Assyrian Hacking Group Seeks Recruits With 'Online Expertise'
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Shafaq News
2 days ago
- Shafaq News
KRG denounces "no Kurdish" order in northern universities
Shafaq News – Erbil (Updated: 6:50 p.m.) On Saturday, the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Higher Education condemned the recent Iraqi government's directive banning Kurdish in university instruction and examinations across parts of northern Iraq. The order, issued on July 15, mandates the exclusive use of Arabic for teaching and exams in universities across Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Diyala. It applies to both public and private institutions, with legal penalties outlined for noncompliance. In a statement, the ministry described the decision as a breach of Iraq's constitution, citing Article 4, which designates Kurdish as an official language. "The order undermines the principles of coexistence within a federal system." It also urged Baghdad to revoke the directive and uphold universities as spaces that reflect Iraq's cultural and linguistic plurality, announcing plans to coordinate with Iraqi authorities to resolve the issue and prevent similar actions in the future. ئەکادیمیای کوردی بڕیاری قەدەغەکردنی زمانی کوردی لە ناوەندەکانی خوێندنی باڵای ناوچە کوردستانییەکانی دەرەوەی ئیدارەی هەرێم شەرمەزار دەکات. — KRG Dept. of Media & Information (@DMI_KRG) July 26, 2025 Meanwhile, Kirkuk MP Dilan Ghafour described the decision as a clear violation of constitutional rights and called for its reversal. Speaking to Shafaq News, the MP said she raised the matter directly with the Iraqi Minister of Higher Education, who reportedly pledged to review the directive and consider a solution that respects Iraq's linguistic diversity. According to Ghafour, both sides agreed to maintain the previous policy allowing students to respond to exam questions in Kurdish. 'Nearly half of Kirkuk University's students—and many others in surrounding areas—speak Kurdish. They are entitled to use their mother tongue under the law." "Kurdish must be treated equally in academic institutions," she added.
Shafaq News
2 days ago
- Shafaq News
Arabic only: Baghdad blocks Kurdish language in some universities
Shafaq News – Baghdad Iraq's Ministry of Higher Education has barred the use of Kurdish in university instruction and exams across several northern provinces, mandating Arabic as the sole language of academic delivery. An official document dated July 15 cites Ministerial Order No. 14994, issued in September 2023, and reflects recommendations previously approved by Education Minister Ibrahim Namis al-Jubouri. All classroom teaching and test materials must be conducted in Arabic, according to the directive, which excludes Kurdish from use in higher education, particularly in Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Diyala—provinces with large Kurdish populations where the language remains widely spoken. Institutions that violate the order face legal consequences, the order warned. Although Kurdish holds official status under Article 4 of Iraq's constitution, its role in federal education remains limited. Critics argue the decision further marginalizes Kurds in federal institutions, undermining constitutional protections and deepening the educational divide between Baghdad-administered areas and the autonomous Kurdistan Region. By contrast, Kurdish serves as the primary medium of education in the Kurdistan Region. Local institutions, led by the Kurdish Academy in Erbil, have worked to bridge dialectal divides —chiefly between Sorani and Kurmanji—but progress is hampered by political fragmentation and the absence of a standardized script.
Shafaq News
3 days ago
- Shafaq News
Syria's shadow rulers reshape economy
Shafaq News - Damascus In the weeks after Damascus fell to Syria's rebels, a leading businessman got a late-night call to come see 'the sheikh.' The address was familiar, a building where periodic shakedowns of businessmen like him occurred under Bashar al-Assad's economic empire. But there were new bosses in town. With a long, dark beard and a pistol on his waist, the sheikh gave only a fighter's pseudonym, Abu Mariam. Now the leader of a committee reshaping Syria's economy, he asked questions in courteous Arabic with a slight Australian twang. 'He asked me about my work, how much money we made,' the businessman said. 'I just kept looking at the gun.' A Reuters investigation has found that Syria's new leadership is secretly restructuring an economy broken by corruption and years of sanctions against Assad's government, under the auspices of a group of men whose identities have until now been concealed under pseudonyms. The committee's mission: decipher the legacy of the Assad-era economy, then decide what to restructure and what to retain.
