In the meeting held in Erbil on May 10, 2023 and attended by Daban Shadala, Deputy Head of the Foreign Relations Office and Bayani Sami Abdulrahman, Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government in the United States, Qubad Talabani expressed the Kurdistan region's desire to strengthen trade relations.

"All kinds of facilities will be provided to US companies and investors who want to invest in Kurdistan," Qubad Talabani said.

The US-Kurdistan Business Council delegation explained the purpose of their visit to Kurdistan and expressed their readiness to participate efficiently in investment in various fields and said they want to contribute to the recovery and economic development of the Kurdistan region through investment and development of trade relations.

In another part of the meeting, the political situation in the Kurdistan region was discussed. In this regard, the Deputy Prime Minister said that there are serious efforts to resolve the internal problems and a good understanding has been formed among the political parties that without unity we cannot face all the challenges facing the Kurdistan region.

Regarding the relations between the Kurdistan region and Baghdad, Qubad Talabani said that they want to resolve issues with Baghdad in a radical and fundamental way. "We will work to pass both the budget law and the oil and gas law as soon as possible."

“This meeting will certainly serve as a good starting point to come up with constructive solutions for many pending issues,” Cho Kijoun, Consul General of Korea said.

Qubad Talabani described his meeting with Masrour Barzani, which took place on May 8, as a “productive.”

Consul General of Korea said, “I wish sincerely that the good momentum be maintained and productive measures be set up through dialogue.”

In a tweet, Qubad Talabani said, “Together, we are united in the belief that we can overcome our challenges, work towards better serving our citizens, and remain strong in the face of the many threats facing the Kurdistan Region.”

Sulaimani police arrested the suspect in collaboration with the Erbil crime prevention department.

A citizen, who was robbed of money and gold, filed a complaint against the suspect.

The suspect, a 25-year-old Kurd, confessed to the crime and was detained under Article 443, Sulaimani police said.

During the arrest, the security forces confiscated 300 million dinars, some gold and "several pieces of valuables," Sulaimani police said.

Turkish warplanes bombed the heights of Guharze village in eastern Amedi district of Duhok province this morning, KurdsatNews reporter said.

He said the bombing caused fear among the residents of the area, especially the residents of the villages of Nheli.

The Turkish warplanes have been bombing the mountain ranges of Matina and Gara in the border of Amedi district for several days.

In the meeting held on May 4, 2023, which was attended by Daban Shadala, Deputy Head of the KRG Foreign Relations Office, Qubad Talabani and Darbaz Kosrat Rasul explained the position of the PUK on elections that needs to be fair and inclusive.

They stressed that the Kurdistan Region has faced criticism in many areas such as violations of human rights, freedom of expression and freedom of the press and we do not want to face criticism from our friends because of the postponement of elections.

Qubad Talabani said they have agreed on most issues in the previous talks and the only point of disagreement left is the issue of minorities. Darbaz Kosrat Rasul explained that the parliamentary seats for the minorities were determined from the beginning at the request of President Mam Jalal and the PUK and even increasing the number of seats to 11 seats was proposed by the PUK. Therefore, the PUK considers itself to be the defender of the rights of Kurdistan's minorities more than any other party.

They said that PUK’s only demand is for the minorities to represent themselves, and not be represented by others. "Our demand is both logical and not so difficult that it cannot be implemented and this should be the demand of all parties," he said.

In the meeting, the EU delegation expressed their concern that the delay in the elections will tarnish the reputation of the region and the institutions will lose their legitimacy, in this context, they called for an agreement as soon as possible.

In response to the demand, Qubad Talabani said that they welcome any initiative and are ready to reach an agreement at any time that our friends and allies designate, because our demands are free and fair elections.

 

Netherlands has 125 soldiers assigned to protect the Erbil International Airport since January 2021, all of them will leave the Kurdistan region.

The Dutch Ministry of Defense’s advisory office will remain operational in Erbil to provide military advice to Kurdish and Iraqi forces.

The Dutch troops has worked alongside Kurdish forces and American soldiers to ensure the safety and stability of the region.

Netherlands’s decision signals a significant shift in the country’s involvement in the region, as the mission has been a vital part of maintaining security in the area for more than a year.

Latif Nerwayi, head of the Coordination and Monitoring Board of the PUK Election Agency, told KurdsatNews that the current position of the KDP is completely contrary to the agreement which they had reached earlier.

The KDP has even rejected the UN proposal on the seats of the communities, Nerwayi said.

“The KDP now does not want community seats to be divided into constituencies,” he added.

"Although the Kurdistan Region is rich in natural resources... Unfortunately, we still lack 24-hour electricity, so we must address this issue and satisfy domestic needs before considering exporting gas," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani attended the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece for the second consecutive time. During a speech at the forum on April 27, he said: "Natural resources make the government lazy. We must provide good services to our people."

Regarding the Kurdistan region’s relations, KRG Deputy PM said, "Kurdistan is in a complicated geopolitical situation, and we must deal with our neighbors carefully. We must have good relations with all sides."

Qubad Talabani also talked about the fight against terrorism and said, we still fight against ISIS and that “We are in the same fight with the Syrian Kurds against terrorism.”

"We have never been shy about expressing our solidarity with Syria to fight terrorism that has a tendency to upset some of our neighbors," said KRG Deputy PM Qubad Talabani.

Qubad Talabani said, they have worked on digitizing the government and that if there is transparency, corruption will be difficult because a bureaucratic government will spread corruption.

He also said, women can play a good role in government. "Equality between men and women in Kurdistan is something we believe, women can play a good role in government," he said.

Police said their operation was staged across 21 provinces, including Diyarbakir.

State media said police held people suspected of financing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) or roping new members into the group.

State media said the detained included people suspected of fomenting nearly 60 street protests since 2017.

The Diyarbakir Bar Association said the number of detentions could be as high as 150. These include 20 lawyers and three theatre actors, it said.

Reporters Without Borders said 11 journalists who worked with pro-Kurdish media were also detained.

The raids were believed to be the largest since 108 suspects were arrested in a similar operation in 2020.

After arresting the activist, Ali Mahmoud, also known as Ali Siyasi, Erbil security forces ransacked his house and searched for documents, KurdsatNews reporter said.

The Kurdistan Genocide Writers Union said that Ali Mahmoud is a member of the Supreme Council and a founding member of the Kurdistan Genocide Writers Union.

Spokesman of Erbil security forces, Sabah Khadr told KurdsatNews that Ali Siyasi was arrested for harboring a suspect charged with murder under Article 406 of the Criminal Code.

It has been two months since a number of Kurdish migrants have been arrested by Belarus officials while trying to reach Europe.

Danar Abubakr, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Russia, told KurdsatNews that the KRG has helped a large number of refugees who were in trouble and later returned.

He said they are concerned about the continued trafficking of migrants by smugglers, while the government is working with Iraq and Russia to ensure that the rights of the Kurdish migrants are not violated.

The KRG representative in Russia said that although they provide humanitarian assistance to the migrants arrested on their way to Europe, but migrants should know that they are treated according to the laws of the country where they were arrested.

It has been nearly six months since KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and a group of ministers affiliated with the PUK opted not to attend the cabinet meetings.

PUK ministers have informed the cabinet that they will no longer attend the meetings unless certain concerns are addressed.

The KRG delegation is a ministerial team consisted of Dana Abdulkarim Minister of Housing and Reconstruction, Abdula Haji Mahmud Minister of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs and Pshtiwan Sadiq Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs.

American military personnel included in the convoy which was targeted in the attack, Vedant Patel said.

“Our department of defense is investigating the attack on the convoy on April 7th. That convoy included US military personnel. We can confirm that there were no casualties and we of course forcefully oppose any action that threatens the safety and security of US personnel,” said Patel.

The SDF Commander in Chief, Mazloum Abdi, condemned the suspected Turkish attack, noting that the “patriotic and humanitarian” stances of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party annoy Turkey.

The Pentagon spokesperson stressed that the US forces will remain in Syria and Iraq and will continue supporting the “local partner forces to achieve the enduring defeat of ISIS.”

“More than 100 countries around the world rushed to send humanitarian aid to the quake victims in Turkey,” Turkish Consul General in Erbil Mouloud Yaqut said in a speech during a ceremony held in Shanidar Park in Erbil before the trucks set off to Turkey.

Yaqut thanked the KRG for the assistance it provided to the earthquake-affected people in Turkey.

The humanitarian aid by KRG to Turkey comes amidst harsh criticism by Sulaimani officials that there is a lack of medicine at the hospitals in the province.

More than 50,000 have been killed when magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 Turkish provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

More than 13.5 million people in Turkey have been affected by the devastating quakes, as well as many others in northern Syria.

The suspension of the flights by Turkish Airlines is in protest to PKK activities in the region, Tanju Bilgiu Turkey's foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

It also noted that the measure is expected to remain in place until July 3 and will be reviewed in light of closely monitored developments.

Speaking to Anadolu agency, Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said there may be additional steps regarding this.

This is the second time that Turkish Airlines has suspended flights to and from Sulaimani airport, in 2017, Turkish Airlines suspended flights to Sulaimani Airport for a long time due to the Kurdistan Region's independence referendum.

Handren Hiwa, director of Sulaimani International Airport, told KurdSat that Turkish Airlines has suspended all flights to Sulaimani International Airport until April 11, without giving the reason for the suspension.

He added that they have officially requested an explanation from the Turkish Airlines through the Ministry of Transportation and Iraqi Airways to find out the reason for suspension of the flights.

Director of Sulaimani International Airport said, that they have no technical, security, financial and administrative issue to suspend flights.

This is the second time that Turkish Airlines has suspended flights to Sulaimani airport, in 2017, Turkish Airlines suspended flights to Sulaimani Airport for a long time due to the Kurdistan Region's independence referendum.