More than six months after voting overwhelmingly for independence, Iraqi Kurds are struggling with the economic backlash that resulted from their controversial referendum. Baghdad has refused to let the region separate, but after months of friction, it has reached a deal with Kurds to bring them back into Iraq's federal fold.

Israeli-Iranian Singer Liraz Charhi has never been to the country her parents told her so many stories about. She says she loves Persian music and tries to discover her roots through music. On the occasion of Nowrooz, she talked to Radio Farda's Hooman Askary via Skype from her home in Tel Aviv.