Football is more than a sport in Iraq -- it is a unifying passion that transcends ethnicity and religion. Among the many communities that have shaped the nation's football story the Assyrians have played an outsized role. Their journey into Iraqi football cannot be told without first looking back at their history of displacement and survival.
As Iraq prepares for its parliamentary elections on 11 November, the Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union (Huyodo Bethnahrin Athroyo, HBA) announced it will boycott the vote, declaring that Iraq's political system no longer represents its "original components" and that the electoral process has been "hijacked" by dominant political blocs.
In a significant step toward improving the situation of Iraq's Christian population, Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader al-Dakhil met with Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Timotheus Mousa al-Shamani, head of the Diocese of Mor Mattai Monastery and Honorary President of the Assyrian Council in Bartella (Baritle).
The Syriac Orthodox church in the village of Bote, Tur Abdin, home to several historic churches and shrines, has become the target of illegal practices against its Christian heritage. Assyrian villagers from the diaspora--no Assyrians live year-round in Bote anymore--had decided to build a protective wall around the Syriac Orthodox Virgin Mary Church, whose structure had collapsed since the Sayfo...
The Syriac Union Party today visited the office of the Suraya Democratic Party in Tel Tamr, Khabur River Valley, North and East Syria. The visiting delegation included members of the Syriac Union Party's Executive Committee Gabriel Shamoun and Simon Gerges. They were received by Madeleine Warda, Co-Chair of the Suraya Democratic Party, and several party members.
Iraq's parliamentary system reserves nine of its 329 seats for ethnic and religious minorities, ensuring representation for Christians, Yazidis, Shabak, Sabean-Mandaeans, and Feyli Kurds. Together with the constitutional requirement that at least 25 percent of seats be held by women, these quotas form the backbone of Iraq's inclusive electoral framework ahead of the November 2025 elections.