London mayor expresses sympathy with those who want former PM locked up and says Chilcot report should be published now Opponents of Tony Blair who believe he should be imprisoned over the Iraq war have their hearts in the right place, Boris Johnson has said as he called for the immediate publication of the Chilcot report. Speaking on his LBC phone-in, the London mayor spoke of the "catastrophic...
Former secretary of state 'declined invitation' to speak at university graduation following protests by faculty and students Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has backed out of delivering a commencement address at Rutgers University, following protests by some faculty and students over her role in the Iraq War. Rice said in a statement on Saturday that she informed Rutgers President Robert...
Ahmed Saadawi becomes first Iraqi to win the 'Arabic Booker' for Frankenstein in Baghdad Iraqi novelist Ahmed Saadawi has won the Arab world's most prestigious prize, the International prize for Arabic fiction , beating five other writers from around the Arab world. Continue reading... ...
Iraqis cast their votes on Wednesday in their country's first national election since US forces left in 2011. Turnout was expected to be limited despite security in the country's cities being high. Two roadside bombs exploded in Dibis, near Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Wednesday morning, killing two women and wounding five soldiers Continue reading... ...
First national elections since US forces' withdrawal held after campaign in which candidates offered few solutions Voting got under way in Iraq on Wednesday in the first national elections since US forces left two years ago, despite a virtual lockdown in most towns and cities that officials expected would limit turnout at polling stations. Continue reading... ...
Nouri al-Maliki frontrunner to form coalition government though many Sunni Iraqis doubt power-sharing potential Iraqis have nervously cast ballots in a national election seen as a referendum on security issues that could have widespread ramifactions for the unity of the region. Wednesday's ballot was conducted under an intensive security dragnet, and it passed largely without incident, despite weeks...
State Department says 16 Americans killed out of 17,891 total Surge complicates sprawling counter-terrorism efforts led by US Terrorist attacks rose 43% worldwide in 2013 despite a splintering of al-Qaidas leadership and a sprawling global counter-terrorism campaign, according to new statistics released by the State Department on Wednesday. The exposure of Americans to terrorism abroad remained minimal...
As the country prepares to go the polls for the third time since the fall of Saddam Hussein and after its deadliest period in five years, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad finds the people of Buhriz fighting a new wave of insurgents and for their lives Thursday night in Buhriz, and spring has sprung. In the garden of a retired security officer a group of men, sitting around a plastic table in the middle of a lush...
My organisation is fighting to secure the right of every child to be at school. It's the only way to stop this barbaric practice When Iraqi voters go to the polls tomorrow they are likely to endorse parties that plan to legalise child marriage at nine years old . Based on Shia Islamic jurisprudence, what is called the Ja'afari personal status law was approved by the current Iraqi cabinet eight weeks...
Sunnis and Shias are on the brink of civil war, and Islamism is emboldened. Two years after US withdrawal, Iraq is unravelling Iraq holds national elections on Wednesday , its first since the US left in December 2011. Relations between its Sunni and Shia communities have deteriorated and the country is on the brink of civil war as well as territorial disintegration. The elections are likely to sustain...
Tight security fails to prevent attacks across country apparently aimed at discouraging voters from going to polls Militants have attacked polling stations in Iraq as soldiers and security forces cast their votes two days before parliamentary elections, killing at least 21 people. The wave of attacks on Monday was an apparent attempt to derail the balloting process and discourage the rest of the country's...
Airstrike that killed at least eight the first cross-border raid since Syria's civil war began comes days before Iraqi elections Iraqi army helicopters have hit what they believe was a jihadist convoy in eastern Syria, killing at least eight people, in a show of strength days before the country's first national elections since 2010. It was the first airstrike inside Syria claimed by Iraq since the...
Photographs from the Guardian Eyewitness series Continue reading... ...
Sunni militants Isis claim responsibility for three explosions at stadium where Shia rally was being held before elections Suicide bombers have killed at least 30 people at a Baghdad sports stadium hosting a pre-election campaign rally attended by thousands of supporters of a militant Shia group. An al-Qaida breakaway group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), claimed responsibility for...
An informal lending library uses literary heritage to remind young Baghdadis they don't need to emigrate to escape daily travails Bathed in the rainbow-coloured light of an old Baghdadi window, Ali al-Makhzomy explained his plan to get technology-obsessed young Iraqis to read books old-fashioned books, with pages. Outside the cafe where he sat, concrete blocks protect businesses from car bombs. Eleven...
Blair's simplistic formula for tackling radical Islam is leading him to support some of the most oppressive forces in the region Tony Blair's speech this week at Bloomberg in London reveals a growing support for authoritarian regimes in the Middle East . A decade ago, Blair was justifying wars in the Middle East on the grounds that they would launch a democratic revolution and sweep away Arab despots....
As Tony Blair makes speech on Middle East, study puts cost of post-cold war UK military operations at more than £34bn What went wrong with operations in Iraq and Afghanistan which costs most of the £37bn Britain has spent on military conflicts over the past fifteen years (excluding the long-term cost of veteran care estimated to amount to as much as £30bn), seriously dented the reputation...
Study says bulk of money was spent on Iraq and Afghanistan, interventions judged later to be 'strategic failures' Britain's military operations since the end of the cold war have cost £34.7bn and a further £30bn may have to be spent on long-term veteran care, according to an authoritative study. The bulk of the money has been spent on interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan judged to have...
Michael Barbera could face court martial for 2007 deaths of unarmed brothers as witnesses testify about possible cover-up The two unarmed Iraqi brothers posed no threat as they herded cattle in a grove where a US army reconnaissance team was hidden one day seven years ago. But Michael Barbera, then a staff sergeant, took a knee, leveled his rifle and killed them anyway, a prosecutor said Wednesday...
Tony Blair's speech - Summary Twitter reaction - from journalists and commentators Twitter reaction - from politicians Lunchtime summary 2.07pm BST Tony Blair, the former prime minister, has called upon the world to confront the challenge posed by radical Islam. In one of the most substantial speeches he has delivered in the UK since leaving office, he reaffirmed his long-held belief that Islamist...