Iraqis no longer accept empty slogans from politicians: Kurdistan Region president
Head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Kirkuk-Garmian Leadership Council Kamal Kirkuki said on Thursday (April 22) that the conditions under which his party would return to Kirkuk governorate include being able to raise the flag of the Kurdistan Region, the return of Peshmerga to the governorate, and the appointment of a new governor.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on Thursday (April 23) that young people in Iraq no longer accept empty slogans from the country’s politicians.
Crude oil prices were up on Friday (April 23) compared with the previous day.
Turkish authorities on Friday (April 23) detained 62 people over alleged links to an Istanbul-based cryptocurrency exchange after its founder fled with a reported $2 billion in investors' assets, official media reported.
A Syrian officer was killed and three soldiers wounded Thursday (April 22) in strikes launched by Israel after a missile was fired towards a secretive nuclear site in the Jewish state, a monitor said.
Pope Francis reaffirmed his desire to visit Lebanon in a meeting Thursday (April 22) with prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, but the latter said it would only happen once a new government was formed.
Three rockets crashed into a base at the Iraqi capital's airport housing US troops Friday (April 23), security sources said, in the latest attack coinciding with tensions between Baghdad's allies Tehran and Washington.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Coordinator for International Advocacy Dindar Zebari on Thursday (April 22) attempted to defend the KRG against a scathing report by Human Rights Watch about the trial and sentencing of five journalists and activists from Duhok governorate in February.
Scores of Kuwaitis staged a rally on Thursday (April 22) to protest violence against women, after a young mother was kidnapped and murdered by a man who had stalked her relentlessly despite repeated complaints to authorities.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Spokesperson Jotiar Adil said on Thursday (April 22) that the KRG will file a lawsuit against Iraqi outlet Afaq TV, alleging that it spread rumors that there is an Israel Mossad base in the Kurdistan Region.
The head of the global chemical weapons watchdog defended Thursday (April 22) the removal of Syria's voting rights, saying it showed the body's "ethical commitment" to eliminate toxic armaments.
Jordan released Thursday (April 22) 16 people detained for "sedition" at the request of King Abdullah II, the state prosecutor said, weeks after an alleged plot to destabilise the country was foiled
UK Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Hickey said on Thursday (April 22) that his country is closely monitoring whether the budget agreement between Erbil and Baghdad is implemented as passed by the Council of Representatives last month.
Iraq’s Ministry of Health said on Thursday (April 22) it recorded 8,450 new coronavirus infections and 30 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
Twenty-three journalists, activists, and other detainees who were arrested in Duhok last year have gone on a three-day hunger strike to publicize the authorities’ denial of their right to family visitations, lawyer Bashdar Hassan said on Thursday (April 22).
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Coordinator for International Advocacy Dindar Zebari said on Thursday (April 22) that the KRG looking into whether it will try suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants for crimes against humanity and genocide in courts in the Kurdistan Region for the first time.
Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs Deputy Chief of Staff Qaraman Kamal said on Thursday (April 22) that Iraq’s federal government has not yet implemented a security agreement designed to enhance cooperation and coordination between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced on Thursday (April 22) it had officially recorded 977 new cases of coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours.
The Syrian government received more than 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine via the Covax programme Thursday (April 22), state media said, in the first such shipment to government-held territory.
Head of the State of Law caucus in Iraq’s Council of Representatives Adnan al-Asadi died in Muthanna governorate on Thursday (April 22) after contracting COVID-19, according to local media outlets.
The Kurdistan Region marked Kurdish Journalism Day on (April 22) amid profound concerns about the state of press freedom in the Region, with at least five journalists spending the day behind bars.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was down on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Thursday (April 22).
Multiple defence batteries in Syria were struck by Israeli forces, the military said Thursday (April 22), after a missile targeted a village near a secretive nuclear site in southern Israel.
US President Joe Biden is preparing to recognize the World War I-era killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide, US media said Wednesday (April 22).
Head of the Kurdistan Region Water Directorate Ari Ahmed said on Wednesday (April 22) that 22 billion Iraqi dinars ($15 million) has been allocated to address water shortages in Sulaimani governorate.
The Council of Protesting Teachers said on Wednesday (April 21) that teachers have been engaged in a wide-ranging civil struggle against the damage caused to the education process by the authorities in the Kurdistan Region.
The United States has shared with Iran details of the sanctions it is prepared to lift under a return to a nuclear accord, a senior official said Wednesday (April 22).
Crude oil prices were down on Thursday (April 22) compared with the previous day.
The global chemical weapons watchdog stripped Syria of its voting rights on Wednesday (April 21) in an unprecedented punishment for poison gas attacks on civilians.
As the Kurdistan Region ramps up its COVID-19 vaccination program, some have called on government and party leaders to set a good example by getting inoculated publicly as a way to dispel misinformation about vaccine safety and urge everyone to get the jab.
In response to US government tweets advertising bounties for two Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leaders, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) said in a statement on Wednesday (April 21) that Washington’s actions will help to deepen conflict in Kurdistan.
Democratic Union Party (PYD) leadership member Salih Muslim said on Wednesday (April 21) that attacks by a Syrian government-affiliated force in Qamishli are a Russian gambit to boost the regime during Syria’s upcoming presidential election
Iraq’s Ministry of Health said on Wednesday (April 21) it recorded 8,698 new coronavirus infections and 38 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
Head of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) caucus in the Kurdistan Parliament Sherko Jawdat said on Wednesday (April 21) that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will be in violation of the recent budget agreement between Erbil and Baghdad if it opts to continue cutting public sector salaries.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (April 21) it had officially recorded 1,022 new cases of coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was up on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Wednesday (April 21).
The local security forces in Duhok arrested at least ten produce vendors near the city’s Nzarke neighborhood on Wednesday (April 21) as they tried to protest an apparent decision to bar them from selling on the side of the road.
Primary and secondary school students protested in front of Sulaimani’s General Directorate of Education on Wednesday (April 21), demanding the resumption of in-person classes.
Four states in the Middle East, led by Iran, made "ruthless and chilling" use of the death penalty in 2020 despite an overall decline during the Covid-19 pandemic, dominating the global toll of executions, Amnesty International said Wednesday (April 21).
Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers’ Diwan Omed Sabah said on Wednesday (April 21) that the decision about whether to pay public sector salaries in full or with a cut will be determined in the forthcoming KRG budget.
The Arab League, United Nations, European Union and the African Union on Tuesday (April 20) demanded an immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces from Libya.
The United States and European Union said Tuesday (April 20) that more work was needed to revive a 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear program, although Tehran reported progress after the latest diplomacy.
A camera follows a celebrity visiting an Iraqi family displaced by conflict, when they're ambushed by jihadists. The star is convinced they're done for until troops come to the rescue.
A member of the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish) was killed during clashes with the Syrian regime’s National Defense Forces (NDF) in Qamishli overnight, the Asayish said on Wednesday (April 21).
Crude oil prices were down on Wednesday (April 21) compared with the previous day.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Finance said in a statement late on Tuesday (April 20) that officials have not yet issued any decision about whether the salaries of public sector workers will once again be cut.
Libya's National Oil Corporation said crude exports have been suspended from one of the country's top terminals following the central bank's "refusal" to release budget funds Tuesday (April 20).
New Generation Movement President Shaswar Abdulwahid on Tuesday (April 20) provided a dinner for about 5,000 students living in dormitories in Kurdistan Region in honor of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The EU chief negotiator for the Iran nuclear deal talks said Tuesday (April 20) that "much more hard work" was needed to rescue the 2015 landmark agreement, following the latest discussions in Vienna.
The Kurdistan Green Party announced a campaign on Tuesday (April 20) promoting conservation in the Kurdistan Region and Sulaimani governorate, calling on the government to prepare water stores for an anticipated drought this summer.
Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday (April 20) demanded jail terms for 97 people who joined student protests against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's appointment of a party loyalist as the rector of a top university.
Iraq’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday (April 20) it recorded 8,208 new coronavirus infections and 34 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday (April 20) stressed that the KRG is committed to implementing the 2021 Federal Budget Law and called on Iraq’s federal government to do so as well, in particular by sending the Kurdistan Region’s budget share.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday (April 20) it had officially recorded 1,151 new cases of coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours.
Member of the Kurdistan Parliament’s Finance Committee Sarko Galali said on Tuesday (April 20) that 42 lawmakers have signed a petition to summon Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to answer questions from lawmakers over the continuation of “illegal” cuts to the salaries of public sector workers in the Kurdistan Region.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Interior Rebar Ahmed on Tuesday (April 20) called the use of drones in last week’s attack on Erbil Airbase a “dangerous” development.
Iraq dropped one spot on Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2021 World Press Freedom rankings to 163 out of 180, indicating deteriorating conditions for journalists across the country including in the Kurdistan Region.
Spokesperson for Sulaimani Health Directorate Yad Naqshbandi said on Tuesday (April 20) that he supports making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory in the Kurdistan Region.
For the third time since March 31, Head of the New Generation Movement caucus in the Kurdistan Parliament Kazim Faruq on Tuesday (April 20) was prevented from entering the Parliament building ahead of a session.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was down on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Tuesday (April 20).