One winter’s day in the early 1980s, a young Ghaith Abdul-Ahad was watching a military parade in Baghdad with his father. Despite the cheering crowds, the Iraqi soldiers that filed past were as silent and solemn as their Iranian prisoners of war. Suddenly, one Iraqi soldier grabbed Abdul-Ahad’s waving hand and pressed a large copper bullet into his small palm. Abdul-Ahad kept it as a sacred memento for a while after.
“Little did I know that it was a harbinger of the many wars to come,” writes the award-winning, Baghdad-born journalist, at the beginning of A Stranger in Your Own City. That copper bullet symbolises what lies ahead – a chronicle of the past two decades of chaos, upheaval and bloodshed in Iraq. Comprising memoirs, war reportage and recorded testimonies from a wide range of civilians and combatants, Abdul-Ahad’s monumental book, more than 10 years in the making, tells of how Iraq was overrun and torn apart.
After touching on the eight-year “Iranian adventure”, the first American Gulf War and the debilitating effects of 13 years of UN sanctions, the author turns his attention to the US-led invasion of 2003 and the all-out anarchy and barbarism that ensued.
He reveals that he had his reservations at the outset – while he wanted an end to Saddam’s brutal misrule, he knew that invading Iraq and launching a sustained bombing campaign would not bring about democracy or human rights. A better strategy wouldn’t have altered the outcome. “No amount of planning could have turned an illegal operation into a liberation,” he argues.
Abdul-Ahad explains how the day after Saddam’s statue was toppled, he abandoned his career as an architect and took on a job as a translator for a British journalist. Gradually, translating turned into war reporting, which Abdul-Ahad threw himself into. However, as the cycle of violence and counter-violence intensified, that initial enthusiasm was replaced by paralysing fear.
He excels with his coverage of pivotal events, from Saddam’s trial to the Arab Spring and the fall of Mosul. There are captivating accounts of mass protests and street battles, corruption and cronyism, kidnappings and disappearances. He reports from exit points where Iraqis are desperately trying to flee, and from final destinations such as Baghdad’s morgue and a bleak dumping ground known as the Sadda. “Two kinds of people came here,” notes Abdul-Ahad, “the killers and their victims".
However, the book is at its most absorbing when Iraqis relay their stories. Abdul-Ahad’s interviewees stem from all walks of life – some are friends, others foes. We meet Hameed, a former officer in the General Security Apparatus, who describes his journey into the insurgency and his militant efforts to thwart what he believes is “an American plot to destroy Iraq”.
We also meet a senior official working in the Council of Ministers who, in 2009, makes the startling declaration that “Iraq is ruled by institutions that are not covered by law or the constitution". A group of Shia militiamen disclose their favoured torture techniques and their desire to start “cleansing” Baghdad. A mother tells how one of her sons was killed and three others were abducted and never seen again.
We hear how Rafiq, a fixer at the Ministry of the Interior, takes bribes to secure the release or reduce the torture of a detainee. “At least there is someone to negotiate with,” says his colleague, “unlike in the days of sectarianism when we paid the money and they killed our sons anyway". When Abdul-Ahad interviews an ISIS commander – mere weeks before the group started kidnapping journalists – he remembers little of the encounter: “I was terrified and trembling with fear".
The book is full of sobering statistics: in 2007, a “quiet” day was one on which only 40 dead bodies were found in Baghdad; in 2019, thousands of murders remained unsolved as “the worst disasters in Iraq are forgotten within 72 hours". Abdul-Ahad’s depictions of horror and injustice make for grimly compelling reading, due to his vivid prose and eye for detail.
But his book isn’t a complete catalogue of atrocities. Abdul-Ahad witnesses acts of merciless cruelty, but also some of selfless bravery, such as Mosul inhabitants rising up against Islamic State and switching from passive resistance to active rebellion. Another ray of light is the heartwarming tale of a Sunni man and a Shia woman who, forced to plan their wedding like a “military-style operation”, manage to defy the odds and get married in the midst of civil war.
Important and insightful, A Stranger in Your Own City is a comprehensive history of an agonisingly long conflict. At the same time, it is a collection of stories of struggle and suffering, but also of fortitude and endurance.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
