Rare protests erupted in the city of Dohuk in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on Tuesday, calling on the federal government in Baghdad to pay civil servant salaries.
Demonstrators waved the regional flag to express solidarity with the Kurds in Kirkuk after demonstrations there turned deadly on Saturday.
In Tuesday's protests people also held up banners that read: "Iraq has become a state of chaos and militias instead of being a place for the rule of law and the constitution."
Erbil-based Kurdish media outlet Rudaw said several officials, including governor of Dohuk Ali Tatar, took part in the protests.
Mr Tatar blamed Dohuk's lack of oil revenue for the salary issue.
"When we had oil, we distributed salaries properly. What is 500b dinars ($381m) enough for?" he said, according to Rudaw.
In March, a dispute between Baghad and Erbil escalated over revenue sharing and oil production after the International Chamber of Commerce ruled against Kurdistan's unilateral oil exports under its own 2007 law.
Since March 25, more than 450,000 b/d of oil that usually heads to the Mediterranean remains offline amid lingering issues among Baghdad, Erbil and Ankara over the resumption of flows.
On Saturday, four people were killed in violent demonstrations in the multi-ethnic, oil-rich city of Kirkuk which has been claimed by Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
Since then, tension has been high inside the city among these groups as Kurds pushed for annexing it to their three-province Kurdistan region.
After the 2017 controversial Kurdish referendum on independence, Baghdad moved troops to Kirkuk and expelled the Peshmerga, the Kurdish local security forces, closing the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of the two powerful political parties in the Kurdistan region.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
