In the few days following an Iraqi civilian self-immolating when walking out of one of Baghdad’s civil offices, a young groom attempted taking his own life in the Southern Maysan Governorate, prompting a serious social and public discussion to address the rise of suicidal tendencies in Iraq. Reports have documented at least 131 suicide attempts having been made across the Middle Eastern country since the start of 2019.As a counteractive measure, a proposal has been put forth to curb the hiking…

Some 132 people Iraqis have committed suicide during the first three months of 2019, the High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) announced yesterday. In an official study, IHCHR said that Iraq’s central city of Karbala had registered the highest suicide rates, with around 20 people committing suicide. “Twenty suicides were committed in the Iraqi province of Karbala, 19 in Basra, 15 in Kirkuk, and 14 in Dhi Qar,” the rights organisation pointed out. Sixteen years after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq…

Iraqi officers have continued to torture detainees in the country's second largest city of Mosul, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. HRW documented new torture allegations early this year at the Faisaliya prison in northern Iraq, around six months after publishing a report on what it said were "chilling" abuses there and in two nearby facilities. The rights group said it had reached out about last year's allegations to the Iraqi prime minister's office, the foreign ministry and the interior ministry,…

CAIRO – 17 April 2019: Speaking to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)-run Tasnin news agency, Sheik Mo'ein Daqiq said on Tuesday that the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has called upon all young Lebanese and members of the armed group to join Iranian Armed forces, "jihadi" elements, and Iranian Red Crescent to help the flood-hit Iranians. "Currently, a significant number of young Lebanese are involved in relief operations across Iran, while many more are on their way to the flood-stricken…

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The head of the Iraqi parliament's Legal Committee on Friday called on foreign donor countries to refrain from handing any funds to his federal government because of chronic corruption. “As a lawmaker, on behalf of the Iraqi people, I address the donor countries (especially the Gulf States): Do not hand over Dinars, Dirhams, or Riyals to our government… because they will go to groups of thieves,” Fayiq Sheikh Ali, committee head, posted on his Twitter account.…

The Pentagon is upping the official estimate on the number of U.S. troops in Iraq who were killed by Iranian-backed militias, now putting that number at at least 603. Officials previously said that Iran was linked to the deaths of roughly 500 troops. That means roughly one in every six American combat fatalities in Iraq were attributable to Iran. The deaths are attributed to proxies sponsored by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — Iran’s elite military force that protects the regime from…

Saudi Arabia intends to invest $1 billion in development projects in Iraq and open a consulate in the capital, reversing a longstanding policy of disengagement there as it seeks to curb rival Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East.  A Saudi ministerial and business delegation is in Iraq this week to discuss investment ideas for some of the kingdom’s biggest companies, including oil giant Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. and the Maaden mining corporation, Saudi Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Al-Qasabi…

MOSUL, Iraq — In a rare show of deference to the anger of Mosul citizens over government abuses, the Iraqi Parliament on Sunday voted overwhelmingly to remove the province’s governor, citing accusations of corruption, self-dealing and negligence. Although Mosul citizens had pleaded with the central government to remove the governor for more than two years, it was only after a ferry disaster brought angry citizens into the street that senior political figures decided to act. The deposed governor, Nufal Hammadi, who had…

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Baghdad for the first since he took office six years ago comes with heavy pressure on Iraq, which Tehran is hoping to use to evade US sanctions. But Iraq is not a platform for Iranian redemption. It is a large country that has longstanding historical and religious relations with others and is nestled in the heart of the Middle East. With these pressures and threats, do we have to worry about Iraq becoming the…

Iraqis who "undermine national independence" online could face life sentence Human rights groups and activists are urging the Iraqi parliament to withdraw a controversial cybercrime bill that would greatly restrict freedom of expression online, if adopted. The bill imposes long prison sentences for speech-related offences that are only vaguely defined in the text of the bill. Article 3 prescribes a lifetime prison sentence and steep fines for those convicted of using “computers and the internet” to “undermine the independence, the…