KIRKUK, Iraq, Aug 14 (AFP) - 14h04 - Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds demonstrated Sunday in Kirkuk calling for self-determination in the constitution and demanding a Kurdish identity for the northern oil hub city.

BAGHDAD, Aug 13 (AFP) - 14h12 - Iraqi leaders, under intense US pressure, have reached tentative agreements on oil wealth distribution, perhaps the most divisive issue among for the country's disparate ethnic and religious groups.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Aug 12 (AFP) - 16h02 - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged Friday that the Kurdish conflict in Turkey would be resolved with "more democracy" despite a marked increase in violence by armed Kurdish rebels whom Ankara considers "terrorists."

By Michael Kuser [The Financial Times - Published: August 12 2005]

The Turkish governmentis turning its attention once again to its long fight with Kurdish militants, after devoting much of its energy during the past two years to the start of accession talks to the European Union.

BAGHDAD, Aug 7 (AFP) - 4h14 - Iraq's leaders will attempt to break the deadlock on a new draft constitution in a national conference here Sunday amid signs that Iraq's Kurds are unwilling to compromise on their demands for autonomy.

[AP - 6 August 2005] BAGHDAD - Sunni members of the committee drafting Iraq’s new constitution rejected Kurdish demands for a federal state, saying it cannot be implemented under foreign military occupation and an unstable security situation.

BAGHDAD, Aug 6 (AFP) - 15h18 - Iraqi Kurds Saturday rejected suggestions the country should be proclaimed an Islamic state as the northern region's autonomous parliament debated the country's draft constitution ahead of a national conference on the issue Sunday.

ARBIL, Iraq, Aug 6 (AFP) - 14h03 - The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Massud Barzani, said Saturday that the Kurds would not accept an Islamic identity for Iraq when the war-torn country's new constitution is finalised.

BAGHDAD, Aug 5 (AFP) - 11h11 - A crucial national meeting of Iraqi leaders scheduled for Friday to resolve constitutional problems was postponed for two days because of an emergency meeting of the Kurdish autonomous parliament.

TEHRAN, Aug 4 (AFP) - 13h46 - Fresh clashes erupted in Iran's northwest Kurdish region on Wednesday as rioters ravaged public buildings amid unconfirmed reports that several people had been killed.