Former Iraq PM Maliki rejects US interference after threat
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s main candidate for the premiership, Nouri Al-Maliki, on Wednesday denounced Washington’s “blatant interference,” after President Donald Trump threatened to end all support to the country if Al-Maliki took the post. The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein. “We categorically reject […]
Read MoreRubio warns Iraq on Iran ties as Al-Maliki sets return
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iraq on Sunday against a pro-Iranian government as the expected return of Nouri Al-Maliki as prime minister stirs Washington’s concern. Maliki, who left power in 2014 following heated pressure from the United States, has been chosen by Iraq’s largest Shiite bloc, which would put him in line […]
Read MoreIraqi lawmakers to elect president Tuesday, PM appointment next
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s parliament will meet on Tuesday to elect the country’s new president, who will then appoint a prime minister expected to be Nouri Al-Maliki after he was endorsed by the largest Shiite bloc. By convention, a Shiite Muslim holds the post of prime minister, the parliament speaker is Sunni and the largely ceremonial presidency […]
Read MoreUN chief visits Iraq to mark end of assistance mission set up after 2003 invasion
BAGHDAD: United National Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in Baghdad on Saturday to mark the end of the political mission set up in 2003 following the US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein. The UN Security Council, at Iraq’s request, voted last year to wind down the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in […]
Read MoreFormer Iraqi President Barham Salih to lead UN refugee agency
GENEVA: Barham Salih, a former Iraqi president who fled persecution under Saddam Hussein, has been appointed the next UN High Commissioner for Refugees, breaking the tradition of selecting leaders mainly from major European donor nations. A letter from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dated Dec. 11, confirmed Salih’s five-year term starting Jan. 1, pending UNHCR committee […]
Read MoreCoalition led by Iraqi PM Sudani comes first in Iraq’s election, commission says
BAGHDAD: A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani came first in Iraq’s parliamentary election, the Independent High Electoral Commission said on Wednesday. His coalition received 1.317 million votes in Tuesday’s election, the commission said. Reuters reported earlier that Sudani placed first, citing two electoral commission officials with knowledge of the results. Sudani […]
Read MoreAs Iraqi politicians gear up for election, public disillusion sets in again
BAGHDAD: Iraqis are bracing for yet another election they fear will change little, with many seeing the pro-reform campaign banners for the Nov. 11 vote as empty gestures from elites who have delivered little since the 2003 US-led invasion. Years of corruption, high unemployment, and poor public services have blighted daily life since then, even […]
Read MoreIraq launches investigation after election candidate killed in Baghdad bombing
DUBAI: Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Wednesday ordered the formation of a joint forensic task force and a high-level investigative committee to examine the killing of election candidate Safaa Al-Mashhadani in a bomb attack north of Baghdad. The committee was tasked with determining who was responsible for the attack, which struck Al-Mashhadani’s vehicle […]
Read MoreIraq’s Yazidis rediscover lost history through photos found in a museum archive
PHILADELPHIA: Archaeologists studying ancient civilizations in northern Iraq during the 1930s also befriended the nearby Yazidi community, documenting their daily lives in photographs that were rediscovered after the Islamic State militant group devastated the tiny religious minority. The black-and-white images ended up scattered among the 2,000 or so photographs from the excavation kept at the […]
Read MoreFive Iraqi banks to be banned from US dollar transactions
Iraq’s central bank will ban five more local banks from engaging in U.S. dollar transactions, a move that comes after meetings with U.S. Treasury officials in efforts to combat money laundering, dollar smuggling and other violations, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Sunday. The move comes after meetings in Dubai […]
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