The Iraqi parliament on Saturday failed to elect a new speaker after a brawl broke out between members of the legislature, resulting in the session being adjourned.

In defiance of bans on gatherings, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Turkey held demonstrations in three provinces to protest a court ruling that handed down lengthy jail terms to Kurdish politicians.

Veteran Kurdish politician and mayor of Mardin Ahmet Turk said on Friday that the recent controversial court rulings aim to silence Kurdish politicians in Turkey, adding they had expected such heavy sentences.

Ozgur Ozel, leader of Turkey’s largest opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), on Thursday slammed the lengthy sentences handed down for several Kurdish politicians over the 2014 protests related to Kobane city, stating that the verdicts were political.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday warned against the planned closure of camps in the Kurdistan Region hosting internally displaced people from the Yazidi heartland of Shingal, stating that the town remains unsafe and lacks basic services.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has requested UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to permanently end the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) by the end of 2025.

Turkish security forces on Friday arrested 29 people in connection with clashes with police during Labor Day rallies and more arrests are expected, according to the interior minister.

Threats to journalists’ lives and safety, unequal funding, defamation lawsuits, and political instability put Iraq among the world’s countries with “very serious” violations of press freedom, as ranked by Reporters without Borders (RSF) in its annual World Press Freedom Indicator.

Iraq’s next big challenge is managing its water resources to ensure a consistent supply for food production, a Dutch water official said on Sunday, adding that the Netherlands is ready to share its knowledge in this field with Baghdad.

The Iraqi capital brought together representatives of regional countries with academics and civil society representatives to discuss the mounting threats of climate change, water scarcity, and drought in the land between the rivers.

A Turkish court on Friday sentenced the main perpetrator of the 2022 bombing on Istanbul’s Istiklal street to seven life sentences and an additional 1,794 years in prison, state media reported. The attack claimed the lives of six people.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday that Ankara expects to sign over 20 deals when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Iraq on Monday.

One person was arrested in Diyarbakir on the accusation of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during the inauguration ceremony of the mayors of the city's Sur district, the interior ministry announced on Saturday.

The United States private sector is interested in engaging with and investing in businesses in Iraq, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday ahead of a high-level US-Iraq committee meeting in Washington.

The Netherlands on Saturday announced that it will close its embassy in Tehran and consulate in Erbil on Sunday “as a precaution,” amid rising concerns that Iran will carry out a retaliatory attack against Israel.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) announced on Wednesday that it has requested the country’s election board to annul a decision by its Van branch that prevents the party’s candidate in the city to take up his role as mayor despite having won Sunday’s local elections.

Turkey’s interior ministry announced on Wednesday it had detained around 90 people across the country on grounds of being affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), following the crackdown on protests in support of the elected Van mayor whose candidacy was invalidated by a court ruling the previous day.

Kurdish music was the catalyst that kickstarted internationally acclaimed Tunisian singer Emel Mathouthi’s career, the artist told Rudaw on Thursday.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday said that the relation between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) poses a “threat” to his country’s national security.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the local elections later this month will be his last, alluding to bringing an end to his reign as leader of Turkey that spanned two decades.

Talks between Iraq’s top court and the Christian minority parties have started in hopes of a new ruling that would amend its controversial verdict to abolish minority quota seats in the Kurdistan Region’s parliament, with the minorities claiming the court’s ruling has “legal issues.”

Iraq’s finance minister said on Monday that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) must submit a breakdown of the Region’s monthly payroll to the federal finance ministry, for it to pay civil servants' salaries, but KRG officials say they need more time.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday launched an attack on the opposition’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), saying that the oldest political party in the country has lost touch with the people because of its relationship with a pro-Kurdish party.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Friday presided over the reopening of the country’s largest oil refinery that was captured by the Islamic State (ISIS) nearly a decade ago.

Jailed Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas on Friday called for talks between the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), describing the lack of contact between the two sides as a “great shortcoming.”

Turkey must stop targeting critical civilian infrastructure in northeast Syria (Rojava), Human Rights Watch said on Friday, calling for urgent action to address water, fuel, and health care crises that have resulted from the Turkish airstrikes.

The purpose of United States attacks targeting Iraqi armed groups is to degrade their capabilities and safeguard American troops, a Pentagon spokesperson told Rudaw on Thursday. The strikes have angered Baghdad and prompted the federal government to work towards wrapping up the anti-terror mission of international troops in Iraq.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party announced on Sunday that it will field a candidate for the mayoralty of Istanbul in local elections set to take place in March.

The United States Department of the Treasury on Monday announced that it identified an Iraqi bank as an institution of “primary money laundering concerns,” and sanctioned its owner over support to Iran-backed militia groups and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called on the Iraqi government to declare a moratorium on all executions “with a view to abolish the death penalty,” after the emergence of reports of the mass execution of 13 inmates in a prison in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq.

The United States Department of Treasury on Monday announced its sanctioning of Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad and several members of Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah for providing assistance to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Mosques across the Kurdistan Region dedicated their Friday sermon to the condemnation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) attack on Erbil, describing it as being “against the principles of Islam and other religions.”

Turkey’s foreign minister on Tuesday said that Ankara will not hesitate to take “further measures” against the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) if it does not “change its supportive stance” towards the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry on Tuesday said that the ballistic missile strike on the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil were in line with Tehran's defense of its sovereignty, security, and the mission of "combating terrorism." The Iraqi foreign ministry summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires to hand him a protest note in response to the attacks on the same day.

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