Iraq's Kurdistan region suspends in-person university classes over security concerns

Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has suspended in-person classes at all schools and universities following Iran's threats to target U.S.-linked universities in the country.

Local authorities have moved classes online, citing growing security threats from Iran.

The decision came after Iran warned that U.S.-linked universities could be attacked, in response to a recent airstrike on a university in Tehran, which Israel says was involved in ballistic missile development.

"Iran is seriously threatening the Kurdistan region, and we must take this seriously. The lives of people -- and especially our students -- are more valuable than anything," said Mohammad Qadir, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research for the Kurdistan Region.

The sudden move to online learning has been challenging, with many students struggling to stay connected.

"Some students couldn't join the live sessions. Others had electricity problems, internet issues, or other technical difficulties on the first day. Despite all that, in my opinion, online teaching -- with all its shortcomings -- is better than doing nothing and staying at home," said Dana Mohammed Abdullah, an assistant lecturer at Salahaddin University.

Abdullah added that the impact is especially severe on programs that rely on hands-on instructions.

"Many of our courses are practical rather than theoretical and need to be taught face to face. Now that everything is online, it's only a temporary solution -- better than pausing entirely -- but for a fine arts college, it won't be very effective," he said.

For many students, fear is now part of their daily life.

"We don't feel safe. Drones are coming from the sky and can explode at any moment. We don't know where they will hit -- so we can't be fully confident about going back to campus and studying in class," said Zana Amin, a university student.

With no clear end to the conflict, officials say it is too soon to say when classrooms will reopen.

"We can't give a timeline. We are in a war situation, and it has affected Kurdistan and Iraq deeply. Even politicians don't know when things will return to normal. In-person classes will resume when the war ends," said Qadir.

Iraq's Kurdistan region suspends in-person university classes over security concerns

In the first quarter of the year, the Erenhot Railway Port, a key hub on the "middle corridor" of the China-Europe Railway Express, handled a record-high 1,145 freight train trips, a 22.3 percent increase from last year.

Cargo volumes also rose steadily, with the port transporting 110,200 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers and 946,400 tonnes of goods in first three months, up 14.6 percent and 19.7 percent year on year, respectively.

The railway network serves as a major platform for the Belt and Road Initiative. It consists of western, eastern, and middle corridors, and has been expanding its reach across Eurasia in recent years. In January, a new route linking Russia's Solombarka and Weizi Town in north China's Shanxi Province was launched via Erenhot, bringing the total number of routes to 75.

The network now connects to more than 70 logistics hubs in over 10 countries, including Germany and Poland, while linking with most major China-Europe freight train departure cities nationwide.

Erenhot Railway Port handles record 1,145 China-Europe freight trains in Q1