Tuesday, 20 December, 2005 , 13:14 AFP — A Turkish man accused of being a leader of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) was on Tuesday handed a suspended sentence of 18 months in prison in the southern German city of Stuttgart.

Tuesday, 13 December, 2005 , 09:19 AFP — Iraq's first Kurdish head of state Jalal Talabani said on Tuesday that he would not seek a second presidential mandate if the post remained largely ceremonial following this week's watershed general election.

Tuesday, 13 December, 2005 , 02:32 AFP — Massud Barzani, the first elected president of Iraqi Kurdistan, portrays himself as a champion of Kurdish rights which he is ready to defend even at the risk of falling out with Iraq's other communities.

Monday, 12 December, 2005 , 17:03 AFP — Turkey maintained its pressure Monday on the United States to act against separatist Kurdish rebels in neighboring northern Iraq as talks began here with visiting US Central Intelligence Agency director Porter Goss.

Sunday, 11 December, 2005 , 15:58 AFP — US Central Intelligence Agency chief Porter Goss arrived in Turkey on Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and intelligence officials.

Sunday, 11 December, 2005 , 03:11 AFP — Jalal Talabani, Iraq's first Kurdish president in modern history and tipped to win a top position in December's election, has catapulted his people to the fore after years as second-class citizens.

Saturday, 10 December, 2005 , 19:38 AFP — Syrian security forces on Saturday dispersed a Kurdish protest in Damascus organized to coincide with the UN-designated International Human Rights Day, an AFP correspondent said.

Friday, 9 December, 2005 , 21:39 AFP — Four Turkish soldiers and two Kurdish guerrillas were killed in a rebel attack on a military unit, and a series of blasts went off in southeast Turkey Friday, officials said, in the latest wave of mounting violence in the mainly Kurdish region.

Friday, 9 December, 2005 , 20:42 AFP — Three blasts went off almost simultaneously in a town in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey Friday, injuring at least one person and causing material damage, officials and press reports said.

Friday, 9 December, 2005 , 19:52 AFP — Three blasts went off in a town in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeastern corner Friday, injuring one person and causing material damage, Anatolia news agency reported.