The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the main political parties in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, ended its boycott of the region’s cabinet meetings on Sunday in a sign of reconciliation with its rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The boycott by PUK senior leader Qubad Talabani began late last year, driven by tensions between the PUK and KDP over power-sharing, parliamentary elections law and sharing oil and gas revenue.
Mr Talabani, Kurdistan's Deputy Prime Minister, and his six ministers attended the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, the government said.
It comes a week after he met Kurdistan's Prime Minister Masrour Barzanii, when the pair agreed to co-operate through dialogue.
The two sides have been under local and international pressure to reconcile ahead of the region’s parliamentary elections scheduled for November.
The parties have jockeyed for power in the Kurdish region for decades.
In mid-1990s, when Saddam Hussein lost his power in northern Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War, the PUK and KDP ignited a Kurdish civil war that killed and sent more many more Kurds fleeing abroad as refugees. In 1998, the two sides stopped the fighting after signing a US-brokered deal.
After the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Hussein and paved the way to recognise the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in the 2005 constitution, the two parties entered a power-sharing deal. Tension rises from time to time over various issues.
Iran summons Iraq ambassador
Meanwhile, Iran has summoned Iraq's ambassador to protest over the presence of Iranian opposition groups at an official ceremony in Kurdistan, AFP said, citing Iranian media outlets.
Isna news agency, quoting the Foreign Ministry, said Tehran had expressed its "strong objection" to the invitation of members of "separatist groups" at Saturday's ceremony, "contrary to the recent security agreement" between Iran and Iraq.
The headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) in Iraq's Kurdistan region have recently been the target of Tehran's security forces, coming under artillery fire, with missiles and drone attacks.
Iran accuses the groups of using Iraqi territory to destabilise its internal security by launching attacks or fuelling unrest. It considers them terrorist organisations.
Iraqi Kurds host camps for several Iranian-Kurdish factions, which Iran has accused of serving western or Israeli interests in the past. Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, also has bases in Kurdistan.
A ceremony was held on Thursday in the Kurdistan region to open a cultural centre in tribute to the late Kurdish hero Mustafa Barzani.
The event was attended by Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, as well as representatives of Iranian opposition groups, AFP reported.
"Following the invitation of members of separatist groups to an official ceremony in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the continuation of some terrorist groups' movements in this region, the Iraqi ambassador in Tehran was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday," Isna said.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
