The ordered departure of non-essential US personnel from Iraq also applies to staff at the US Consulate General in Erbil, the US Embassy in Baghdad confirmed to Rudaw English on Thursday, as regional tensions continue to boil over.

A German politician criticized Berlin’s move to tighten migration policies and speed up deportations, and warned against mainstreaming the term “illegal migration.”

The Bavarian Supreme Court held a trial for a Kurdish couple accused of the Islamic State (ISIS) links on Monday, more than a year after their detention for several charges, including crimes against Yazidis.

Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister and leading member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), expressed optimism about the process of forming a new coalition government with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The process will be “different” this time, he stressed.

The city of Paris celebrated Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, for the first time at city hall on Thursday, with Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representative to France Ali Dolamari in attendance.

Thousands of Kurds gathered in the German city of Cologne over the weekend to celebrate what organizers hailed as the largest Kurdish New Year, Newroz, celebration in Europe.

A Kurdish artist from Syria has found a market for her artwork made from repurposed bottles after moving to Germany.

Kurds in Syria are under attack and the United Kingdom has to ensure that they are protected and their rights are safeguarded, Lord Peter Hain said on Tuesday.

Decentralization is the optimal solution for Syria and the country cannot achieve stability without Kurdish representation in the new administration, a British Labour MP said on Tuesday.

NATO members on Tuesday voiced concern regarding the ongoing escalations in Syria, following a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, urging immediate de-escalation and a political solution for the conflict.

A diverse group of lawmakers have formed the Kurdish Friendship Group at the European Parliament to show solidarity with Kurds and seek political solutions to Kurdish issues.

As United States President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, the European Union needs to strengthen its unity and sovereignty, an EU official told Rudaw in an interview on Thursday.

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