Baghdad Curfew For National Conference: Official

BAGHDAD, Aug 14 (AFP) - Iraq's caretaker government announced Saturday that an eight-hour curfew would be imposed on central Baghdad during a vast national conference that 1,300 delegates are to attend.
"There will be a curfew in Sheikh Marouf and Karkh side" from 8:00 am (0400 GMT) to 4:00 pm (1200 GMT), Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said.
"It is for the sake of those who are participating in the conference."
The area affected by the order includes the neighbourhood around Haifa Street, where heavy machine-gun fire erupted Saturday and US-backed Iraqi police engaged in a furious standoff with insurgents two days ago.
Iraq's national conference is charged with appointing a 100-member national council that will act as a legislative body, able to approve the budget and advise the government as it paves the way for national elections in January 2005.