Author: Sepal Zerdest

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday said that the Region’s judiciary authority faces “serious” issues and challenges but stressed that they are determined to resolve them.   President Barzani on Sunday hosted 60 newly-graduated judges and deputy prosecutors, including 24 women, in Erbil. He told them that they should not allow anyone to interfere with their affairs.   “We have definitely not said that and will not say that the freedom of the judiciary and the rule of law in the Kurdistan Region does not face any issues! We do not say that everything about the judiciary authority is fine and it is…

Instead of preparing for the harvest, Hassan Ibrahim is watching his crops dry up just when they should be ripening. “There are families that are around 15 members, and their living depends on this [farm land]. They don’t have a monthly [government] salary or anything,” said Ibrahim, a farmer in the Qaladze area of northern Sulaimani. Ibrahim’s lands are watered by the Lesser Zab River, Zei Bchuk in Kurdish, that originates in northwestern Iran’s Zagros Mountain range and follows a roughly 400-kilometer long course, marking a stretch of the border before turning into the Kurdistan Region where it fills the…

Kurdistan Region authorities are again receiving international criticism for their record on press freedom in connection with a new arrest and prison terms for journalists.New York-based press freedom watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday called for the immediate release of TV presenter Islam Kashani who was arrested on Thursday. And global human rights monitor Amnesty International on Thursday made an urgent appeal for the release of two jailed journalists, Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, who were both recently handed more jail time.The Kurdistan Region’s record on freedom of expression and the press has been under close scrutiny since…

Copenhagen (17/08 – 78) Kidnapping, intimidation, and blackmail are just some of the means used to hit enlistment quotas in Tajikistan. When conscription season comes around in Tajikistan, military recruiters begin resorting to desperate measures. Scooping young men off the streets in actions tantamount to kidnapping is standard. But that is just for starters. To pressure communities into giving up their sons, recruiters will disconnect the electricity, detain relatives, and shut down mosques. Eligible levees draw lots to decide who will be the one to hand themselves over. The hunting season for men of draft age, which applies to people…

PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin suspended the work of regional recruitment centers for mercenaries in Russia for a month. Source : ” Novaya Gazeta Europe” with reference to the profile telegram channel associated with the “Wagnerites” Literally : “Due to the temporary non-participation of Wagner PMC in a special military operation and moving to the Republic of Belarus, we are temporarily suspending the work of regional recruitment centers for Wagner PMC for a period of 1 month.” Details : At the same time, call centers for employment in PMCs continue to work. What kind of vacancies are open, is not specified. According to New Europe estimates, as of June…

Paris, Brussels (13/7 – 37.5) In Kazakhstan, Ablyazov was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for murder, another sentence related to the creation of a criminal community, embezzlement and money laundering. In Russia, the ex-banker was sentenced to 15 years for embezzlement of almost 60 billion rubles.The French authorities demanded that the former head of the Kazakh BTA Bank, Mukhtar Ablyazov, leave the country within 30 days. He announced this on his Facebook page (owned by Meta, whose activities in Russia are recognized as extremist and banned). Ablyazov’s extradition is simultaneously sought by Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The former…

Refugees in an Erbil camp complain about water shortages amid scorching weather following a dramatic drop in humanitarian aid provided by international organisations. Najah Ibrahim is from Derik (al-Malikiya) in northern Syria. She came to Erbil ten years ago, fleeing the civil war at home. She and her family live in Kawergosk camp which houses some 8,000 Syrian refugees. Water scarcity is one of their main concerns as temperature is above 40 Degrees Celsius.“They allow the flow of water [to our homes] once every four to five days. Last night, water came but it did not fully fill the water tanks.…

Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court says last year’s decision by the region’s parliament to extend its term was unconstitutional The Kurdistan Region of Iraq finds itself again in a state of uncertainty after the Supreme Federal Court’s decision last week that the extension of the region’s parliamentary term is unconstitutional. The May 30 ruling has cast doubt on parliamentary elections scheduled for November 18, leaving the Kurdish region in political upheaval. According to the court ruling, all decisions made by the regional parliament from the date of its term extension in October 2022 are considered null and void, including one to reactivate the region’s electoral…

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan on Monday said that all the airports in the war-torn nation were currently operationa The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan on Monday said that all the airports in the war-torn nation were currently operational. The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said that 20 foreign flights are using the country’s airfields daily, reports Xinhua news agency. Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the Transportation and Aviation Institute, the acting Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Hamidullah Akhundzada stressed the need for Afghanistan to be self-sufficient, the ministry said on Twitter. “Thirty students were sent to Uzbekistan…

Ahead of the upcoming elections on Sunday, May 21, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is scheduled to visit the Athens suburb of Zografou Monday. Later in the evening, at 7 p.m., Mitsotakis will address a New Democracy event at the Nikos Kazantzakis Theatre in Iraklio, Crete. Meanwhile, leftist SYRIZA opposition leader Alexis Tsipras is currently visiting Igoumenitsa in western Greece. Nikos Androulakis, the leader of PASOK-Movement for Change, will deliver a speech in Thessaloniki in northern Greece at the Vellidis Conference Center, also at 7 p.m. Source: Ekathimerini