In a statement after he was elected as the new President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani expressed his gratitude to the Kurdistan Parliament for its vote of confidence and promised his office would be an “umbrella for unity” for all entities in the region. Leaders and diplomats around the world have welcomed the new elected president expecting a brighter future for the region. The US consulate general in Erbil also congratulated the Kurdish leader and said “we look forward to working with President Barzani over the coming four years.”
The ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has promised to give away half of the her reported fortune $36bn for charity. Her split from the world’s richest man has been finalized in April. She became one of 19 people to join the Giving Pledge, which started in 2010 by 40 of the wealthiest people in the US, including Bill Gates. It involves billionaires pledging more than half of their wealth to charitable causes, either while they are alive or when they die.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has asked to leave on a free transfer, says club president Florentino Perez. The Spain centre-back is contracted until summer 2021 but wants to take his career to the Chinese Super League. Perez says he was told by Ramos that he had received a “very good offer” from an unnamed club. Ramos is Real’s longest-serving player, having scored 84 goals in 606 appearances since joining from Sevilla in 2005.
