A Kurdish-American archaeological team has uncovered a prehistoric settlement southeast of Erbil, preserved for thousands of years by an ancient earthquake.

The confirmation of several cases of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in the Kurdistan Region has led many Muslims in Erbil to refrain from buying animals for sacrifice during Eid al-Adha. Additionally, the Iraqi government's recent decision to halt salary payments to the Region’s civil servants has made it financially impossible for many families to afford the ritual.

Farmers in Koya district, east of Erbil, have suffered losses exceeding 16 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $12.2 million), as reduced rainfall and delayed planting left more than 36,000 dunams of wheat fields unusable, making it one of the worst agricultural seasons in the district’s history, local officials said.

An important water source in Iraq’s southern province of Dhi Qar is drying up, affecting thousands of people and threatening biodiversity in the area.

Luqman Hakim is a jeweler in Erbil city’s famous Qaysari bazaar. Along with jewels, he also crafts prayer beads, necklaces, and bracelets from precious stones and woods.


Dozens of young people lined up in the Syrian capital, Damascus, earlier this week, hoping to be recruited as policemen as the country grapples with maintaining security weeks after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad.

Christians in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil celebrated Christmas with joy and prayer, gathering at church to mark the holy occasion.

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