The mayor of Qasre district Shakhawan Hussein told Kurdsat News that "an Iranian Kamikaze drone aimed at the bases and headquarters of the KDPI Peshmerga forces around Mergay village of Choman district, fell down before reaching its target."

"They are investigating the bombings and early reports suggest that there were no casualties, but fires broke out in the forests and their teams are working to contain the fire," the mayor explained.

Iranian artillery has been shelling the border areas and the border of the villages of Balakayety and Bradost for four days. On Monday, Iranian artillery bombed several Bradost villages, Kurdsat English reporter added.

Since the nationwide protests broke out in Iran at the death of Zhina Amini, who died in the custody of Iran's morality police, Iran has increased its military attacks on the KDPI, which accuses it of being behind the riots in Kurdish Iranian cities.

The KDPI maintains its headquarters and bases in the Kurdistan region's Koy Sanjaq city. Iranian artillery frequently bombs its bases in the region.

On September 8, 2018, Iran rocketed the KDPI headquarter in Koy Sinjaq while its top military leaders were busy meeting. One missile directly landed on the hall where the KDPI top leaders were meeting, killing 14. 

Officially at least 41 people have died since the unrest began, mostly protesters but including members of the security forces.

Last night, protests took place in Tehran, Yazd, Marivan, Kermanshah and Sanaa. Protesters took control of the streets, and security forces confronted the demonstrators, resulting in many casualties.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said about the suppression of the protests, "There is full democracy in Iran; Come and see it for yourselves. "He told all related authorities are working to investigate the death of Zhina Amini.

He called the images and videos of the suppression of protesters "fake". He added that there is "freedom of expression and freedom of people to do what they want" in the streets of Tehran.

Amir Abdollahian said that Mahsa Amini of Zhina Amini's death "has saddened all of us" and added, "All branches of power in Iran are working to see what happened."

According to the latest Hangaw Human Rights Organization report, 18 Kurds were killed in the protests. The Iranian Human Rights Organization said the death toll had risen to 58.

The protests over the death of Zhina Amini in the custody of the Iranian moral police have turned into a broader protest for women's rights in Iran.  

Some female protesters have removed and burned their hijabs in the rallies and cut off their hair, some dancing near large bonfires to the applause of crowds that have chanted "zan, zendegi, azadi" or "woman, life, freedom".

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian news agency quoted Vitaly Kim, head of the Regional Military Administration in Mykolaiv, saying that none of the Iranian-made drones fired at the region in southern Ukraine reached their target because of its forces' response.

"We already have a certain number of Iranian Kamikaze Drones that were shot down. None of them reached its target in the city of Mykolaiv. In addition, during the past day, the Ukrainian armed forces shot down an Orlan-10 drone," Kim added.

He added that the Russian forces bombed last night the center of the city of Mykolaiv with various weapons.

On Sunday, Kyiv accused Russia of bombing Odesa with Iranian-made drones, pointing out that the administrative building in the city center was targeted three times.

These Iranian drones are seen flying above Odesa in videos widely shared on the internet. The Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed they had destroyed four Iranian Shahid-136 drones in the Mykolaiv region with mid-range anti-air missiles on September 22.

A spokeswoman for the military command in the south, Natalia Gumniuk, confirmed that Iranian drones carried out the attack.

It is noteworthy that Ukraine had decided a few days ago to reduce the level of diplomatic relations with Iran because of providing Russian forces with unmanned aircraft, in a move that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as "collaboration with evil."

On the other hand, Tehran denied these "accusations", considering that they are merely Western campaigns aimed at causing discord between it and Kyiv.

The US intelligence had warned last July (2022) of Iranian plans to send hundreds of drones loaded with bombs to Moscow to help it with its war on Ukrainian soil.

In an interview during the "Al-Rafidain Forum for Dialogue", Iraqi Central Bank Governor Mustafa Ghalib indicated that "we are working on a new currency, a 20 thousand dinars banknote, after studies in order to keep pace with the requirements and match the neighboring countries, and we will start announcing it after completing their requirements," noting that "there is no intention to reduce or change the dollar exchange rate."

He added that since the change in the dollar's value, about 30 trillion and 500 billion dinars had increased government revenue and oil revenue. In the 2021 budget law, the Iraqi parliament voted to set the dinar price at 1,450 dinars per dollar. Now one US dollar is traded for around 1,480 dinars on the market.

Concerning the bank's branches, he said, "We have a branch in Basra that covers the southern region, and in Mosul to cover the north, and a branch in Erbil, and we are working to set up a branch in Najaf, but we need a second land to build safes and annexes, and we will start completing the procedures for establishing this branch to cover the middle Euphrates."

Regarding the removal of zeros on Iraqi bills, the governor said the removal of zeros on the Iraqi dinar requires legislation.

Hadi Amiri's Fatah coalition that is an essential member of the Shiite Coordination Framework, said “the Iraqi parliament is expected to resume sessions on Tuesday to complete the legal procedures for the formation of the new government.

Although protesters have ended their sits ins and camping in front of the since weeks the Parliament has not since its speaker suspended its sessions on July 30.

“One of the main topics of the meeting will be to fill the post of first deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament and the post will be given to independent MPs and MP Mahmoud Mandela will be nominated for the post, the Fatah coalition said.

On late July, Sadrist supporters stormed Baghdad’s Green Zone and entered the Parliament and other governmental buildings. The dissidents camped inside the parliament and have stalled parliament meetings since then.

The participants discussed the importance of women's role at the PUK leadership and decision-making levels and working further to improve women's roles in all spheres of life.

The meetings focused on the following issues. 

Some necessary procedures were adopted to realize them. • The retreat of women in the political sphere in the Kurdistan region. 
• Working to implement the 25 per cent quota for women enshrined in the rules of the PUK bylaw.
• Improving the role of PUK women in protecting the environment. 
• Creating a schedule to visit relatives of the martyrs. Also, caring more for orphans and the elderly.  
• Training women members of the PUK to supervise the organs of the PUK through political awareness programs.

 • The women of the PUK leadership announced their  concern with women's rights in any geography worldwide.

Regarding women's rights, the PUK women leaders said that "they would condemn the killing, torture, imprisonment of women and deprivation of their freedoms, especially in the death of Zhina Amini and her friends.

US Assistant Secretary of Defense for international security affairs Celeste Wallander and Peshmerga Minister Shorsh Ismail renewed a memorandum of understanding to continue supporting the Peshmerga in the operations to defeat ISIS, a joint statement said.

The memorandum, first signed in 2016, reaffirms the United States' commitment to supporting the Peshmerga's role in defeating ISIS as part of the Iraqi security forces.

It also highlights the progress made in the field of fundamental institutional reform and the commitment of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs to carry out further reforms aimed at further professionalizing its armed forces.

In a meeting with the Wallander, Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said, "the signing of the military memorandum of understanding marks a new era in improving ties between the Kurdistan region and the United States. 

Kurdistan Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani said that the memorandum will enable the US partners to fill the needs and shortcomings of the Peshmerga and agree with the United States that ISIS is still a real threat and will continue to cooperate with the United States.

The American Department of Defense funds the Peshmerga and provides the monthly salary of the Peshmerga forces. The International Coalition against ISIS has begun assisting the Peshmerga forces in expediting the integration process between the 70 and 80 Peshmerga forces. The memorandum of understanding places a particular emphasis on this matter. 

The pod, which is stranded on Ocean Beach, appears to be pilot whales, and at least half are presumed to be still alive, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said Wednesday.
 
The department said a team from the Marine Conservation Program was assembling whale rescue gear and heading to the area.

A resident told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the whales were visible near the entrance to Macquarie Harbour and described the stranding as a "massive event."
 
A local official urged people to stay clear.

Fourteen sperm whales were discovered Monday afternoon on King Island, part of the state of Tasmania in the Bass Strait between Melbourne and Tasmania's northern coast.
 
The department said it is not unusual for sperm whales to be sighted in Tasmania.
 
The pilot whale is notorious for stranding in mass numbers for reasons that are not entirely understood.
 
Two years ago, about 470 long-finned pilot whales were found beached on sandbars off Tasmania's west coast in Australia's largest mass-stranding on record.
 
After a weeklong effort, 111 of those whales were rescued, but the rest died.

Protests continue in Rojhelat, and in Paveh, protesters set fire to security forces' vehicles. Recent protests at the death of Zhina Amini first erupted in Kurdish areas of Iran and later spread to more than 50 cities and towns, the largest since the protests over rising fuel prices in 2019.

According to the latest report of Hangaw Human Rights Organization, nine people were killed, with over 450 injured and 500 others arrested in the demonstrations.

Security forces killed three youngsters in Shno city, according to Salim Haqiqi, a Kurdish writer who recently received an honorary doctorate for human rights. Milan Haqiqi, one of the victims killed in Shno, is Haqiqi's son. 

Online communication was severely restricted following a grave escalation of the protests, and the government shut down Whatsapp completely, while Instagram was only accessible through a VPN. Most Iranians access the internet through VPN, and Instagram's partial shutdown is because the Iranian government primarily uses Instagram to communicate its message to its people. 

Iran's government took similar measures to restrict internet communication in the 2019 fuel price protests. Around 1,500 people were killed in the 2019 uprisings.

In a meeting held today, Thursday, at PUK political bureau in Sulaimani, coordination between the Kurdistan region, PUK and Federal officials on the disputed territory affairs was considered necessary. 

Executive of the PUK Political Bureau Aso Mamand chaired the meeting and was also attended by the director of the General Board for Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region; the heads of PUK regional headquarters in Kirkuk, Sinjar, Duzkhurmatu, Makhmur and Khanaqin discussed unifying PUK’s and Kurdish parties’ positions toward the isolated territories to defend the wishes and demands of its people, and improve living standards in the region.

Aso Mamand explained PUK’s firm position in helping the people of the isolated territories and said that the PUK considers the people and their territory part of the party’s long-term strategy and in the light of President Mam Jalal’s policies for coexistence and service to the Kurdish people. 

“The PUK shall consider a comprehensive Kurdish policy on all isolated areas, and together, we need to defend it and make it an integral part of all Kurdish parties’ policies, especially the PUK, which represents the people of the region in the Iraqi council of representatives, Mamand declared in the meeting. 

The participants also discussed drafting a necessary project for the isolated areas and instructed the PUK Media Bureau and PUK media outlets to pay more media coverage to the areas.

Article 104 of the 2005 Iraqi constitution stipulates isolated Kurdistan region territories, and states that the region must hold a referendum and decide whether it wants to be with the Kurdistan regional government of the Iraqi central government. 

 
The move comes after Russia's frustration with its losses in Ukraine and its only resort to reducing or entirely cutting off European customers from its energy. Also, winter is approaching, and experts warn of a disaster if Europe continues to subsist on the current energy level. 
 
"We will have to be able to produce up to 60% more electricity than we do today," he stressed, noting that decarbonizing this electricity will be the major challenge, Euractiv reported. 

French President Emmanuel Macron was set to unveil a plan on Thursday to boost renewable energy in France, including offshore wind farms and solar power, as the country is lagging behind most of its European neighbors. 

France set the goal to build about 50 offshore wind farm facilities in 2050 in France, according to ABC News. 

Macron wants the country to gain more independence in terms of electricity production. The president went on a boat Thursday to visit France's first offshore wind farm off the port of Saint-Nazaire in western France, Associated Press reported. 
 
In a speech later that day, the French presidency said he was to detail a range of measures meant to facilitate and accelerate renewable energy projects.
 
Hopes to end the war in Ukraine are not insight, and countries across Europe have resorted to unilateral and Union-wide efforts to gain access to energy to survive the coming winter.
 

Sulaimani's Western Security Directorate or Asaysh said in a statement that, "based on the prior intelligence, and after receiving the approval of the judge of the investigation court, our forces conducted an operation to arrest the terrorist (H, J, M) who is the father of the terrorist (A, H, J). Even though, Asaysh only disclosed terrorists' initials.  

The terrorist was seen with the most wanted terrorist Mullah Shuan and sent a vehicle laden with explosives to explode the positions of the Peshmerga forces during the war against ISIS. The terrorist appears in a social media video with one of the most popular and wanted ISIS terrorist operatives, telling their audience that "God willing," they would kill the Peshmergas.

Sulaimani Security forces arrested the terrorist in a special operation in the town of Gopala in Sulaimani on September 14, 2022. 

According to the statement, the terrorist (H, J, M) is originally from the province of Salah al-Din's Shargata district. In 2005 he joined al-Qaeda terrorist group and worked to hide and prepare ammunition to blow up coalition forces.

In 2014, ISIS occupied the Shargat district, he and his three sons, named only by their initials (1-A.H, 2-B. H 3-M.H), joined ISIS and became ISIS fighters. When ISIS was eliminated in Salah al-Din, they moved to Mosul, ISIS provincial capital in Iraq.

Sulaimani's Western Security Directorate published a detailed biography of the terrorist. After the fall of ISIS in Mosul, he moved to Syria and settled in Dir al-Zour, another ISIS stronghold which until now ISIS maintained a significant presence in the city. He then went to Turkey and returned to Iraq in 2020. Finally, he moved to the Kurdistan Region and hid in Sulaimani province until his arrest, according to Sulaimani's Asaysh.

The Western Sulaimani Security Directorate also revealed the fate of the three sons of the captured terrorist H. J. M.

His first son, terrorist A. H, also known as (Abood) blew himself up in a terrorist act. Terrorist B. H, was killed in Mosul. One of his sons still lives in Turkey, Asaysh said in the statement.

The investigation court of Sulaimani has detained him according to article 2 of the Terrorism Act, the investigation continues.

The security forces have arrested several ISIS terrorists in Sulaimani and Halabja governorates and have foiled a few terrorist acts in the Kurdistan region. 

In a message directed to the Union and seen by KurdSat English, Talabani states, we appreciate the service Kurdistan's religious scholars have offered our nation, who have always placed importance on a culture of tolerance, coexistence, social reconciliation and rejection of extremism and violence against women in particular and human beings in general.

"I congratulate you and all Kurdistan religious scholars and Mullas on the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the Kurdistan Islamic Religious Scholars Union, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region said.

The Union of Islamic Religious Scholars of Kurdistan, as a religious, national, and professional organization, has played a leading role in defending the public's interests and has been an umbrella gathering religious scholars and teachers, the DPM added. 

Our ancestors believed that turquoise stones were broken off from the sky voluntarily, and God sent them to earth for blessings. Turquoise stones are still used by Kurdish nomads to ward off evil spirits. Yarsanis extensively use turquoise in their art and clothing whereas among the Yezidi Kurds wearing it is forbidden since they see it as the color of their first archangel Tawusi Melek.

The turquoise stones, coins and corals are regularly found on Kurdish necklaces, especially richly decorated necklaces known as “Gardana.” It was believed that turquoise adds magical significance to the decoration. Women often wore small, gold earrings or nose rings decorated with turquoise stones called " khazem" or " lutawana."

Images:

1- A Kurdish necklace, from rural areas of northern Kurdistan, the coins are dated 1875 CE. (Source: Nada, on Ethnic Jewels).

2- Kurdish amulet necklace, based on the coin and the jewelry style it could be dated to the 19th century.

3- Yarsani painting.

4 – Mekhek or Mêxek in Kurdish that translates into (cloves) necklace.