Almost 100 people are reported to have died after a ferry sank in the Tigris river in Iraq’s city of Mosul. Most of the victims were women and children, the interior ministry said. It is thought nearly 200 people were on board. The ferry was heading towards a tourist island as part of new year...
Omar Sattar, Al-Monitor, 5 April 2019 BAGHDAD — Although water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers have been rising as torrential rains fill some of the largest dams in Iraq, the threat of drought persists. Turkey is now taking the necessary steps to fill its controversial Ilisu Dam, while Iran continues to cut off tributaries of the rivers flowing...
Arabic | عربي With this letter, the members and allies of the European Water Movement express their support and solidarity to the people organizing the Mesopotamian Water Forum, a civil society forum on the alternative management of Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries in Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran that will take place between...
عربي | Arabic Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 3 April 2019 The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, historic lifelines of Mesopotamia, stretch across the states of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. In past decades these rivers have faced environmental degradation and politicization through large dams, river diversions and unsustainable management at the expense of the peoples...
عربي | Arabic Al-Monitor Saad Salloum BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government and the United Nations are working together to establish a museum documenting Islamic State (IS) atrocities against the Yazidi religious minority in Sinjar. The idea stemmed from a 2018 visit by representatives of UNESCO and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq to the village of Kocho in the Sinjar district of Ninevah province. Residents...
Arabic | عربي Al-Monitor Written by Saad Salloum KARBALA, Iraq — A high-ranking Shiite cleric delegation from Najaf visited the holy Yazidi temple in Lalish northern Iraq on March 17. Yazidis witnessed a horrible genocide by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The visit is a part of a campaign carried out by Shiite clerics to gather...
Arabic | عربي From 6-8 April 2019 the 1st Mesopotamian Water Forum will take place at the University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A unique space for open and public dialogue about the status and access of bodies of water in the Mesopotamia. This event will be an important opportunity to promote a...
Marta Bellingreri – AlMonitor Walking toward the Ziggurat of Ur, a massive Sumerian temple dedicated to the moon god Nannar, tourists often can’t help but express their awe. Representative of their excitement is one visitor who remarked, “It’s incredible! I studied it when I was at the primary school! My heart is beating like a drum!” Ali Zughair, a professor...
Arabic | عربي Al-Monitor Omar al-Jaffal Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Baghdad March 11 to endorse the two countries’ renewed commitment to the 1975 Algiers Agreement regarding the shared border of the Shatt al-Arab River. The agreement has sat idle for decades, as Iraq has attempted to evade what it sees as unfair terms. However, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi...
On 12 January 2019, the Baghdad Council for Social Cohesion held its first workshop with the Environment and Water masar (path) of the Iraqi Social Forum. The workshop focused on water and environmental pollution challenges. In attendance were 15 trainees from the Baghdad Council as well as representatives of the Environment and Water masar and...
عربي | Arabic Baraa Mahmoud, Sport Against Violence organization Cycling is one of the most accessible sports, great for staying healthy, and can even boost energy. For the second consecutive year, Babylon Tower Foundation in cooperation with the Sport Against Violence organization held the “I Have A Dream, I Have A Bicycle” festival on 16...
Arabic | عربي Taif Sabah Alwachi \ Baghdad Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative Welcome dear audience at the annual 8th conference of the Iraq civil society solidarity initiative. First of all, on behalf of my colleagues in the initiative, and on behalf of all of you, I would like to thank the Association of Iraqi...
