860 coronavirus cases recorded in Kurdistan Region: ministry
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Saturday (October 24) for strict punishments for violators of COVID-19 restrictions as the Middle East’s hardest-hit nation battled a third wave.
The federal Ministry of Health said on Saturday (October 24) that it recorded 3,204 new cases of coronavirus infection and 55 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
Head of the Mass Graves Directorate of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs Sirwan Jalal said on Saturday (October 24) that work has started in order to exhume two mass graves near Solagh and Kojo villages in Sinjar district containing the remains of victims of the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health said on Saturday (October 24) that it has recorded 860 cases of coronavirus infection in the Kurdistan Region over the past 24 hours.
Erbil Anti-Drug Directorate said on Saturday (October 24) that the security forces had confiscated 2.846 kilograms of narcotics and arrested five suspects in three operations in Erbil governorate.
Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday (October 24) described a US-brokered Sudan-Israel deal to normalize ties as “phony” and accused Khartoum of paying a ransom in return for Washington removing it from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday (October 23) that the Western alliance will expand its training mission in Iraq over the coming year.
The price of $100 to the Iraqi dinars (IQD) exchange rates was at 125,250 Iraqi dinars on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Saturday (October 24).
Iraq’s Ministry of Finance said on Friday (October 23) that it is committed to ensuring funding to pay salaries, pensions, and social benefits, saying it spent 15 trillion Iraqi dinars ($12.6 billion) obtained through loans to do so through September.
NRT Digital Media broadcasts another episode of “Kurdistan This Week” on Saturday (October 24).
Crude oil prices were down on Saturday (October 24) compared with the previous day.
Turkey will evaluate possible new measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus as the outbreak flares nationwide, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday (October 23).
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Friday (October 23) that $585,240 has been allocated for an autism center in Erbil.
Turkey’s state-run outlet Anadolu Agency said on Friday (October 23) Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) arrested a person in northern Iraq who is suspected of involvement in the Kayseri bus bombing that killed thirteen off-duty soldiers in central Turkey in 2016.
Iran on Friday (October 23) blacklisted the US ambassador in Iraq and two other diplomats, following a similar move by the United States against Iran’s envoy to Baghdad, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
Israel and Sudan agreed on Friday (October 23) agreed to normalize relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States, making Sudan the third Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past two months.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said on Friday (October 23) that an army officer and two servicemen were wounded in a bomb blast in Diyala’s Miqdadiya district.
Iran has delivered several gasoline and crude oil shipments to Syria, easing a near two-month gasoline shortage aggravated by tougher US sanctions, shippers, port officials and traders said.
The US Embassy in Ankara said on Friday (October 23) it was temporarily suspending all American citizen and visa services at missions in Turkey over credible reports of potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings against US citizens in Istanbul.
The federal Ministry of Health said on Friday (October 23) that it recorded 3,785 new cases of coronavirus infection and 48 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
Despite closed borders and restricted travel as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, people continue to emigrate from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq in large numbers, fleeing unemployment, endemic corruption, and economic mismanagement.
Libya’s warring sides signed a permanent ceasefire deal on Friday (October 23), but any lasting end to years of chaos and bloodshed will require wider agreement among myriad armed groups and the outside powers that support them.
The coronavirus outbreak in Turkey has risen again nationwide, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Friday (October 23), following a recent surge in daily symptomatic patient numbers.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health said on Friday (October 23) that it has recorded 1,053 cases of coronavirus infection in the Kurdistan Region over the past 24 hours.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Friday (October 23) that Turkey had been testing the S-400 air defense system it bought from Russia, adding that the objection from NATO ally United States on the issue did not matter.
A Syrian suspected of killing a tourist in the German city of Dresden early this month had been classified as a radical Islamist and was under observation on the day of the attack, security officials said on Thursday (October 23).
Crude oil prices were up on Friday (October 23), compared with the previous day.
Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces clashed in several areas of Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday (October 23), hours before talks were due to start in Washington to try to end the deadliest fighting in the mountain enclave for over a quarter of a century.
The United States on Thursday (October 22) blacklisted Iraj Masjedi, Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq, saying he has for years overseen the training and support of Iraqi militia groups which are responsible for attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq.
US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden offered sharply contrasting views on the still-raging coronavirus pandemic at Thursday’s final presidential debate, seeking to persuade the few remaining undecided voters 12 days before their Nov. 3 contest.
The number of coronavirus deaths reported in the United States on Wednesday (October 22) reached its highest in two months, offering more evidence that the pandemic was gaining fresh momentum across the country as cooler weather sets in.
First Deputy Speaker of the Council of Representatives Hassan al-Kaabi on Thursday (October 22) called on Russian ambassador in Baghdad Maxim Maximov to examine the possibility of Russia providing loans to Iraq in order to implement strategic infrastructure projects.
United Arab Emirates citizens will be able to stay in Israel for up to 90 days on a single visit, the Gulf power’s state news agency WAM said on Thursday (October 22), after it became the first Arab nation to reach a visa-exemption agreement with Israel.
Duhok Civil Defense Directorate said on Thursday evening (October 22) that a fire broke out in six warehouses containing shoes and school supplies in the city’s main bazaar.
On the last leg of his European tour, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Thursday (October 22).
An activist and two journalists were arrested by the local security forces in Duhok governorate early on Thursday (October 22).
The federal Ministry of Interior said on Thursday (October 22) that the Kirkuk Police Directorate arrested five Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
The Directorate of Asayish-Western Sulaimani said on Thursday (October 22) that it arrested three suspects for firing randomly in Chamchamal district.
Spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Jotiar Adil said on Thursday (October 22) that the KRG is ready to make additional cuts to its oil production, if the federal government compensates with funding to pay public servants and other loses that result from the cuts.
The federal Ministry of Health said on Thursday (October 22) that it recorded 3,899 new cases of coronavirus infection and 47 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
Head of Sulaimani Food Trade Directorate Shawkat Muhamad said on Thursday (October 22) that the price of olive oil has increased on local markets and attributed the increase to the failure of the federal government to consistently send supplies of the household staple as part of its ration program.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health said on Thursday (October 22) that it has recorded 1,308 cases of coronavirus infection in the Kurdistan Region over the past 24 hours.
Turkey said on Wednesday (October 22) it extended the stay of its Oruc Reis survey vessel and two other ships in a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean until Oct. 27, in a move likely to further escalate tensions in the region.
Federal Agriculture Ministry decided on Thursday (October 22) to ban pomegranate imports, citing a surplus on local markets.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was up on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Thursday (October 22).
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Wednesday (October 21) that his cabinet will build 42 housing and construction projects with a budget allocation of $332 million.
Head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) administrative authority Faleh al-Fayyad on Wednesday (October 21) confirmed his office’s readiness to aid the investigation into an attack on the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) headquarters in Baghdad and promised to take measures against those found to be responsible.
Three civilians were killed at a fake checkpoint on the Jalawla-Khanaqin road near Halwan bridge on Wednesday night (October 21) with several others abducted.
Crude oil prices were down on Thursday (October 22), compared with the previous day.
US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday (October 21) that Russia and Iran have both tried to interfere with the 2020 presidential election.
Greece urged the European Union on Wednesday (October 21) to reconsider its customs union with Turkey in response to Ankara’s continued gas exploration in contested Mediterranean areas, deploring what it termed Turkey’s “imperial fantasies.”
German police have arrested a 20-year-old Syrian suspected of attacking two tourists in the eastern city of Dresden at the start of October, killing one of them, police said on Wednesday (October 21).
Iraq’s Counterterrorism Service (CTS) said on Wednesday (October 21) that its forces arrested four Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Kirkuk governorate.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Council of Ministers said on Wednesday (October 21) that KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has approved a proposal by Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources Begard Talabani to forgive customs taxes on material and equipment that are not available in the Kurdistan Region and imported for agriculture projects.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday (October 21) said the United States will not change policy toward Syria to obtain the release of US journalist Austin Tice and other detained Americans.
In theory, fines levied by the government against polluters in the Kurdistan Region are supposed to fund environmental initiatives and expand inspections to uncover additional violations, but current and former officials at the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Environmental Board say that the money is routinely diverted for other uses.
Ezidi Deputy Prince for Youth Affairs Mir Harman Mirza Bag said on Wednesday (October 21) that the US has allocated an additional $500,000 to help renovate Lalish temple.
With less than two weeks left until Election Day in the United States, NRT sat down with students and a recent graduate of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani to talk politics, policy, and process.
Iran’s health ministry on Wednesday (October 21)reported 5,616 new coronavirus cases for the previous 24 hours, the highest daily number since February, bringing the national tally to 545,286 in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country.
The federal Ministry of Health said on Wednesday (October 21) that it recorded 3,667 new cases of coronavirus infection and 52 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
