BAGHDAD — The Najaf Nationality Directorate, south of Baghdad, refused to grant a travel permit to civil activist and Iraqi citizen Intisar Alyawi al-Mayali July 5 because she appeared unveiled in the photo attached to her passport. This incident sparked outrage and highlighted once again the conflict between secularists and the conservative current typified by Islamist groups.
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Oil prices have plummeted, leaving Saudi Arabia and its allies with a long-term economic crisis — just as Iran’s economy looks poised for rapid gains. Jeddah’s glittering kilometer-high Kingdom Tower, set for completion in 2018, looms over a Saudi Arabia just beginning to confront the challenge of lower oil prices. The construction of ultra-tall buildings, however, has famousl
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In the land where history was first written, the complete erasure of over 8,000 years of cultural heritage, record, ethnic pluralism, and memory is underway. Although sidelined by the exigencies of war, those losses will impact Iraq’s potential to rehabilitate post-conflict. They represent an abrogation of a collective heritage: the world’s first legal code, writing system, a
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People shout slogans during a demonstration to show support for Iraqi PM Haider Al Abadi at Tahrir Square in Baghdad on August, 9. Ahmed Saad/Reuters It seems that the 12 years' crescendo of politicization, sectarianism and mismanagement has finally reached its climax. The mid boiling temperature of Iraq's sweltering summer and daily terrorist attacks did not stop the masses
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July exports dip despite rising Basra output Iraq maintained near-record export levels in July due to rising output from Basra, which helped offset disruptions to northern oil sales caused by political disputes and pipeline outages. The State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) reported an average 3.105 million barrels per day (bpd) of exports in July (a total of 96.245
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