Kurdistan Region nears 40,000 recorded coronavirus cases, 1,500 deaths: ministry
Shia cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday (September 18) warned Iraqi and Israeli leaders about attempting to pursue formal relations, following warming ties between Israel and several Gulf countries.
A senior Iranian health official has declared a coronavirus red alert covering the entire country as daily deaths and cases increase at an alarming rate, Iranian state TV reported on Friday (September 18).
The Netherlands is preparing a case against Syria at the UN’s highest court, seeking to hold the government of President Bashar al-Assad accountable for human rights violations, including torture and the use of chemical weapons, the Dutch foreign minister told parliament on Friday (September 18).
Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Faith Yildiz said on Friday (September 18) that Ankara has issued an official invitation for Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to visit Turkey.
For years, small boats have left northern Lebanon’s coast, packed with desperate migrants hoping to reach European shores. Until recently, they carried mostly Syrian and Palestinian refugees. But with Lebanon in freefall, its citizens have begun joining their ranks in larger numbers.
The federal Ministry of Health said on Friday (September 18) that it recorded 4,305 new cases of coronavirus infection and 76 deaths in the country.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health said on Friday (September 18) that it has recorded 605 cases of coronavirus infection in the Kurdistan Region over the past 24 hours and is nearing 40,000 total recorded infections.
More than a month after being arrested for the second time this year, teacher and activist Badal Barwari on Thursday (September 17) sent a message from prison in Duhok, calling on diplomats and international human rights organizations to speak out against the ongoing crackdown on critical voices in the governorate.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was up on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Friday (September 18).
Spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Housing and Construction Mariwan Mala Hassan promised on Thursday (September 17) that the Kurdistan Region will be connected by a network of railroads in the future, even floating that the project may start as early as the end of the year.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said on Friday (September 18) that two of its soldiers were killed and another wounded by rockets fired by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters in the Kurdistan Region.
Crude oil prices were up on Friday (September 18), compared with the previous day.
Jordan announced on Thursday (September 17) jail sentences of up to a year for anyone organising weddings, parties, funerals or social gatherings where more than 20 people attend, in the latest measures aimed at heading off a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
Secretary of the Kurdistan Teachers Union Abdulwahid Muhammad said on Thursday (September 17) that the union will review the government’s online education program, adding that its members believed in the importance of in-person education.
The United States hopes to move forward with naming Qatar as a major non-NATO ally, a status that provides foreign nations with benefits in defense trade and security cooperation, a senior US official said on Thursday (September 17).
A Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Thursday (September 17) it had intercepted and destroyed an explosive drone launched towards the kingdom, as Yemen’s Houthi group said it had hit a target at Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport.
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Hezbollah official and two Lebanon-based companies as the country experiences a deep economic crisis, accusing them of being linked to the Iran-backed Shia group.
The federal National Security Service said on Thursday (September 17) that four Islamic State (ISIS) militants were arrested in Nineveh governorate.
A group of Kurdish education teachers in Kirkuk held a press conference on Thursday (September 17) to condemn mistakes in the written questions for twelfth-grade final exams held in the governorate, saying that the errors could harm students’ grades.
Member of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) negotiating delegation Zagros Fatah said on Thursday (September 17) that Regional officials will visit Baghdad on September 20 to discuss the federal budgeting process.
The federal Ministry of Health said on Wednesday (September 16) that it recorded 4,326 new cases of coronavirus infection and 84 deaths in the country.
A NATO investigation into a naval standoff between French and Turkish ships in June has been rated too sensitive to discuss in public and does not apportion blame, as Paris and Ankara wage a war of words, diplomats have told Reuters.
Owners of ceremony halls in Duhok city protested in front of Duhok Provincial Council’s building on Thursday (September 17), demanding that they be able to reopen their halls.
The World Health Organization’s top emergency expert, asked on Thursday (September 17) about contradictory remarks by President Donald Trump and US health officials on COVID-19, said it was important for all countries to have “consistent messaging” for their public.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was stable on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Thursday (September 17).
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health said on Thursday (September 17) that it has recorded 680 cases of coronavirus infection in the Kurdistan Region over the past 24 hours.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Spokesperson said on Thursday (September 17) that the ninth cabinet of the KRG has implemented dozens of important projects regarding constructing and building roads in the Kurdistan Region since its formation.
A vote on a new constitution in Algeria in November marks a turning point for a country that has been rocked by huge protests and political upheaval and which is now struggling to move on from the tumult.
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said on Thursday (September 17) that three of its fighters were killed in an Islamic State (ISIS) attack in Kirkuk governorate overnight.
Syria is experiencing worsening gasoline shortages as a result of tougher US sanctions disrupting crucial fuel imports, its oil minister said on Wednesday (September 16), the latest crisis to hit the war-devastated country’s crumbling economy.
The United States said on Wednesday (September 16) it plans to impose sanctions on those who violate a UN arms embargo on Iran, which Washington says will now stay in place instead of expiring in October as agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal.
Crude oil prices were up on Thursday (September 17), compared with the previous day.
Turkey and Russia have moved closer to an agreement on a ceasefire and political process in Libya during their latest meetings in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk late on Wednesday (September 17).
US prosecutors on Wednesday (September 16) announced two Iranians had been indicted on allegations they were hackers connected with a string of cyber intrusions at US and foreign universities, a Washington-based think tank, non-profits, and other organizations.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Electricity Minister Kamal Muhammad said on Wednesday (September 16) that good steps have been taken in the process of privatizing the electricity sector in the Kurdistan region.
The Trump administration vowed on Wednesday (September 16) to impose the “full force” of US sanctions on any international arms manufacturers who deal with Iran once Washington sees a United Nations arms embargo on Tehran as reimposed.
NRT news presenter Shwan Adil was arrested and then released on bail on Wednesday (September 16) after new lawsuits were filed against him by a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) senior official and a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ministry.
The Kurdistan Region’s Counterterrorism Service (CTS) said on Wednesday (September 16) that it arrested a suspect at a hotel in Erbil in the killing of three members of a Kurdish family in Baghdad the previous night.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said on Wednesday (September 16) that a Katyusha rocket fell on a building in al-Qadisiya residential complex in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
The Erbil Anti-Drug Directorate said on Tuesday night (September 15) that it had apprehended two suspects on charges of narcotics usages and trafficking, seized 147 firearms and more than five kilo and a half of narcotics in Ozal city and Pungina villages in the Erbil governorate.
The federal Ministry of Health said on Wednesday (September 16) that it recorded 4,357 new cases of coronavirus infection and 82 deaths in the country.
Spokesperson for the Erbil Civil Defense Directorate Sarkawt Karash said that early on Wednesday (September 16) a fire broke out inside a supermarket in Erbil’s Bakhtiari neighborhood because of a power outage.
A New Generation Movement lawmaker on Wednesday (September 16) criticized the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet for holding its meetings over video conference, even though it consists of just twenty members, while the Kurdistan Parliament holds its sessions in the presence of all its 111 members.
Greek authorities were still struggling on Wednesday (September 16) to move thousands of migrants sleeping rough into a temporary camp, a week after the overcrowded Moria migrant camp burned down, while fears grew over a coronavirus outbreak on the island of Lesbos.
The bodies of a Kurdish family living in Baghdad’s al-Mansour area were found decapitated in their house on Tuesday night (September 15), according to a security source.
Turkish police detained more than 100 people, mostly soldiers on active duty, in an operation on Wednesday (September 16) targeting supporters of the Muslim preacher who Ankara says was behind a failed coup in 2016, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was down on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Wednesday (September 16).
The secretary of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Politburo said on Wednesday (September 16) that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has inflicted more damage on the Kurdistan Region than Turkey.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health said on Wednesday (September 16) that it has recorded 754 cases of coronavirus infection in the Kurdistan Region over the past 24 hours.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers met via video conference on Wednesday (September 16) and discussed the recent visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi to the Kurdistan Region, the latest visit of the KRG’s delegation to Baghdad and negotiations with the Iraqi government regarding oil, gas, budget and border crossings.
Leading Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt said on Wednesday (September 16) it seemed some people did not understand that French-led efforts to lift Lebanon out of crisis were the last chance to save the country.
Turkey said on Tuesday (September 15) it had extended the operations of its Yavuz energy drill ship in disputed Mediterranean waters off Cyprus until Oct. 12, in a move that could stir tension between the Greek Cypriot government and Ankara.
Crude oil prices were up on Wednesday (September 16), compared with the previous day.
An Algerian appeals court upheld the conviction of a journalist on Tuesday (September 15) in what rights campaigners called a new crackdown on dissent aimed at preventing the revival of mass protests that toppled veteran ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika last year.
Turkey must rein in Syrian rebels it supports in northern Syria who may have carried out kidnappings, torture and looting of civilian property, United Nations war crimes investigators said on Tuesday (September 15).
The UN Security Council on Tuesday (September 15) asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a special envoy to broker peace in Libya, although Russia and China abstained from voting on the resolution that also extended the UN mission in the country.
Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza into Israel on Tuesday (September 15), the Israeli military said, at same time as Israel and two Gulf Arab states signed normalisation agreements at the White House in Washington.
An Egyptian TV presenter is being investigated by the country’s media watchdog after she said women who wore the hijab were “100,000-times better” than those who shunned the traditional headscarf, sparking a fierce online debate.
It took Abu Haider and his relatives several hours to dig up his nephew’s grave and exhume the body at a cemetery in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf built especially for COVID-19 victims.
During a parliamentary session, the Kurdistan Parliament approved Patients’ Rights and Responsibilities in Kurdistan Region bill with 70 votes on Tuesday (September 15).
