Turkish TV networks to begin broadcasts in Kurdish language
15h02 - ANKARA, Feb 21, 2006 (AFP) - Two Turkish television stations have been authorized to begin broadcasting in Kurdish beginning next month, television executives said Tuesday, in a move that reflects the country's efforts to grant its minority Kurd community increased rights.

Kurdish rebels press Turkey for dialogue after Hamas talks
11h07 - ANKARA, Feb 21, 2006 (AFP) - The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) called on Turkey Tuesday to agree to dialogue with their group, accusing Ankara of "double standards" since it had engaged in similar talks with the radical Palestinian group Hamas.

Six victims of German plane crash found in Iraqi Kurdistan
13h48 - BUSHEIN, Iraq, Feb 19, 2006 (AFP) - The bodies of the six people on board a German business jet that crashed in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq were found on Sunday, a Kurdish government official said.

24 arrested as Kurds clash with Turkish police on Ocalan arrest anniversary
19h51 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Feb 18, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish police on Saturday arrested 24 people after clashes with Kurdish demonstrators marking the seventh anniversary of the arrest of Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan in the eastern Turkish city of Van, security sources said.

Kurds clash with Turkish police on Ocalan arrest anniversary
14h31 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Feb 18, 2006 (AFP) - Demonstrators marking the seventh anniversary of the arrest of Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan clashed with police Saturday in the eastern Turkish city of Van, security sources said.

Turkey regrets Israel's parallel between Hamas, Kurdish rebels
11h32 - ANKARA, Feb 17, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey on Friday described as "unfortunate" remarks by a senior Israeli official which drew a parallel between the radical Islamist group Hamas and armed Kurdish rebels fighting Ankara.

Ten detained in pro-Kurdish demo in Turkey
16h50 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish riot police on Wednesday detained ten people in the mainly Kurdish southeast when they broke up a rally marking the capture of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan seven years ago.

Violence in Pakistan as EU tries to defuse cartoon row
15h27 - LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 14, 2006 (AFP) - Two protestors were shot dead Tuesday in Pakistan in one of the worst incidents since Muslim anger over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed erupted, as European leaders sought to defuse the crisis.

Iraqi Kurds demonstrate over Mohammed cartoons
13h18 - ARBIL, Iraq, Feb 14, 2006 (AFP) - Several thousand Kurdish Islamists demonstrated in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil against the decision by Danish and Norwegian newspapers to publish cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed.

Activists urge renewed probe over remains of missing Kurdish villagers
14h56 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Feb 13, 2006 (AFP) - Human rights activists on Monday called on authorities to renew their probe into the 1993 disappearance of 11 villagers in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey after tests confirmed that remains found two years ago belonged to the missing people.

Seven detained in pro-Kurdish rallies in Turkey
15h28 - ISTANBUL, Feb 12, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish police on Sunday detained seven people when demonstrations calling for the release of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan turned violent in Istanbul and Antalya.

Former Kurdish separatist leader killed in Iraq
19h17 - ANKARA, Feb 11, 2006 (AFP) - A former leader of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was killed in a bomb attack Friday night near Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq, a pro-Kurdish news agency reported Saturday.

Police confirms Istanbul blast was bomb attack
12h17 - ISTANBUL, Feb 10, 2006 (AFP) - The Turkish police confirmed Friday that a a deadly blast in Istanbul claimed by Kurdish rebels was caused by a bomb, and said they were stepping up security measures against possible attacks by Kurdish separatists.

Turkish blast claimed by Kurdish rebels leaves 16 hurt
18h10 - ISTANBUL, Feb 9, 2006 (AFP) - A radical Kurdish militant group, blamed for bomb attacks in the past, took credit for an explosion Thursday that injured 16 people in an Internet cafe frequented by police officers in Istanbul.

Kurdish rebels claim Turkey blast
16h05 - ISTANBUL, Feb 9, 2006 (AFP) - A radical Kurdish militant group, blamed for bomb attacks in the past, took credit for an explosion Thursday that injured 17 people in an Internet cafe in Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul.

Kurdish group claims Istanbul blast: report
14h42 - ANKARA, Feb 9, 2006 (AFP) - A radical Kurdish group which has been blamed for a series of bomb attacks in Turkey has claimed responsibility for a blast in Istanbul Thursday which injured 14 people, a pro-Kurdish news agency said.

Turkey denies Kurdish rebel leader has heart problems
10h38 - ANKARA, Feb 9, 2006 (AFP) - Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan is in good shape and reports that he has suffered a heart attack in prison are not true, Turkish officials said Thursday.

Turkish rebel leader 'in serious condition' after heart attack
18h48 - ROME, Feb 8, 2006 (AFP) - Jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan is in serious condition after suffering a heart attack, his lawyers told the Italian news agency ANSA Wednesday.

Their city under threat, Iraq's Kurds battle bird flu
14h11 - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Feb 8, 2006 (AFP) - With their major city under threat, Kurdish officials are working hard to head off a bird flu epidemic, resorting to both Europe and the black market to buy the life-saving medicines.

Iraq confirms second death in bird flu alert
18h17 - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Feb 6, 2006 (AFP) - A second Iraqi Kurd was confirmed Monday to have died from the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain as international teams scrambled to combat the spread of the virus in the country's north.

Second Iraqi Kurd confirmed dead from bird flu
14h45 - BAGHDAD, Feb 6, 2006 (AFP) - The uncle of an Iraqi Kurdish teenager who died of bird flu has also died of the deadly H5N1 strain, according to laboratory tests in Cairo, a source in the Kurdish health ministry said.

Second Iraqi Kurd dies of bird flu
14h33 - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Feb 6, 2006 (AFP) - The uncle of an Iraqi Kurdish teenager who died of bird flu has now also died of the deadly H5N1 strain, according to laboratory tests in Cairo, a source in the Kurdish health ministry said.

WHO team arrives in Iraqi Kurdistan to check bird flu
11h44 - ARBIL, Iraq, Feb 5, 2006 (AFP) - An eight-member team of the World Health Organisation arrived Sunday in Iraqi Kurdistan to help fight off the spread of bird flu which has claimed its first victim in the region, a senior official said.

Sanitary teams cull birds in Kurdish hot zone
11h38 - BAGHDAD, Feb 2, 2006 (AFP) - In the picturesque town of Dukan, next to a beautiful alpine lake in Iraq's Kurdish region, checkpoints blocking the roads mark the beginning of a buffer zone to halt the spread of the deadly bird flu.

Iraqi Kurdistan faces shortage of bird flu drug
18h12 - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Jan 31, 2006 (AFP) - Iraq's Kurdistan region, which has confirmed its first human death from bird flu, is facing an acute shortage of the vital drug to fight the disease, a medical official said Tuesday.

Kurdish rebel leader demands retrial in Turkey
15h24 - ISTANBUL, Jan 31, 2006 (AFP) - Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has formally asked to be retried in Turkey after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled last year that his trial was unfair, one of his lawyers said Tuesday.

Iraqi Kurdistan faces acute shortage of bird flu drug
13h26 - BAGHDAD, Jan 31, 2006 (AFP) - Iraq's Kurdistan region, which has confirmed its first human death from bird flu, is facing an acute shortage of the vital drug to fight the disease, a medical official said Tuesday.

Sanitary teams cull birds in Kurdish hot zone
11h38 - BAGHDAD, Feb 2, 2006 (AFP) - In the picturesque town of Dukan, next to a beautiful alpine lake in Iraq's Kurdish region, checkpoints blocking the roads mark the beginning of a buffer zone to halt the spread of the deadly bird flu.