Much has been made of the increasing autonomy of the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. And as Kurdish groups in Syria take advantage of the country's crisis to assert their own limited autonomy, many are discussing a transformational moment for Kurdish groups across the region. But to see this as the dawn of a "Greater Kurdistan" spanning Iraq, Syria and Turkey (and arguably Iran) would be to misread the situation.
The tensions in recent days between Baghdad and Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region, tend to highlight the transnational narrative. A standoff at the weekend between Iraqi national forces and Kurdish peshmerga in the disputed Zimar area again raised the spectre of a disastrous - if unlikely - clash.
Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's government has, by all accounts, done a terrible job of mending Iraq's wounds, in particular since the American withdrawal last year. Partisan politics and the marginalisation of Sunni and Kurd political forces have crippled effective policy in Baghdad.
As a result, there has been no resolution on the governance of oil-rich, disputed Kirkuk, which remains a key flashpoint for Arab-Kurdish relations. So too, a policy vacuum on oil revenues has led to squabbling, and Chevron and Exxon's much-criticised deals with Irbil.
Mr Al Maliki wins no medals for building national unity, but his counterparts in the Kurdish Regional Government are also using the dispute for political gain. The KRG's President Massoud Barzani told Al Jazeera yesterday that the region could seek independence from Iraq if troubles persisted. The day before, Mr Barzani said it would be a "declaration of war" if Baghdad were to cut funding to the government in Irbil, which relies overwhelmingly on federal funds.
The warlike rhetoric makes the situation seem worse than it is. There is a contradiction in Mr Barzani's position, which demands continued support while advocating greater autonomy. And Mr Barzani does not speak for all Iraqi Kurds; Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish president in Baghdad, lent his tacit support to Mr Al Maliki in a recent challenge to his power.
In the absence of coherent policy from Baghdad - and amid the region's unrest - these disputes are not going to disappear. But no one benefits from breaking Iraq further apart.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips for avoiding trouble online
- Do not post incorrect information and beware of fake news
- Do not publish or repost racist or hate speech, yours or anyone else’s
- Do not incite violence and be careful how to phrase what you want to say
- Do not defame anyone. Have a difference of opinion with someone? Don’t attack them on social media
- Do not forget your children and monitor their online activities
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
