• Iran declares 41 percent voter turnout in key elections

    Tehran, Iran - Iran on Monday announced a turnout of 41 percent in last week's elections for parliament and a key clerical body -- a record low since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to voting records. Conservatives were reported to have secured the bulk of seats in Friday's elections for the...
  • Conservatives tipped to win in Iranian elections as counting begins

    Tehran, Iran - Iran began counting ballots on Saturday after a vote for parliament and a key clerical body, with local media estimating a low turnout and conservatives expected to dominate. Friday's elections were the first since widespread protests triggered by the September 2022 death in police custody of Mahsa Amini,...
  • Mahsa Amini’s family blocked from leaving Iran for EU rights prize

    PARIS, FRANCE - The family of Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody, have been banned from traveling to France to collect a top rights prize awarded posthumously, their lawyer said on Saturday. Amini died aged 22 on September 16, 2022, while being held by Iran's religious police...
  • EU nominates Mahsa Amini and Elon Musk for top rights award

    BRUSSELS, BELGIUM- Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody a year ago, and billionaire Elon Musk were among a field of nominations put forward on Wednesday for the EU's top rights prize. The European Parliament's three biggest political groups each backed Amini as the recipient for this year's Sakharov...
  • Six arrested in Iran over planned rioting on Amini death anniversary

    Tehran, Iran - Authorities in Iran's southwest have arrested six people accused of "organizing riots" on the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in custody which triggered nationwide protests, state media reported on Saturday. Amini, an Iranian Kurd, died on September 16, 2022, after her arrest in Tehran for alleged breach...
  • Clashes between army and Turkey-backed rebels in Syria kill 23

    The clashes broke out after pro-Ankara rebels tried to infiltrate Kurdish-held northeast Syria, killing 23 people, a war monitor said. The spike in violence comes amid days of separate clashes in Kurdish-held parts of neighboring Deir Ezzor province after US-backed, Kurdish-led fighters detained the head of a local military body...
  • Clashes hit Kurdish-held east Syria after curfew

    BEIRUT, LEBANON - Sporadic clashes took place on Saturday in a Kurdish-held area of eastern Syria, a monitor said, after a curfew was imposed following the arrest of an Arab armed group's leader. Fighting erupted in the Kurdish-controlled areas of Deir Ezzor province on Monday after the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces...
  • Syrian Kurds ready for talks with Damascus, sharing resources

    "We affirm our readiness to meet and talk with the Syrian government and with all Syrian parties to hold discussions and present initiatives for a solution," the Kurdish authorities said.
  • Turkey’s Erdogan asks parliament to back Finland’s bid to join NATO

    Ankara, Turkey--Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended months of diplomatically charged delays on Friday and asked parliament to quickly back Finland's bid to join NATO. A simultaneous decision by fellow holdout Hungary to schedule a Finnish ratification vote for March 27 means the US-led defence alliance will likely grow to 31...
  • Syria denounces US top general’s visit to Kurdish-held northeast

    The United States' top military officer Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley made a surprise visit to an army base in the Kurdish-held northeast, meeting with US troops stationed in area controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The visit has drawn sharp condemnation from Syria's foreign...
  • Iran detains journalist as protests against Mahsa Amini’s death continue

    Tehran, Iran - Iranian authorities have detained a journalist at a reformist publication, local media reported Sunday, as her sister, also a journalist, remains in custody after reporting on Mahsa Amini's death. Iran has been gripped by nationwide protests since the September 16 death in custody of Amini, a 22-year-old...
  • Iran minister urges tolerance for women over headscarves

    Zarghami said he advised a "man who behaves harshly" towards a woman not wearing headscarf to "close his eyes if looking at her excites him". Zarghami was strongly criticised by ultra-conservatives in October after reportedly criticising the morality police.
  • Erdogan urges Putin to ‘clear’ Kurd forces in northern Syria

    Erdogan told Putin in a phone call on Sunday that is was "important to clear the (Kurdish fighters) from the border to a depth of at least 30 kilometers," his office said.
  • Turkey summons Swedish diplomat to explain ‘terrorist propaganda’

    Sweden's charge d'affaires in Turkey was summoned at the weekend to explain the use of what Ankara alleges is "terrorist propaganda" in support of Kurdish militants, a diplomatic source said.
  • Iraq and Kurdistan decide to talk to resolve oil dispute

    The federal government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region pledged Saturday to "increase dialogue" to ease a simmering oil dispute that has been playing out in the courts in recent months.
  • Oil wealth stirs up Baghdad-Kurd enmity amid deadlock

    Iraq's oil wealth is rekindling tensions between federal authorities and the autonomous Kurdish region, in a row that could compromise the lifeline industry and keep investors away, analysts say.
  • Iraqi migrant in Britain fears Rwanda deportation

    Nearly a week ago, Iraqi Kurd Barham Hama Ali found himself in the unimaginable position of being aboard a deportation flight set to take off for Kigali, thousands of miles from home.
  • Turkey attacks Kurdish targets in Iraq and Syria

    Turkey has launched deadly strikes against Kurdish targets in Iraq and Syria, where Kurdish forces were still reeling from the largest Islamic State group attack in nearly three years. 
  • Over 330 killed since IS attacked Syria prison: monitor

    More than 330 people have been killed in heavy fighting since Islamic State group militants first attacked a prison in northeast Syria, a war monitor said on Sunday.
  • African migrants fuel recycling in Turkey capital Istanbul

    Afghans have joined Kurds, the Laz, Roma and other ethnic minorities and undocumented migrants in doing work others snub. For less than $10 a day, they roam the streets of Istanbul collecting trash — a profession that is illegal in the country, and has led to its practitioners being arrested...
  • Despite dangers, Iraqi Kurds crossing borders to reach Europe

    About 3,000 Kurds have left the region in the past three months, of whom 1,600 have gone to Belarus on tourist visas, according to the Kurdistan Refugee Association.