Video: Turkish officials detain key Erdogan rival, Istanbul mayor
Turkish officials have detained Ekrem Imamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, and a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The detainment comes as part of corruption and terrorism investigations. In a video posted on X, the mayor said he is up against 'huge bullying.'
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Business Insider
34 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Russia, Ghana, 32 other embassies at risk of closure in Nigeria over unpaid ground rent
The Nigerian government, through the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has issued a stern warning to 34 foreign embassies in Abuja, threatening possible closure over their failure to settle ground rent arrears dating back 11 years. The Nigerian government has threatened to close 34 foreign embassies in Abuja over 11 years of unpaid ground rent. The embassies collectively owe over ₦3.6 million in arrears since 2014, violating land lease agreements. Some of the embassies, including those of Russia and Turkey, have denied owing any debts. According to a report by The PUNCH, these embassies in Nigeria have collectively accumulated over ₦3.6 million in unpaid ground rent since 2014, violating land lease agreements with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). Ground rent is a statutory obligation for all landholders within the Federal Capital Territory, including diplomatic missions, and is crucial for funding infrastructure and administrative services. The FCTA publication listing the defaulting embassies disclosed the specific countries involved, revealing that out of the 34 missions cited, the Indonesia Defence Attaché (₦1,718,211), Zambia High Commission (₦1,189,990), Government of Equatorial Guinea (₦1,137,240), and the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (₦459,055) owe the highest amounts in outstanding ground rent. Others include Ghana High Commission Defence Section (N5,950); Embassy of Thailand (N5,350), Embassy of Côte d'Ivoire (N5,500); Embassy of the Russian Federation (N1,100); Embassy of the Philippines (N5,950); Royal Netherlands Embassy (N5,950); Embassy of Turkey (N3,350), and the Embassy of the Republic of Guinea (N5,950). Embassies react Some embassies have rejected claims by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) that they owe ground rent in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. The Embassy of the Russian Federation firmly denied any debt, stating: ' The Embassy pays all rent bills in good faith and on time. We have all necessary documents confirming payment. ' Similarly, the Embassy of Turkiye questioned its inclusion on the list, suggesting a possible bureaucratic error. A Turkish official said, 'We make our payments regularly and have not received any formal notice. We'll investigate and resolve any misunderstanding.' The German Embassy clarified that no official notice had been received from the FCTA and insisted all obligations had been fully settled by the end of 2024. It reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and cooperation with Nigerian authorities. The Ghana High Commission also said it had not been officially notified but would engage the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the issue.
4 hours ago
Public employees in Iraq's Kurdish region caught in the middle of Baghdad-Irbil oil dispute
BAGHDAD -- Tensions have escalated between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the country's north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues. The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Kurdish authorities called the move 'collective punishment' and threatened to retaliate. It's the latest flare-up in a long-running dispute between officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government, over sharing of oil revenues. In 2014, the Kurdish region decided to unilaterally export oil through an independent pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The central government considers it illegal for Irbil to export oil without going through the Iraqi national oil company and filed a case against Turkey in the International Court of Arbitration, arguing that Turkey was violating the provisions of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement signed in 1973. Iraq stopped sending oil through the pipeline in March 2023 after the arbitration court ruled in Baghdad's favor. Attempts to reach a deal to restart exports have repeatedly stalled. Last month, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government traveled to Washington, where he inked two major energy deals with U.S. companies. The federal government in Baghdad then sued in an Iraqi court, asserting that it was illegal for the regional government to make the deals without going through Baghdad. The Iraqi Ministry of Finance announced a decision last month to halt funding for salaries of public sector employees in the Kurdish region. The move sparked widespread outrage in Irbil, triggering strong political and public reactions. The ministry said in a statement that the decision was due to the Kurdish regional authorities' 'failure to hand over oil and non-oil revenues to the federal treasury, as stipulated in the federal budget laws.' It added that any transfer of funds would be conditional on 'the region's commitment to transparency and financial accountability.' The federal Ministry of Oil accused Irbil of failing to deliver crude oil produced in the region's fields to the ministry for export through the state-run SOMO company, which it said had led to massive financial losses amounting to billions of dollars. The ministry warned that 'continued non-compliance jeopardizes Iraq's international reputation and obligations, forcing the federal government to reduce oil production in other provinces to stay within Iraq's OPEC quota — which includes Iraqi Kurdish production, regardless of its legality.' Baghdad has also accused Irbil of smuggling oil out of the country. An Iraqi official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly said the government had tracked 240 cases of illegal border crossings from Iraq's Kurdish region into Iran between Dec. 25, 2024, and May 24, 2025, aimed at smuggling oil derivatives. The Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources in a statement called those allegations 'a smokescreen to distract from widespread corruption and smuggling in other parts of Iraq. The KRG agreed to sell its oil through SOMO, opened an escrow account, and handed over revenues — yet Baghdad failed to meet its financial obligations.' It accused the federal government of being responsible for the halt in oil exports via Turkey due to the lawsuit it filed in 2023 and said the Kurdish region had delivered over 11 million barrels of oil to the Ministry of Oil without receiving any financial compensation. The ministry accused Baghdad of 'violating the constitution and pursuing a deliberate policy of collective punishment and starvation against the people" of the Kurdish region through the halt in funding for salaries. Barzani in a statement on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday described the withholding of salaries as an 'unjust and oppressive decision' and a 'policy of mass starvation' comparable to the chemical attacks and 'genocide' launched by Iraq's former longtime strongman ruler, Saddam Hussein, against the Kurds. The Iraqi Kurdish people "have resisted with steadfastness and courage in the face of all forms of pressure and tyranny' and 'regret was the fate of the tyrants," he said. In the meantime, residents of the Kurdish region feel caught in the middle of the yearslong political dispute once again. Saman Ali Salah, a public school teacher from the city of Sulaimaniyah, said the salary cutoff comes at a particularly bad time for him — his daughter was hit by a car 40 days ago and is still in the hospital. He blamed both Baghdad and Irbil for the situation. 'All the money I had was spent on transportation from the house to the hospital and I haven't paid my rent for the past two months," Salah said. 'I don't know what to do. All I can say is that God will take revenge on these so-called officials on Judgement Day.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Public employees in Iraq's Kurdish region caught in the middle of Baghdad-Irbil oil dispute
BAGHDAD (AP) — Tensions have escalated between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the country's north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues. The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Kurdish authorities called the move 'collective punishment' and threatened to retaliate. A long-running dispute It's the latest flare-up in a long-running dispute between officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government, over sharing of oil revenues. In 2014, the Kurdish region decided to unilaterally export oil through an independent pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The central government considers it illegal for Irbil to export oil without going through the Iraqi national oil company and filed a case against Turkey in the International Court of Arbitration, arguing that Turkey was violating the provisions of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement signed in 1973. Iraq stopped sending oil through the pipeline in March 2023 after the arbitration court ruled in Baghdad's favor. Attempts to reach a deal to restart exports have repeatedly stalled. Last month, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government traveled to Washington, where he inked two major energy deals with U.S. companies. The federal government in Baghdad then sued in an Iraqi court, asserting that it was illegal for the regional government to make the deals without going through Baghdad. Iraq cuts off funds for public employees in the Kurdish region The Iraqi Ministry of Finance announced a decision last month to halt funding for salaries of public sector employees in the Kurdish region. The move sparked widespread outrage in Irbil, triggering strong political and public reactions. The ministry said in a statement that the decision was due to the Kurdish regional authorities' 'failure to hand over oil and non-oil revenues to the federal treasury, as stipulated in the federal budget laws.' It added that any transfer of funds would be conditional on 'the region's commitment to transparency and financial accountability.' The federal Ministry of Oil accused Irbil of failing to deliver crude oil produced in the region's fields to the ministry for export through the state-run SOMO company, which it said had led to massive financial losses amounting to billions of dollars. The ministry warned that 'continued non-compliance jeopardizes Iraq's international reputation and obligations, forcing the federal government to reduce oil production in other provinces to stay within Iraq's OPEC quota — which includes Iraqi Kurdish production, regardless of its legality.' Accusations of oil smuggled out of the Kurdish region Baghdad has also accused Irbil of smuggling oil out of the country. An Iraqi official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly said the government had tracked 240 cases of illegal border crossings from Iraq's Kurdish region into Iran between Dec. 25, 2024, and May 24, 2025, aimed at smuggling oil derivatives. The Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources in a statement called those allegations 'a smokescreen to distract from widespread corruption and smuggling in other parts of Iraq. The KRG agreed to sell its oil through SOMO, opened an escrow account, and handed over revenues — yet Baghdad failed to meet its financial obligations.' It accused the federal government of being responsible for the halt in oil exports via Turkey due to the lawsuit it filed in 2023 and said the Kurdish region had delivered over 11 million barrels of oil to the Ministry of Oil without receiving any financial compensation. The ministry accused Baghdad of 'violating the constitution and pursuing a deliberate policy of collective punishment and starvation against the people" of the Kurdish region through the halt in funding for salaries. Barzani in a statement on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday described the withholding of salaries as an 'unjust and oppressive decision' and a 'policy of mass starvation' comparable to the chemical attacks and 'genocide' launched by Iraq's former longtime strongman ruler, Saddam Hussein, against the Kurds. The Iraqi Kurdish people "have resisted with steadfastness and courage in the face of all forms of pressure and tyranny' and 'regret was the fate of the tyrants," he said. In the meantime, residents of the Kurdish region feel caught in the middle of the yearslong political dispute once again. Saman Ali Salah, a public school teacher from the city of Sulaimaniyah, said the salary cutoff comes at a particularly bad time for him — his daughter was hit by a car 40 days ago and is still in the hospital. He blamed both Baghdad and Irbil for the situation. 'All the money I had was spent on transportation from the house to the hospital and I haven't paid my rent for the past two months," Salah said. 'I don't know what to do. All I can say is that God will take revenge on these so-called officials on Judgement Day.' ___ Associated Press reporter Salam Salim in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.
