21 July 2019
Iraq: Political Forces in Nineveh Trade Corruption Accusations Tuesday, 07 May 2019 20:22
Political forces in Nineveh continued to exchange corruption and bribery accusations, despite being close to agreeing on a new governor for the governorate to replace Noufal Akkoub.Akkoub was dismissed by parliament on charges of corruption after the deadly Mosul ferry sinking that killed dozens of people in March.Nineveh MP Mansour al-Mareed, of al-Ataa coalition led by Faleh al-Fayyad, accused Axis Coalition MP Falah Hassan Zeidan of corruption. Mareed issued a statement saying that he has been trying to remove the Nineveh…
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U.S. Officials Raise Alarm of Iranian Threat Targeting American Troops in Iraq Monday, 06 May 2019 19:40
WASHINGTON — Senior American officials said on Monday that new threats by Iran against United States troops in Iraq were behind the sudden deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and Air Force bombers to the Persian Gulf. The White House and Pentagon made the decision after seeing intelligence that showed new activity on the part of Iranian-aligned forces since Friday, said two senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Additionally, one official noted new concerns in waterways where…
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Iraq excludes 45,000 children born under IS rule Wednesday, 01 May 2019 02:57
COPENHAGEN — An estimated 45,000 children in Iraq who were born under the rule of the Islamic State group are being excluded from society because the government denies them documentation and ID papers, an international charity said Tuesday. Jan Egeland, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s secretary general, is warning that these children — most of whom are in camps for the displaced today — are a “possible human time-bomb.” “Undocumented children risk remaining left on the margins of society if this…
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Iraq Grapples With Increasing Suicide Rates Tuesday, 30 April 2019 03:47
In the few days following an Iraqi civilian self-immolating when walking out of one of Baghdad’s civil offices, a young groom attempted taking his own life in the Southern Maysan Governorate, prompting a serious social and public discussion to address the rise of suicidal tendencies in Iraq. Reports have documented at least 131 suicide attempts having been made across the Middle Eastern country since the start of 2019.As a counteractive measure, a proposal has been put forth to curb the hiking…
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132 suicide cases in Iraq in first quarter of 2019 Tuesday, 30 April 2019 03:41
Some 132 people Iraqis have committed suicide during the first three months of 2019, the High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) announced yesterday. In an official study, IHCHR said that Iraq’s central city of Karbala had registered the highest suicide rates, with around 20 people committing suicide. “Twenty suicides were committed in the Iraqi province of Karbala, 19 in Basra, 15 in Kirkuk, and 14 in Dhi Qar,” the rights organisation pointed out. Sixteen years after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq…
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HRW: Torture persists in Iraq jail Friday, 19 April 2019 06:39
Iraqi officers have continued to torture detainees in the country's second largest city of Mosul, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. HRW documented new torture allegations early this year at the Faisaliya prison in northern Iraq, around six months after publishing a report on what it said were "chilling" abuses there and in two nearby facilities. The rights group said it had reached out about last year's allegations to the Iraqi prime minister's office, the foreign ministry and the interior ministry,…
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Iran requests militias in Iraq, Lebanon to defend against flood protests Friday, 19 April 2019 06:18
CAIRO – 17 April 2019: Speaking to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)-run Tasnin news agency, Sheik Mo'ein Daqiq said on Tuesday that the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has called upon all young Lebanese and members of the armed group to join Iranian Armed forces, "jihadi" elements, and Iranian Red Crescent to help the flood-hit Iranians. "Currently, a significant number of young Lebanese are involved in relief operations across Iran, while many more are on their way to the flood-stricken…
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Baghdad lawmaker to foreign donors: Don't give to Iraqi government Saturday, 06 April 2019 20:16
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The head of the Iraqi parliament's Legal Committee on Friday called on foreign donor countries to refrain from handing any funds to his federal government because of chronic corruption. “As a lawmaker, on behalf of the Iraqi people, I address the donor countries (especially the Gulf States): Do not hand over Dinars, Dirhams, or Riyals to our government… because they will go to groups of thieves,” Fayiq Sheikh Ali, committee head, posted on his Twitter account.…
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Iran killed more US troops in Iraq than previously known, Pentagon says Thursday, 04 April 2019 22:15
The Pentagon is upping the official estimate on the number of U.S. troops in Iraq who were killed by Iranian-backed militias, now putting that number at at least 603. Officials previously said that Iran was linked to the deaths of roughly 500 troops. That means roughly one in every six American combat fatalities in Iraq were attributable to Iran. The deaths are attributed to proxies sponsored by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — Iran’s elite military force that protects the regime from…
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Saudi Arabia Makes Inroads in Iraq to Curb Iranian Influence Thursday, 04 April 2019 22:08
Saudi Arabia intends to invest $1 billion in development projects in Iraq and open a consulate in the capital, reversing a longstanding policy of disengagement there as it seeks to curb rival Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East. A Saudi ministerial and business delegation is in Iraq this week to discuss investment ideas for some of the kingdom’s biggest companies, including oil giant Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. and the Maaden mining corporation, Saudi Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Al-Qasabi…
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Iraq Ferry Accident Sets Off Political Upheaval in Mosul Wednesday, 27 March 2019 20:21
MOSUL, Iraq — In a rare show of deference to the anger of Mosul citizens over government abuses, the Iraqi Parliament on Sunday voted overwhelmingly to remove the province’s governor, citing accusations of corruption, self-dealing and negligence. Although Mosul citizens had pleaded with the central government to remove the governor for more than two years, it was only after a ferry disaster brought angry citizens into the street that senior political figures decided to act. The deposed governor, Nufal Hammadi, who had…
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