Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked Kurdish opposition group bases in the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday, September 28, with ballistic missiles and suicide drones causing casualities.

The United States condemned this and vowed to take action and "disrupt Iran's destabilizing activities across the Middle East" after Iran's missile and drone attacks against the Kurdistan Region. In a statement, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan showed support for Iraqi and Kurdish leaders. He called the recent Iranian attacks "an attack on the sovereignty of Iraq and its people."

At about 2:10 p.m. local time, US forces shot down an Iranian Mojer-6 unmanned aerial vehicle that was heading toward Erbil and looked like it could threaten USCENTCOM forces in the area. According to a preliminary count from the Kurdish health ministry, the IRGC attacks killed nine people and wounded almost 40; this number is expected to go up.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that drones and missiles were used in the attacks. It also said that the operations would continue until all bases of Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups were taken down and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) did its job in doing so .

Sullivan also stated that, “Iranian leaders continue to demonstrate flagrant disregard not only for the lives of their own people, but also the core principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity enshrined in the UN charter.” Sullivan expressed that Iran can't blame attacks on other countries for its own problems and the legitimate complaints of its own people.

By: Baniz Wasman

The essence of anxiety is worrying about some potential threat. Anxiety can make you feel threatened, worried, and panicked, with physiological effects such as increased heart rate, dizziness, and stomach aches.

The vicious cycle of anxiety is to feel anxious about a concern, avoid the situation, find short-term relief and as a result, experience stronger anxiety. This leads to a continued cycle of anxiety and avoidance of certain situations. The vicious cycle begins with an anxiety-provoking situation. This situation can be something external such as a work commitment, a trip, a social engagement, or any other event happening in the future that you’re worried about. Anxiety can also be provoked by something internal such as a physiological sensation, a thought about something you’re dreading, or an unpleasant emotion.

An anxiety-provoking situation can start a vicious cycle; when you notice your anxious symptoms and think that you can’t cope with the situation and these symptoms can make you feel like you are really in danger. The cycle of anxiety starts with a feared situation leading to an anxious thought trigger, then physical symptoms start, which are part of a fight or flight response; the symptoms can be a dry throat, sweating, stomach ache, shallow breathing, and dizziness. You start having negative thoughts like something bad will happen, which leads you to feel even more anxious, and you will begin to have thoughts that you are actually in danger.

All of this leads to safety behaviors such as avoiding stressful situations, withdrawing from people, or drinking more alcohol.

Avoiding the vicious cycle will only create more distress. That's why you should reverse it by gradually confronting feared situations; This will lead to an improved sense of confidence, which will help reduce your anxiety and allow you to go into situations important to you. Understanding your cycle of anxiety can help you break free from it.

Despite all the dialogue held by the international community with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, a new attempt for massive mobilization of Russian troops was witnessed. This mobilization was reported to be consisting of three thousand fresh vigour and tireless soldiers. The purpose of this new armament is allegedly to retreat the recent losses of the Russian army, especially in the Kharkiv region. Beside international reactions to this news, Russians have also protested against the escalation of the conflict and the conscription policy, which is used to strengthen the Russian army.

After almost one week, Russian authorities admitted that the new troop mobilization had groundless decisions involved. Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov, elaborated that to form these newly mobilized troops, the authorities have made mistakes to call up inexperienced, old and unhealthy individuals.This decision has further inflamed the regional situation.Russian citizens have even tried to flee the country, leading to the breakout of several protests.

Conscription policy has been debated for many years. Iran and Turkey are examples of two countries that impose this policy on their citizens. Opponents of this policy argue that youngsters cannot be forced by governments to serve in the military and risk their lives. On the other hand, some others argue that every citizen should be given the privilege to serve in the national army for the greater good of their country.

On 23 September, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrated 92nd Saudi National Day with its finest economy ever. The Kingdom has maintained its economic growth over the past years mainly depending on its natural resources. Saudi’s economy has grown by %12.2 in Q2 that is the topmost in the last 11 years.

Saudi Arabia has a vision to avoid its dependence on oil revenues by 2030, likewise its non-oil economy has developed by %5.4. It should be mentioned that Saudi's oil reserves are the second highest in the world. On the other hand, the Kingdom seeks to develop its tourism sector by attaining 100 million visitors per annum. Inflation has hit numerous countries nowadays, but Saudi Arabia does not experience it like other countries due to its growing economy as it has one of the lowest inflation rates among G-20 countries.

The progress of Saudi Arabia’s economy has been remarkable in the Middle East, and it is on an accelerated track. The country’s great relationship with the United States of America resulted in a tremendous development in its economy with the fact that it is “the largest trading partner” to Americans in the Middle East. Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman sets the strategy for the Kingdom’s economic growth.

As part of mass demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini, several women in Iran are refusing to wear headscarves in public. Mahsa Amini, who was 22 years old and known as Jhina Amini in Kurdish, died tragically while in custody. This is a shocking example of how the entire state system is set up and used to discriminate against women and violate the rights of everyone with impunity. Witnesses claim that Jhina was beaten in the car by the “morality police'' on her way to the station. The Iranian authorities issued statements in an attempt to avoid responsibility.They released a video claiming Jihna suffered a stroke and a heart attack while in custody, but many believe the video is fabricated.This is consistent with their denial, concealment of their crimes and lack of cooperation with international law-complaint investigations.

After Jhina's death, there is a global rise of protests against the unjust incident she endured. Women burn their headscarves in the streets throughout the four days of protests that have swept the country. Human rights organization Hengaw claims that security forces opened fire on demonstrators, leading to the deaths of at least three persons. According to another source, authorities acknowledge that at least 6 individuals have been killed during these protests.  The death of Jhina marked a breaking point for Iranians; they were devastated, but they also felt a deep sense of outrage that something like this could happen to one of their loved ones. Iran is being criticized at a national level. According to women in Iran, Amini's murder has become "a symbol of resistance against religious dictatorship in Iran," where the most visible symbol of oppression is the mandatory wearing of a hijab.

By: Baniz Wasman

According to a survey conducted last year at the University of Duhok for college students, 37.1% of students showed that college negatively affected their mental health, 65.9% suffered from anxiety, and 48.4% indicated that anxiety negatively affects their studying process.

A study that was done by Universiti Teknologi found that Emotional Intelligence has been significantly and positively associated with academic achievement.

Emotional intelligence refers to how well a person can identify, control, and evaluate emotions within themselves and others. This ability helps students empathize with others and themselves and deal with difficult situations without getting frazzled. It affects relationships, academic performance, and how students handle pressure. It also helps students better analyze situations and better interact with people around them, and tackle academic issues with greater panache. Emotional intelligence allows Students to better understand a situation instead of overthrowing it and upending the metaphorical cart entirely. Emotional Intelligence can be broken down into four components that help students stay motivated, manage their anxiety, and understand themselves and their surroundings better, which are;

1- Self-awareness -  helps students recognize their emotions and how they affect their behavior. It also allows them to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and most importantly, to be self-confident. 

2- Self-management -  helps control impulsive feelings and behaviors, healthily manage emotions and anger, take the initiative, follow up with commitments and adapt to changing circumstances.

3- Social awareness - students with social awareness feel more comfortable with their colleagues and lecturer; they recognize the power dynamics in a group and organization and are great leaders. 

4- Relationship management - students with good relationship management inspire and influence others, can manage conflicts very well, and are good team leaders.