The Federation of Workers Councils Unions of Iraq (FWCUI) reports that workers in the Taq Taq Oil Operation Company in Kurdistan, jointly owned by Genel Enerji (Turkish-based) and Addax Petroleum International (a subsidiary of Sinopec), have submitted a complaint against the company over working conditions and a complete lack of equality for Kurdish employees. Workers are concerned at the complete absence of hazard protection on the worksites, where the constant danger of hydrogen sulphide gas is said to threaten employees' lives. There is also said to be significant discrimination in treatment between the Kurdish and expatriate workers in terms of safety equipment and protective clothing provided, as well as in food and rest facilities. The international chemical workers union ICEM said the scenes described are "reminiscent of the apartheid era in South Africa." The FWCUI is calling upon the company and the Kurdistan Regional Government to guarantee equal treatment at work. (ICEM, Oct. 10)

As nearly 10,000 Turkish troops chase down Kurdish rebels on the southeastern border and into Iraq, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi in Ankara Oct. 21, to pledge cooperation against the guerilla forces of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Accounts are disputed on how many Turkish troops have crossed into Iraq, with Ankara claiming it is largely pursuing the guerillas into Iraqi territory with air power. The offensive comes after PKK fighters launched coordinated attacks on multiple army outposts on Turkey's southeast border area in Hakkari province, leaving four soldiers dead.

McClatchy Newspapers' Pulitzer-winning reporter Roy Gutman writes from Baghdad Oct. 7 that an Anglican priest in the city is working with the US embassy in an effort to convince the remaining nine Jews in Iraq to flee the country, because their names have appeared in cables published last month by WikiLeaks. The Rev. Canon Andrew White said he first approached members of the Jewish community about the danger he believes they face after a local news story was published last month that made reference to the cables. "The US Embassy is desperately trying to get them out," White said. So far, however, only one—a regular confidante of the US embassy, according to the cables—has expressed interest in emigrating to the United States.

Four coordinated explosions killed 15 and injured at least 100 Sept. 25 in Iraq's Shi'ite holy city of Karbala. The first blast targeted a government building that issues ID cards. Three more explosions followed as police and emergency workers gathered, shearing off the facades of several buildings. The dead included five police and 10 civilians. Four children are among the wounded. This was the latest in a series of recent attacks in the city. On Sept. 22, a suicide bomber killed four pilgrims and wounded 17 as they made their way into Karbala. A Sept. 12 attack on a bus full of pilgrims in Anbar province close to the border of Karbala province and left 22 dead. On Aug.15, car bomb exploded near the police headquarters of Hindiya district, 15 miles east of Karbala, killing three and injuring 42. On July 15, three coordinated bomb blasts in the city targeted pilgrims, claiming more than 100 casualties.

Turkish warplanes have continued to bomb supposed strongholds of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the mountains of northern Iraq in recent days—despite a formal diplomatic protest this week. On Aug. 26, Baghadad summoned Turkey’s ambassador Murat Ozcelik to demand an immediate end to the air-strikes. (Beirut Daily Star, Aug. 26) On Aug. 27, Baghdad denied reports that three missiles had been fired from southern Iraq at Kuwait's Mubarak al-Kabeer port, currently being built on the mini-state's Boubyan Island. (Kuwait Times, Aug. 27)

A Turkish air-strike killed seven family members in a Kurdish village in northern Iraq, a local official said Aug. 21. Qalat Diza mayor Hassan Abdullah said the strike hit two parents and their five children as they rode in a truck the village of Kortek, is located in Qalat Diza township, about 180 kilometers northeast of Sulaimaniya along the Turkish border. The Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq has expressed concern as Turkish warplanes carry out air-strikes against suspected rebel strongholds of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the Kandil Mountains along the border. On Aug. 19, the Turkish military said warplanes and artillery struck more than 100 targets in northern Iraq. Dozens of Turkish soldiers have been killed over the last month in fighting with the PKK. The air raids came in response to a PKK ambush on a Turkish military convoy at in Çukurca in Turkey's eastern province of Hakkari. (CNN, Aug. 21; Hurriyet Daily News, Aug. 20)

Iraqi leaders announced Aug. 3 they had agreed to start negotiations on keeping an American military presence in the country after the current Dec. 31 deadline for a withdrawal of all US troops under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The decision was announced after more than four hours of closed-door talks led by President Jalal Talabani. Deputy Prime Minister Rosh Nuri Shawis said in a statement: "All those present agreed to authorize the government of Iraq to start negotiations with the American side." There are currently 46,000 US troops in Iraq. US officials have broached a number of 10,000 remaining after the deadline. (CSM, Aug. 3)

In a July 13 statement, Human Rights Watch called on the Iraqi government to revise a draft law it said would limit freedom of assembly and expression, in contravention both of international standards and Iraq's own constitution. The bill contains provisions that would curtail the right to protest hold demonstrations that are seen to violate the "public interest" or the "general order or public morals"—without providing any definition of those terms. Those provisions, as well as the proposed criminalization of speech that "insults" a "sacred" symbol or person, clearly violate international law, Human Rights Watch said. “This law will undermine Iraqis’ right to demonstrate and express themselves freely,” the watchdog’s deputy Middle East director, Joe Stork, said. (AFP, HRW, July 13)