KRG cancels Baghdad trip as budget negotiations stall ahead of vote
Deputy Head of the Kurdistan Parliament’s Integrity Committee Saeed Harki said on Wednesday (February 24) that the committee thinks that the reform process at the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs is being performed “feebly.”
Police in Australia and Canada arrested four people accused of trying to extort a senior Iraqi politician, after what was described Wednesday (February 24) as a year-long campaign of intimidation.
Renewed rocket attacks on US targets in Iraq show Iran-aligned factions are heaping pressure on the government while Tehran may be seeking leverage over America's new administration, analysts say.
Turkish police on Wednesday (February 24) arrested two suspected members of the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group in Ankara and released a seven-year-old girl from Iraq's Yazidi religious minority, media reports said.
An expected trip to Baghdad by a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) negotiating delegation was scrapped on Wednesday (February 24) because neither side appeared willing to compromise about their budget demands.
Iraq’s Ministry of Health said on Wednesday (February 24) it recorded 4,306 new coronavirus infections and thirteen deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
The Turkish parliament will examine lifting some opposition lawmakers' immunity, its speaker said on Wednesday (February 24), as the pro-Kurdish party comes under renewed pressure from the government.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (February 24) it had officially recorded 176 new cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was down on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Wednesday (February 24).
Turkish warplanes hit targets in Qupi Sardaran near Warte sub-district and the Qandil Mountains on Wednesday (February 24).
Following an investigative report by NRT about illegal activities at restaurants and bars in the Kurdistan Region, Sulaimani Municipality said on Wednesday (February 24) that is closing down thirteen premises in the city’s Sarchinar neighborhood for violating tourism and health regulations.
Members of the First Regiment of the 12th Brigade of the Peshmerga Forces in Duhok’s Shekhan district protested on Wednesday (February 24), demanding that they also be paid three months’ worth of salaries in full like other units controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.
Crude oil prices were down on Wednesday (February 24) compared with the previous day.
Countries are making progress towards greater gender equality, but women around the world continue to face regulations that limit their economic opportunities -- and the pandemic has created new challenges, the World Bank said Tuesday (February 23).
A notorious Iraqi preacher said to be the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group's de facto leader in Germany was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison by a German court on Wednesday (February 24).
Head of the New Generation caucus in the Kurdistan Parliament Kazim Faruq on Tuesday (February 23) criticized “well-fed” officials from the ruling parties for encouraging youths in the Kurdistan Region to work in the private sector when it is just as dominated by the parties as the public sector.
US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi spoke about this week's rocket strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad, the White House said Tuesday (February 23), with both leaders saying those responsible should be "held fully to account."
In an apparent doubling down on a campaign to punish free expression in the Kurdistan Region, the Court of Appeals in Erbil issued arrest warrants for journalist Difaa Harki and activist Qaidar Hussein on Tuesday (February 23), both of whom are from Duhok governorate’s Akre district.
Iraq’s Health and Environment Minister Hassan al-Tamimi said on Tuesday (February 23) that a plane loaded with China's Sinopharm vaccine will arrive in Iraq on March 1.
Syria's rebel-held northwest will receive its first shipment of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine by the end of next month, the World Health Organization said Tuesday (February 23).
One man was killed in a shooting in Erbil governorate’s Khalifan town on Tuesday (February 23) and another man who was with him was wounded.
Turkey on Tuesday (February 23) accused Greek fighter jets of "harassing" a Turkish boat in the Aegean as tensions rise again between the NATO allies over maritime issues.
Secretary of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Politburo Fazil Mirani said on Tuesday (February 23) that his party will hold its Fourteenth Congress on May 26 in Duhok city.
Iran confirmed it had begun implementing new restrictions on inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog Tuesday (February 23) after the United States failed to lift economic sanctions by a weekend deadline.
Iraq’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday (February 23) it recorded 4,181 new coronavirus infections and sixteen deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Tuesday (February 23) said that it would allocate more than 349 billion Iraqi dinars ($239.2 million) for infrastructure projects in the Kurdistan Region’s four governorates.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday (February 23) it had officially recorded 129 new cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours.
Commander of the Peshmerga forces in Sinjar Qassim Shasho said on Tuesday (February 23) that the Kurdistan Region’s military will stay out of any potential conflict between Turkey and Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) militias if there is fighting in the district.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Finance and Economy said on Tuesday (February 23) that it will pay the salaries of public sector employees and pensioners over the course of four days beginning on Thursday.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was down on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Tuesday (February 23).
A member of the Kurdistan Parliament has filed a lawsuit against a group that advocates for increased protections for women and LGBTIQ people in the Kurdistan Region, accusing it of working against traditional family values, with the organization responding that the MP is using homophobia as a way to stir up controversy ahead of this autumn’s elections.
South Korea and Iran have agreed a way forward that could see billions of dollars of frozen oil money unblocked, Seoul said Tuesday (February 23), but signaled that the agreement was effectively subject to US approval.
An economic advisor to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) prime minister told NRT on Monday (February 22) that the Region brings in an estimated 270 billion Iraqi dinars (($184.7 million) in non-oil income each month.
President Joe Biden ordered flags lowered to half mast Monday (February 22) after the United States crossed the "heartbreaking" milestone of 500,000 Covid-19 deaths, while Britain eyed lifting lockdowns in the latest sign of global gains against the pandemic.
Crude oil prices were up on Tuesday (February 23) compared with the previous day.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Agriculture Begard Talabani said on Monday (February 22) that she does not deny that there are smuggled products being sold in the Kurdistan Region.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday (February 22) the Islamic republic could boost uranium enrichment to 60 percent if needed, defiantly vowing to "not back down on the nuclear issue".
The Court of Appeals in Erbil has issued an arrest warrant for the brother of an activist who was controversially sentenced to six years in prison last week along with four others in a case that has raised serious concerns about rule of law and respect for freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region.
A volley of rockets on Monday (February 22) targeted the high-security zone in the Iraqi capital that is home to the US embassy, the military and security sources said.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Spokesperson Jotiar Adil said on Monday (February 22) that the Supreme Committee for Coronavirus Response has decided to impose travel restrictions between the Kurdistan Region and governorates controlled by the Baghdad in order to mitigate the spread of new COVID-19 variants.
A young man was shot dead on Monday (February 22) during a protest in the capital of Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province over poor public services, a local medical source told AFP.
Iraq’s Ministry of Health said on Monday (February 22) it recorded 3,864 new coronavirus infections and twenty-three deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
A negotiating delegation representing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will travel to Baghdad on Monday (February 22) to continue talks with federal officials in an attempt to finalize an agreement about the draft 2021 Federal Budget Law.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced on Monday (February 22) it had officially recorded 157 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours.
Iraq’s federal government has transferred 268 billion Iraqi dinars ($183.6 million) to the Kurdistan Region to be distributed to farmers as payment for wheat sales in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
A victim who was wounded in the recent rocket attack on Erbil succumbed to his injuries and died at a hospital on Monday (February 22).
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Monday (February 22) announced that it would pay last month’s salary to the employees at the Kurdistan Region General Nationality Directorate in full.
The Kurdistan Region’s Supreme Judicial Council has announced that it will form a specialized court to conduct probes into corruption cases, a move previously requested by the Kurdistan Region Commission of Integrity.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was stable on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Monday (February 22).
Spokesperson for Iraq’s Joint Operations Command Major General Tahisn Khafaji said on Monday (February 22) that two Islamic State (ISIS) militants were killed in an airstrike in the Wadi Shay area of southern Kirkuk governorate.
Leader of Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party (KSDP) Hama Haji Mahmoud on Sunday (February 21) predicted that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government will fail to reach an agreement about the Kurdistan Region’s budget share despite numerous meetings aimed at resolving their differences.
Some fled after the US-led invasion, others during sectarian bloodshed and more following jihadist attacks. Iraq's last two violent decades have hollowed out its Christian community which dates back two millennia.
Crude oil prices were up on Monday (February 22) compared with the previous day.
Amid growing outcry over the sentencing of five journalists and activists in what many view as a politically motivated trial, the Kurdistan Region Independent Commission for Human Rights hosted diplomats from four European consulates on Sunday (February 21) to discuss the deteriorating state of human rights and freedom of the press and expression in the Region.
The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs said on Sunday (February 21) that it will pay three months’ worth of salaries in full to the brigades under its control.
Saudi Arabia's state arms producer signed an agreement Sunday (February 21) with US contractor Lockheed Martin to form a joint venture, a statement said, as Washington reviews weapons sales to the kingdom.
A driver died on Sunday (February 21) after his truck turned over at the Kele checkpoint near Gera village in Sulaimani’s Pshdar district.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced on Sunday (February 21) it had officially recorded 150 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours.
Iraq’s Ministry of Health said on Sunday (February 21) it recorded 3,187 new coronavirus infections and 27 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours.
Turkish prosecutors on Sunday (February 21) launched a probe into a pro-Kurdish MP suspected of having travelled to the Kurdistan Region where 13 Turkish citizens were killed in a failed rescue.
