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Kurdistan dream collapses, Barzani not to remain President
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Parliament asked to distribute President’s powers
A dream of having separate homeland for Kurds in Iraq has ended with complete failure. The adventurist and ambitious leader Masoud Barzani has decided not get his term extended as President of Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) beyond November 1, the day he had earlier planned to hold polls for Presidential and parliamentary elections.
Saturday witnessed dramatic events in Erbil and Sulemania, the cities where two major Kurdish groups have their headquarters. Erbil, which is considered to be the capital of the whole Kurdistan is the centre for Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Masoud Barzani while Suleymania is the centre for other group called as Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) lead by Kosrat Rasul Ali. This group was earlier led by Jalal Talabani, former President of Iraq who died in 2015.
PUK has not raised voice against Baghdad’s military operations clearing Kirkuk, the oil rich province claimed by three ethnicities: Kurds, Arabs and Trukmans.
In Erbil a Kurdish official announced that Masoud Barzani will not extend his presidential term beyond November 1. His decision came just weeks after a referendum on Kurdish independence backfired and triggered a crisis for Iraq’s Kurds who had been enjoying a period of unprecedented autonomy.
Barzani, wrote a letter to Kurdish parliament, on Saturday, outlining a plan to divide up the president’s powers. He asked parliament to distribute the president’s powers among the government, parliament and judiciary. On Sunday the Barzani’s letter was discussed by parliament.
Barzani’s current term was set to expire on October 31. However, the proposed elections were postponed indefinitely last week, amidst an escalating regional crisis.
Observers believe that September 25 independence referendum conducted by the 71-year-old Barzani, has left a bleak future for the Iraqi Kurds.
The independence referendum was conducted on September 20 despite central government’s opposition. Less than four weeks a military offensive was mounted to clean oil rich Kirkuk province from the KRG forces locally known as Peshmarga. Kirkuk was considered to be a key source of revenue for their would-be independent state.
Baghdad’s move was also supported by Iran, Turkey and Syria where ethnic Kurds have been dreaming for a unified homeland carved out the four countries.
Iraqi military and mobilization force known as Hashd al-Shaabi have played important role in transforming the balance of power in northern Iraq, exerting tremendous pressure on Barzani to step aside and shattering decades-old dreams of creating separate Kurdistan, independent of central Iraqi government.
On Thursday, Iraq’s prime minister Haider al-Abadi had demanded that Kurds declare their recently held independence referendum void. He had also rejected the Kurdish autonomous region’s offer to suspend its independence movement and begin talks to resolve the crisis.
Masoud Barzani has been holding KRG’s presidency since 2005. The region held its last presidential election in 2009 which went in barzani’s favour. His term had expired in 2013 which was extended twice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Latest world news
Bigg Boss 14 contestant Rahul Vaidya struggles walking in knee deep water, compares Dubai rains with Mumbai floods
Singer and TV personality Rahul Vaidya was recently stranded in the Dubai rains.
Rahul Vaidya, who was in Dubai ahead of his show which was scheduled to take place today, left the country due to heavy rains and reached Kolkata. The artist shared on social media his encounters in the UAE city, including challenges like walking through knee-deep water. Rahul provided an update regarding the heavy rainfall in Dubai on his Instagram profile.
The Bigg Boss 14 contestant revealed that he was in Kolkata and prepared to do an evening performance. Recalling the terrifying period he went through, Vaidya said there was a lot of confusion and panic in Dubai. The situation was similar to that when heavy floods hit Mumbai in 2005.
Vaiday also posted seval other images and videos of cars that were underwater and flooded roadways. The Bigg Boss 14 contestant, who shared his ordeal, claimed that even though it had just rained for two hours, the situation was dire.
In one of the video, which went viral he can be seen struggling in walking in knee-deep water. He can be also seen holding his sneakers in one hand and with other hand he was seen managing other things.
This is the result of the two hours of rain that it had, he can be heard saying in the video. Vidya also said he dosen’t believe Dubai is accustomed to a lot of rain. Everything had stopped working, he remarked.
After taking part in the first season of the singing reality show Indian Idol, Rahul Vaidya gained widespread recognition. In addition to Bigg Boss, he took part in Khatron Ke Khiladi 11.
Meanwhile, heavy rains that triggered flooding in the UAE and Bahrain, which left 18 people dead in Oman on Sunday and Monday, have paralyzed the financial hub of the Middle East, Dubai.
A lot of incoming flights were diverted from Dubai’s international airport because of the rain. At 7:26 p.m., the busiest airport in the world for foreign visitors stopped accepting new arrivals; a gradual resumption was announced for more than two hours later.
Images of planes navigating flooded tarmacs are making the rounds on social media.
According to pictures shared on social media, the flagship malls Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both experienced heavy floods, while at least one Dubai Metro station had water up to the ankles.
There were several road collapses, severe flooding in residential areas, and numerous reports of leaks from windows, doors, and roofs.
Due to the unfavourable weather, schools around the United Arab Emirates were forced to close, and as more storms are predicted, the closures are anticipated to last until Wednesday. The government of Dubai allowed its staff to work remotely till this Wednesday.
Latest world news
Dubai sky turns green during storm in UAE, video goes viral
The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain.
1 person was killed in UAE as it witnessed heavy rainfall on Tuesday, stranding commuters, flooding roads, disrupting trains and flights and resulting in water leakage from mall ceilings. The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain. It is being said that the rainfall was the highest documented since the start of data collection in 1949.
The heavy rainfall in UAE came days after a similar situation in neighbouring Oman, where 13 people were killed in flash floods. Many parts of Oman saw torrential rains, which caused students to be trapped in buses and swept away motorists and trapped people in their homes.
Videos from Dubai circulating on social media showed widespread waterlogging on roads in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other important cities. This left daily commuters in cars and other vehicles struggling to get back home. Dubai metro station too was seen flooded and closed.
One such video circulating on social media shows the aerial view of the city of Dubai from the top of a building. In the video the stormy winds are seen blowing over the city of Dubai. As the storm intensifies the Dubai sky turns green and ultimately gets covered by heavy rainfall. The video has gone viral on social media with more than 1.1 million views.
Another video showed water leakage from the ceilings of shopping malls, flooding the floors and destroying goods. A video which was shot in the famous Mall of the Emirates, showed pieces of ceiling falling as the rainwater gushed inside. Videos from many outlets of the Deira City Centre mall chain showed escalators being rendered unusable. Majid Al Futtaim, the company which owns the Mall of Emirates, said that the shopping complexes have been kept open and the customers are being sent away from the flooded areas.
India News
Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda says statements on reclaiming Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka have no ground
Devananda told the media on Thursday that it is not unusual to hear such claims and counterclaims about Katchatheevu as elections are taking place in India.
Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda has said the statements from some political leaders in India on reclaiming Katchatheevu from the island nation have no ground. He told the media on Thursday that it is not unusual to hear such claims and counterclaims about the strategic island as elections are taking place in India.
The Sri Lankan Minister said he thought India is acting on its interests to secure this place to ensure Sri Lankan fishermen would not have any access to that area and that Sri Lanka should not claim any rights in that resourceful area. According to the 1974 agreement, Devananda said Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen can go fishing in the territorial waters of both countries until the pact was reviewed and amended in 1976.
The amended agreement resulted in fishermen from both countries being barred from fishing in neighboring waters. India’s ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday steered clear of the row surrounding Katchatheevu island. To a volley of questions on the Katchatheevu issue, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reffered to External affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent comments on the matter.
He said he would like to talk about the issue that has been raised. He added the External Affairs minister has spoken to the press here in Delhi and also in Gujarat and has clarified all the issues. He said everyone should look into the press engagements and they would find the answers to their questions there.
The remarks from Devananda, a Sri Lankan Tamil, came days after the Narendra Modi government accused the Congress and its ally DMK in Tamil Nadu of overlooking national interests by handing over Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974. The BJP has also been slamming the 2 parties for not ensuring the rights of the fishermen wanting to fish in waters around the island.
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