Iraq’s oil production threatened as protests continue

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil spokesman, Asim Jihad, claims that the country’s oil production is safe despite the ongoing protests throughout the nation. The civil unrest has gotten particularly bad in Basra, where the majority of Iraq’s oil fields are located. Asim Jihad told reporters that, “Production and exports from southern Iraq are stable as per normal levels,” […]

Kurdish Prime Minister Barzani working to establish peace between Turkey and Kurdistan Workers’ Party

Kurdistan’s politicians and citizens would like to see Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani successfully broker a peace agreement between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkey. It’s a bold move by Barzani, considering that the last peace agreement was mediated by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which has historically been an enemy of the Prime Minister’s party; the […]

The Turkish government dismisses thousands of employees with ties to the failed 2016 coup

The government of Turkey has expelled 18,632 government employees, including members of the educational sector and members of the military. They also closed down several news outlets during directives covering the nations state of emergency over the weekend. The terminations were allegedly linked to the banned Hizmet Movement; an organization the Turkish government claims was […]

The hunt is on: NATO allies begin training against their own subs near the arctic

Anti-submarine warfare is an issue of increasing concern among NATO allies, as the Russian Navy has not only demonstrated a more aggressive stature throughout the Baltic Sea and Atlantic Ocean in recent months, but has made some particularly concerning claims about the training they’ve been conducting. Now, seven surface combatant vessels and three sub-hunting aircraft […]

Flying Train that Carries 1000’s of Passengers?

A Turkish architecture firm named Dahir Insaat has designed a concept for a flying train that would serve as a form of mass transportation. The multi-level flying train could carry up to 2,000 passengers and would fly at a low level while drawing power from a tether attached to the track. The flying train would […]

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

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?

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

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, […]

Turkish state charges Amnesty International Chair with terrorism connections

Last Thursday the Turkish high court ruled that Amnesty International’s chair, Taner Kilic, would remain in prison for the duration of his trial on charges of collaborating with the Kurdish PKK terror group. Amnesty’s Secretary General Salil Shetty stated that, Today’s heartbreaking decision to keep our colleague in jail is yet another travesty of justice. After more […]

PKK ambushes Turkish patrol at extremely close range

Turkey is ramping up their anti-PKK and YPG operations in the Kurdistan region. Presently they are pursuing the PKK headquarters located in Qandil, a mountainous region in northern Iraq. According to reports, the Turkish military has setup 11 combat outposts on the northern Iraq/Turkish border and is using the forward operations points to launch patrols […]