corruption rampant in ministries
Niqash – Kholoud Ramzi (Baghdad) – 17 July 2008: In 2004, following the handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government, a commission was formed to investigate corruption in the country and monitor the...

iraq's lost antiquities: smuggling, corruption, negligence
Niqash - Salim al-Wazzan – Niqash (Basra, Nasiriyah) - 16 July 2008: In southern Iraq, antiquities float on the surface overflowing like oil, inciting the lust of thieves, international smuggling gangs and...

iraq comes first
Niqash – Dia’ al-Khalidi (Kerkuk) - 15 July 2008: What is the secret behind the media campaign waged wherever an Iraqi happens to shake hands with an Israeli? To date, Iraqi politicians have been sensitive to...

contentious handshake
Niqash- Ahmed Al-Sa’dawi (Baghdad) - 14 July 2008: Unlike top Iraqi newspapers which ignored the issue, Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, and Ehud Barak's recent handshake at the International Socialist Conference...

disputed complexities
Niqash – Muhamad al-Tamimi (Kirkuk) - 14 July 2008: The Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura is extremely busy these days preparing a road map that will attempt to settle the...

a revolution reconsidered
Niqash - Sa'ad Salloum (Baghdad) - 15 July 2008: The Iraqi monarchy ended on July 14, 1958 following a military coup led by two army officers, Abdul Karim Qassem and Abdul Salam Arif. A republic was established...

failed responsibility: iraqi refugees in syria, jordan and lebanon
ICG - Amman/Baghdad/Beirut/Damascus/Brussels - 10 July 2008 A refugee crisis was feared before the coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003, but it came later than anticipated, and on a greater scale. It started not...

sheikh hatem: we doubt integrity of elections
Niqash – Hanan al-Kubaisi (al-Anbar) – 8 July 2008: It is almost two years since tribal forces rose up in Anbar province against al-Qaeda, wrestling back control of their province and dealing al-Qaeda a severe...

iraq's oil wealth on the block
Niqash - Greg Muttitt (London) – 9 July 2008: Last week saw the biggest step so far towards transferring Iraqi oil into the hands of foreign multinational companies, sparking renewed accusations that the US-UK...

a tribal story from the "triangle of death"
Niqash – Muhammad al-Tamimi (Latifiyah) – 7 July 2008: Every sunset, the sound of the copper coffee grinder from Sheikh Ahmad al-Janabi’s guest house grows louder and a smell of coffee fills the room. Tribal...