Iraq
Latest reporting and analysis focused on Iraq.
Australian engineer detained in Iraq for five years: Why Canberra acted slowly despite holding significant leverage
Robert Pether, an Australian engineer accused in a contract dispute over the construction of the Central Bank of Iraq's headquarters in Baghdad, has finally been permitted to leave Iraq after five years of imprisonment. The Greens leader has criticised that, as a major funder of the Iraqi government, Australia could have exerted greater pressure. Pether once wrote from prison that he felt "abandoned".
Truth Era Newsroom · 0 viewsIraq Again Devalues Dinar to Fill Wartime Deficit; Lawmakers Denounce It as 'Waging War on the Poor'
The Iraqi cabinet approved adjusting the dinar-to-dollar exchange rate from roughly 1,320 to 1,520 to plug the fiscal deficit caused by a sharp decline in oil exports stemming from the U.S. war on Iran. Dozens of lawmakers issued a joint statement opposing the move, criticizing the central bank for further burdening livelihoods amid rising prices and delayed salary and benefit payments, calling the decision 'waging war on the poor.'
Truth Era Newsroom · 0 viewsOver 1,000 Medical Graduates Take to Baghdad Streets to Protest Unfulfilled Government Employment Promises
According to Al Jazeera, more than 1,000 medical and health professional graduates took to the streets of Baghdad on the 9th to demand government-staffed positions. Iraq's youth unemployment rate has continued to exceed 30%, reflecting how the Iraqi government, long reliant on oil revenues, has failed to translate national wealth into employment commitments for young professionals.
Truth Era Newsroom · 35 viewsWhen Excise Tax Becomes an Engine of Crime: How Australia's Black Market Tobacco Uses the Hawala System to Funnel Profits to Dubai
According to ABC News, black market tobacco now accounts for 80 percent of all tobacco consumption in Australia, and a clandestine financial network exploiting the ancient Hawala remittance system is funneling tens of millions of Australian dollars in cash from money changers in Melbourne and Sydney to Dubai, where it is controlled from exile by the deported Iraqi crime boss Kazem Hamad. The federal excise tax that has pushed legal tobacco to among the highest prices in the world, chronically in
Truth Era Newsroom · 0 viewsUS-Iran Mutual Attacks on Merchant Ships Hit Six-Month War High; Hormuz Strait Traffic Plummets to One-Quarter of Pre-War Level
Iran claimed on Wednesday to have attacked 10 vessels near the Hormuz Strait in retaliation for the US sinking 5 Iranian oil tankers. Brent crude futures broke through $100 per barrel for the first time since July. Daily Strait traffic fell sharply from the pre-war 8-9 million barrels to about 2 million barrels. The US announced a standing policy of striking Iranian oil tankers to counter threats to US ships, with at least one crew member killed and retail diesel prices hitting a record high.
Truth Era Newsroom · 35 viewsFrom the World Trade Center to Guantánamo: Australian 9/11 Families' Questions 25 Years On
According to ABC News, the September 11 attacks 25 years ago killed 2,977 people, including 10 Australians. On the 25th anniversary, the families of Australian victims reflect on the pain of losing loved ones, their stance on the war on terror, the absurdity of nearly two decades of judicial waiting, and the role some media have played in stoking prejudice against Muslims. Estimates suggest post-9/11 wars and conflicts have caused a cumulative 4.5 to 4.7 million deaths — roughly 1,500 times the
Truth Era Newsroom · 32 viewsParis Trial Over English Channel Drowning: Behind the 14 Defendants, the Absent Policy of Closure
According to France 24, on September 9, 2026, 14 defendants stood trial in Paris over the 2021 English Channel drowning that killed at least 31 people, with 114 civil plaintiffs joining the lawsuit. The court will examine the legal responsibility of the smuggling network, but the policy framework that systematically shut down legal asylum pathways remains outside judicial jurisdiction.
Truth Era Newsroom · 19 views