Iraqi constitution - Tag Search

This weekend's electricity protests in Basra might spark a renewed bid for autonomy in southern Iraq: Jabbar Amin, the chairman of the provincial council, said yesterday that he wants to create a Basra autonomous region (عربي) to "improve the services provided to residents of the province."

The horse-trading continues in Iraq: Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is trying to cement a possible merger with the Iraqi National Alliance, but the Sadrist movement seems reluctant; and Iyad Allawi is trying to attract Kurdish support, but the Kurds seem reluctant.

There's a lot to keep track of, so we've rounded up a bullet-point list of the latest political maneuverings after the jump. We'll do similar lists in the coming days as they're needed.

The New York Times reports that the Kurds in Iraq have approved a constitution (two weeks ago) that lays claim to the disputed and oil-rich Al-Ta'mim province (home to Kirkuk). This basically stomps right through quiet negotiations that had apparently started recently between Kurdish and Iraqi lawmakers, organized by the United Nations and United States.