Prime Minister Barzani meets with Japan’s Ambassador Iwai to discuss financial assistance

Prime Minister Barzani meets with Japan’s Ambassador Iwai to discuss financial assistance

Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) believes that Kurdistan will greatly benefit from the financial aid being sent to Iraq by Japan and that the autonomous region eagerly awaits their share. The Japanese Ambassador to Iraq, Fumio Iwai, met with Prime Minister Barzani this week to discuss the funding with a […]

KRG Prime Minister discusses Kurdistan’s future with Senator Lindsey Graham

KRG Prime Minister discusses Kurdistan’s future with Senator Lindsey Graham

This week, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met with United States Senator Lindsey Graham to discuss the many issues Kurdistan is currently facing. The two spoke in Erbil primarily about the continued efforts by the Peshmerga to subdue the Islamic State and the nearly 2 billion internally displaced people that have been affected […]

US Department of State preparing for sanctions on Iran

US Department of State preparing for sanctions on Iran

The United States is beginning to feel the effects of its shifting policy on Iran, mostly due to the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The State Department’s Director of Policy Planning, Brian Hook, addressed reporters this week and spoke about the decreasing value of Iranian currency. He elaborated that the rial rose to an […]

Kurdistan gears up for election season with an all new electoral registration staff

Kurdistan gears up for election season with an all new electoral registration staff

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has appointed 1,500 new employees to oversee voter registration for their parliamentary elections in September. Another 50,000 will be brought on under contract as well by the Kurdish electoral commission. When Iraq held its may parliamentary elections, widespread accusations of fraudulent voting practices were echoed throughout Kurdistan by several political […]

Angela Merkel’s uncertain future

Angela Merkel’s uncertain future

Last week the E.U. summit ended on a high note, producing an agreement that was going to put an end to the refugee crisis that has been rocking the EU. Today, the rejection of the deal by Horst Seehofer, Interior minister of Germany and leader of CSU (Christian Social Union), as inadequate, sends political shockwaves […]

Netherlands continues foreign aid efforts in the Middle East

Netherlands continues foreign aid efforts in the Middle East

The Netherlands Foreign Trade Minister, Sigrid Kaag, recently visited Kurdistan, Iraq and Jordan in a move to push rehabilitation efforts in the wake of Islamic State conflict. Primarily they will be focusing on the city of Mosul, further Peshmerga military advisory work and other humanitarian aid programs. Kaag addressed Netherlands press stating that, “It is of […]

UN Special Rapporteur calls for investigation and prosecution of Myanmar authorities responsible for Rohingya war crimes

UN Special Rapporteur calls for investigation and prosecution of Myanmar authorities responsible for Rohingya war crimes

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar/Burma, Yanghee Lee, spoke to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday. She said that, “I strongly recommend the persons allegedly responsible for the violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law be investigated and prosecuted by the ICC or a credible mechanism.” The […]

Kurdistan has begun regulating water for conservation efforts

Kurdistan has begun regulating water for conservation efforts

The Iraqi-Kurdistan city of Sulaymaniah has begun mandating the installation of meters that will record the use of water consumption in an effort to reduce waste. The director of water resources for the city, Sarbast Osman, reported that, “On Sunday, we will start installing water meters to record water consumption of households in Sulaymaniah. The […]

The United States looks to find cooperation with Turkey over Manbij

The United States looks to find cooperation with Turkey over Manbij

The United States is attempting to maintain its relationship with the Turkish government, especially now that the elections have concluded and Syria remains a major point of dispute between the two. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recognizes that current diplomatic relations are “difficult with the Turks,” but hopes future agreements of the Syrian city of […]

Erdogan is re-elected and Turkey moves away from a parliamentary government

Erdogan is re-elected and Turkey moves away from a parliamentary government

Early this week on Monday morning the Turkish parliamentary election and presidential vote concluded. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cemented his place as Turkey’s one-man ruler yet again through a sweeping victory, critics of the Turkish state are saying the new governmental system will give the President more power than ever before. Both the elections for […]

Erdogan won — now what?

Erdogan won — now what?

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the winner of the Turkish elections, he will be the president of Turkey until 2023. Erdogan’s impact on shaping Turkey’s political life is of such magnitude that one can only compare him to the founder of the modern Turkey state, Kemal Ataturk. Of course, the main difference between these two statesmen […]

Drug use is on the rise in Kurdistan

Drug use is on the rise in Kurdistan

Kurdistan Regional Government officials alongside various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are now claiming that Kurdistan and Iraq are in the middle of an illegal drug crisis. The number of citizens addicted to illicit substances has risen dramatically recently, authorities say this is due to several reasons. The leader of the Organization for Countering Drugs, Ibrahim Ramadhan, […]