Iraq

NAHRAN OMAR, Iraq (AP) — The oil is pumped 24 hours a day several meters from Raghed Jasim’s home in Iraq’s crude-rich southern heartland. Gas flares from the field light the night sky bright orange, spewing acrid smoke; when the wind picks up, the 40-year old’s clothes are coated black.

For Iraq’s poorest, evidence of the country’s monumental oil wealth is inescapable. So is the knowledge that very little of it trickles down to them.

BAGHDAD, March 19 (Reuters) - Iraq and Iran signed a border security agreement on Sunday, a move Iraqi officials said aimed primarily at tightening the frontier with Iraq's Kurdish region, where Tehran says armed Kurdish dissidents pose a threat to its security.

The joint security agreement includes coordination in "protecting the common borders between the two countries and consolidating cooperation in several security fields", a statement from the Iraqi prime minister's office said.

BAGHDAD, March 14 (Reuters) - Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi gained fame for hurling his shoes at President George W. Bush in a news conference to show his anger at the corruption and chaos that followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. He is still furious.

"The same people who entered 20 years ago with the occupier are still ruling despite failures and corruption. The United States knows very well that it brought in pseudo politicians," he told Reuters, recounting his actions back in 2008 during the Baghdad media briefing.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Only a few months into its term, Iraq’s government is suddenly enforcing a long-dormant law banning alcohol imports and arresting people over social media content deemed morally offensive. The crackdown has raised alarm among religious minorities and rights activists.

Some see the measures as an attempt by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to head off potential political challenges from religious conservatives and to distract from economic woes, such as rising prices and wild currency fluctuations.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: The United States' Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin today arrived in Iraq on an unannounced visit to discuss continued defence cooperation and to reaffirm Washington's partnership with Baghdad.

BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, making an unannounced trip to Iraq on Tuesday nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, said Washington was committed to keeping its military presence in the country

The 2003 invasion led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and created instability that eventually paved the way for the rise of Islamic State militants after the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2011.

BAGHDAD, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and four wounded in a bomb attack on Monday in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a local security source said.

Major Alaa al-Saadi from the Diyala police told Xinhua that a roadside bomb planted by unidentified armed men detonated in the evening near a civilian car outside the town of Maqdadiyah, 100 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the area and launched an investigation into the incident.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

BAGHDAD, Mar 2 (NNN-NINA) – United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, met with senior Iraqi leaders here yesterday, during a visit aimed at showing the UN solidarity with Iraq.

“I am here on a visit of solidarity and confirmation of commitment of the UN to support Iraq in consolidating its democratic institutions and promoting peace, development, and human rights for Iraq,” Guterres said at a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’al-Sudani.

BAGHDAD, Mar 2 (NNN-NINA) – United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, met with senior Iraqi leaders here yesterday, during a visit aimed at showing the UN solidarity with Iraq.

“I am here on a visit of solidarity and confirmation of commitment of the UN to support Iraq in consolidating its democratic institutions and promoting peace, development, and human rights for Iraq,” Guterres said at a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’al-Sudani.

BAGHDAD (AP) — The United Nations chief on Wednesday praised Iraq for repatriating citizens detained in neighboring Syria on suspicion of ties to the Islamic State group and pledged international support for the country’s efforts to regain stability and security.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres spoke to reporters during a rare visit to Baghdad, his first in six years, ahead of this month’s 20-year anniversary of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.