[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.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, July 31 (AFP) - 11h35 - A member of the Turkish paramilitary forces in the predominantly Kurdish region of southeast Turkey was killed early Sunday in clashes with rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), local security sources said.