Kurdish Delegation in Baghdad ahead of Budget Vote

An aerial view of Baghdad. (Reuters)
An aerial view of Baghdad. (Reuters)
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Kurdish Delegation in Baghdad ahead of Budget Vote

An aerial view of Baghdad. (Reuters)
An aerial view of Baghdad. (Reuters)

A Kurdish delegation, headed by Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, arrived in Baghdad two days ahead of a decisive parliamentary vote to pass Iraq’s federal budget for 2021.

The delegation has launched a series of last-minute meetings and deliberations with Iraqi political blocs regarding the Kurdistan region’s share in the bill drafted by parliament’s financial committee.

While some lawmakers are calling to pass the budget with a majority vote in the absence of the Kurds, other political parties are urging for consensus.

More so, the United Nations is attempting to help bridge the gap between Baghdad and Erbil.

Iraqi President Barham Salih, for his part, placed emphasis on the importance of sharing the federal budget for 2021, and stressed the need to ensure the rights of all citizens, and people's interest.

Salih, in an effort to find a radical solution for unresolved issues between the KRG and the federal government, met with the Kurdish delegation led by Talabani and members of the financial committee.

The committee scheduled the vote on the draft budget for this Thursday.

“There are new visions that are expected to be presented during the meetings that are taking place now between the Kurdish delegation and the parties concerned with the matter,” Patriotic Union of Kurdistan lawmaker Rebwar Karim told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“An agreement will soon be reached between the two parties,” he predicted.

Financial committee member Jamal Kougar confirmed that the parliamentary body was now working on checking the budget numbers.

“In the event that the Kurdish delegation reaches an agreement with Shiite blocs, this Thursday will be the date for the vote on the budget bill,” he added.

Another member of the committee, Mohammed Ibrahim, hoped that Baghdad and Erbil would reach an agreement within the constitutional and legal frameworks.

“Officials in Kurdistan are afraid of not reaching an agreement with Baghdad, and for the 2021 draft budget law being passed with the majority without the participation of the Kurds,” Ibrahim said in a statement.



Food Security Experts Warn Gaza Is at Critical Risk of Famine if Israel Doesn’t End Its Campaign 

Palestinians inspect the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
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Food Security Experts Warn Gaza Is at Critical Risk of Famine if Israel Doesn’t End Its Campaign 

Palestinians inspect the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)

The Gaza Strip is at critical risk of famine if Israel doesn’t lift its blockade and stop its military campaign, food security experts said Monday.

Outright famine is the most likely scenario unless conditions change, according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises.

Nearly a half million Palestinians are in “catastrophic” levels of hunger, meaning they face possible starvation, the report said, while another million are at “emergency” levels of hunger.

Israel has banned any food, shelter, medicine or other goods from entering the Palestinian territory for the past 10 weeks, even as it carries out waves of airstrikes and ground operations.

Gaza’s population of around 2.3 million people relies almost entirely on outside aid to survive, because Israel’s 19-month-old military campaign has wiped away most capacity to produce food inside the territory.

The office of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, did not respond to a request for comment on the IPC report.

The army has said that enough assistance entered Gaza during a two-month ceasefire that Israel shattered in mid-March when it relaunched its military campaign.

Israel says the blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release the hostages it still holds.