News
According to the survey, 15-year-olds make up 64% of the population, and male and female genders each make up 50%.
Young people aged between 15 and 24 accounts for 21%, and those aged 24 and over account for 43% of the population, with the unemployment rate at 16.5%.
The Iraqi Planning Minister said that the general population census could not be conducted due to political and economic changes in recent years, so they needed a survey to know the reality of the labor market in order to establish appropriate mechanisms to solve unemployment problems.
Kurdistan region spent over 3.7 billion dollars on government employee salary in 2022
The Kurdistan region can pay its employees' salaries without Baghdad sending the region's budget share. Since early 2014, the Kurdistan region has partially paid its employees. Lack of cash forced the Kurdistan regional government to pay civil servants once every two months or every 70 or 80 days, causing severe discontent among the region's people.
KurdSat found out that the Kurdistan Region government has spent 5.4 trillion dinars or 3.7 billion USD on the salaries of civil servants in the first six months of this year.
According to the investigation, only 7 per cent or four hundred trillion Iraqi dinars of the money came from Baghdad, while the rest came from the region's independent sale of its energy.
A spike in oil prices and increased domestic revenues have helped the government of the Kurdistan region to independently pay its employees without cash from Baghdad, which previously it could not.
In February 2022, the Iraqi supreme court ruled that the Kurdistan region's independent handling of its energy sector was unconstitutional. Since then, Baghdad has withheld the region's share of the Budget.
The region's government employees comprise the largest portion of the budget pie. In a region of 6 million people, 1.2 million people are employed by the government, making them a heavy burden on the region with immense political, economic and social complications.
The minister noted that the graduates of agricultural departments will take qualification courses for two months and are prepared to make employment contracts.
On June 28, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Kurdistan region announced 5,000 job opportunities for agriculture graduates and veterinary departments. The ministry published forms for the graduates that could be filled online.
A decree by the acting governor of Kirkuk, Rakan Juburi, announced that citizens who were not living in Kirkuk would lose their food ration and Kirkuk residence cards, effectively excluding them from the Kirkuk governorate. The decision caused great concern among the Kurds, who comprise the majority of Kirkuk.
Chairman of the General Board for Kurdistani Areas Outside the Kurdistan Region, Fahmi Burhan, told KurdSat that the decision issued by the acting Kirkuk governor against the Kurds is entirely chauvinistic and contrary to all the principles of coexistence and legal and constitutional principles.
Fahmi Burhan, the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government's board for settling disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, explained that people had lived together in Kirkuk for ages, but the recent decision disturbs that coexistence.
"We will oppose it in any way. It should be worked on at the level of the streets and civil society organizations so that no one can disrupt social and political order and coexistence," he added.
The decree was condemned by the Kurdish officials in Baghdad as well. Gailan Qadir, a Kurdish lawmaker in the Iraqi council of representatives with the PUK, told KurdSat that "after hearing the decision, they promptly visited and talked the acting governor out of it and the acting governor decided to overturn the decision."
"Iraqi Minister of Justice had told the Iraqi premier and the premier contacted the acting governor of Kirkuk to abolish the decree," the lawmaker added.
After the 2017 Kurdistan region independence referendum the Popular Mobilization Forces took over Kirkuk from the Peshmerga forces, and a sizable Kurdish population of Kirkuk left the city for the Kurdistan region.
On March 7, Rakan Juburi, the acting governor of Kirkuk, asked the Iraqi operations commander to take measures to withdraw from citizens holding Kirkuk residence cards but living outside the province. Rakan Juburi's actions were called anti-Kurdish and an attempt to Arabize Kirkuk.
The most reliable and objective census was taken in 1957; others are unreliable as they were mended according to political ends. According to the 1957 Kirkuk census, Kurds made up 48 percent of the population in the city, followed by Arabs at 28 percent and Turkmen at 21 percent.
On Tuesday, Britain said it would impose new economic and trade sanctions on Belarus, including the country's transport sector, over its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The new package will include a ban on importing and exporting goods worth around £60m, including exports of petroleum products, high-tech components, luxury goods, and imports of Belarusian iron and steel.
Britain will also ban more Belarusian companies from issuing debt and securities in London.
Belarussian pro-Kremlin foreign policy has brought many western sanctions on Minsk. In 2021, Belarus allowed many refugees to use its territory as a transit to the European Union. European Union countries such as Poland fenced their borders to prevent anyone from entering their country, and it moved them to introduce sanctions against Minsk.
She also added that the conference would set a map for the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities and the provision of funding, noting that the European Union will establish a platform for reconstruction and coordinate the rebuilding of the country.
She said the platform would map investment needs, coordinate work, and direct resources. She explained that the European Union had mobilized about 6.2 billion euros in financial support since the beginning of the war, pointing out that more would come.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the huge task that awaits Ukraine to recover from the devastation inflicted by the Russian army. In a video message, he said that rebuilding his country is the "common task of the whole democratic world," stressing that Ukraine's recovery serves world peace.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyal expected the cost of reconstruction to reach 750 billion dollars, stressing the need to use the confiscated Russian assets to pay the cost of the country's recovery.
"We believe that the main source of recovery should be the assets of Russia and the Russian oligarchs," he added.
The organizers of the two-day conference had hoped for Zelensky to come in person, but he only made a video intervention in this event, which brought together officials from allied countries of Kyiv and international institutions, as well as from the private sector.
It is noteworthy that the conference was scheduled long before the Russian military operation and would mainly discuss reforms in Ukraine, especially the fight against rampant corruption, but it was refocused on reconstruction.
The possibility of discussing reconstruction without any "end of war horizon" was raised, especially since some international estimates indicated the possibility of the conflict continuing for months after.
Robert Mardini, director general of the International Committee of the Cross, said that the reconstruction process must wait for the fighting to end, but it was vital to provide a "positive horizon for civilians."
Lugano, where the conference is held, is the third financial center in Switzerland and a major tourist destination frequented by many wealthy Russians, but it is not accustomed to hosting international diplomatic meetings.
Five civilians have been killed in the Kurdistan region and four new military headquarters have been built in the past month in the face of Turkish military aggression in the Kurdistan region.
According to American Community Peace Makers report, five civilians, including three children, have been killed and 15 others injured in Turkey's attacks on the Kurdistan region’s northern areas in the past month.
According to the report, four new Turkish military headquarters have been built in the Kurdistan Region, and the Turkish army carries continuous shelling of villages in the region. Chamchamal’s Tutaqal village in Sulaimani was emptied due to Turkish raids.
The Turkish army has stepped up its military operations in the Kurdistan region to fight against the Turkish army. It has set up over 50 military bases and outposts, and Turkish UAVs carry out raids deep within the region’s territory.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced it had seized 2,228 pistols, 1,811 Kalashnikovs, 3,22 rifles and 26,523 bullets in the Kurdistan region, plus 9,524 Kalashnikov rounds and 748 pistol rounds.
The recent sharp increases in crime and homicide in the Kurdistan region sparked fierce reactions from the people to ban weapons. After the killing of a university dean and professor by a former college student on June 28, the Kurdistan region prime minister decided to seize all unlicensed firearms and shut down gun stores.
The Kurdistan regional government launched a campaign to seize illegal weapons and since has shut down most gun stores.
The Iraqi Civil Defense Directorate (ICD) has announced that 13,600 fires have been registered in all provinces except the Kurdistan region in the first half of this year.
According to the Civil Defense Directorate, 47 percent of the fires were caused by electrical short circuits, most of them in Baghdad.
In summer time temperature rises in southern Iraq and causes many electricity-related fire incidents.
Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmad, an executive member of the PUK politburo, received a delegation of women led by KNK Co-Chairperson Zeinab Murad. They discussed the political situation in the region and Kurdistan and stressed the need for unity between the forces and parties and the solidarity of Kurdish women.
The delegation thanked Hiro Ibrahim Ahmad, a former member of the PUK politburo and one of the early Kurdish female leaders through Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmad and explained that as a female leader and patriot, Hiro Ibrahim Ahmad has supported them in their national struggle and reaffirmed that they would keep her efforts high and alive in the history of contemporary Kurdish national struggle.
Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmad explained the idea and purpose of the Khak Gallery to the guest delegation during the visit to the gallery, officially named "I will not give a single piece of the land of the country to the Imperial Palace." The exhibit displays land samples of different cities and regions of the greater Kurdistan, and they are put together as a sign of the integrity of Kurdistan. She expressed her gratitude to the women's delegation of the Kurdistan National Congress for bringing soil samples of the cities of North Kurdistan to the gallery.
The KNK delegation expressed their admiration for the project and thanked Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmad for building a major national project. After their appreciation of the project, they thought it necessary to present the soil of 22 cities and regions of North Kurdistan to the gallery, the delegation added.
The gallery is an exhibition to show examples of the soil of different cities and regions of Kurdistan, each of which has its distinct color, shape and smell. It is a way to show Ibrahim Ahmed's struggle for the national liberation of the greater Kurdistan.
KNK is a multi-national platform that includes all Kurdish parties and groups that work for the independence of Kurdistan.
The Lebanese Hezbollah confirmed that it targeted a disputed area with Israel with three drones over gas installations in the Mediterranean.
According to Hezbollah, the drones were for surveillance reconnaissance, and Israel had received the message.
Israeli defense ministry published footage targeting drones it claimed belonged to Hezbollah. Israeli media reported that "the Israeli army shot down three drones, which were launched by Hezbollah towards Israeli's exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean Sea."
Israel is said to gain over 50 billion Euros in natural gas sales to Europe as the Union wants to get rid of Russian energy. The drones were headed toward the Karish offshore gas field that is believed to hold 1.75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.
Israeli English-language newspaper, Jerusalem Post, pointed out that "one of them was shot down by an F-16, while two others were shot down by the Barak 8 Navy on INS Eilat," noting that "it is the first time that Use of the system against air threats.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said, "The Air Force intercepted three drones belonging to Hezbollah that were on their way to the Karish platform."
In the first statement after the incident, Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, warned Iran, saying: "Do not test us," and considered that "Iran is the number one threat to us." Lapid added: "We will do everything we can so that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon."
A new report by the Israeli research center "Alma" revealed that the Lebanese Hezbollah owns about 2,000 drones, many of which were developed by Iran.
The Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post," quoting the center, reported that Hezbollah has been using drones since the 1990s. An article bylined by Seth Frantzman said that "Over the last several years Iran has rapidly expanded its drone program and encouraged its proxies in the region to develop their own drone technology."
"much of Hamas and Hezbollah's unmanned technology derives from or originated in Iran, which has maintained an active military drone program since the Iran-Iraq War," Frantzman added. It also explains the Israeli prime minister's remarks about Iran.
And she continued, "Hezbollah used its drones in Syria as well as against Israel," noting that the Lebanese militias launched a march towards Israel before the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Today, Erbil Governor Omid Khoshnaw told a news conference that the security committee of Erbil has decided to close the places that sell weapons.
He said that the security forces, police, Zeravani and Peshmerga were assigned to form a joint force to set up checkpoints to collected unlicensed weapons and will start today.
He added that all receptions in Erbil and security checkpoints have been required to investigate those who carry illegal weapons and seize their weapons.
After a number of homicides in Erbil and the Kurdistan region, the prime minister of the Kurdistan region directed the interior ministry to close all gun stores and places that sell weapon. The Erbil governorate started to seize all unlicensed weapons in the governorates top prevent further homicides.
A source with the Sulaimani Security Directorate told Kurdsat News that they have worked continuously to eliminate illegal weapons.
He said that the security directorate is committed to the decisions of the presidency of the Kurdistan Regional Government to eliminate this phenomenon, and have intensified their efforts to seize illegal weapons.
After a dramatic increase of crimes in the Kurdistan region, today the prime minister of the Kurdistan region said that he has directed related ministries and agencies to seize unlicensed weapons and shut down gun stores.
According to Small Arms Survey on total number of civilian-owned weapons in a country conducted in 2017, ranks Iraq 29 globally, however the number is much higher with unofficial figures claiming that every house hold in the Kurdistan region owns a gun.
Saleem Ankabi, a member Iraqi council of representatives with the Fatah alliance, said the name of the prime ministerial candidate would be announced soon.
According to the MP, there is no option besides forming a government in the service of the people, and the next prime minister should be endorsed by the majority and courageous in making decisions.
After Sadrists withdrew from the Parliament, their seats were distributed over candidates that got fewer votes than winners in the 2021 general parliamentary election. Many parties with only a few seats now have doubled or tripled their seats.
The Coordination Framework comprises many parties, including the Fatah Alliance and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The Framework now commands the majority in the Parliament and is expected to form the next government soon.
Hadi al-Amiri is the leader of Badr Organization, who secured only 17 seats of 329 in the 2021 Iraqi general election, a significant drop from the 48 seats in 2018.
He also pointed out that Russia poses an immediate threat to the NATO members. He considered that NATO is facing the most significant challenge since World War II. "We will stress clearly during the summit, which will review the Alliance's roadmap for the first time since 2010, that Russia represents a direct threat to our security," he said, according to AFP.
He also announced that important decisions about NATO's eastern and southern fronts and terrorism will be taken today.
As for the membership of Finland and Sweden after Turkey's approval yesterday evening, he explained that it needs 30 European parliaments to ratify it.
The general secretary indicated that NATO views China as a challenge, not an enemy. He said: "Beijing is considered as a challenge to the values, interests and security of the alliance, but it is not an adversary to it."
One of the main issues in this summit, besides the Russian-Ukrainian file, is to strengthen the military presence of the defensive Alliance on its eastern front.
Stoltenberg had made it clear last Monday that the Alliance would increase the size of its rapid reaction force to 300,000 soldiers, from about 40,000 soldiers currently. He also indicated at the time that the allies would discuss how to respond to the growing influence of Russia and China in NATO's "southern region".
At the summit, Turkey " got what it needed," Stoltenberg said regarding Finland and Sweden's bid into the Alliance. The two Nordic countries agreed to extradite Kurdish PKK members to turkey and coordinate with Ankara regarding terrorism.
The Madrid summit, which started yesterday evening with an official dinner, will be followed today by important discussions with expectations to address the issue of the "new strategic concept" of the Alliance, which is the renewal of NATO members' commitments every ten years, with a review of the threats facing the military Alliance and how to deal with them.
He also added that "the Madrid summit reinforces the path of aggressive containment pursued by the alliance towards Russia," AFP reported.
In addition, he described the expansion of NATO's membership to Finland and Sweden as "a very destabilizing step". He explained that it did not add anything to the security of NATO members.
The DFM also stressed that his country looks negatively at this issue, considering that the Atlantic countries that want to join the Alliance give up part of their defensive sovereignty to America.
Russian condemns the irresponsible course of the alliance, which is destroying the European security architecture, the diplomat added.
These statements came after Stoltenberg stressed earlier that Russia poses the biggest threat to the security of the alliance.
NATO general secretary said that NATO will announce today the acceptance of Sweden and Finland in its ranks, adding that "the process is moving at an unprecedented speed", after Turkey supported their nomination yesterday, leaving its previous objections.
Last May, the Scandinavian countries applied to join the Alliance, abandoning long years of neutrality, after growing concern over the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
It is noteworthy that the Madrid summit started today amid an unprecedented atmosphere of tension between Moscow and the West, and the escalation of armaments in Europe, as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which prompted many countries to line up behind NATO and strengthen their military presence in Europe.