DARK SECRETS: 3 - The Real Truth

Iraqi Prime Minister Faces ‘Oil Mafia’

Less than two weeks after the “theft of the century” scandal, which saw the “disappearance” of $2.5 billion in Iraqi tax insurance funds, a new major theft emerged, involving nine senior officers in the Ministry of Interior in the southern province of Basra. A document issued by the Iraqi Ministry…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Nov 4, 2022

Iraq Drought Impacts Potable Water Supply, Crop Yields, Says Aid Group

In drought-hit Iraq, six out of 10 households have had their access to drinking water disrupted and a quarter of farmers have seen crop yields drastically fall this year, said a survey published Monday. Iraq has been battered by three years of drought, low rainfall and reduced river flows, and…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Oct 24, 2022

Iraq’s Basra, Dhi Qar Witness Military Reinforcement to Contain Confrontations

Heading a sizable military delegation from Baghdad, Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army Abdel Emir Yarallah on Tuesday visited the southern provinces of Dhi Qar and Basra. The visit comes a day after demonstrators lit a government building on fire in Dhi Qar’s central business district of Nasiriyah. In…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Oct 5, 2022

Clashes in Iraq's Basra kill four as crisis flares in oil-rich south

Clashes among rival Shi'ite Muslim militants in the Iraqi city of Basra have killed at least four people, security officials said on Thursday, as violence from a worsening political crisis hit the south of the country.

Reuters · Sep 1, 2022

Britain and the US… And the Round of Violence in Iraq

In contrast to its establishment by the British in the early twentieth century, the second effort to establish an Iraqi state, made this century by the US, was chaotic and not based on a vision for how to build it. There is an immense difference in scale between the two…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 31, 2022

Power Crisis Adds to Iraq’s Political Woes

The power crisis sweeping Iraq has triggered a wave of protests in central and southern parts of the country, with fears the rallies being politicized growing among observers. In Najaf, mass demonstrations erupted due to a complete power outage. In the far southern province of Basra, protests took place for…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 9, 2022

Heatwaves scorch Iraq as protracted political crisis grinds on

Temperatures have soared to nearly 50 degrees Celsius in Baghdad on an almost daily basis amid heated political crisis.

Al Jazeera · Aug 6, 2022

For Iraqis a Sweltering Summer Has Begun

Umm Mohammed, 74, waves a fan back and forth to cool down, but in the blistering heat of Iraq's southern city of Basra there is nothing but stiflingly hot air. While Basra is used to scorching summers, this year it has started sooner than expected, bringing misery to residents in…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Jun 21, 2022

Climate change ravages Iraq as palm trees make way for desert

Basra was known for farming, but rising temperatures, increased water salinity, and desertification, have changed that.

Al Jazeera · May 26, 2022

Kuwaiti, Iraqi Ports Halt Operations Due to Bad Weather

Kuwait Ports Authority suspended all maritime operations at its three ports on Monday due to bad weather, the state news agency KUNA reported. The three ports were Shuwaikh port, Shuaiba port and Doha port, the agency added. The General Company for Ports of Iraq on Monday halted all marine operations…

Asharq Al-Awsat · May 16, 2022