The 27 countries of the European Union agreed with European MPs on Tuesday to impose a standardized wired charger for smartphones, tablets, video game consoles, and digital cameras within two and a half years, to the dismay of Apple, which opposed the measure.

The European Parliament said that "under the new rules, consumers will no longer need a different device and wire for charging whenever they buy a new device. They will be able to use one charger for all their small and medium-sized portable electronic devices."

"Cell phones, tablets, e-readers, earphones, helmets, digital cameras, portable video game consoles, and portable speakers, if they are rechargeable by wire, should be equipped with a USB Type-C port by fall 2024," the statement added, regardless of the manufacturer.

Similar requirements are expected for laptops "within 40 months of the text's entry into force", that is, by 2026.

In April, MEPs voted by majority to enact new legislation requiring all manufacturers of consumer electronics devices, including Apple, to use a USB-C charging port.

The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted in favor of the new bill, with a total of 43 votes in favor and only two against it. The committee indicated that it would reduce electronic waste, address product sustainability, and make the use of various devices more convenient.

Apple had expressly objected to this decision at the beginning of January 2020, and the American company said that the European Parliament's effort to unify the charging outlet between all electronics would "hamper creativity and innovation."

A study conducted by the "Copenhagen Economics" think tank revealed that it was proven that the new decision would cause the European Union to bear costs of up to 1.5 billion euros, compared to the estimated environmental returns of only 13 million euros.

Agriculture ministry spokesperson Hussein Hama Karim said that the wheat production in the Kurdistan Region is expected to drop from 774 thousand tons to 300 to 400 thousand tons this year.

He added that "the problem of water shortage is not only in above ground water, but also groundwater has declined, the southern areas of Erbil, that is Makhmur, Dibga, Gower and Garmian, especially Kalar and Kufri, are most vulnerable to desertification.”

"These cities and towns are at the risk of desertification, and work should be done to increase vegetation," Karim noted.

The Kurdistan region has been facing consecutive droughts since 2020. It threatens the regions’ ability to guarantee its food security. The region needs one million tons of wheat to feed its people, while it only produced 774 thousand tons in 2021, and is expected to produce 400 thousand tons for this year’s harvest.

Iraq and the Kurdistan region import most of their wheat needs from Ukraine and Russia, the war in Ukraine has increased the price of wheat and Kyiv’s ability to deliver its wheat to Iraq.

A 22-year-old girl was admitted to Gulan Hospital on November 6 after showing symptoms of the Congo fever, her blood test was sent to Baghdad, and her results came back positive, the health directorate of Akre announced that her condition is stable, but needs care.

Salih Mustafa, director of Akre health directory said that they are ready for any other case of the fever and have prepared a special department in the hospital for would be patients of the Congo fever.

This is the third case of the fever in the Kurdistan Region. One case was reported in Zakho and one in Erbil, both have recovered since.

Kurdish factions in the Iraqi House of Representatives express their opposition to the food security support bill. A member of the House of Representatives says they will not vote for articles that do not guarantee the rights of the Kurdish people.

Narmin Maruf, a member of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, said that the food assistance bill provides food coupons for the Iraqis, plus three hundred and eight billion for the financial merits of farmers of the Kurdistan Region, who have sold their agricultural produce to Baghdad, waiting Baghdad to pay for their products.

A section of the bill provides a large budget for developing the Iraqi provinces, but the least attention is given to the Kurdistan region governorates. The section that excluded the rights of the people in the Kurdistan region is supported with an extra eight trillion Iraqi dinars.

She said that tomorrow, as Kurdish parties, they will vote for articles in the interests of the Kurdistan region but would not vote for other sections of the bill. 

Harem Kamal Agha, the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan faction in the Iraqi house of representatives, told Kurdsat News that the Kurdish factions and members of the Finance Committee met to discuss the food security emergency support bill. We unanimously support Kurdish rights.

He said the provisions in the people's interest include social welfare, food, electricity and wheat assistance, but 8 trillion dinars allocated for developing the governorates exclude the Kurdistan region. 

The bill is scheduled to be voted in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced today, Tuesday, that Russia has "completely" taken control of residential neighborhoods in the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.

The residential areas of Severodonetsk have been completely liberated," he said in a brief statement broadcast on television.

According to the defense minister, Moscow currently controls 97 percent of Ukraine's Luhansk region, in which Severodentsk is located. "Liman and Svyatogersk, as well as 15 other cities, were liberated," he said.

If confirmed, the control of these two cities will be game changing  because it will remove the last obstacle towards the symbolic city of Sloviansk and towards Kramatorsk, the capital of Ukrainian controlled the Donetsk region.

According to Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, "126 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in five days" to the Russian forces and there are 6,489 in captivity since the start of the Russian military operation on February 24.

For his part, Oleksandr Stryuk, mayor of Severodonetsk, told a Ukrainian TV today that the city's defenders are doing everything possible to maintain their positions on the front line in the eastern city, where the situation is still very difficult.

He added that Russia is sending more troops with the aim of controlling the entire city. He continued, "Our armed forces have strengthened their positions and held on to the front line."

In turn, Serhiy Haiday, governor of the Luhansk region, said today that Russia is deploying military reinforcements in the east of the country to help control the city of Severodonetsk.

Hayday stated that Russian forces were in control of the industrial suburbs of Severodonetsk. "The street fighitng is still ongoing, with varying degrees of success. The situation is constantly changing, but the Ukrainians are repelling the attacks," he added.

According to Hayday, Ukrainian forces repelled a total of 10 Russian attacks in the past 24 hours.

British intelligence had said that the Russian army was isolating the Severdonetsk region from the north and south, adding that "the Russian army is making gains from the south of Severodonetsk."

British intelligence also said that the Russian army is facing difficulties in the "Pupasna" axis, adding that "Russian bombing targets the vicinity of "Izyum" in an attempt to advance from the northern side."

This comes while President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian forces are still holed up in their positions in Severodonetsk, and that fierce fighting continues in the city's streets, while the Russian army continues to mobilize additional forces in the Donbass axis.

Zelensky also thanked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for standing by the Ukrainian people and his willingness to provide his country with appropriate weapons.

Zelensky had confirmed that his country's situation would be difficult in the event of losing the Battle of Donbass. In an interview with the media, the Ukrainian president added that the situation in eastern Ukraine is dangerous, recognizing Russia's progress in Donbass.

For his part, the governor of Lugansk region confirmed that the Ukrainian forces had seriously retreated in the battle of Severodonetsk, while Moscow indicated that its military operations in eastern Ukraine would continue until the elements it described as Nazis on the Russian border were neutralized.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Sak stressed on Monday that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, all countries in the region are in danger. He also said in an interview with "Al Arabiya", that Kyiv demanded Western weapons to respond to the Russian artillery.

"We do not plan to attack Russian territory," he said, adding, "We have many Russian targets to strike inside our territory." He also said, "We suffer from a shortage of soldiers and heavy weapons," referring to the Russian superiority in this.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced that the federal court has no constitutional authority and assured that they would continue working with KRG oil and gas law which legally allows the region to sell and export its energy. 

The statement comes after a court ruling from Baghdad urging the KRG to hand over the region’s energy sector. Kurdistan region’s supreme court called the region’s energy governance constitutional, and KRG PM Masrour Barzani said they would not abide by the court’s decision. 

According to Article 112 of the Iraqi constitution, Baghdad has full sovereignty over the resources within its jurisdiction and shall distribute its revenues fairly to Iraqis. 

The Kurdistan region’s main source of income is oil and gas, and Baghdad’s decision would deprive the region of most of its revenue. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said that respecting Russia was important for a diplomatic solution when the fighting in Ukraine stops, adding that he believed Paris would play a mediating role to end the conflict.

Macron has sought to maintain dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February.

Macron's position has been repeatedly criticized by some partners in Eastern Europe and the Baltic region, which they see as undermining efforts to pressure Putin to come to the negotiating table.

On Saturday, Macron told a number reporters that, "We must not insult Russia so that on the day the fighting stops, we can find a way out through diplomatic means. I am convinced that France's role is to be a mediating power."

Macron has been speaking with Putin regularly since the war began, as part of efforts to secure a ceasefire and start meaningful negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.

"I think, and I told him, that he is making a historic and fundamental mistake for his people, for himself and for history," Macron said in the press conference.

France supports Ukraine militarily and financially, but Macron has not yet gone to Kyiv to offer token political support like other EU leaders, which Ukraine would like to do.

Paris sends Ukraine offensive weapons, including Caesar howitzers. Paris has said he has asked arms manufacturers to speed up production.

June 1 marks the 47th founding anniversary the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the 46th anniversary of the modern Kurdish revolution. The founders of the PUK, most notably Jalal Talabani, gave hope to the Kurdish people in the mid-1970s when Kurds had given up on all hope after the abandonment of the Kurdish revolution in 1975. 

PUK ignited hope in the hearts of the oppressed Kurds, and a new revolution led by the PUK began with ripple effects across the Middle East. 

People from all of the Kurdistan region celebrated the 47th anniversary. They hoped that the party better serve its people. 

PUK affiliates visited Mam Jalal’s tomb in Sulaimani, the former general secretary of the PUK. They hoped that his legacy would be lived on as he championed freedom of expression, economic development, good governance and security for the Kurdish people.

The PUK forum preceded the occasion that lasted lasted six months, where members of the PUK, both senior and junior, participated in the various committees dedicated to device better policies for the PUK. The forum is revolutionary in Kurdish politics. It serves as a bottom-up approach to policymaking and plural decision making, in a region where policymaking circle is tight. 

The occasion was warmly greeted by PUK affiliates and ordinary people. They hoped for the event to end the domestic rivalry between the Kurdish parties of the Kurdistan region.

In 1975, founding members of the PUK met in Syria’s Damascus to declare PUK's founding. Jalal Talabani, its first secretary, and six others founding members declared PUK's founding first in Damascus, and later Germany on June 1, 1975. The PUK started as an umbrella organization and later reorganized many organizations in the Kurdistan region that struggled for Kurdish rights in Iraq in the early 1970s and 1980s. During its 15 years of armed struggle, it liberated many areas of the Kurdistan region from Saddam Hussein’s tyranny. Eventually, it led to a successful uprising that removed Baathist authority from the Kurdistan region. 

The PUK works to promote democracy, human rights, and self-determination. It is also a member of the Socialist International. It has spearheaded democratic reform and good governance in the Kurdistan region.  

The Bill initially named "Banning Normalization and Establishment of Relations with the Zionist Entity" was changed to "Criminalizing Normalization and Establishment of Relations with the Zionist Entity." in today's assembly meeting. 

The Bill was passed unanimously, with all attending 275 members of the parliament. 

 "We affirm that this law, which the voters unanimously voted, represents a true reflection of the people's will, a brave national decision, and a position that is the first of its kind in the world in terms of criminalizing the relationship with the Zionist entity. Therefore, we call on the Arab and Islamic parliaments to issue similar legislation that meets the aspirations of their peoples," the parliament said in a statement on Thursday.

The Bill criminalizes the normalization of relations with the "Zionist entity," a reference to Israel, and the "banning of the establishment of diplomatic, political, military, economic, and cultural relations and any other sort of relations with the invading Zionist entity."

 The normalization of ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords is a US-led joint Middle East peace initiative. The United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Bahrain, and Morocco - have announced normalization agreements with Israel, with America's support. A conference in September advocating for Iraq to join the deal was met with widespread condemnation and criticism from the public and officials.

Muqtada Sadr, Iraq's popular clergy and one of the figures sponsoring the Bill, released a statement praising God and calling on the Iraqi people to celebrate this "great achievement."

 The Bill will require all institutions, civilian or military, to eschew relations with Israel. Although Baghdad maintains close ties with the United States, the decision might be a hurdle to the US-led Middle East peace initiative, aiming to restore relations between predominantly Sunni states and the state of Israel. 

Earlier this year, a delegation from Baghdad had made various trips to Israel, followed by a workshop in Erbil, which called for the normalization of ties between Israel and Iraq. They were rebuked by various Iraqi leaders and called for the participants to be put behind bars. 

Bafel Jalal Talabani received Mark Bryson Richardson, British Ambassador to Iraq, at the PUK Political Bureau in Erbil.

The meeting, attended by David Hunt, British Consul General in Erbil discussed political, economic and security developments in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

Bafel Jalal Talabani told the ambassador, ‘We have always believed in unity and solidarity among all political forces and parties, because we consider it a factor of peace and stability in the region.’

‘Everyone knows that we are in favor of resolving the issues on the basis of the constitution and forming a good government that reflects the wishes of all,’ Talabani added.

Bafel Jalal Talabani congratulated Queen Elizabeth on her birthday and wished her long life to continue serving her country.

Today, at the graduation ceremony of the Zakho Military College, the Kurdistan Region president Nechirvan Barzani, said that the threat of ISIS still remains, and its attacks have increased, especially in the disputed territories between the Iraqi and the Peshmerga forces. The area serves as a base for the terrorists, the president told the attendants, and called for the immediate deployment of two joint brigades of the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga forces.

He urged the international coalition against IS and the Iraqi federal government to provide more assistance and training to the Peshmerga, and deliver equipment and advanced weapons, because now the support of the Peshmerga is more necessary than ever, the president argued.

Regarding the interference in the affairs of Peshmerga forces, Nechirvan Barzani said that party interference in the Peshmerga forces must end, because meddling makes the Peshmerga forces constantly threatened during party and political conflicts, a serious threat to the democratic process.

Kurdistan Region president as the commander-in-chief of the Peshmerga forces reaffirmed his support for the efforts of the Peshmerga Ministry to unite the Peshmerga forces divided between PUK-led 70 forces and KDP-led 80 forces.

Earlier this week, the president attended graduation ceremony of peshmerga officers at Qalachwalan Military Academy in Sulaimani, raising similar concerns about constant threats on the existence of the Kurdistan Region.

Amid signs that the war will be prolonged, the US Department of Defense confirmed that the Russian army has lost, since the start of the military operation in Ukraine, nearly 1,000 tanks, 350 artillery systems, 36 warplanes, and 50 helicopters.

On Thursday, a senior official in the ministry told reporters in Washington that the Russian forces lose soldiers on a daily basis, but they hid the numbers.

He also noted that the Russians have 110 combat battalions, explaining that they are making slow progress on the ground, despite having a superior force.

In the Pentagon's daily briefing on Ukraine, he pointed out that the battles are now mainly focused on the center of the Donbass region, in a Russian attempt to isolate it and besiege the Ukrainian forces.

He also continued that there were major battles in the south of the city of Isiyum, and others in the Kherson and Mykolaiv region.

He pointed out that the Russian forces are adding defenses on the Snake Island in the Black Sea to prevent the Ukrainian forces from recovering it, explaining that they have actually succeeded in staying away from the shore and besieging the Ukrainian ports.

He stressed that the Russian forces have abandoned the strategy of large territory attack, as operations have become smaller, and are now following the plan of focused bombing and then moving ground forces after destroying the target.

It is noteworthy that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has entered its fourth month, with fighting intensifying in the east.

Kyiv confirmed that the country is going through a difficult period.  Pointing to the fact that intensity of the battles in the Donbass region has reached its "peak" while Russian forces are still penetrating the industrial areas.

Last March, Moscow launched the second phase of its military operation, focusing on the east, after it failed to capture Kyiv or Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city.

For this purpose, thousands of troops were sent to the region, stationed in three directions, in order to encircle the Ukrainian forces in the city of Severodonetsk, on the eastern bank of the Seversky Donets River, and the opposite city of Lysechansk on the western bank.

While it aims to control the entire Lugansk region with the aim of opening a land corridor linking the east with the Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, despite repeatedly asserting that the goal of that operation is to protect the Russian-speaking population of the Donbass, many of whom are loyal to Russia.

On Thursday evening, Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles hit a group of picnickers in the Duhok province's Zewasary Nerway resort, killing two children, aged 10 and 13, and injuring one. In footage published by KurdSat English, the picnickers are seen fleeing and screaming as the drones continue the bombarding the area.

I was with my children picnicking as the bombs fell, KurdSat News correspondent reported. Turkey maintains an airstrip 30 kilometers from the area where the bombs fell. It houses 50 tanks and tens of troops. 

Counter-terrorism of Kurdistan, a KDP group, released a statement blaming the PKK for the attack. 'as a result of an attack by the PKK terrorists two people martyred and two injured,' the statement ran. It called the group terrorist, a term shared by Turkey to describe the group. 

Turkey's use of drones in the Kurdistan Region has killed many civilians. According to Kamaran Osman, a member of Community Peacemaker Teams in the Kurdistan region, since 2015, 111 civilians in the region have been killed due to the Turkish strikes. 

On Monday, the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR) said Iraqi officials are ignoring climate change and have no plans to address it, warning that Iraq and its population are facing disaster due to drought and increased waves of dust, and a new wave of displacement is likely to occur, especially in the South. He called on them to take urgent measures to protect the lives of citizens and prevent their displacement.

A study by the Iraqi Ministry of Environment, viewed by the IOHR, indicates that 92 percent of Iraq's territory is subject to desertification. 

Iraq is in the midst of a water scarcity crisis stemming from record low levels of rainfall, poor water resource management, and reductions in water flow into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from upstream countries.

Drought conditions in Iraq have been exacerbated by the threat of climate change, which has contributed to record low rainfall and increasing temperatures throughout the country. As a result, the drought has affected northern Iraq since early 2021, while governorates in the South have witnessed decreased water supply and quality for several years.

Crop and livestock production have since plummeted, impacting vulnerable communities that have been affected by conflict and displacement over the last several years. At least seven million people in Iraq have been affected by the drought.

Recent dust storms have halted everyday life. Flights have been suspended, and schools closed. Yet, as the country recovers from the war on IS, climate change obscures its chances.