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Unregistered but Thriving: The Growing Business of Polygamous Marriages in Kurdistan
According to official 2024 statistics, the Kurdistan Region recorded a total of 98 legally registered second marriages, with Erbil Province leading at 45 registrations, followed by Duhok with 34, and…
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Arivan
How Baghdad’s Customs Checkpoints Have Diminished KRG’s Trade Power
Six months into Baghdad’s customs centralization policy with the Kurdistan Region, traders are increasingly relocating their operations to Iraqi-controlled territories—a deliberate outcome aimed at reshaping regional trade dynamics. From the…
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Arivan
Why is the KRG’s Decision Not to Recognize Halabja’s Anniversary as an Official Holiday Causing Controversy?
Recent debates have emerged surrounding the anniversary of the Halabja chemical attack, observed annually on March 16, specifically regarding whether this date should be recognized as an official holiday. While…
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Arivan
US-Iraq Trade Drops in 2024 Despite Surge in American Vehicle Imports
US exports to Iraq declined significantly in 2024, dropping 26.4% from $2.257 billion in 2023 to $1.662 billion – a decrease of $595 million. Automotive sector growth: Despite the overall…
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Arivan
Kurdistan’s Widening Income Gap: Expenditures Outstrip Earnings
The Iraqi national census and socio-economic surveys published by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Planning, have been released separately and…
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Arivan
Iraq’s Trade Deficit with Turkey Widens to $10.7 Billion Amid Drop in Gold Imports
Despite Turkey’s overall exports to Iraq growing slightly to $11.2 billion in 2024, a 36% plunge in gold trade contributed to widening Iraq’s trade deficit with Turkey to a striking…
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Arivan
How KRG PM Masrour Barzani’s Privatisation Drive is Transforming Relations with the PUK and Baghdad
Since assuming office in 2019, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has aggressively pursued privatisation across numerous sectors in the Kurdistan Region, including healthcare, electricity, customs, postal services,…
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Arivan
Damascus-SDF Agreement Signals Turkey’s Strategic Compromise: PKK Dissolution in Turkey, SDF Survival in Syria
The newly announced agreement signed today between Ahmad Al-Shara’a, president of the HTS-led administration in Damascus, and Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), appears to have been…
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Arivan
Four Insights on How Assad’s Remnants Set a Strategic Trap by Exploiting Syria’s Factional Chaos
A few days ago, remnants of the Assad regime ambushed and killed several police officers in Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of the Alawite community. In response, armed factions affiliated with…
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Arivan
Data Shows 14 Turkish Attacks, 2 PKK Responses Since Ocalan’s Peace Appeal and PKK’s Unilateral Ceasefire
According to the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an organization that closely monitors the ongoing conflict between Turkey and the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, Turkey has conducted 14 attacks against…
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