Iraq deputy speaker threatens oil, electricity ministers with confidence vote if electricity issues not addressed
Iraq is currently seeking a $6 billion loan facilitated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to reduce a predicted record budget deficit, according to Minister of Finance Ali Allawi.
Council of Representatives’ First Deputy Speaker Hassan al-Kaabi warned on Sunday (January 24) that the lawmakers could withdraw confidence from the federal oil and electricity ministers if levels of electricity provision do not improve.
Rights defenders fear Iraq may give the green light to a spree of executions of convicted jihadists in a show of strength, days after a deadly suicide attack in Baghdad.
Crude oil prices were mixed on Monday Sunday (January 25) compared with the previous day.
Greece and Turkey will bow to EU and NATO pressure on Monday (January 25) and hold the first direct talks over their explosive eastern Mediterranean standoff in four years.
Heads of Parwezkhan border crossing Ali Tofiq and Garmian Custom Directorate Hussein Ahmed have been arrested over fraud and smuggling, a source told NRT on Sunday (January 24).
Israel opened an embassy in the United Arab Emirates Sunday (January 24), its foreign ministry said, in a historic move four months after the Jewish state and the Gulf country normalised ties.
Erbil Police Directorate said on Sunday (January 24) that it arrested a man, who works as a tailor for women’s clothing, for putting a hidden camera in the changing room of his store.
More than half of children in war-torn Syria are missing out on education, the UN children's agency UNICEF said Sunday (January 24), with a third of schools in ruins or commandeered by fighters.
US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller said on Sunday (January 24) that the US wants to resolve its differences with Iran through diplomatic means.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Finance and Economy announced on Sunday (January 24) that a full accounting of government income and expenditures will be included in the draft general budget for the first time when it is presented to the Kurdistan Parliament later this year.
Deputy Head of the Kurdistan Parliament’s Peshmerga Affairs Committee Osman Sedari said on Sunday (January 24) that lawmakers should prioritize passing the Martyrs and Veteran Peshmerga Pensions and Privileges Law currently under consideration.
Member of the Council of Representatives’ Finance Committee Jamal Kochar said on Saturday night (January 23) that the latest Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation sent to Baghdad holds no leverage and cannot affect the federal government’s budget decisions.
Head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate and Arab Journalists Union Moayad al-Lami said on Saturday (January 23) that 475 journalists have been killed in Iraq since 2003, including 55 who were killed while covering the war against Islamic State (ISIS).
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was stable on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Sunday (January 24).
Iraqi President Barham Salih’s office recently signed off on more than 340 death sentences issued by courts specializing in terrorism and criminal cases, an official said on Sunday (January 24).
Two women serving as officials in Hasakah canton were found shot dead on Friday evening (January 22) in al-Dashisha district after being kidnapped by unidentified gunmen the previous evening.
Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) lawmaker Omar Gulpi on Saturday (January 23) accused the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of responsibility for cross-border smuggling in Sulaimani governorate, adding that the practice is also widespread in areas controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Crude oil prices were stable on Sunday (January 24) compared with the previous day.
At least 11 fighters from Iraq's state-sponsored Hashid al-Shaabi force were killed in an ambush by the Islamic State (ISIS) group north of the capital on Saturday, Hashed security sources said.
More than 20 people were injured and several homes destroyed by a large explosion Saturday (January 23) in a residential area of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said on Saturday (January 23) that seven Islamic State (ISIS) militants were killed in two separate airstrikes conducted by the International Coalition in Kirkuk governorate and Qarachogh Mountain, located 60 km southwest of Erbil.
The federal Ministry of Oil said on Saturday (January 23) that Iraq exported more than one billion barrels of oil during 2020, noting that Chinese and Indian companies were the largest buyers, followed by American companies.
Saudi Arabia intercepted a "hostile target" over Riyadh on Saturday (January 23), said state media in the kingdom which has come under repeated attack from Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels since 2015.
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Saturday (January 23) that Iraq plans to call on the new Biden administration to continue the bilateral strategic dialogue begun under former president Donald Trump.
The US Department of State said on Friday (January 22) that it is suspending for 90 days a program aimed at enabling Iraqis who acted as translators or aides for US officials to seek refuge in the US because of potential irregularities in the program.
The US embassy in Baghdad said on Saturday (January 23) that the US has provided nearly $20 million to support the Iraqi government efforts to secure the International Zone.
Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Baghdad Fars Esa said on Saturday (January 23) that a KRG delegation will visit Baghdad on Sunday for talks about the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was up on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Saturday (January 23).
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said on Saturday (January 23) that three rockets were fired at Baghdad International Airport overnight.
Crude oil prices were mixed on Saturday (January 23) compared with the previous day.
Nineveh Provincial Council member Ali Khazir on Friday (January 22) argued that Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s reshuffle of leading security officials following a deadly suicide bombing in Baghdad are merely cosmetic changes that do not address deeper problems.
Iran on Friday (January 22) called on the new US administration to "unconditionally" lift sanctions imposed by Donald Trump on the Islamic republic to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, warning against any concessions.
Twin suicide blasts in Baghdad claimed by the Islamic State group have exposed gaps within Iraq's security forces, weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic, rival armed groups and political tensions.
Three people were wounded in a Turkish airstrike in a village in Duhok’s Amedi district on Friday (January 22).
Members of the European Parliament on Thursday (January 22) called on Turkey to immediately and unconditionally release former Co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas, who has been detained by the Turkish authorities for more than four years on terrorism-related charges.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was down on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Friday (January 21).
Following a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Friday (January 22) sacked several prominent security officials and warned that others would lose their jobs if they did not protect the lives of the people.
Four civilians, including two children, were killed by Israeli strikes on the Syrian province of Hama at dawn on Friday (January 22), the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
Crude oil prices were down on Friday (January 22) compared with the previous day.
Within hours of taking office, President Joe Biden undid some of Donald Trump's most controversial immigration policies and sparked cautious hope that millions living in the shadows could one day get legal status in the US.
Islamic State (ISIS) early Friday (January 22) claimed responsibility for twin suicide blasts on a commercial district in Baghdad the previous day that killed at least 32 people and wounded 110 others.
Frantically dashing between hospital beds, Baghdad residents tried to track down relatives who may have died Thursday (January 21) in a twin suicide blast -- the deadliest attack in years.
Forensics teams in war-shattered Libya have discovered 10 more bodies in mass graves in a once militia-controlled town outside the capital Tripoli, the Government of National Accord said on Thursday (January 21).
Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Thursday (January 21) called on Egypt to release two journalists who disappeared about two weeks ago on charges including "spreading false news".
Turkey's central bank on Thursday (January 21) kept its main interest rate steady at 17 percent after two consecutive hikes aimed at slowing down inflation and supporting the slumping lira currency.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Planning Dara Rashid said on Thursday (January 21) that a KRG delegation will travel to Baghdad on Saturday or Sunday for meetings with federal officials.
The US dollars to the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rates was up on the Kurdistan Region’s currency markets on Thursday (January 21).
The European Union will on Thursday (January 21) press Turkey to make good on recent gestures from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to calm tensions, as Ankara's foreign minister visits Brussels.
Iraq's Ministry of Health said on Thursday (January 21) that 32 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in a rare suicide bomb attack in central Baghdad.
During a visit to the Kurdistan Region, Federal Minister of Industry and Minerals Manhal al-Khabbaz said on Wednesday (January 21) that his ministry will launch a three-phase plan to improve Iraq’s industrial sector.
Crude oil prices were down on Thursday (January 21) compared with the previous day.
Senior leaders from the Kurdistan Region released congratulatory messages to US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday (January 20) as the pair took office at the start of a new administration, a reflection of Biden’s long history of engagement with the Region and its leaders.
Three days after finding approximately $150,000 in cash, a man in Sulaimani was told by police on Wednesday (January 20) that he has to turn the money over to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the event that no one claims it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday (January 20) urged new US President Joe Biden to "strengthen" a long-standing alliance between the two countries, partly to confront the "threat" posed by Iran.
Tehran on Wednesday (January 20) accused Washington "hostage-taking" after the United States arrested an Iranian academic on charges of acting as an agent of the Islamic republic, ISNA news agency reported.
Egypt and Qatar agreed Wednesday to restore diplomatic relations, Egypt's foreign ministry said, after a three-year-long Saudi led freeze on ties with Doha ended this month.
Joe Biden took charge as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday (January 21) with an upbeat call to heal a nation torn by deep schisms as he immediately erased some of Donald Trump's most divisive policies.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday (January 20) asserted that the KRG has always worked to have excellent relations with the federal government and that he wanted to solve disagreements between Erbil and Baghdad in accordance with the constitution.
Representative of the Communications Department of the Erbil/Koya East Asayish Directorate Darbaz Sabr said on Wednesday (January 20) that a gunman shot up a barbershop at around 03:00 a.m. that morning, spraying it with at least seventeen bullets.
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