People protest in front of the provincial council building during a demonstration demanding better public services and jobs in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, last Saturday
OFFICIALS from the southern Iraqi province of Basra are considering moves towards autonomy as growing protests over unemployment, poor public services and corruption threaten regional stability.
Governor of Basra Asaad Al Eidani confirmed that he will travel to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region next week to learn from their experiences and to explore whether they can be replicated in the oil-rich province.
“A delegation from the province of Basra will soon visit the Kurdistan Region in coordination with the regional government in order to be closely aware of the authority of the decentralised region.
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MOHAMMAD OMIDVAR, a senior figure in the Tudeh Party of Iran, tells the Morning Star that mass protests are rooted in poverty, corruption and neoliberal rule and warns against monarchist revival and US-engineered regime change
