People still missing despite major rescue effort as smugglers switch to more perilous route from TurkeyAt least 13 people have died after a migrant boat capsized in the Aegean Sea late Friday, bringing to at least 27 the combined death toll from three …
US wins appeal over extradition of WikiLeaks founder
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing the prospect of imminent extradition to the US after the UK High Court granted an appeal by the US government against an earlier (January) refusal by a UK judge to extradite him on mental health grounds. A final decision on whether or not to grant the extradition will be […]
Exploding drone assassination attempt on Iraqi PM fails
Mustafa al-Kadhimi was unhurt when drone targeted his residence inside the fortified Green Zone, says governmentAn exploding drone aimed at the Iraqi prime minister’s house has failed to kill him, the government has said. Mustafa al-Kadhimi was reporte…
‘before Saddam we had one Saddam and now we have a thousand Saddams’
The comedian and political satirist Ahmed Albasheer is the most popular media figure in Iraq —half of the country regularly tunes into his show. An outspoken critic of government corruption, Albasheer has also lamented the failure of the 2003 U.S. inva…
Turnout at Iraqi national election as low as 25% as many boycott polls
Disillusioned youth and middle classes stay home rather than vote for system they believe has failedIraqis have turned out in low numbers in a national election, with many boycotting a poll that people feared could reinforce a political system that had…
War still rages in Syrian border town at heart of Iran’s regional ambition
The site of Islamic State’s last stand is now the most hotly contested pocket of the Middle EastFrom a ridge known locally as Baghouz Mountain, the most contested corner of the Middle East resembles an oasis: it’s a splash of green on a desert horizon …
Sir John Chilcot obituary
Civil servant who chaired the Iraq war inquiry and gave a damning verdict on Tony BlairSir John Chilcot, who has died aged 82 of kidney disease, was the quietly spoken mandarin famous for his excoriating verdict on the conduct of the Iraq war, begun in…
‘I think about everyone I save’: the mine clearance hero of Kurdistan
Hoshyar Ali has cleared more than 750,000 landmines in 104 villages, despite having lost both legs to landmines. Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the most contaminated countries for landmines and explosive remnants of war, according to a report by the United …
Who says it’s no big deal if the Covid vaccine temporarily disrupts menstrual cycles | Arwa Mahdawi
It’s probably a minor effect of the immune response but it’s not a good look when the medical establishment can’t be bothered to notice Continue reading…
ISIS in Afghanistan
“At least 80 [85, ed.] people have been declared dead at the Emergency Hospital. 10 people were dead on arrival, a source from the hospital tells.” @ShereenaQazi ISIS claimsresponsibility. The Talibans, already fighting ISIS with the support of US, con…