Thousands demand fall of Iraq government
THOUSANDS of people in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq called on Friday for the government's fall amid a spike in violence that has accompanied a political stalemate two months before provincial polls. The demonstrations, which have been ongoing for nearly two months, have steadfastly urged for the ouster of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki while decr…
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Iraq Ten Years On: What You Don’t Hear!
As 2013 marks the tenth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, I feel there are some points of focus which the media and campaigners need to address, if they wish to provide substance, to any area of serious discussion. Children, like many other civilians, are the silent victims of violence in war-torn Iraq, with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs …
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Suicide bomber kills own family
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged belt at a gathering of his own family in western Iraq, killing his pro-government cousin and six other relatives, officials said Saturday. The blast targeting a leader in the Sahwa militias in the city of Ramadi is a reminder of how extremism still divides Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority, with some wo…
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Suicide bomber kills in northern Iraq
At least three people were killed and 15 wounded on Thursday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a barber's shop popular with police in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police and hospital sources said. The attack is the latest and a wave of bombings across the country in recent weeks which have raised fears that Iraq could slip back into secta…
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Al Qaida fighters flow into Syria
Iraq's top diplomat on Thursday said he had "solid information" that al-Qaida militants were crossing from Iraq to Syria to carry out attacks, warning of a violent spillover that could shake the Middle East. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Baghdad had for years urged Damascus to clamp down on militant traffic as Sunni fighters headed f…
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Iraqis face future of fear
Whenever he leaves his home, Mohammed Jabar, a Sunni Muslim, carries his cellphone so his family can find out quickly whether he is safe if a deadly bomb attack hits. Shukria Mahmud, another Sunni, rarely ventures from her house because of the rash of violence that is gripping Iraq. Laith Hashim, a young Shiite Muslim, is considering moving away from…
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Shakespeare set amid Iraq strife
Romeo is Shiite, Juliet Sunni, and they must contend not only with warring families but a country torn by conflict and sectarian strife: this is the story of "Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad". Pistols have replaced swords and some characters wear traditional dishdashas, abayas and keffiyah scarves, but the changes go far beyond props and costumes. …
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Iraq cuts anti-Qaeda militia pay
Most of Iraq's remaining 40,000 anti-Qaeda militiamen have seen their pay cut by 20 percent this year following a decision by parliament, an aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told AFP on Tuesday. "I have been obliged to reduce by 20 percent the wages of Sahwa (Awakening) members who earn more than 200,000 dinars ($158/120 euros) a month…
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Refugees in a Desperate Limbo
Iraqi refugee women in Jordan offer an example of hope and resilience. But their desperate limbo is heartbreaking for Samia Qumri to witness in her work for the Collateral Repair Project, a charity started in 2004. Nine years after the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad in April 2004, the refugee population here offers a rebuke to th…
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An Olympian Inspiration
I was recently inspired by a Daily Mail article, which detailed how a 7/7 bomb blast survivor, who lost her legs in one of the London tube blasts has defied the odds, to represent Great Britain as a member of the volleyball team at the 2012 paralympics. Martine Wright, 39, was on a Circle Line Tube train when Al-Qaeda terrorist Shehzad Tanweer deton…
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From 7/7 to the Olympics
A 7/7 survivor who lost her legs in one of the London tube blasts has defied the odds to represent Great Britain as a member of the volleyball team at the 2012 paralympics. Martine Wright, 39, was on a Circle Line Tube train when al Qaeda-inspired fanatic Shehzad Tanweer detonated his bomb just outside Aldgate Station on July 7, 2005. Martine was on…
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Mohammed Merah and Toulouse
Mohammed Merah, 23, was identified as the man suspected in the methodical killings of seven unarmed people in Toulouse , France, over a period of 10 days in March 2012. He died on March 22 when he jumped out a window, firing a weapon, during a raid and shootout that ended a 30-hour standoff with the police. Mr. Merah was described as a French national of…
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Foreign Fighters Join Syrian Rebels
Abu Rami hails from Lebanon, but his heart is in Syria these days. The 40-year-old is one of hundreds of Arabs who are fighting against the Assad regime at the side of Syrian insurgents. Many of these volunteer fighters are veterans of the Iraq war, who have now brought their holy war to Syria. Abu Rami's last foray into war wasn't much of a…
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