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DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - A long-running dispute on oil revenue-sharing between Iraq's national government and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region may be resolved within months with agreement on a hydrocarbons law, Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Tuesday. Agreement on regular budget payments from Baghdad would help authorities in the Kurdish Regional Government resolve payment delays to international oil companies in the region, as well as easing a backlog in salary payments for KRG employees. Asked about the timing for agreement on the hydrocarbon law, Barzani said it should be within months. Under the Iraqi constitution, the KRG is entitled to a portion of the national budget. The standoff has affected the KRG's ability to pay international oil companies (IOCs) operating on its territory and to pay thousands of local employees.

[1/4] A supporter of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) holds a mask of their jailed former leader and presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas during a rally in Ankara, Turkey, June 19, 2018. Turkey's constitutional court opened the case against the HDP in 2021, drawing strong criticism from Ankara's Western allies. "Even if Erdogan puts pressure on voters, even if he tries to use tricks, he cannot avoid defeat," Demirtas said. 'WE ARE THE PEOPLE'Ahead of the elections, Demirtas' Twitter account has issued daily political messages to its more than 2 million followers. The party currently plans to propose its own presidential candidate, but Demirtas did not rule out backing a joint opposition candidate against Erdogan.

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has notified Congress of the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, sparking an immediate objection from a top U.S. lawmaker who has long opposed the deal. NATO member Turkey requested in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. The Biden administration has said it supports the sale and has been in touch for months with Congress on an informal basis to win the approval of the lawmakers, however it has failed so far to secure a green light. But a senior U.S. official said he was "doubtful" the administration would be in a position to proceed unless Menendez dropped his objection. The U.S. Congress is also unlikely to approve the sale as long as Turkey refuses to proceed with the ratification of Sweden and Finland's NATO membership.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday that Sweden "cannot escape its responsibilities" by only condemning the incident. Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency said an investigation into the incident was opened after Erdogan's lawyer filed a legal petition. "It is aimed, I would say, as a sabotage against the Swedish NATO application," he said. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said relations with Turkey were important and condemned the incident as shameless. On Sunday, Kristersson said Sweden was confident Turkey would approve its NATO bid but it would not meet all the conditions Ankara has set.

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has told Congress it is preparing the potential $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, sparking an immediate objection from a senior U.S. lawmaker who has long opposed the deal. NATO member Turkey requested in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. The Biden administration has said it supports the sale and has been in touch for months with Congress on an informal basis to win its approval. "As I have repeatedly made clear, I strongly oppose the Biden administration’s proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey," Senator Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. While the sale is still in the informal review process, Congress is also unlikely to approve the sale as long as Turkey refuses to proceed with the ratification of Sweden and Finland's NATO membership.

☆ Sweden says Turkey asking too much over NATO application
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks during the annual Society and Defence Conference in Salen, Sweden, January 8, 2023. TT News Agency/Henrik Montgomery via REUTERSSTOCKHOLM, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Sweden is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the NATO military alliance, but will not meet all the conditions Ankara has set for its support, Sweden's prime minister said on Sunday. "Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say that they want things that we cannot or do not want to give them," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a defence think-tank conference in Sweden. Finland and Sweden signed a three-way agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "From time to time, Turkey mentions individuals that they want to see extradited from Sweden.

☆ Rapper who became the voice of the Iranian revolt is in danger of execution
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Sanam Mahoozi | Sanam Mahoozi Is A Freelance Writer Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Fear for his safety have also grown after Salehi’s official Twitter account posted Friday that despite being in danger of losing his eyesight, he was being repeatedly beaten. Iranian mourners march towards Aichi cemetery in Saqez in Iranian Kurdistan to mark 40 days since Mahsa Amini's death on Oct. 26, 2022. ESN / AFP - Getty ImagesUsing his voice and lyrics, Salehi came out in support of the anti-government protesters from the beginning. At the heart of the protests, and Salehi’s lyrics, is the conviction that the government must go. “This is Toomaj Salehi,” he wrote, reposting a Salehi video supportive of the protesters.

☆ Iran supreme leader Khamenei hints at loosening of hijab rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Sanam Mahoozi | Sanam Mahoozi Is A Freelance Writer Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

While his comments were vague and did not promise to change the existing laws, they were a recognition of how potent the issue of the hijab remains, according to Abbas Milani, the director of Iranian studies at Stanford University. “I think he knows how pervasive women’s rejection of compulsory hijab has been,” he said. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency, or HRANA, estimates that more than 18,000 people have been arrested. In his speech, Khamenei also criticized the West for its treatment of women. Women in the West are “alienated,” he said, adding that the “Western capitalist system is a patriarchal system,” according to Mehr News Agency.

☆ Sweden's foreign minister says NATO talks with Turkey progressing well
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Johan Ahlander | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Talks between Sweden and Turkey are progressing well and Stockholm hopes Ankara will ratify the Nordic country's NATO application well before an alliance summit in July, Sweden's foreign minister said on Thursday. "Things are progressing well, we had an excellent meeting today," Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Reuters after meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara. The NATO application has so far been ratified by 28 of the 30 member countries. "We hope that we can become members at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, at the latest," Billstrom said. Billstrom said Sweden had an independent judiciary and that there was nothing the government could do to change such decisions.

☆ An assassination, a feud and the fight for power in Iraq's Kurdistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

TENSE STANDOFFAfter Rasoul's death, the KDP-dominated Regional Security Council accused a PUK security agency of the killing. It detained six men it identified as operatives involved and issued arrest warrants for another four senior PUK security officials, according to security council statement a week after the attack. Long-simmering mistrust between the two sides had already deepened this year due to a wave of defections from PUK security agencies. The senior PUK official told Reuters there had been eight. "It could've easily turned ugly," the senior PUK official said.

☆ Turkey says it expects more extraditions from Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sweden on Friday deported Turkish citizen Mahmut Tat, who had sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 after being sentenced in Turkey to six years and 10 months in jail for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "This is a good start from Sweden that shows their sincerity and goodwill. We hope new (extraditions) will follow in line with this sincerity," Bozdag said in a televised interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber. However, he made clear that Turkey expected further moves from Stockholm before it could ratify Sweden's NATO application. "In line with the trilateral memorandum with Sweden and Finland, they should lift all (arms) embargoes on Turkey, change their legislation for the fight against terrorism, and extradite all terrorists that Turkey wants.

☆ Iran's attorney general signals that morality police could be 'abolished'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Iran‘s Attorney General said Saturday that the country’s controversial morality police will be “abolished,” local media reported, amid ongoing nationwide protests. Montazeri's brief and unscripted comment came in response to a question about “why the morality police were being shut down,” the outlets reported. Iran’s Interior Ministry and police have not commented on the status of the morality police. Amini had allegedly failed to fully cover her hair and defied the country’s strict dress codes when she was arrested in Iran’s capital, Tehran. Police had said Amini died after she fell ill and slipped into a coma, but her family has said witnesses told them officers beat her.

☆ Sweden extradites man with alleged terrorism links to Turkey, media report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Sweden on Friday extradited a Kurdish man with alleged links to terrorism to Turkey as Ankara keeps up pressure on the Nordic country to meet its demands in return for NATO membership, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday. Mahmut Tat had sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 after being sentenced in Turkey for six years and 10 months for alleged links to the Kurdish militant group the PKK. Turkish state television TRT said Tat was sent to an Istanbul prison on Saturday. Turkey said on Wednesday that Sweden and Finland had made progress towards NATO membership but that they still needed to do more to satisfy Ankara's demands on tackling terrorism. Others wanted by Ankara are people with alleged links to Fethullah Gulen - a Turkish cleric who lives in the United States and is accused of orchestrating 2016 failed coup attempt against Erdogan.

☆ Chinese firm selling surveillance tech to Iran comes under scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Tiandy is one of several Chinese companies at the center of China’s vast domestic surveillance network, experts and human rights advocates say. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said the embassy could not speak on behalf of Chinese private companies. Last week, the Biden administration effectively banned the sale or import of new equipment from a number of Chinese surveillance firms but Tiandy Technologies was not named. Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Chinese surveillance technology tends to be less expensive and more attractive for some authoritarian governments. Like other video technology companies in China, Tiandy’s software includes an ethnicity tracking tool that supposedly can digitally identify someone’s race.

☆ Iran’s President Visits Kurdish Province Amid Growing Unrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( David S. Cloud | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi touted development projects in the restive Kurdish region where Tehran has carried out its harshest crackdown since antigovernment protests erupted in September. Mr. Raisi spoke Thursday at a ceremony marking the completion of a water project and promised action on other infrastructure improvements in Kurdistan, a shift in government tactics after the violent means used so far to quell the biggest threat to the Islamic Republic in its four decades of rule.

☆ Why Saudi Arabia is hosting one of the world's biggest raves
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The kingdom’s Soundstorm music festival, which began in 2019, is back again for its fourth year and will start on Thursday. “(It) is a particularly powerful example because it seeks to bring together young people and women from across Saudi Arabia and the world,” she said. By contrast, Las Vegas’ Electric Daisy Carnival, considered North America’s biggest dance music festival, had an attendance of over 400,000 this year. Last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that performers should either “speak up” about Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations or not attend the festival at all. Some however argue that opening up countries to international norms and values can allow for better discussion on human rights shortcomings.

Howitzers fired daily from Turkey have struck Kurdish YPG targets for a week, while warplanes have carried out airstrikes. The escalation comes after a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul two weeks ago that Ankara blamed on the YPG militia. President Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey would launch a land operation when convenient to secure its southern border. Erdogan said back in May that Turkey would soon launch a military operation against the YPG in Syria, but such an operation did not materialise at that time. The defence ministry said on Saturday three Turkish soldiers had been killed in northern Iraq, where the military has been conducting an operation against the PKK since April.

☆ Iran's violent crackdown against protesters escalates in parts of the country
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alexander Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The group, which focuses on human rights in Iranian Kurdistan, said that at least 1,500 people have been injured. Scenes from reported clashes in the northeastern Iranian city of Javanrud, shared by a Kurdish human rights group on Tuesday. The regime-aligned agency blamed the violence on “rioters” and “Kurdish separatists” who infiltrated crowds of protesters and attacked an IRGC base. Some protesters have called for an overthrow of the regime and “death to the dictator” — meaning Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These have been condemned by Kurdish officials and the Iraqi government, despite the latter being dominated by parties close to Iran.

☆ Iran Strengthens Military Presence on Iraq Border in Push Against Kurdish Groups
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Iran is deploying armored and special units along its western border to prevent the infiltration of Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraq, a top commander of the Revolutionary Guard said Friday, exacerbating the risk of a wider military conflict in the volatile area. The deployment follows an intensification of Tehran’s response to protests sweeping the country, particularly in the Kurdish border areas, which have experienced some of the most consistent antigovernment rallies. Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman whose death in police custody in mid-September sparked the unrest, was born in Kurdistan.

☆ Turkish strikes hit oil installations in northern Syria, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A view shows the aftermath after Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes, in Derik countryside, Syria November 21, 2022. REUTERS/Orhan QeremanAMMAN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Turkish drones are targeting key oil installations run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria, three local sources said, in air strikes which drew strong condemnation from the United States overnight. Turkey's warplanes began conducting air strikes on Syrian Kurdish YPG militia bases in northern Syria at the weekend, prompting retaliatory strikes along the Syrian border. The Pentagon said the Turkish air strikes threatened the safety of U.S. military personnel and that the escalating situation jeopardized years of progress against Islamic State militants in the area. The United States has roughly 900 soldiers in Syria, mainly working with the SDF in the northeast.

WASHINGTON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Turkish air strikes in northern Syria threatened the safety of U.S. military personnel and the escalating situation jeopardized years of progress against Islamic State militants, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The public comments represent the strongest condemnation by the United States of NATO-ally Turkey's air operations in recent days against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria to date. "Recent air strikes in Syria directly threatened the safety of U.S. personnel who are working in Syria with local partners to defeat ISIS and maintain custody of more than ten thousand ISIS detainees," the Pentagon's spokesman, Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder, said in a statement. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey's air operations were only the beginning and it would launch a land operation when convenient after an escalation in retaliatory strikes. This is not the first time Turkey's operations in northern Syria have threatened U.S. personnel.

"We are continuing the air operation and will come down hard on the terrorists from land at the most convenient time for us," Erdogan told his AK Party's lawmakers in a speech in parliament. Meanwhile, the United States has conveyed serious concerns to Turkey, a NATO ally, about the impact of escalation on the goal of fighting Islamic State militants in Syria. Turkey has previously launched military incursions in Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia, regarding it as a wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey, the United States and the European Union designate as a terrorist group. NEARLY 500 TARGETS HITTurkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the army had hit 471 targets in Syria and Iraq since the weekend in what he said was Turkey's biggest air operation of recent times. It cited him as saying 254 militants had been "neutralised" in the operation, a term generally used to be mean killed.

"We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons and guns," Erdogan said in a speech in northeastern Turkey. "God willing, we will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers." Turkey has mounted several major military operations against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and Islamic State militants in northern Syria in recent years. The YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said 15 civilians and fighters were killed in Turkish strikes in recent days. Turkey said its warplanes destroyed 89 targets in Syria and Iraq on Sunday, with 184 militants killed in operations targeting the YPG and PKK on Sunday and Monday.

NATO member Turkey has conducted a diplomatic balancing act since Russia invaded Ukraine, criticising the invasion but opposing Western sanctions on Russia. A Turkish defence ministry source said jets were never used in Syrian, Russian or U.S. airspace for the latest airstrikes on Kurdish militant bases in Syria, and that jets hit all targets from within Turkish airspace. "Turkish jets used the airspace under the control of the United States and Russia. "The Turks coordinated with the Russians and the Americans in the areas they have control over Syrian airspace," said Colonel Abduljabbar Akaidi, a senior Syrian opposition figure familiar with the latest developments. Turkey, the United States and others deem the PKK a terrorist group.

☆ Russian envoy urges restraint by Turkey in Syria - media
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Russia has called on Turkey to show restraint in its use of "excessive" military force in Syria and to keep tensions from escalating, Russian news agencies cited a Russian envoy to Syria envoy as saying on Tuesday. read moreLavrentyev said Turkey had not notified Russia in advance about its strikes on Syria and Iraq. "We hope to convince our Turkish partners to refrain from using excessive force on Syrian territory," Lavrentyev said. He added that Russia would work with interested parties to find a peaceful solution to the "Kurdish issue". Reporting in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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