An explosion is seen in Baghdad March 20, 2003, as the US launched a war on Iraq with air strikes on the capital. AFP
Smoke covers the presidential palace compound in Baghdad on March 21, 2003 during a massive US-led air raid on the Iraqi capital. Smoke billowed from a number of targeted sites, including one of President Saddam Hussein's palaces, an AFP correspondent said. AFP
A park catches fire during a US strike on a presidential palace in Baghdad late March 22, 2003. The Iraqi capital came under heavy bombardment for the third consecutive night. AFP
Smoke billows from oil trenches in Baghdad March 23, 2003. Fuel trenches were set on fire on the outskirts of Baghdad, ringing the capital with plumes of thick smoke. AFP
Women grieve outside a house destroyed in US bombing in Baghdad's al-Aazamiya neighborhood on March 24, 2003. Five members of the same family were killed and at least 28 others wounded when a missile fired by allied warplanes hit houses in the densely populated area in the Iraqi capital, according to residents. AFP
Rescuers carry a stretcher over the debris of a house destroyed in a US bombing of Baghdad's al-Aazamiya neighborhood on March 24, 2003. AFP
Smoke from burning oil trenches covers the Martyrs monument, one of Baghdad's main landmarks on March 24, 2003. AFP
Explosions rock Baghdad late March 29, 2003 during a coalition raid on the Iraqi capital. It was not immediately clear what targets had been hit in the bombing on the southern rim of the city but Iraqi satellite television broadcasting outside the country was interrupted. AFP
Greek journalist Efetefia Pentaraki and her Iraqi guide Maohamad al-Rashid run for cover as the al-Salehiya telecomunication center is hit by a missile during a coalition air raid on Baghdad on March 30, 2003. AFP
Smoke billows from an explosion in Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's guest palace bombed during a coalition air raid on March 31, 2003. AFP
Iraqis fleeing Baghdad sit with their belongings in the back of a pick-up truck on March 31, 2003, as smoke billowing from burning oil trenches covers the sky. AFP
Eighteen years ago this week, then US president George W Bush ordered the start of the American-led war against Iraq.
When Mr Bush announced that hostilities had begun, he also revealed that a bombing attempt to target and kill Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s president at the time, after receiving intelligence about his whereabouts, had failed – and failure meant that the last chance to avoid all-out war was gone.
That date, March 19 – because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq – is an important one but not as significant in my mind as March 21, 2003. This was the day the first wave of America’s promised "shock and awe" bombing campaign hit Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
I was born in Baghdad but my parents moved to the UK when I was about eighteen months old. So, in 2003, I only knew Baghdad from what I saw on the TV news, or in films and books, or through the stories I heard from my mother and father and other family members. Growing up, it seemed to me that Baghdad might be like any other capital – whether London, Paris or Rome – a city populated by bright, cosmopolitan men and women, full of history and beauty.
Later, as Saddam dragged the country from one disaster to another, including the invasion of Kuwait, it became harder to equate the Baghdad of my parents with the place dominated by such a ruthless dictator, his henchmen and the ugly monuments and palaces he built there for his own personal glorification.
As a young man, I often wondered which one was the real Baghdad.
By the time of the 2003 conflict, the physical fate of the city, rather than my perceptions of it, was in grave danger from the immense firepower that America had promised to unleash on it if Saddam did not back down and allow UN weapons inspectors into the country to confirm if he indeed possessed weapons of mass destruction. He would not, and the country, its people and Baghdad were facing yet another war.
Smoke covers the presidential palace compound in Baghdad on March 21, 2003 during a US-led air raid on the Iraqi capital. AFP
Kirk Dalrymple of the US Marine Corp watches as a statue of Iraq’s then president, Saddam Hussein, falls in central Baghdad on April 9, 2003. Reuters
March 21 was a Friday, the end of the work week in London, where I was living. I remember watching the events unfold on television, with the darkening skies of the early evening outside my window adding to the oppressive atmosphere on the screen in front of me. CNN, like all major broadcasters, was providing blanket coverage of the start of the conflict.
Sitting alone, clutching a cushion to my heart, I wept for Baghdad as the bombs dropped. And I resolved to go there as soon as I was able to.
By June, I would be in Baghdad, exploring both the city of my childhood imagination and the reality it had become after war and the legacy of Saddam’s rule. I discovered that resilience was at the heart of its character.
Since its founding in the eighth century, Baghdad has suffered much tragedy, at the hands of the Mongols, then the Ottomans, then the British, then Saddam and then the Americans. More recently, it has endured civilian strife, sectarian bloodshed and ISIS.
Baghdad has seldom recovered from the Mongol invasion of in 1258. Getty Images
A general view of Qushla park outside the Baghdad Cultural Centre. Getty Images
Iraqis visit the park of the al-Qishla clock tower near al-Mutanabi Street in Baghdad. AFP
Iraqis film a man playing the saxophone in the park near al-Mutanabi Street in Baghdad. AFP
A lute player in Qushla park. Charlotte Mayhew/ The National
A public poetry reading in Qushla park. Charlotte Mayhew/ The National
Iraqi families are seen during the International Flowers Festival at al-Zawra park in Baghdad. Reuters
People visit 9th Flower Festival named "Flower, Culture and Vixtory" at al-Zawra Park in Baghdad. Getty Images
A teenager rollerblades in front of the Ferris wheel at Zawraa Park in Baghdad. Getty Images
When the Mongols first arrived, led by Hulagu Khan to sack the round city of Baghdad in 1258, they wreaked such destruction and slaughter that it brought about the end of a golden age of civilisation under Abbasid rule. Legend has it that the Tigris River ran black with the ink of the books that had been thrown into it, from Dar Al Hikma, the House of Wisdom, which the Mongols also destroyed.
After that, Baghdad would not recover its status as a leading capital city.
Never did a people or a city deserve all of this suffering.
But despite everything, Baghdad has always been a beautiful city. It has had moments of resurgence. In recent history, these include the early days of the monarchy after independence and in the 1970s amid high oil prices and the increased revenue it brought to the country.
I don’t doubt it will rise once again and emerge as a leading capital city in the Middle East. But I do doubt it will happen quickly.
From the high emotion of Pope Francis'visit to the despair over the killing of an intelligence officer, Baghdad cannot find an even keel
Eighteen years on from the liberation from Saddam's regime, the idea of Baghdad remains locked in a struggle. Is it only what we see now on the news every day?
When I lived there for about six months, from the outside looking in, it would have seemed as if every moment was life threatening. The truth was more complex. Being there, life almost seemed normal most of the time, as you went about your day. It was only when you had to go to the Green Zone or if you ran into an American patrol on the street, that you felt the atmosphere of war. Yes, danger always lurked just around the corner but much of the time, mixing with Iraqis and foreigners alike, I sensed hope and frustration – admittedly more the latter than the former.
Now, when I watch or read the news about Baghdad, I see the same mix of hope and frustration about the direction in which it is heading. From the high emotion of Pope Francis' visit earlier this month to the despair over the killing of intelligence officer Lt Col Mahmoud Laith Hussein in the Mansour neighbourhood this week, Baghdad cannot find an even keel.
Mustafa Alrawi is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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.
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Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
