Middle East Near You

On Thursday 6 August, we were preparing to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. But on Tuesday, we were...

For the first time since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, women in the country are celebrating International Women’s Day, in a way that is reminiscent of...

Muhammad Allawi has recently been appointed as Prime Minister of the Iraqi transitional government, since when the auction for government positions has quickened; in this it is no different...

Journalist Ahmed Abdel Samad and his colleague, photographer Ghali Al-Tamimi, were added to the list of Iraqi women and men martyrs after being assassinated three days ago by what...

As the American war drums against Iran grow louder, we are beginning to hear their joyous echoes in the hearts of Iraqi parties who view the war as “liberation”...

How can we tackle the Israeli narrative about Palestine’s past and present, when the Palestinian people continue to struggle against Israel’s colonial occupation which bases its existence on a...

Was President Donald Trump aware of how foolish he looked when he sat in front of the cameras and proudly signed a document recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital?...

Writing is the act of documentation and is one means of resisting apartheid and ethnic cleansing targeting any nation, let alone the Palestinian nation.

During his meeting with the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions and her accompanying delegation on 15 November, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi stated that human rights violations in...

After the announcement of Mosul’s liberation, the spotlight was focused on rebuilding the city that everyone agreed had been 80 per cent ruined on the right side, including bridges,...

For the third time since the occupation of Iraq in 2003, the National Personal Status Law number 188 of 1959, which is still on the statute book, is at...

The Iraqis are fearfully waiting for the beating of war drums after the referendum was held in Kurdistan, wondering if this is the post-Daesh phase. They know too well...

According to Dr Elham Al-Douri, “40 per cent of Iraqi children suffer from mental illnesses.” She continues to list harrowing facts about the mental and psychological illnesses in Iraq,...

One of the changes US President Donald Trump has been working to make since his presidency is a change to the laws regarding humanitarian food aid to the world,...

The United Nations has urged the Iraqi government to investigate abuse by its soldiers after a video, allegedly showing Iraqi soldiers torturing and killing individuals in Mosul suspected of affiliation with Daesh in recaptured areas of Mosul, was widely circulated in social networks on 23 January 2017

There is complete political and media silence surrounding the US-led coalition’s use of deadly white phosphorus in Mosul and Raqqa. At the same time, there is a flood of...

The release of Qatari nationals held hostage in Iraq, which took place after long negotiations, has long captivated the Arab and international media’s attention. Various parties and news outlets...

It is said that the siege of the city of Fallujah, which is situated nearly 60 kilometres from Baghdad, has been ongoing for the past two years. We are...

We in the Arab world are accused of violence on one hand and a lack of preparedness for democracy on the other, or both at the same time. Those...

The slogans of the demonstrators across 11 Iraqi provinces have developed over the past three weeks from demanding electricity to demanding the “thieving” officials be prosecuted, to demanding that...

When the Iraqis took to the streets in 16 of the 18 Iraqi governorates in 2011, the “silent” Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists, invisible to the public, spoke up...

While the world is busy rallying politically and militarily against ISIS, I believe that in Iraq and America the blame is mainly put on ex-Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki. He...

The streets are crowded. They are filled with pedestrians and cars. The market with its shops filled with clothing, household items, vegetables and fruits are all open. Women are...

The “new Iraq” government and its media are beating the drums of comprehensive sectarian strife. The Iraqi people, drowning in a flood of poverty, poor education and health provision,...

The general picture of the reality in Iraq is that Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s regime is begging America to supply sophisticated weapons to combat terrorism. Foreign Minister Zebari has...