BAGHDAD, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament in its Wednesday session made renewed efforts to elect a new speaker following failed attempts in January.

The Iraqi Parliament's Oil and Gas Committee will meet Tuesday with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to determine the fate of the draft oil law, after a version of the long-awaited bill made a brief appearance in Iraq's Parliament Sunday before being kicked back to the Council of Ministers.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A mysterious fire on a portion of the BTC pipeline transiting Turkey has caused BTC operator British Petroleum to declare force majeure, and if the investigation reveals possible sabotage by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, as indicated in initial sketchy Turkish media reports, then the West’s most expensive post-Soviet energy success has become a new front line in the nearly 30-year war between the PKK and Ankara.

BAGHDAD, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament adjourned its Tuesday session without reaching an agreement on provisions in the election law regarding the status of the city of Kirkuk.

The Kurdish al-Ahali newspaper carried a Monday editorial titled "Kirkuk is an independent region in itself" on the negotiations surrounding the ethnic and sectarian tensions in the diverse northern region.

BAGHDAD, July 26 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament says Iraqi politicians have two days to review a vetoed elections proposal and present a final report.

BAGHDAD, July 22 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad Tuesday passed a provincial council elections law amid a Kurdish boycott and procedural questions from key lawmakers.

BAGHDAD, July 17 (UPI) -- Kurdish lawmakers in the Iraqi Parliament Thursday suggested revamping their stance on the major parties because of the disputed election laws.

ERBIL, Iraq, June 26 (UPI) -- Iraqi parliamentary speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said Thursday the status of Kirkuk needed to be settled to avoid delaying the fall provincial elections.