Sunday, 23 April, 2006 , 10:56 AFP — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Sunday defended the Kurdish peshmerga militia, insisting they were a "regulated force".

Saturday, 22 April, 2006 , 15:09 AFP — Jalal Talabani, the first Kurdish president in Iraq's history, was reelected Saturday, cementing his people's powerful role on the national stage after suffering years as second-class citizens.

Saturday, 22 April, 2006 , 14:55 AFP — Turkey's main armed Kurdish rebel group alleged on Saturday that the army was preparing for an incursion into neighbouring Iraq to hunt down its militants, and warned that Ankara would suffer from such a move.

Saturday, 22 April, 2006 , 09:27 AFP — Two homemade bombs exploded in the mainly Kurdish city of Batman in southeastern Turkey overnight, causing material damage but no casualties, local security sources said Saturday.

Friday, 21 April, 2006 , 12:47 AFP — A bomb exploded in a garbage container in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Friday just seconds before the arrival of a military bus, but there were no casualties, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Friday, 21 April, 2006 , 11:38 AFP — The Turkish army has deployed thousands of troops to the country's southeastern corner, preparing to intensify operations against separatist Kurdish rebels who have stepped up violence in the region, the press quoted officials as saying Friday.

Thursday, 20 April, 2006 , 14:10 AFP — A Turkish prosecutor who called for a top general to be investigated for alleged illegal actions in the fight against Kurdish rebels was sacked Thursday for misconduct, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Thursday, 20 April, 2006 , 13:54 AFP — Turkish prosecutors say they cannot retry Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, serving a life sentence since 1999, under current law regardless of a European court finding that he was unjustly condemned, the Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.

Thursday, 20 April, 2006 , 11:42 AFP — Iraqi leaders on Thursday decided to cancel a much-awaited parliament session for the second time in a week, Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman told AFP.

Thursday, 20 April, 2006 , 05:52 AFP — Iraq's parliament was to meet Thursday for only the second time since it was elected in December as a top Sunni politician warned that the minority blocs in the assembly could join hands to form the next government.