542 antiquities looted in Iraq war return home. Where are the rest? 8/9/2010

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:40:49 GMT

Gold earrings made for an Assyrian queen, a sacred 4,000-year-old statue, and 540 other looted pieces of Iraq’s ancient history were formally returned to Iraq on Monday in what was billed as a triumph of justice and international cooperation.

“This is a very happy day – we are making progress in the very important field of returning Iraqi history to its rightful home,” said Iraq's ambassador to Washington, Samir Sumaidaie, who said the objects had been found through a combination of Iraqi and American efforts. “Iraq cannot be summarized by 30 years of problems and wars – it can stand and it can reclaim its history.”

He noted, however, that a previous shipment of 632 stolen pieces recovered in the US had gone missing after being delivered to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office last year. (CS Monitor)

Now help Iraq to stand on its own 8/9/2010

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:02:55 GMT

The United Nations and the Iraqi government issued a joint report last month highlighting significant shortfalls in the country's progress towards achieving the UN millennium development goals (MDGs).

Although major gains have been made in reducing hunger and child mortality and promoting gender equality, the report says Iraq has been slow in meeting other targets, including increasing participation in primary education and tackling unemployment.

While Iraq is on track to achieve gender parity in education, primary school enrolment is only 77% compared with 92% in neighbouring Turkey. Youth unemployment is now double the national average of 15% and an assessment of its health targets has yielded mixed results. Measles vaccination coverage has jumped from 70% in 2007 to more than 90% in 2009 and malaria has been almost completely eliminated, with no indigenous cases reported in 2009 compared with more than 39,000 cases in 1995. But while infant mortality continues to fall, it is still among the highest in the region. (The Guardian)

Journalist among six slain in Iraq 8/9/2010

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:43:25 GMT

At least six Iraqis were killed Tuesday, including a journalist for al-Iraqiya State TV who was shot dead in western Baghdad, authorities said. Riyad al-Saray -- an anchor and a reporter -- was killed as he was leaving his home in the Harthiya neighborhood, an Interior Ministry official said.

The media watchdog group Reporters without Borders said 230 journalists and other media workers have been killed during the seven-and-a-half-year conflict, and al-Saray was the 15th journalist from the network to have been killed since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Six months on, where's Iraq's new government? 8/9/2010

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 06:02:02 GMT

Talks on a coalition government have come full circle in Iraq six months after an election that produced no clear winner and which has pitted a Sunni-backed alliance against the country's main Shi'ite-led factions. A resolution to the impasse appears as distant as ever as politicians fight over top positions, in particular that of prime minister, and public impatience, despair and disillusionment with Iraq's democratic experiment are mounting. (Reuters)

Iraqi refugee children dropping out of school 8/9/2010

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 05:59:26 GMT

Iraqi refugee children in Syria are struggling to keep up at school, or are dropping out to seek paid work, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “Education is absolutely central to the future of all children. Having a generation not equipped to participate in the economy of their country serves no one,” said Sherazade Boualia, UNICEF head in Syria.

Syria, which took in up to 1.2 million of the two million refugees who fled sectarian violence in the wake of the 2003 war in Iraq, opened its public education system to the refugees, but many are unable to benefit. (IRIN)

What America left behind in Iraq: It's even uglier than you think 8/9/2010

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 05:56:27 GMT

Hundreds of cars waiting in the heat to slowly pass through one of the dozens of checkpoints and searches they must endure every day. The constant roar of generators. The smell of fuel, of sewage, of kabobs. Automatic weapons pointed at your head out of military vehicles, out of SUVs with tinted windows. Mountains of garbage. Rumors of the latest assassination or explosion. Welcome to the new Iraq, same as the old Iraq -- even if Barack Obama has declared George W. Bush's Operation Iraqi Freedom over and announced the beginning of his own Operation New Dawn, and Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared Iraq sovereign and independent. Iraq has had several declarations of sovereignty since the first one in June 2004. As with earlier milestones, it's not clear what exactly this one means. (Foreign Policy)

A witness to Iraq’s health crisis: Nahoko Takato speaks about her experiences as an activist ...

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 05:40:03 GMT

Nahoko Takato, a Japanese aid worker, quickly developed strong connections in Ramadi and Falluja, Iraq, following the US-led invasion in 2003. In an exclusive interview with NCCI, she chronicles how she has since delivered emergency aid to health clinics while confronting trauma, intimidation, and international indifference. Takato also discusses the rising rates of cancer, congenital birth defects, and other illnesses in many areas throughout Iraq.

NCCI: Can you tell us what first compelled you to focus on Falluja and Ramadi, the two largest cities in the western governorate of Anbar, Iraq, as an aid worker?

Nahoko: On May 1^st 2003, I first went to Baghdad, Iraq. Two Iraqis who were from Ramadi and Falluja...came to Baghdad to knock on the doors of the media who were staying at the Palestine Hotel. These two Iraqis wanted the media to come and witness what was happening in Falluja. Just three days before, there was a peaceful demonstration at a Fallujan school where American soldiers shot 17 Iraqi civilians… Many of the media officials were telling them things like, “Oh, you are exaggerating,” and so on.

But some journalists [from Japan] went with the two Iraqi men to Falluja, and I joined them… I went to the Falluja General Hospital. It was crowded, and I found many victims. Some of them were shot in the leg. There were many people with amputations. Some had been shot in the abdomen... In the media, we were hearing things like, “The combat is finished in Iraq…” But it was not finished. While former President Bush was saying, “Mission accomplished,” the Iraqi people were saying, “The real war has started.” I realized how complex the situation was, and I recognized that I had to do something in terms of emergency relief for them.

I visited the pharmacy in the hospital. There was almost nothing… So immediately, I contacted some Japanese NGOs. They purchased some medicines and basic materials, like cotton and bandages, antibiotics. Several days later, I chartered a big bus to carry the boxes with medicines and materials to the hospital. I went to Falluja and Ramadi very often…

Iraqi reporter Ali Al-Mashhadani for Reuters stands in his home, which has been severely damaged by Apache fire. The site now emits dangerous levels of radioactivity. (Photo Credit: Rei Shiva)

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