BAGHGAD (Reuters - Wed Oct 19, 2005) - The judge who will preside over the trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity was named on Wednesday by U.S. officials, shortly before the trial opened, as Rizgar Mohammed Amin.

BAGHGAD (Reuters Wed Oct 19, 2005 ) - The judge who will preside over the trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity was named on Wednesday by U.S. officials, shortly before the trial opened, as Rizgar Mohammed Amin.

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Oct 19 (AFP) - 11h08 - Kurdish judge Rizkar Mohammed Amin will preside over the trial of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein opening on Wednesday, a Kurdish official said.

ARBIL, Iraq, Oct 17 (AFP) - 22h29 - Kurdish leaders and tearful family members on Monday met 512 coffins carrying the remains of Kurds who have been missing for two decades during a somber ceremony in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil.

DAMASCUS, Oct 16 (AFP) - 18h18 - Syria's state security court on Sunday sentenced two Kurds each to two-and-a-half years in prison for belonging to a "secret organisation", their lawyer Faisal Badr said.

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Oct 15 (AFP) - 16h07 - Iraqi Kurds flocked to the polls Saturday to vote for a constitution that confirms the status of their autonomous region and was hailed as historic step by regional president Massoud Barzani.

ARBIL, Iraq, Oct 10 (AFP) - 3h04 - In Iraqi Kurdistan, no-one questions the usefulness of voting 'Yes' in Saturday's referendum on a new constitution, seen as the best way to reinforce their northern region's de facto autonomy.

ARBIL, Iraq, Oct 3 (AFP) - 16h51 - Iraq's President Jalal Talabani and fellow Kurdish leader Massud Barzani have warned Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari his high-handed running of the government is jeopardizing their support.

President calls for minister to step aside
   
By Yahya Barzanji
The Associated Press - October 3, 2005

KIRKUK · Iraq's Kurdish president called on the country's Shiite prime minister to step down, the spokesman for the president's party said Sunday, escalating a political split between the two factions that make up the government.

Friday 30 September 2005

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has accused Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari of violating laws and not implementing articles of a joint charter signed between the Kurdistan alliance and the Iraqi coalition.