Talbani's Shiite Allies Advise Him to Reach Understanding with Barzani over Iraq Presidency

Zebari after the Supreme Court's ruling on Sunday to bar him from running in the presidential elections. (Reuters)
Zebari after the Supreme Court's ruling on Sunday to bar him from running in the presidential elections. (Reuters)
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Talbani's Shiite Allies Advise Him to Reach Understanding with Barzani over Iraq Presidency

Zebari after the Supreme Court's ruling on Sunday to bar him from running in the presidential elections. (Reuters)
Zebari after the Supreme Court's ruling on Sunday to bar him from running in the presidential elections. (Reuters)

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has submitted a new candidate to run in Iraq's presidential election.

The Federal Supreme Court had barred the KDP's preferred candidate, former minister Hoshyar Zebari, from running over corruption allegations.

Kurdish media that is close to the party identified the new candidate as Reber Ahmed Barzani, the interior minister of the Kurdistan Region government. Barzani, 55, served in important security posts, including the Kurdish intelligence agency.

He is not related to head of the KDP, Masoud Barzani.

Kurdish sources said Reber Ahmed was the sole survivor from his family from an attack, known as the al-Anfal operations, carried out by Iraqi forces in the 1980s

Ahead of declaring his nomination, senior KDP sources condemned the Supreme Court's ruling to bar Zebari from running for president, dismissing the move as "purely political".

The decision will persuade the KDP to further cling on to the position of president against its rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), they added.

By political convention, the president of Iraq is a Kurdish figure.

Meanwhile, head of the PUK, Bafel Talbani was in Baghdad for talks with the Shiite Coordination Framework, a grouping of pro-Iran factions that were the major losers in the October parliamentary elections.

The meeting was attended by top leaders of the Framework, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, head of the Fatah alliance Hadi al-Ameri and head of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Qais Khazali.

In a joint statement, they stressed the need to continue dialogue with all political parties to form a "government of consensus."

A source from the Framework told Asharq Al-Awsat that the leaders of the grouping urged Talbani to agree on a "settlement candidate" with Reber Ahmad because the ongoing dispute over the presidency is impeding political dialogue.

The source said Talbani had proposed a new Kurdish figure as a consensus candidate. The figure enjoys the support of the Framework and is close to the KDP and PUK.

Iraq has been struggling to form a new government after the parliamentary elections results were ratified in December. The election of a president has also proven to be another hurdle after Zebari's candidacy was dismissed and parties scramble to name nominees.

Elsewhere, head of the Sadrist movement, cleric Moqtada al-Sadr held a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Najaf city.

A source from Sadr's office said the meeting tackled efforts to form a new government and the latest political developments. It did not elaborate.

Kadhimi is seen as favorite to retain his post.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.