Another attempt is under way in Turkey to try to form a new government, more than a month after the outgoing Prime Minister, Mesut Yilmaz, lost a parliamentary vote of confidence.

The new Prime Minister-designate, Yalim Erez, until now the trade minister, had preliminary talks with the Islamist opposition leader, Recai Kutan, before meeting secular party chiefs.

Mr Erez said he was trying to form a broad-based government able to push stalled economic legislation through parliament.

The latest moves follow the failure of efforts to form a coalition government without the Islamist Virtue Party, which is opposed particularly by the Turkish military.