The view of Chilcot from Iraq: 'Only those with the wounds feel the pain'
On the eve of the Chilcot report, people in Baghdad describe how Iraq is still reeling from the upheaval unleashed by the warMartin Chulov in Baghdad
Crouched in the shade near the gate of a cemetery, Shaker Mohammed, a retired gravedigger, was waiting out the final hours of Ramadan in midsummer Baghdad. Relief from the month of dawn-to-dusk fasting was only hours away. So too was a reckoning much longer in the making: the release of a report that aimed to define Britain’s role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the effects of which continue to buffet the country, and much of the Middle East.
“Heat you can cope with, but life is another thing,” Shaker, 63, shrugged. “I hope this year will be worth celebrating.”
Across the Iraqi capital, there is little sense that the long-delayed Chilcot reportinto Britain’s decision to go to war will change anything. Thirteen years after the invasion, the country is still reeling from the upheaval unleashed by the war. What was envisaged by planners in London and Washington to be a seamless transition from dictatorship to democracy has proved to be anything but.
Bookseller abductions: China demands Lam Wing-kee return from Hong Kong
Public security officials say vendor who disappeared in October, then was released in June, is overdue back on the mainland for further investigation
China has reportedly warned Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee that he could face harsher legal action for violating bail conditions.
A statement issued by the Ningbo Public Security Bureau said Lam had broken his bail terms by failing to return to the mainland for further investigation after his initial eight months in detention, Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper reported.
Lam was one of five booksellers whose disappearances over the past year have been linked to the Causeway Bay Books store that had specialised in publishing and selling books about China’s leaders, including President Xi Jinping.
Chilcot report live: Results of Iraq War inquiry due to be published 13 years after Tony Blair's invasion - latest news
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Young Iranians explain just how easy it is to get banned alcohol
OBSERVERS
When Iran became an Islamic Republic in 1979, it became illegal to produce or consume any type of alcoholic beverage. This offence, to this day, is punishable by 80 lashes. Yet booze-fuelled parties are far from rare, and authorities say there are more than 200,000 alcoholics in the country? In fact, 150 Alcoholic Anonymous centres operate all over Iran, according to official statistics. So how, exactly, do Iranians get their hands on alcohol? We asked some of our young Observers in Iran.
According to estimates by Iran’s Health Ministry, Iranians drink at least 420 million litres of alcoholic drinks per year. Tehran police claim that half of the alcohol tests they carry out turn up positive.
“I make alcohol at home”
Dara (not his real name) lives in Babol, a small city in northern Iran. He is in his late twenties.
I don’t drink very much – maybe once a week – but many of my friends drink heavily every night. Many people, including myself, make alcohol at home. You need a bit of space, and the process can give off a strong smell, so it’s easier to do in the countryside than in the city!
Gaza's schools remain in ruins two years after war
Rebuilding has been slow amid Israeli restrictions on raw materials, including concrete, entering the Gaza Strip.
Isra Namey
Gaza Strip - Farah Qanoua's first day at school after the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza was a day she will not forget.
On July 23, 2014, 11-year-old Farah saw on the news that Shujayea's primary school, where she attended classes, had been hit by Israeli missiles. Still, what she observed on that first day back was beyond her expectations.
"The hateful bombs had showered debris everywhere I moved my eyes that day," Farah told Al Jazeera, noting that the extent of the damage shook her long-established belief that the school was a safe place.
Trash from China swamps Hong Kong beaches
Trash piled meters deep on beaches where children usually swim, water littered with discarded food packaging and plastic bottles.
In recent days, Hong Kong's beaches have been swamped by mountains of trash and environmentalists and residents say it's got to stop.
"Trash on the beach is nothing new in Hong Kong, but this is completely different to what we would normally see," said Gary Stokes, Southeast Asia Director at the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
He called the size of the current trash pile "unprecedented."
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