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Iraq

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Iraq. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Baghdad

Head of State

President Abdul Latif Rashid

Head of Government

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani

Iran

Amnesty says Iran, Iraq and Saudi executed 1,380 people last year

The rights group said that drug-related offences accounted for more than 40 per cent of all executions globally.

8 Apr 2025 - 11:50AMvideocam

Commodities

Will the free-falling oil price reorder the world’s energy landscape?

5 Apr 2025 - 11:54AM

Britain

UK’s Starmer blames lack of joint action for surge in migrants crossing Channel

1 Apr 2025 - 11:15AM

Middle East

Kurds ponder future in Turkey, Syria and Iraq with guarded optimism

The mood among the Kurds has changed after Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan urged the PKK to end its struggle against Turkey.

28 Mar 2025 - 6:05PM

A protester holds a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a rally in Diyarbakir, Turkey, last month. Photo: Reuters

Middle East

Head of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria killed, Iraqi PM says

Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai was killed by Iraqi intelligence members and US-led coalition forces, PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani says.

15 Mar 2025 - 12:17PMvideocam

Fame and celebrity

Who is Michael Trotter Jr, the ex-soldier impetus for a John Legend project?

Trotter grew up with music and used it to cope with hard times, but didn’t take it seriously until he rediscovered his passion when posted to Iraq – now The War and Treaty have conquered Nashville.

14 Mar 2025 - 5:02PM

Global South

Opinion | How the Global South can rise above the fray as the West fractures

Countries must seize this moment to promote an open, inclusive world order grounded in common interests and mutual respect.

11 Mar 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Middle East

Trump administration ends Iraq’s waiver to buy Iranian electricity

The US aims to isolate Iran from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenues to slow Tehran’s development of a nuclear weapon.

9 Mar 2025 - 4:18PM

Middle East

Kurdish militants declare ceasefire, heeding jailed leader

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party declared an immediate ceasefire in a step toward ending a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state.

1 Mar 2025 - 8:24PM

United States

My Take | More shameless interference from the US in Hong Kong affairs

From threatening other nations to bulldozing state power at home, America should take care of its own mess before messing with others.

1 Mar 2025 - 2:10AM

Jim Risch (right), the chairman of the US Senate’s foreign relations committee, and ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (left) have introduced a resolution to condemn Beijing for interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong society

North Korea, Iraq holiday? Hongkongers seek unique getaways, insiders say

Industry representatives at four-day holiday expo say there is rising interest in off-the-beaten-path travel.

20 Feb 2025 - 10:49PM

People wear ethnic outfits at the Hong Kong Holiday and Travel Expo. Photo: Dickson Lee

Middle East

Turkish pro-Kurd MPs meet veteran Kurdish leader in Iraq

The Turkish delegation visited Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, near Arbil, capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

16 Feb 2025 - 11:28PM

Middle East

‘New era’: Iraq PM says he will sign security deal with Britain

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani touts Iraq-UK ties in London visit, will sign security and strategic partnership deals.

14 Jan 2025 - 12:39PMvideocam

History

Like a giant jigsaw puzzle, Iraq’s historic treasures become whole again

Archaeologists are painstakingly putting together artefacts at Nimrud shattered by Islamic State jihadists, undaunted by the colossal task.

12 Jan 2025 - 5:15PM

An archaeology expert catalogues destroyed artefacts - which range from bas-reliefs and sculptures to decorated slabs depicting mythical creatures - at the archaeological site of Nimrud, south of Mosul, Iraq, on January 3, 2025. Photo: AFP

Trending in China

‘Living in paradise’: Iraqi shares love for China after fleeing war-torn homeland

Man takes refuge from war in country, forges careers in acting, modelling before learning Mandarin, attracting huge audience with food reviews.

9 Jan 2025 - 10:41AM

A man who fled war-torn Iraq in the 1990s to forge a new life in China has attracted a massive online following with food reviews from across the nation. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

Israel-Gaza war

Opinion | The West and the rest: how genocide in Gaza will usher in the end of ‘his-story’

The breach of international laws by the West has led non-Western countries to seek new global historical narratives and tell ‘our-stories’.

4 Jan 2025 - 12:00PM

Terrorism

FBI says New Orleans truck attacker acted alone, was ‘100% inspired’ by Isis

Investigators seek clues to Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s path to radicalisation following deadly New Orleans rampage.

3 Jan 2025 - 2:42PMvideocam

Middle East

Turkey’s pro-Kurd party to meet jailed PKK leader on Saturday

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul.

28 Dec 2024 - 7:30PM

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) display flags with a portrait of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 17. Photo: Reuters

Syria

Syrian rebels capture city of Hama in fresh blow to President Assad

Hama is critical to the control of major towns as Syrian rebels stage rapid advances.

6 Dec 2024 - 11:59AM

Middle East

Syrian conflict escalates as US-backed forces clash with Assad’s troops

The clashes come after rebel advances in Aleppo and Hama, highlighting the volatile situation in the region.

3 Dec 2024 - 8:30PM

Middle East

Iraqi fighters head to Syria to battle rebels but Hezbollah stays out: sources

Iran also said it will provide ‘any support needed’ after rebels seized Aleppo last week in a lightning assault.

3 Dec 2024 - 10:08AM

Syrian rebels on top of a military aircraft after gaining control of the Nayrab military airport in Aleppo on Monday. Photo: dpa

Donald Trump

Will Trump’s cabinet picks ignite tensions in the Middle East and South Asia?

While Israel and India may be ‘happy’ with Trump’s nominees, analysts say they have raised fears of conflict with Iran and regional instability.

16 Nov 2024 - 8:19AM

Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump during a campaign event in Pennsylvania in October. Trump has picked Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel. Photo: Reuters

United States

Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib awarded US$42 million from US defence contractor

Civilian employees from CACI were accused of encouraging US soldiers to abuse detainees at the notorious prison.

13 Nov 2024 - 3:25AM

Middle East

Iran preparing to strike Israel from Iraq within days, US report says

Attacking through pro-Iran militias in Iraq could be a bid by Tehran to avoid Israeli retaliation on its own soil, the article says.

1 Nov 2024 - 5:16AMvideocam

Middle East

Pro-Iran protesters storm offices of Saudi-linked TV channel in Iraq

The ransack came following the airing of a report referring to commanders of Tehran-backed militant groups as “terrorists”.

19 Oct 2024 - 7:11PM

Iraqi activists hold the Palestine and Lebanon flag during a gathering at Al-firdos square in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday. Dozens of activists gather in central Baghdad to denounce the ongoing Israeli military strikes and operations in both Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Photo; EPA/EFE

Middle East

Pro-Iran groups ransack Saudi television channel’s Iraq office

It followed a report by Saudi broadcaster MBC that referred to the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups as ‘terrorists’.

19 Oct 2024 - 1:28PMvideocam

Iraqis carry images of the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during an anti-Israel rally in Karbala, south of Baghdad on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Israel-Gaza war

Israel intensifies bombardment of Gaza, southern Lebanon before October 7 anniversary

Israel is battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as it prepares to strike Iran for a ballistic missile attack.

7 Oct 2024 - 9:28AM

Middle East

Opinion | How a wider Middle East war could bring a world recession

Volatile oil prices, shaky investor confidence and prospects of interest rate increases threaten a global slowdown if Israel’s war expands.

5 Oct 2024 - 5:59AMvideocam

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