The government of Iraq's Kurdistan region has unveiled spending cuts in a tentative step toward tackling an economic crisis that officials say poses a greater threat than Islamic State. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which is three months in arrears and deeply in debt, has been struggling since early 2014 when the Baghdad government slashed its funding, halting a boom
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On a recent episode of the popular Iraqi Kurdish talk show "With Ranj" produced in Sulaimaniyah, the four participants — all members of diverse political parties — debated the Kurdistan Region’s political and financial crises. The discussion was most notable for its tone and substance. Instead of talking about the need for an independent Kurdistan, a topic that has preoccupied
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Members of the Iraqi Kurdish military are quitting fighting the Islamic State and taking illicit routes to Europe. Why should we pay for our own ammunition and fight for a country that cares so little about us, they ask. In the middle of August, Ahmed Mohammed, became one of the many Iraqis seeking a safer place to live in Europe. He arrived in Germany less than a month after
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A capital city in Iraq is in turmoil. The government has been hit hard by collapsing oil prices and is under pressure from an array of activist groups to reveal the fate of missing oil revenues, and be far more transparent. At the helm is a man many have long accused of intimidation and close links to one of the worst dictators of modern times. This government is seen by some
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In Iraqi Kurdistan one local party has just paralysed the whole political system. It's a region touted as the “other Iraq” because it's more stable and prosperous. But how does the “other Iraq” compare now? The repercussions of the event that took place on the morning of October 12, 2015, at the entrance of Erbil, the capital city of the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdist
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