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.

TEHRAN, Aug 2 (AFP) - 20h21 - Demonstrators ran riot in a mainly Kurdish city in Iran, attacking official buildings and setting vehicles ablaze on Monday, Kurdish leaders said Tuesday.

ISTANBUL, Aug 3 (AFP) - 4h09 - After 28 years of exile in Europe, Kurdish-language writer Mehmed Uzun has returned to Turkey at a pivotal time in its history, when he believes Turks and Kurds must choose between peaceful coexistence and a return to violence.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Aug 1 (AFP) - 14h49 - Owners of Kurdish language teaching centers in Turkey, inaugurated recently with much fanfare thanks to European Union-inspired reforms, announced Monday they were closing because of a lack of interest among Kurds.

ISTANBUL, July 31 (AFP) - 16h30 - Rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Sunday claimed responsibility for kidnapping the mayor of a town in southeastern Turkey, rejecting earlier reports he had been freed.