Kurdistan
Civil activists and intellectuals attended the ceremony; the mourners expressed their condolences for the souls of the victims of the tragic incident in the Kaziwa neighborhood of Sulaimani.
As a tribute to the victims' souls, they lit 15 candles and stood up for a minute for the souls of the victims, KurdSat English Kirkuk reporter Omar Gharib said.
The Sulaimani gas leak explosion drew national sympathy for the victims and the people of Sulaimani and has united the people of the Kurdistan region and Kurds across the world around the tragic incident.
On November 18, at 7.38 pm, a gas leak explosion leveled a three-story building in Sulaimani's Kaziwa street, killing 15 family members and injuring 12 others. The inhabitants were busy celebrating the birthday of one of their sons. During the birthday party, a house gas plumbing mechanic attempted to fix a leak but ended up exploding the entire building, according to the Sulaimani Civil Defense Department. The gas cylinder explosion damaged nearby homes and vehicles in the residential area.
On Saturday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani arrived at Sulaimani to sympathize with the Sulaimani gas cylinder explosion. Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir and other top officials accompanied the KRG president.
We have come to Sulaimani to express our condolences, Kurdistan Region President Barzani told a group of reporters at Shar Hospital in Sulaimani. "Today, everyone in the Kurdistan region shares the victims' sorrows," President Barzani said.
In the press conference, the president thanked Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir, Sulaimani Civil Defense Department and healthcare workers, and everyone else for their "amazing" efforts in helping the blast victims.
"The incident has created a shared sympathy across the Kurdistan region which is something we take pride in, and, amazingly, we all unite for such incidents," Barzani noted.
Barzani also talked about calling an investigation into the incident for "why it happened and how we can prevent future incidents,"
On November 18, at 7.38 pm, a gas leak explosion leveled a three-story building in Sulaimani's Kaziwa street, killing 15 family members and injuring 12 others. The inhabitants were busy celebrating the birthday of one of their sons. During the birthday party, a house gas plumbing mechanic attempted to fix a leak but ended up exploding the entire building, according to the Sulaimani Civil Defense Department. The gas cylinder explosion damaged nearby homes and vehicles in the residential area.
Today, Saturday, Kurdistan Region President Barzani arrived in Sulaimani and attended the funeral of the Sulaimani gas cylinder explosion that killed 15 people and expressed his condolences to the victim's families and people of Sulaimani.
Barzani is said to speak at the explosion site in front of the leveled three-story home in Sulaimani's Kaziwa street. The presidential podium is set up at the site, a KurdSat English reporter Kaziwa neighborhood said.
On November 18, at 7.38 pm, a gas leak explosion leveled a three-story building in Sulaimani's Kaziwa street, killing 15 family members and injuring 12 others. The inhabitants were busy celebrating the birthday of one of their sons. During the birthday party, a house gas plumbing mechanic attempted to fix a leak but ended up exploding the entire building, according to the Sulaimani Civil Defense Department. The gas cylinder explosion damaged nearby homes and vehicles in the residential area.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement that he extended his condolences to the families of the victims, officials, the people of Sulaimani and the Iraqi government and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
In addition to Iranian officials, regional and international leaders of previously sent messages of condolence to the people of Sulaimani and the families of the victims.
On November 18, at 7.38 pm, a gas leak explosion levelled a three-story building in Sulaimani's Kaziwa street, killing 15 family members and injuring 12 others. The inhabitants were busy celebrating birthday of one of their sons. During the birthday party, a house gas plumbing mechanic was attempting to fix a leak but ended up exploding the entire building, according to the Sulaimani Civil Defense Department. The gas cylinder explosion damaged nearby homes and vehicles in the residential area.
What Happened? On November 18, at 7.38 pm, a gas leak explosion levelled a three-story building in Sulaimani's Kaziwa street. The house inhabitants were busy celebrating birthday of one of their sons. During the birthday party, a house gas plumbing mechanic was attempting to fix a leak but ended up exploding the entire building, according to the Sulaimani Civil Defense Department. The gas cylinder explosion damaged nearby homes and vehicles in the residential area.
A civil engineer told KurdSat English that the house was completely demolished because of its architecture, as it lack supporting columns and was made entirely from blocks. Now the nearby houses are evacuated, fearing their collapse.
Houses close to the blast damaged
Similar incident: A similar gas tank-caused explosion happened in Sulaimani's Rizgary neighborhood but caused only material damage as nobody was at home at the time.
Why did It happen? The natural gas plumber was from Rojhelat and was unlicensed, Sulaimani Civil Defense Department Head Diyar Ibrahim said in a press conference at the site of the incident. As he had worked to fix a possible leak, he might have erroneously set off the explosion as gas continued to build up within the house; the technician's wife was also injured and is currently receiving treatment; the couple were related to the house family, per early reports.
Causalities: The explosion left 15 dead, eight minors and seven adults. The victims were trapped under rubble, and Sulaimani authorities and volunteers took over 17 hours to recover the bodies. One of the victims was an infant another was a young family. The unprecedented incident drew thousands of people to the explosion site. Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir declared a state of national mourning and helped all authorities to unearth the victims as soon as possible. Five of the injured were sent home after brief admission to the hospital. A 13-year-old boy gave in to his injuries at Shar Hospital in Sulaimani, the hospital said in a statement. A man lost his wife, son, and daughter as he left the house just before the blast.
Nation-wide Sympathy: People of Erbil expressed their sympathy with Sulaimani and lit 15 candles on the Erbil Citadel to honor the victims and offered their assistance. Twelve others were injured, and teams are trying to rescue those trapped under the rubble. People all over the Kurdistan region changed their profile pictures on Facebook and other social media platforms to sympathize with the victims and people of Sulaimani.
Candles lit on the walls of Erbil Citadel to honor the victims
Following the blast, rescue teams from the of civil defense, Asaysh (security forces), Sulaimani municipality, police, healthcare and a large number of volunteers rushed to the scene to rescue those trapped under the rubble of the house. KurdSat's reporters covered the incident for 17 continuous hours.
Help from Kurdish Leaders: PUK President Bafel Jalal Talabani said, "Our hearts go out to the families of the victims of tonight's tragic incident in Sulaimani." Talabani wished speedy and full recovery to the victims and said that the PUK would take on any injured abroad to cure them if needed, and promised to rebuild the levelled house and nearby damaged property, compensate damaged vehicles and cover all fees for the burial of the victims.
International Sympathy: On Friday, US Ambassador to Baghdad Alina L. Romanowski also tweeted in English and Arabic, although not in Kurdish as the victims were Kurdish and said, "our sincere condolences for the tragic loss of life from the gas tank explosion in Sulaymaniya."
"Our sympathies go out to the families of the victims. We wish a full recovery to the injured and send our sincere appreciation to the rescue workers."
Canadian Ambassador Gregory Galligan also offered his "sincere condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured by the tragic gas explosion yesterday evening in Sulaymaniyah."
Burial: KurdSat News reporter said, At the behest of Haji Mazhar, the house owner, who was injured in the blast and is receiving treatment at the Shar Hospital, all the 14 victims of his family will be buried in Sulaimani's Kalakin cemetery. The body of the gas plumbing technician who lost his life in the explosion would be put to rest in Baneh, Iran. His relatives have come from Baneh and would repatriate his body back to the east and buried there.
Thousands of people mourning at the burial of the Sulaimani gas cylinder explosion victims
The victims were all buried next to one another and borne to their burial through streets crowded with tens of thousands of mourners. Mourners from other cities of the Kurdistan region refrained from celebrations to honor the victims.
With rising energy prices and poor-quality stoves giving way to natural gas heaters, a large number of families in the Kurdistan region have installed gas cylinders in their houses to heat their homes, that are usually done through the largely unregulated private sector. Infrastructure incidents are common in Iraq and the Kurdistan region, which suffers from poorly enforced safety standards.
The series is called "Pomegranate Palace" and is produced by Zane Art Center. KBC owns its content distribution and plans to air the dramas during the coming month of Ramadan.
Jamil Mafakheri is the drama director, and Omid Kamal has written its scenario. Famous local actors and actresses are acting in the drama.
Today, Thursday, Bashdar Hassan head of a group of lawyers representing the Badinan detainees, told KurdSat English that "another criminal charge was brought against the detainees in Badinan, these charges may delay their release."
"The indictments are against journalists Sherwan Sherwani, Ayaz Karam and Hariwan Isa," Hassan noted. Erbil security forces (Asaysh) detained the three journalists in 2020. Some of the detainees were released months ago. Still, the three remain in custody, and their freedom has been postponed on more than one occasion.
Hassan added that the new charges pressed against the Badinan detainees could delay their long-due release.
He said the prosecutor general of Erbil filed the complaint citing evidence that journalists were accused of signing instead of Shvan Saeed and Guhdar Zebari while they were in solitary confinement for their transference to Sulaimani Correctional Institution for parole and conditional release. Due to "worsening" conditions at Erbil prisons, the political prisoners have often asked Erbil judicial authorities to move them to Sulaimani jails.
"The charges may delay the release of Ayaz Karam and Hariwan Isa, who were to be released on March 16, 2023, and Sherwan Sherwani's release on June 16.
The Badinan prisoners detained in Erbil were indicted with conspiring with foreign powers, the US and Germany, to principal backers of the KRG that helped the region fight ISIS. The US closely cooperates with the Kurdistan region's intelligence and military organizations and trains them.
Relatives of the Badinan detainees crying and grieving in front of Erbil Court of Appeal
On October 7, 2020, Sherwan Sherwani and his activist and journalist friends were detained, leading to a widespread outcry in the Kurdistan region. On February 16, 2022, along with his friends, he was indicted with several "wrongdoings" by the Cassation Court of Erbil and sentenced to six years in prison. The Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani decided to reduce Sherwan's sentence by 50% and that of his comrades by 60%.
The new initiative called "Single Window Unit," referring to a window where a citizen has to wait for an official to process their paperwork is dedicated to helping people with disabilities and would bypass unnecessary procedures by having their papers processed within minutes.
Director of the Single Window Unite with the General Directorate of Social Monitoring and Developing of Sulaimani (GDSMDS) said, "I would move specific officials to process papers of people with disabilities and would finish their works as soon as possible."
"The disabled people would have all their papers processed in a single room and would not have to visit multiple departments to finish their papers," the KurdSat reporter said. Many disabled people could not pull off their paperworks alone when visiting governmental departments.
The undertaking is a joint effort by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Faruq Holding that is practiced in that GDSMDS, aiming to ease the lives of disabled people. The undertaking is practiced only in the GDSMDS as most of the department's visitors are disabled. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs plans to test the new initiative in other administrative units in the Kurdistan region.
In a press conference today, Thursday, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kwestan Mohammed said, "we have always worked to serve the people through Single Window and have a special unit in each city of the Kurdistan region; today we open it in Sulaimani and work is underway in Erbil for Single Window as we know Duhok has worked with the "Single Window" for years."
The new service is part of Qubad Talabani's announced "Service Initiative" that works to reduce administrative workings and speed up processing within government institutions.
He pointed to the efforts and steps of the PUK that, despite the obstacles, has achieved great success in Iraq's political process. He was also able to keep the presidency with the Kurds and the PUK and to direct a policy that would strengthen the Kurdish position.
Regarding the PUK presence in Baghdad, President Talabani said, "we have decided to have a greater presence in Baghdad as it is the front line to defend the democratic and national struggle of our people."
PUK Chief also spoke of the importance of unity within the PUK and reform within its various organizations. The PUK has initiated a reform process within its ranks and, as the first party in Iraq, held the "PUK Forum" to adopt academic research for policy making.
On KDP's unilateral moves in the Kurdistan region in diplomatic, military and administration of the Kurdistan region, President Talabani said, "we have decided to stop this unilateralism and no longer accept the situation to continue like this because the wrong path of governance must be corrected and the government must be the government of all people, cities and towns."
He also mentioned the importance of criticism to improve PUK affairs and said, "constructive criticism is always welcome, but it shall not distance us from the PUK.
The PUK leader called on the participants to continue their struggle with a spirit of comradeship and steel courage and to cooperate to strengthen and advance the ranks of the PUK. He also instructed his comrades to turn PUK offices into homes of the people as they once were.
In a press conference following the voting, the speaker of the Sulaimani Provincial Council, Azad Hama Amin, said from now on, Sulaimani municipality will be responsible for collecting taxes and public fees.
According to the speaker, the 12 percent share given to privatized businesses collecting taxes and other government fees would return to Sulaimani public coffers.
The council speaker also called on the KRG to fund about 70 necessary employees for the Sulaimani municipality to collect public fees.
The Sulaimani mayorship would monitor buses and taxis taking students to school from now on, the Sulaimani mayor's office said. Most students board buses and taxis to go to school as other means of transport as absent in the city.
The authorities also issued other instructions for drivers that take students to school. The Committee to Monitor Student Transport Asks bus and taxi drivers to obey traffic regulations and drive safely. Their vehicles must meet safety requirements and have working heating and cooling systems. The drivers privately own many buses and taxis transporting students to schools. Students usually complain about conditions within buses as they lack a functioning heating or cooling system.
The committee also said that it has set up a unit to "constantly" monitor transport vehicles and collect documents from the drivers.
"Transportation fees are determined according to geographical area, distance and location traits," the committee said in an attempt to regulate commuting fees. The price of student transport is usually determined by the deal made between the drivers and the students.
The committee also published a hotline for parents to reach out to whenever they come across any violations.
Over half of the population in the Kurdistan region's 6.5 million people are below 25 years of age, and most are busy studying at schools. An increasing number of students rely on buses and taxis to commute to schools, which is largely unregulated.
Health sector employees who have served during the coronavirus will be contracted, and their contracts will be renewed annually.
Ministry of Health undersecretary Rahel Faraidoon told Kurdsat English that the ministry would employ 500 university graduates who had served in the coronavirus outbreak when their contracts, previously updated every six months, are now over.
The Council of Ministers has decided to renew their contracts. From now on, their contracts will be renewed annually, that is, every year according to the needs of hospitals, Faraidoon noted.
The undersecretary explained that the Ministry of Health had sent a directive to the health departments in the Kurdistan region to list the name of healthcare staff that served during the pandemic to finish the administrative procedures.
Many animals in the streets are abused and lack enough nutrition. Images of cats and dogs published online show desperate animals maltreated and seeking food. A Sulaimani-based commentator wrote on Facebook,” we studied all these years, but we were never taught to behave with animals.”
The bill was first debated in the assembly in July and it's expected to be passed into law soon.
To combat draught Kurdistan region declares national campaign for planting trees
“The campaign aims to reduce the impacts of draught,” Hamad added. For two consecutive years, many areas of the Kurdistan region have been facing draught and very little has been done to fight it.
The General Director thanked PUK President Bafel Jalal Talabani as the first politician to promise to plant trees. The PUK president has begun a campaign of planting one million trees in the Kurdistan region. “We hope that environmentally friendly politicians work better to preserve nature rather than just doing politics,” noted Hamad.
Just over 1 per cent of Iraq is forested and decreasing at an alarming rate, per the Sixth National Report of Iraq to The Convention on Biological Diversity, a state-funded report.
In a televised press conference today, Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) Minister of Municipalities and Tourism Sasan Aouni said, "we have arranged three meetings with over 80 businesses that want to invest in the Kurdistan region.
Today, Kurdish and Japanese firms met in Erbil to debate possible joint investment and cooperation in the Kurdistan region. KRG officials mediated the gathering and called on more Japanese firms to move into the region.
KRG Minister of Municipalities and Tourism Sasan Aouni said the Kurdistan region is a good place for foreign firms to operate.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan External Trade Organization (JETO), other Japanese corporations, and Kurdish businesses attended the meeting and discussed ways to work in the region. The participants presented their views on ways to develop the region's economy.
Aouni noted, "they had arranged the meeting between Japanese and Kurdish businesses three times, the first two times online, but now the Japanese are here [Kurdistan region]."
There are a substantial number of foreign companies, but their assets in the region only account for a small portion of the region's economy.
Japanese NGOs like JICA have a visible footprint in the country and now help Japanese businesses to invest in the Kurdistan region, which needs jobs for its ever-growing labor market.
He noted that the decision also covers officers of the two military colleges in the Kurdistan region that fall under the jurisdiction of the Defense Ministry. The Kurdistan region is home to two military colleges, one in Sulaimani’s Qalachwalan region and the other in Zakho in Duhok.
Ministry of Defense will send several other military trainers to the colleges to train the students of the military courses to replace the college’s trainers as they would have to go on weight tests and probably weight-loss training. It helps the military colleges in the Kurdistan region to continue their classes. The weight loss regulation would not cover recruits as they have filled the criteria before admission.
Obesity among the military ranks in the Kurdistan region and Iraq has become one of the defining features of Iraqi defense forces.