a member of the SNC Halit Hoca told Agence France Presse.

Representatives of Syria's six-month-old protest movement joined opposition parties in Turkey on Saturday to forge a united front against Bashar Assad's regime after violence claimed at least 19 more lives.

Clashes between security forces and deserters killed 11 people in a village in Hama province on Friday, while another eight died during a crackdown on protests in flashpoint Homs, human rights activists said.

Members of the Syrian opposition meeting in Istanbul on Thursday announced a list of 140 dissidents forming a "national council" they established in August.

The council aims to coordinate the opposition's policies against the Syrian leadership.

Pakistan International Airlines said Thursday that it was investigating emailed threats that said two of its planes had bombs on board, forcing one of them to divert abruptly to Istanbul.

PIA said it received two emails late Wednesday claiming there were bombs on the two flights and directed the pilots to land immediately at the nearest airports. No bombs were found on either plane.

The head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora held talks on Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara during which the Turkish official informed him of his positions on the developments in the Arab world.

The talks also discussed the latest developments in the region.

Syrian dissidents meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday established a "national council" to coordinate a campaign to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

In a final declaration, activists said the council rejected foreign intervention or the rule of any one ethnic group and emphasized the national character of the "revolution."

A Turkish official says Istanbul will bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

The official from Turkey's Olympic committee says Turkish Prime Minister will formally announce Istanbul's bid later on Saturday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make an announcement.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said Monday that he discussed with Turkish officials the situation in Lebanon, the events in Syria and the inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

In remarks to As Safir daily following his return from Turkey, Jumblat lauded the Turkish stance from all issues.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday it was "unthinkable" for Ankara to normalize relations with Israel until it apologized over its bloody raid on a Turkish ship heading for Gaza.

"As long as Israel does not apologies to Turkey, pay compensation to the families of the victims and lift its blockage on the Gaza strip, a normalization of relations is unthinkable," he said at the opening of a meeting of Palestinian ambassadors in Istanbul in the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hizbullah was allegedly behind the failed attempt in May to assassinate Moshe Kimchi, Israel’s consul in the Turkish city of Istanbul, Italian daily Corriere della Sera has reported.

“Hizbullah was seeking to assassinate consul Kimchi to avenge the liquidation of Iranian nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi at the hands of the Israelis,” the newspaper quoted sources in Washington as saying.