Author: Silan Asur

Iraq pocketed over $9 billion in crude oil sales in the month of September, the country’s highest in monthly oil revenue since August last year. In its preliminary monthly report on Tuesday, Iraq’s oil ministry said that the country exported more than 103 million barrels of crude oil in the previous month, at a rate of 3.4 million barrels per day, and an average price of over $92 per barrel. The sales brought in nearly $9.49 billion dollars, a significant increase from August’s $8.99 billion, and Iraq’s highest monthly oil revenue since August 2022 when it collected over $9.68 billion.…

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is looking to fill gaps in data on the impact of climate change as it takes steps to combat the global threat, a senior advisor to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Friday.  “We are working on having better data on the Kurdistan Region. The data about the whole of Iraq says that it is really in danger – fifth among other countries,” Bayan Sami Abdulrahman, senior advisor to PM Barzani for foreign affairs and climate change, told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai. The Middle East is heating…

Frankfurt (3/12 – 12) The relatively rapid cohesion of disparate nations, historically competitive or even at war with one another, into the European Union came about in part because of the ongoing threat from the Soviet Union. The specter of a tank invasion from Warsaw Pact nations, today forgotten, was such a reality that the German government kept a major portion of its gold bullion across the Atlantic. The USSR, an ally in World War II after being double-crossed by Hitler – remember the “Non-Aggression Pact signed in Moscow by von Ribbentrop and Molotov – was soon appraised as a…

The pillars of the Barsireen bridge located in Erbil province’s Rawanduz district have been damaged due to heavy rains, Balakayati river’s rising water levels threatening to cause further damage. Villagers, who use the bridge to move from one village of the Rawanduz area district to another, stressed the importance of repairing the bridge. “In 2018, due to heavy rains and snow, the river’s water level increased and reached the bridge, which collapsed in several parts and damaged the middle pillar,” Shaduman Anwar, a villager, told Rudaw’s Andam Jabar on Monday. “Of course, from today onwards, there will be more problems…

The body of a young Kurdish migrant who went missing in the forests of Bulgaria around two months ago was returned to his hometown of Duhok on Friday. Haji Karavan Shamo, 27, left his home in Duhok and set off for Europe through illegal and dangerous smuggling routes on August 4. He would soon lose contact with his family, according to Emad Kochar, his cousin. The family was informed of Haji’s death in early September, which was later confirmed by relatives residing in the UK who traveled to Bulgaria to locate his body. The body was returned to Zakho after…

London (04/11 – 50) US government last week intervened in a lawsuit triggered by Hamilton Reserve Bank in St Kitts & Nevis. Somehow, a small bank based in a county with 50,000 inhabitants and GDP of under $1billion has amassed a $250million face-value stake in a Sri Lankan bond. The mysterious ‘global financier’ aka cunning vulture investor, Benjamin Wey is suing Sri Lanka. This specific bond was issued in happier times in 2012 and lacks some now-common clauses that make bonds easier to restructure. HRB’s $250million is enough in theory to veto any restructuring proposal Sri Lanka makes to that…

Brussels (4/11 – 25) It’s an old story, a broken record: war crimes in the Middle East, encouraged and stoked by outsiders with their own agenda. Israel, offended and humiliated by the 7 October attacks (for which they had repeatedly been warned by Egypt. Hamas, encouraged and bankrolled by Israel initially, in its effort to undercut the appeal of Al-Fatah, has turned into Frankenstein’s Monster, breaching a border that was trumpeted as the most invincible in the world, with 24/7 surveillance, sensors to detect tunnels, full camera coverage and on and on – yet several thousand Hamas warriors parachuted in…

After the Iraqi Council of Ministers directed the loan of 700 billion Iraqi dinars for three months (total 2.1 trillion) monthly to cover salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants, the Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday thanked top Iraqi and Kurdish officials for the agreement. Iraq’s Council of Ministers on Sunday agreed to loan a total of 2.1 trillion Iraqi dinars to the Kurdistan Region to cover the salaries of civil servants for a period of three months. The decision was highly welcomed by PM Barzani. “We were able to reach an appropriate agreement with the Iraqi federal Prime Minister,…

A two-day conference was held in Sulaimani to raise awareness about autism in the Kurdistan Region, where stigma largely remains, attended by Iraqi and Kurdish officials, NGOs, as well as families of children with autism.  The National Autism Conference in Iraq (NACIQ), was organized by MERG Foundation for Training and Strategic Studies, and was the first of its kind in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. “The conference started after we had a study on autism last year in the cities of Erbil, Sulaimani, and Halabja. The results of our research showed us that only a report of the results of…

Ukrainians and Israelis should not support those who harm relations between the two countries. Even when it comes to social networks. This opinion was expressed by Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Reuven Asman in an interview with RBC-Ukraine . He noted that Ukraine and Israel must do everything possible to prevent deterioration of relations. In his opinion, it is beneficial for both countries. “And not only profitable, but also correct, fair. A terrible war is going on in Ukraine. Israel helps, but you can try more. Moreover, I am ready to be authorized by the Ukrainian side, I will go to Israel, I will…