Pioneering program makes aerial survey of Iraqi antiquities. By Adnan Abu Zeed*

Iraq, together with UNESCO, has concluded a comprehensive aerial survey of Iraqi heritage destroyed by the Islamic State (IS), paving the way for further cooperation to restore various Iraqi sites, particularly at the 13th-century Assyrian capital of Nimrod. In mid-May, Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini handed over to his Iraqi counterpart, Friad Rwandzi, a 500-pag

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Iraq’s Kurds question motives behind independence vote. By Ibrahim Malazada*

SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — The political establishment in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is divided in opposition to and support for holding a referendum on independence and what the government's priorities should otherwise be.   One possible casualty of the dispute is Alaa Talabani, who was relieved of her position as head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdist

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