Global briefing
Week in review: Al Qa'eda denounced by Libyan group
- Jihadist ideology is now under attack from its erstwhile proponents. A Libyan group has issued a new religious document denouncing the tactics used by al Qa'eda as illegal under Islamic law.
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Iraqi exiles praise vice president’s election law veto
Tareq al Hashemi’s decision to veto Iraq’s election laws was welcomed yesterday by many of the Iraqi exiles who feared their voices would be lost in the vote.
Iraq VP vetoes part of election law
Iraq’s Sunni Arab vice president has vetoed part of an election law over the allocation of seats to displaced Iraqis.
Aid group warns of Iraqi refugee crisis
Red Crescent says the international community and Iraq are failing the displaced, and conditions could be a breeding ground for extremism.
Britain denies widescale Iraq abuse
A lawyer representing alleged victims claims British soldiers systemically mistreated prisoners in collusion with US forces.
Kirkuk election compromise fails to end arguments over city's future
Opponents are concerned that the Kirkuk compromise for the national elections will only inflame tensions.
Iraqis angry at loss of jobs to Asians
There is growing resentment as some employers replace Baghdad locals with lower-wage immigrant labour in a bid to save money.
Jobs in peril as date output stalls
Iraq's date industry is suffering from a downtown as a result of the war, with many farming families facing severe difficulties as a result.
Al Qa’eda linked group claims Baghdad attacks
An al Qa'eda-linked group said it carried out double car bombings in Baghdad that killed at least 155 people on Sunday.
Twin bombings shake Baghdad
Council members are among the dead as the powerful blasts hit central Baghdad, killing at least 136 people and wounding more than 500.
Victims of Baghdad’s car theft gangsters
Innocent drivers are increasingly becoming the target of gangs of vehicle thieves who are said to be using them in bomb attacks.
Trapped by war and politics
Kirkuk, which is referred to as Kurdistan’s Jerusalem, sits on about 0.7 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves. But an explosive combination of corruption and the threat of sectarian violence has deterred much needed foreign investment.
At least 3 dead in Iraq attacks
A bomb explodes at a restaurant in the Iraqi capital, and a senior policeman is gunned down in Mosul.
Today's comment
A spiritual analysis of extremism
Jihad Hashim Brown : Westerners need to stop thinking they are celebrities living out pop-modern lives for us on a stage for all their eastern fans to wish they were them.
Your Prophet is your Islam
Omid Safi: Whenever I ask non-Muslims about the Prophet Mohammed: the response is invariably one of deafening silence.
Cold feet as I prepare for journey of a lifetime
Hadeel al Shalchi: By this time next week I hope to be in the final stages of possibly the most challenging duty of my faith – the Haj.
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Swan song of the nightingales
Protected under Saddam Hussein, Baghdad's beloved bulbuls are disappearing as a result of poaching and a three-year drought.
Iraqi refugees stuck in limbo
Embarrassed British government officials were trying desperately yesterday to sort out a deportation fiasco over 29 Iraqis stuck in limbo between London and Baghdad.
Mosul left lagging as Iraq struggles forward
The US military says the security situation is vastly improved in Iraq's second city but residents beg to differ.
US commander wants blank cheque for policing
With Iraqi leaders looking to reduce national security spending, a senior US military commander warns that defence cutbacks will endanger fragile security gains.
Spotlight
The legal legacy of a ‘hedonist’
- In an unprecedented case, the former prime minister Ehud Olmert faces trial for graft, while some of his ministers have been sentenced.
Frontiers
Why the historian is wearing flippers
- Prehistoric European cultures existed along coastlines that have since been reclaimed by the sea. Archaeologists are turning to the ocean floor to join the missing pieces of human civilisation.
Dispatches
Bad blood between Egypt and Algeria runs deeper than football
- Violence is latest incident in escalating diplomatic row between Egypt and Algeria, whose two World Cup qualifying matches this week inflamed decades-old tensions.
The week
- 14.11.2009 to 20.11.2009 Jet fighters took to the Dubai skies, five people survived two months adrift on open seas and Apple entered talks to allow music downloads in the UAE.
Review
- World Young Egyptian women, Ursula Lindsey reports, are taking to blogs and publishing books to give voice to their frustration with the indignities of single life, the pressure to marry and the stigma of divorce.
