Latest news with #RudawEnglish
Rudaw Net
31-07-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
KRG phases out over 2,500 generators as 24-hour power initiative expands
Also in Kurdistan How one Barzani tragedy survivor fought back against the Baathist regime President Barzani, US coalition stress necessity of continuing fight against ISIS Kurdistan Region sees five percent rise in greenery: Official Kurdish leaders commemorate Barzan Anfal on 42nd anniversary A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region's electricity ministry announced on Thursday that more than 2,500 generators have been decommissioned as the government expands the round-the-clock power initiative to nearly three million people. The ministry said in a statement that 'over 2,517 diesel neighbourhood generators have been phased out so far. And by the end of 2026, the KRG plans to phase out over 7,000 generators,' noting that the majority of them were running in Erbil city. It added that over 2.7 million people in the Kurdistan Region, which make up around 40 percent of the Region's population, have 24-hour power as part of the quickly expanding Runaki project. Erbil accounts for the largest share of beneficiaries, with nearly 1.5 million residents of the capital enjoying uninterrupted power. 'This achievement marks a significant milestone in delivering clean, reliable and affordable electricity throughout the Kurdistan Region,' read the statement. For years, many people have relied on private generators, which are costly and polluting, when the national grid would cut out for hours daily. "We are steadily advancing toward our goal of delivering uninterrupted electricity to every household and business across the Kurdistan Region by the end of 2026,' the Runaki project team told Rudaw English. Over 2.7 million citizens and counting. Nearly 40% of the Kurdistan Region is now part of the Runaki programme. Step by step, we are powering a brighter Kurdistan. — Runaki (@Runaki_gov_krd) July 31, 2025
Rudaw Net
28-07-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
KRG registers over 800k employees for digital financial initiative
Also in ECONOMY Erbil hands over oil to Baghdad, receives budget share Baghdad to resume payment of KRG salaries Tuesday: Deputy PM Iraq approves deal to resolve financial, oil disputes with KRG Baghdad pledges non-interference in oil firms as KRG export resumption nears: Sources A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said that over 800,000 civil servants have been registered in MyAccount, a government initiative to digitize financial services. The project team told Rudaw English on Monday that they plan to expand this number to one million in the coming months. "The KRG is pleased to announce that more than 800,000 public sector beneficiaries have now registered for MyAccount. This marks a major step toward the KRG's target of banking over one million people through licensed and regulated banks," said the KRG in a statement sent to Rudaw English. The MyAccount project, announced in 2023 by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, is part of a government initiative to digitize salaries and improve the salary disbursement process. It also enables public employees to receive payments directly through the banking system. The lion's share of public sector employees registered with the initiative are in Erbil province, with nearly 400,000, followed by Sulaimani and Duhok, respectively. The KRG stressed that the program is 'being implemented in full coordination with the Central Bank of Iraq, with several partner banks now onboard.' "We remain on track to register over 1 million beneficiaries into the program in the next few months," the MyAccount team told Rudaw English on Monday. "To enable this, the process of delivering cards and ATM expansions has been accelerated significantly" MyAccount serves as the Kurdistan Region's alternative to Baghdad's Tawtin (localization) initiative, which also aims to pay public sector salaries through bank accounts instead of distributing cash. In Sulaimani, many have preferred Tawtin over MyAccount, citing skepticism about the KRG's ability to transfer federal funds received from Baghdad. 'This month, more than 400,000 beneficiaries will receive their salaries electronically through a growing network of over 400 ATMs across the Kurdistan Region, including thousands of pensioners in a pilot phase,' the KRG stated. As part of the latest deal between Baghdad and Erbil over financial disputes earlier this month, the salary domiciliation process in the Kurdistan Region must be completed 'within three months.'
Rudaw Net
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
‘They're erasing our identity': Suwayda native in Erbil pleads for end to violence
Also in Syria Clashes continue in Suwayda, death toll passes 900: Watchdog Syrian president confirms truce as state forces enter Suwayda US announces Israel-Syria ceasefire following deadly clashes in Suwayda Syria to deploy 'specialized force' to end Suwayda clashes A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Yara Saad* moved to Erbil full of hope for her future and plans to support her family in Suwayda, the Druze-majority province in southern Syria, but all her dreams have been ripped to shreds as violent clashes between armed Druze groups and Bedouin tribes tear through her hometown. Her father was injured and she fears he is dead. She has spent every waking hour of the past week glued to the news from home. 'It has been six or seven days now, we haven't been able to sleep because of the news,' Saad told Rudaw English on Saturday. Clashes erupted on Sunday between the Druze and Sunni Bedouin tribes. The Syrian army intervened and took control of most of the province, which had been under Druze rule since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December. A ceasefire was reached with US mediation and after Israel carried out strikes in support of the Druze. On Wednesday, interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced state forces were pulling out of the province. The violence, however, continues and the death toll rises daily, now topping 900, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A new ceasefire was announced on Saturday and includes the redeployment of state forces to Suwayda. Saad, 21, and her family are Druze, a faith that is an offshoot of Shia Islam. She said her relatives contacted her to say her father had been shot but was still alive. However, she expressed little hope in their assurances, fearing the worst amid the chaos. "I heard he was named on a list of those killed that was posted online," she said. Conditions are dire in the province, with little access to basic necessities such as food, healthcare, and electricity. 'There were no hospitals to transfer him to. All hospitals were completely out of service. The only news that came said he was injured, so for sure, he was martyred, because there were no hospitals available at all,' she said. That was not the only devastating news Saad received. Two of her uncles, who had been fighting to protect civilians, were also killed. Saad provided Rudaw English with videos that had been posted on TikTok by Bedouin accounts, showing those who had been killed. Among dozens of bodies, she said she recognized one of her uncles. 'We only found out by chance from the photos being shared online that this was my uncle who died, and this was my cousin who died,' she said. She also recognized childhood friends among the videos of dead bodies circulating on social media, as she received word that another uncle who was injured had succumbed to his wounds. 'My other uncle was wounded. He also died. All of our friends died,' she said. Saad described the chaos that unfolded as the fighting escalated, forcing her family to flee their home. 'First, they said there were clashes and that rockets and drones were being fired,' she said. The family fled their village and went into the city, believing they would be safer there. However, as clashes reached the urban center, they were forced to return to the countryside, moving repeatedly in search of safety. 'Once General Security [state forces] entered the city, they went back to the villages,' she said. 'Then they [state forces] started sweeping areas, clearing out the people there, of course, after killing people in their homes.' She said her relatives moved from place to place, trying to stay ahead of the violence. According to the United Nations, at least 87,000 people have been displaced in Suwayda since Sunday. 'Civilian infrastructure in As-Sweida Governorate, including homes, medical facilities, and communal spaces, has come under threat amid ongoing hostilities, with reports of targeted damage to private property such as houses, vehicles, hospitals, churches, and public areas,' the UN's humanitarian office said on Saturday, adding that electricity, water, and telecommunications have been cut off after being damaged in airstrikes and clashes. The UN is working with humanitarian partners to deliver aid, 'as security allows.' In her family's village, Saad said government forces set fire to many homes. 'They burned my father's house and my mother's house. Of course, the neighbor's house next to it was burned too.' With much of the village now reportedly destroyed, Saad mourns not only the loss of her family's home, but also the memories of her childhood that went with it. 'I'm far from my family, I don't know what's happening. Even my family doesn't know what their destiny is,' Saad said. Staying in touch with her family has been difficult. 'The power's out. There's no network, no anything,' she said. 'As long as I'm far away and watching the news online, it hurts me more than if I were with them, especially since I can't do anything for them.' 'Electricity has been out for six or seven days. The water is contaminated. There's no internet, no communication networks,' she said. With no reliable information, families are forced to move from place to place, often with no idea if the roads are safe. She pleaded for urgent humanitarian aid. 'If only they would open a humanitarian crossing, just so the injured could get treatment, and only medicine, water, and food could enter. We don't want anything else. For now, we just want the war to stop.' The Syrian government on Saturday announced details of the ceasefire, the second phase of which includes opening humanitarian corridors between Suwayda and neighbouring Daraa province. The first phase is the deployment of internal security forces to de-escalate tensions and secure key routes, and the third is the gradual reactivation of state institutions and full restoration of law and order, according to Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa. The clashes in Suwayda is the latest sectarian violence to rock Syria since the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Dozens were killed in April and May in violence between armed Druze groups and government forces. In March, hundreds were killed in clashes in the Alawite-majority coastal region. Saad rejected claims of longstanding sectarian tensions in Suwayda. 'Suwayda was always secure. The Bedouins had been living with us for decades. There was never anything between us,' she said. 'We never had any sectarianism until Jolani came in, supposedly to resolve issues and to represent Syria, claiming he didn't want division,' she added. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is the nom de guerre of Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharra. He led the Islamist militia group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that spearheaded the offensive to topple Bashar. Minority groups in Syria are concerned about their future under Sharaa's interim government, which has prioritized Islamic jurisprudence and centralized power. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the ongoing clashes began when members of a Bedouin tribe attacked and robbed a Druze man. Saad said the conflict quickly escalated with the intervention of government forces who she said entered Suwayda not to resolve tensions but to stoke them. 'They started kidnapping people from our side so a conflict would arise between us and the Bedouins,' she said. What followed, she claimed, was a campaign of home raids, killings including of religious leaders, and acts of public humiliation. 'They shaved the mustaches of sheikhs. They humiliated the elders,' she said. Information Minister Mustafa defended the government's response to the clashes, saying the intention was 'to protect civilians and limit the expansion of the conflict.' 'The state understands the unique characteristics of each region and seeks negotiated and political solutions, but it is keen to restrict the possession of weapons to the state and integrate all organizations into the army,' he said. 'The absence of the state has proven to be the problem, and its presence is the solution.' Saad voiced deep concern over what she described as a systematic effort to erase minority communities in Syria, drawing parallels with past atrocities. 'The idea is that they are exterminating minorities, just like what happened on the coast. The same thing is happening now in Suwayda. Are you seeing how it's repeating?' she said. 'These terrorists, they're killers. Their only goal is murder. They have no other aim,' she said. 'It's a sectarian war. They're pushing things so Syria gets divided… They're erasing our identity.' *Her name has been changed to protect her identity and that of her family in Suwayda.
Rudaw Net
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Kobane makes Kurdish language mandatory on business signs
Also in Syria US says Syria's appointment of sanctioned commander a 'serious mistake' SDF thwarts multiple ISIS attacks in Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zor province SDF foils ISIS ambushes in east Syria Macron receives Syria's Sharaa in Paris A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kobane municipal council in a session on Thursday decided to make it mandatory for shops and restaurants to add Kurdish names to billboards and signs in the city in northeast Syria (Rojava). 'All owners of shops and restaurants in Kobane city should write the names of their shops and restaurants in Kurdish alongside Arabic language,' read a decree from the municipality. It gave businesses two months to implement the decision. The new rule was inspired by a shopkeeper who added Kurdish to the name of his business, a municipality source told Rudaw English on Friday. Kobane has been held by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) for more than a decade. It is part of the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES) where Kurdish is an official language. Kurdish language has flourished in the enclave after government troops withdrew at the start of Syria's civil war and a Kurdish-led administration took over. The language is being taught in schools and universities.
Rudaw Net
08-05-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
METEX 2025 highlights Kurdistan Region's tourism potential amid sector boom
Also in Kurdistan Erbil man takes legal action after medical gauze left in abdomen for 7 years Over 3,000 Thalassemia cases recorded in the Kurdistan Region amid growing alarm Iraqi border guards shoot, kill one in Sulaimani: Family Qatar invites President Barzani to Doha Forum A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The third edition of the Middle East Tourism Expo (METEX 2025) was held in the capital of the Kurdistan Region, Erbil, drawing around 180 companies from 18 countries and approximately 25,000 attendees. The event aims to boost development, investment, and regional cooperation in the region's rapidly growing tourism sector, which has seen a remarkable 1,800 percent increase in tourist arrivals over the past 16 years. The expo Running from May 6 to May 8 at the Erbil International Fairgrounds, METEX 2025 provided a dynamic platform for networking, business development, and knowledge exchange through pre-arranged meetings, presentations, and workshops. With nearly 120 hosted buyers and 500 scheduled Business 2 Business sessions, the exhibition is strategically designed to boost tourism-related investment and cooperation across sectors in the Kurdistan Region. Key sectors represented include travel agencies, hotels, airlines, IT services, banks, wellness centers, and even educational institutions. Speaking to Rudaw English, Lawand Mamondy, the CEO of Fly Erbil and key organizer of METEX2025, stated that on its opening day alone, '10,000 visitors visited the exhibition.' He pointed out that around 180 companies have participated in this year's edition of the exhibition, elaborating, 'We are talking about many companies from 18 countries here, maybe you saw, [participants] from Gulf countries, Middle Eastern countries, Africa, Europe.' Mamondy further anticipated that next year will see even further participation. 'My expectation for the next year is we can use the second hall [open up] as well, and I'm talking about [the participation of] 300 to 400 companies,' the CEO of Fly Erbil noted. For his part, the Acting Indonesian Ambassador to Iraq, Abraham Lebelauw, expressed to Rudaw English his exhilaration over his country's participation in this year's edition of the exhibition. He described the opportunity as 'very important because we learn a lot from different sectors, companies, not only tourism but also trade, and we learn a lot about their experiences. 'With this exhibition, we got a lot of information that I am sure I can share with the people in Indonesia... very good and positive information, including culture, trade, investment, and all the sectors in Kurdistan.' Tourism in the Kurdistan Region Over the past decade, the tourism sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has transformed into a key pillar of economic development and regional identity. Once considered an emerging destination, the Region is now attracting millions of visitors annually, with government investment, infrastructure expansion, and natural and cultural attractions fueling its rapid growth. In 2023 alone, the region welcomed over 7.2 million tourists - a dramatic increase from just 377,000 in 2007. The 1,810.6 percent increase in tourist arrivals reflects not only a growing domestic interest but also increased international recognition. In this regard, the Acting Indonesian Ambassador to Iraq, Lebelauw, asserted to Rudaw English the importance of 'people-to-people contact' in encouraging tourists to travel and elevating their knowledge about cultures. Pointing to the commonalities between the Kurdish and Indonesian peoples, Lebelauw stated, 'There is one similarity that Kurdistan and Indonesia have a lot of different cultural, different races that put together in one place like a melting pot. Indonesia also has a philosophical base, unity and diversity, just like Kurdistan.' He stressed the importance of 'developing a better understanding, showing the very developed history, cultural, and showcasing how the similarity can be beneficial, can be mutual, beneficial for both countries.' Lebelauw highlighted that while Indonesians might correlate the Middle East with religious tourism, 'Kurdistan can actually provide more.' The tourism sector's contribution to the local economy is also significant. With each tourist spending an estimated $250 to $300, tourism generated between $1.8 billion and $2.2 billion in revenue in 2023. This boom has created opportunities across multiple industries, with tourism supporting around 23 different types of professions per visitor. For its part, the Kurdistan Regional Government has invested more than $4.5 billion in tourism infrastructure, developing over 1,075 accommodations including hotels, motels, and tourist villages, alongside 800+ restaurants and service establishments. Pointing to the high level of security and stability the Kurdistan Region enjoys despite the ongoing turbulent events in the region, the CEO of Fly Erbil, Mamondy, stated that holding METEX2025 at this very sensitive time was not only shocking to many, but also sent a loud and clear message to the entire world about the Region. He further asserted however, the Kurdistan Region's tourism potential should be represented in major exhibitions as well. 'We also need to be outside in the, for example, in Dubai, in Berlin, in London,' he noted adding, 'We request [from the Kurdistan Regional Government] that every year, we participate in at least five biggest exhibition in the world, where Kurdistan should have a stand.' Touristic prominence Geographically, the Kurdistan Region is characterized by predominantly mountainous terrain, offering particularly striking natural landscapes in its northern and northeastern areas, especially along the borders with Turkey and Iran. In addition to its breathtaking natural scenery, the Kurdistan Region is rich in cultural and historical heritage, positioning it as a significant part of ancient Mesopotamia. The Region is also home to a wealth of archaeological sites, ancient cities, and religious landmarks that bear witness to thousands of years of continuous civilization. These include remnants from the Sumerian, Assyrian, and Median eras, highlighting the Region's deep historical roots. At the heart of this archaeological landscape stands the Erbil Citadel, widely regarded as the world's oldest continuously inhabited settlement. Dating back to 6000 BC, the Citadel serves as a symbolic and cultural centerpiece of the Kurdistan Region's enduring legacy. However, the Kurdistan Region's identity has long been connected to the tragedies befallen the Kurdish people. Speaking at the opening day of METEX2025, the Region's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday called for a renewed focus on showcasing the Region's rich cultural heritage and natural beauty. 'For years, our efforts to introduce Kurdistan to the world centered on our national identity through the lens of suffering,' said PM Barzani, adding that 'Kurdistan has much more to offer… It is a place of deep history, rich culture, and peaceful coexistence among diverse religious and ethnic communities.' 'Kurdistan's beauty lies in its diverse nature and how hospitable and friendly its people are, which is a common trait throughout Kurdistan, to make our guests feel at home.' PM Barzani also emphasized the strategic importance of strengthening the tourism sector in the Region. 'Improving our tourism sector will help us introduce Kurdistan to the world so that more people come and visit us and get to know our people and the different parts of our Region better,' he said, adding, 'We must continue to develop services so that more people, whether from Kurdistan or abroad, benefit more from this sector.' The Kurdistan Region premier further underscored the role of events like METEX2025 in elevating the Kurdistan Region's profile as a key tourist destination. 'One of the factors that will help us introduce Kurdistan to the world more effectively is our focus on the tourism sector,' the premier said, stressing that 'by working together and with the [Kurdistan Regional] Government's [KRG] support, such events can serve all of the Kurdistanis.' Praising the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister's participation the CEO of Fly Erbil, Mamondy, remarked, 'The Prime Minister's visit to this exhibition, it means a lot to us, he gave us full power and he always supports the tourism sector.' Pointing to the impact of PM Barzani's remarks, Mamondy noted that 'all the foreign companies, they got that speech… it was [meant to show] support for them, to come to Kurdistan, to make investments in the tourism sector, and at the same time, he [PM Barzani] showed that Kurdistan is open for everyone to invest.' Looking ahead The KRG has outlined a bold vision for 2030, aiming to attract 20 million tourists annually. Strategic initiatives supporting this goal include the launch of an electronic visa application system, restoration and development of natural landmarks, and the promotion of festivals and cultural heritage events. The significant surge in tourist arrivals suggests that the region is on track. With growing infrastructure, a safe and welcoming environment, and diverse attractions ranging from mountain retreats to archaeological sites, the Kurdistan Region is carving out a distinctive and sustainable place on the global tourism map. The growing focus on tourism also serves the Region's push to diversify its income sources, particularly in light of the economy's heavy reliance on oil revenues.
