#iraq

#iraq

Four men searched my mouth for implanted tracking devices. I had told them I didn't have any-that, as far as I knew, such things existed only in movies. They asked if I had fillings, and I confessed that I did. They looked again. "No, you don't," one of them corrected me, having failed to find any glint of silver. My fillings are white. The men, wearing dark civilian clothes and balaclavas, seemed convinced that these unfamiliar fillings posed a threat to their operational security. That's when I knew that my kidnapping was going to be a little bit different.

Haybat al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, has been elected as speaker of the new parliament. Iraq's newly elected parliament has chosen Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker, a significant step in the formation of the new government after months of political turmoil. Iraqi media reported on Monday, citing parliament's media office, that al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, had received 208 votes, in a clear victory over two rival contenders with 66 and nine votes, respectively.

Who will be the prime minister is only one issue, although it is top of mind for incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who had his powers clipped in November by the Federal Supreme Court (FSC), making his government a caretaker. As he scrambles for new alliances to compensate for a fractured electoral bloc, al-Sudani will also need to prove he can steer the country through a complicated domestic and international position.

The House passed legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq Authorizations for Use of for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in a bipartisan vote on Wednesday, moving against two pieces of legislation that have vastly expanded the president's ability to use military force in the U.S.'s "forever wars" in the Middle East. The amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed easily in a 261 to 167 vote.

Iraqi and Lebanese intelligence agencies coordinated to discover and destroy one of Lebanon's largest drug factories making the highly addictive amphetamine Captagon.

The al-Khasfa site, believed to be a mass grave left by ISIL, may contain at least 4,000 remains and potentially thousands more.

At least one police officer was killed and 14 fighters detained after a gun battle erupted in Iraq's capital with members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a state-sanctioned paramilitary umbrella that includes groups loyal to Iran.

Some 43 Iraqi citizens were deported from Germany on a charter flight to Baghdad, as part of the government's enforcement of tougher migration policies. The Ministry of Justice of Thuringia stated that those deported were primarily "single men" who were required to leave and included individuals with previous criminal convictions.

The U.S. has decided to partially evacuate its embassy in Iraq, moving nonessential staff amid rising tensions with Iran, indicating potential escalating conflict.

In Iraq, the excavation of mass graves reveals the complex journey of identifying the remains of those lost in the conflict, highlighting family struggles for closure.

The decision to close the U.S. Consulate in Basra and evacuate diplomats was prompted by safety concerns following a rocket attack, underscoring tensions with Iranian-backed militias.

In the Arab world we are not fully accustomed to the concept of commissioning stories around a specific theme or of a specific length then working with the author on revisions... which posed some challenges.

Bilal's work reflects on the complexities of democracy in Iraq and the U.S., drawing from his experiences and a blend of digital and physical realities.

Cooking fish over an open flame is hot work in Amarah's summer heat.