title: Iraq

text: Iraq was ordered to destroy its chemical and biological weapons and the UN attempted to compel Saddam's government to disarm and agree to a ceasefire by imposing additional sanctions on the country in addition to the initial sanctions imposed following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The Iraqi Government's failure to disarm and agree to a ceasefire resulted in sanctions which remained in place until 2003. The effects of the sanctions on the civilian population of Iraq have been disputed. Whereas it was widely believed that the sanctions caused a major rise in child mortality, recent research has shown that commonly cited data were fabricated by the Iraqi government and that "there was no major rise in child mortality in Iraq after 1990 and during the period of the sanctions." An oil for food program was established in 1996 to ease the effects of sanctions.


title: Iraq

text: Following the September 11 attacks, the George W. Bush administration began planning the overthrow of Saddam's government and in October 2002, the US Congress passed the Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq. In November 2002, the UN Security Council passed UNSCR 1441 and in March 2003 the United States and its allies invaded Iraq.


title: Iraq

text: On 20 March 2003, a United States-organised coalition invaded Iraq, under the pretext that Iraq had failed to abandon its weapons of mass destruction program in violation of UN Resolution 687. This claim was based on documents provided by the CIA and the British government that were later found to be unreliable.


title: Iraq

text: Following the invasion, the United States established the Coalition Provisional Authority to govern Iraq. In May 2003 L. Paul Bremer, the chief executive of the CPA, issued orders to exclude Ba'ath Party members from the new Iraqi government (CPA Order 1) and to disband the Iraqi Army (CPA Order 2). The decision dissolved the largely Sunni Iraqi Army and excluded many of the country's former government officials from participating in the country's governance, including 40,000 school teachers who had joined the Ba'ath Party simply to keep their jobs, helping to bring about a chaotic post-invasion environment.


title: Iraq

text: An insurgency against the US-led coalition-rule of Iraq began in summer 2003 within elements of the former Iraqi secret police and army, who formed guerrilla units. In fall 2003, self-entitled 'jihadist' groups began targeting coalition forces. Various Sunni militias were created in 2003, for example Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The insurgency included intense inter-ethnic violence between Sunnis and Shias. The Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal came to light, late 2003 in reports by Amnesty International and Associated Press.


title: Iraq

text: The Mahdi Army—a Shia militia created in the summer of 2003 by Muqtada al-Sadr—began to fight Coalition forces in April 2004. 2004 saw Sunni and Shia militants fighting against each other and against the new Iraqi Interim Government installed in June 2004, and against Coalition forces, as well as the First Battle of Fallujah in April and Second Battle of Fallujah in November. The Mahdi army would kidnap Sunni civilians as part of a genocide that occurred against them.


title: Iraq

text: In January 2005, the first elections since the invasion took place and in October a new Constitution was approved, which was followed by parliamentary elections in December. However, insurgent attacks were common and increased to 34,131 in 2005 from 26,496 in 2004.


title: Iraq

text: During 2006, fighting continued and reached its highest levels of violence, more war crimes scandals were made public, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq was killed by US forces and Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity and hanged.


title: Iraq

text: In late 2006, the US government's Iraq Study Group recommended that the US begin focusing on training Iraqi military personnel and in January 2007 US President George W. Bush announced a "Surge" in the number of US troops deployed to the country.


title: Iraq

text: In May 2007, Iraq's Parliament called on the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal and US coalition partners such as the UK and Denmark began withdrawing their forces from the country. The war in Iraq has resulted in between 151,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis being killed.


title: Iraq

text: In 2008, fighting continued and Iraq's newly trained armed forces launched attacks against militants. The Iraqi government signed the US–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, which required US forces to withdraw from Iraqi cities by 30 June 2009 and to withdraw completely from Iraq by 31 December 2011.


title: Iraq

text: US troops handed over security duties to Iraqi forces in June 2009, though they continued to work with Iraqi forces after the pullout. On the morning of 18 December 2011, the final contingent of US troops to be withdrawn ceremonially exited over the border to Kuwait. Crime and violence initially spiked in the months following the US withdrawal from cities in mid-2009 but despite the initial increase in violence, in November 2009, Iraqi Interior Ministry officials reported that the civilian death toll in Iraq fell to its lowest level since the 2003 invasion.


title: Iraq

text: Following the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, the insurgency continued and Iraq suffered from political instability. In February 2011, the Arab Spring protests spread to Iraq; but the initial protests did not topple the government. The Iraqi National Movement, reportedly representing the majority of Iraqi Sunnis, boycotted Parliament for several weeks in late 2011 and early 2012, claiming that the Shiite-dominated government was striving to sideline Sunnis.


title: Iraq

text: In 2012 and 2013, levels of violence increased and armed groups inside Iraq were increasingly galvanised by the Syrian Civil War. Both Sunnis and Shias crossed the border to fight in Syria. In December 2012, Sunni Arabs protested against the government, who they claimed marginalised them.


title: Iraq

text: During 2013, Sunni militant groups stepped up attacks targeting the Iraq's population in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Nouri al-Maliki-led government. In 2014, Sunni insurgents belonging to the Islamic State terrorist group seized control of large swathes of land including several major Iraqi cities, like Tikrit, Fallujah and Mosul creating hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons amid reports of atrocities by ISIL fighters.


title: Iraq

text: On 4 June 2014, the insurgents began their efforts to capture Mosul. The Iraqi army officially had 30,000 soldiers and another 30,000 federal police stationed in the city, facing a 1,500-member attacking force. The Iraqi forces' actual numbers were much lower due to "ghost soldiers", severely reducing combat ability. After six days of combat and massive desertions, Iraqi soldiers received orders to retreat. The city of Mosul, including Mosul International Airport and the helicopters located there, all fell under ISIL's control. An estimated 500,000 civilians fled from the city.


title: Iraq

text: By late June, the Iraqi government had lost control of its borders with both Jordan and Syria. al-Maliki called for a national state of emergency on 10 June following the attack on Mosul, which had been seized overnight. However, despite the security crisis, Iraq's parliament did not allow Maliki to declare a state of emergency; many legislators boycotted the session because they opposed expanding the prime minister's powers.


title: Iraq

text: A former commander of the Iraqi ground forces, Ali Ghaidan, accused former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of being the one who issued the order to withdraw from the city of Mosul.


title: Iraq

text: After an inconclusive election in April 2014, Nouri al-Maliki served as caretaker-Prime-Minister. On 11 August, Iraq's highest court ruled that PM Maliki's bloc was the largest in parliament, meaning Maliki could stay Prime Minister. By 13 August, however, the Iraqi president had tasked Haider al-Abadi with forming a new government, and the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and some Iraqi politicians expressed their wish for a new leadership in Iraq, for example from Haider al-Abadi. On 14 August, Maliki stepped down as PM to support Mr al-Abadi and to "safeguard the high interests of the country". The US government welcomed this as "another major step forward" in uniting Iraq. On 9 September 2014, Haider al-Abadi had formed a new government and became the new prime minister. Intermittent conflict between Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions has led to increasing debate about the splitting of Iraq into three autonomous regions, including Sunni Kurdistan in the northeast, a Sunnistan in the west and a Shiastan in the southeast.


title: Iraq

text: In response to rapid territorial gains made by the Islamic State during the first half of 2014, and its universally-condemned executions and reported human rights abuses, many states began to intervene against it in the War in Iraq (2013–2017). Since the airstrikes started, ISIL has been losing ground in both Iraq and Syria. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Iraq in ISIL-linked violence. The genocide of Yazidis by ISIL has led to the expulsion, flight and effective exile of the Yazidis from their ancestral lands in northern Iraq. The 2016 Karrada bombing killed nearly 400 civilians and injured hundreds more. On 17 March 2017, a US-led coalition airstrike in Mosul killed more than 200 civilians.


title: Iraq

text: Since 2015, ISIL lost territory in Iraq, including Tikrit in March and April 2015, Baiji in October 2015, Sinjar in November 2015, Ramadi in December 2015, Fallujah in June 2016 and Mosul in July 2017. By December 2017, ISIL had no remaining territory in Iraq, following the 2017 Western Iraq campaign.


title: Iraq

text: In September 2017, a referendum was held regarding Kurdish independence in Iraq. 92% of Iraqi Kurds voted in favor of independence. The referendum was regarded as illegal by the federal government in Baghdad. On 9 December 2017, then-Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over ISIL and announced full liberation of borders with Syria from Islamic State militants. In March 2018, Turkey launched military operations to eliminate active Kurdish separatist fighters in the far north of the country. Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's political coalition won Iraq's parliamentary election in May 2018.


title: Iraq

text: Serious civil unrest rocked the country beginning in Baghdad and Najaf in July 2018 and spreading to other provinces in September 2018 as rallies to protest corruption, unemployment, and public service failures turned violent. Protests and demonstrations started again on 1 October 2019, against 16 years of corruption, unemployment and inefficient public services, before they escalated into calls to overthrow the administration and to stop Iranian intervention in Iraq. The Iraqi government at times reacted harshly, resulting in over 500 deaths by 12 December 2019.


title: Iraq

text: On 27 December 2019, the K-1 Air Base in Iraq was attacked by more than 30 rockets, killing a U.S. civilian contractor and injuring others. The U.S. blamed the Iranian-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah militia. Later that month, the United States bombed five Kata'ib Hezbollah militia's positions in Iraq and Syria, in retaliation and in which, per Iraqi sources, at least 25 militia fighters were killed. On 31 December, after attending the funeral for one such killed militiamen, dozens of Iraqi Shia militiamen and their supporters marched into the Green Zone of Baghdad and surrounded the U.S. embassy compound (see article: Attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad). Demonstrators smashed a door of the checkpoint, set fire to the reception area, left anti-American posters and sprayed anti-American graffiti. U.S. president Trump accused Iran of orchestrating the attack.


title: Iraq

text: Three days later, amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran, the U.S. launched a drone strike on a convoy traveling near Baghdad International Airport, killing Qasem Soleimani, Iranian major-general and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Quds Force commander, the second most powerful person of Iran; Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or PMU), four senior Iranian officers; and four Iraqi officers.


title: Iraq

text: Following months of protests that broke out across Iraq in October 2019 and the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and his cabinet, Mustafa al-Kadhimi became a leading contender for the Premiership. On 9 April 2020, he was named by President Barham Salih as prime minister-designate and as the third person tapped as such in 10 weeks. This was specifically shortly after the designated leader Adnan al-Zurfi withdrew, lacking enough support to assemble a government.


title: Iraq

text: On 30 November 2021, the political bloc led by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr was confirmed the winner of the October election. His Sadrist Movement, won 73 out of the 329 seats in the parliament. The Taqadum, or Progress Party – led by Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, a Sunni – secured 37 seats. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law party got 33 seats. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) received 31 seats, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) gained 18. The (al-) Fatah Alliance, whose main components are militia groups affiliated with the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces, lost support, with 17 seats.


title: Iraq

text: A period of political crisis and near-deadlock of eleven months followed, until in October 2022 a new President and new Prime Minister would assume office. In June 2022, all 73 members of Parliament from the Sadrist Movement resigned, which is considered to be a move of Muqtada al-Sadr to deligitimize the remaining, rivalling, Shia parties still in the Parliament and demonstrate his rejection of the muhasasa (quota-based) system established in 2003 by the US occupation to divide political positions, public offices and state resources along ethno-sectarian lines (Sunni, Shia, Kurdish, Christian, etc.) which is believed to have bolstered sectarian and religious identities while tearing up national unity and plunging Iraq into a sect-coded civil war flaring high in the years 2006–08.


title: Iraq

text: On 27 July 2022, the parliament building was stormed by protesters for the second time in a week. Around 5 September, negotiations continued about selecting a new President and a working coalition; difficult issues were confidence and supply arrangement between the parties, while the sitting Prime Minister strove for fresh elections. However, in October 2022, Abdul Latif Rashid was elected as the new President of Iraq after winning the parliamentary election against incumbent Barham Salih, who was running for a second term. The presidency is largely ceremonial and is traditionally held by a Kurd. And on 27 October 2022, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, close ally of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, took the office to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhimi as new Prime Minister of Iraq.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq lies between latitudes 29° and 38° N, and longitudes 39° and 49° E (a small area lies west of 39°). Spanning , it is the 58th-largest country in the world. It is comparable in size to the US state of California, and somewhat larger than Paraguay.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq has a coastline measuring on the northern Persian Gulf. Further north, but below the main headwaters only, the country easily encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab, thence the Persian Gulf. Broadly flanking this estuary (known as "arvandrūd": اروندرود among Iranians) are marshlands, semi-agricultural. Many were drained in the 1990s and later revived. Flanking and between the two major rivers are fertile alluvial plains, as the rivers carry about of silt annually to the delta. The central part of the south, which slightly tapers in favour of other countries, is natural vegetation marsh mixed with rice paddies and is humid, relative to the rest of the plains.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq has the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert.


title: Iraq

text: Rocky deserts cover about 40 percent of Iraq. Another 30 percent is mountainous with bitterly cold winters. The north of the country is mostly composed of mountains; the highest point being at point, unnamed on the map opposite, but known locally as Cheekah Dar (black tent).


title: Iraq

text: Iraq is home to seven terrestrial ecoregions: Zagros Mountains forest steppe, Middle East steppe, Mesopotamian Marshes, Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests, Arabian Desert, Mesopotamian shrub desert, and South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert.


title: Iraq

text: Much of Iraq has a hot arid climate with subtropical influence. Summer temperatures average above for most of the country and frequently exceed . Winter temperatures infrequently exceed with maxima roughly and night-time lows . Typically, precipitation is low; most places receive less than annually, with maximum rainfall occurring during the winter months. Rainfall during the summer is rare, except in northern parts of the country. The northern mountainous regions have cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding.


title: Iraq

text: Climate change in Iraq is leading to increasing temperatures, often reduced precipitation, in such years increasing water scarcity for a human population that rose tenfold between 1890 and 2010 and continues to rise.


title: Iraq

text: The wildlife of Iraq includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Iraq has multiple and diverse biomes which include the mountainous region in norther to the wet marshlands along the Euphrates and Tigris rives, while western part of the country comprises mainly desert and some semi-arid regions. Many of Iraq's bird species were endangered, including seven of Iraq's mammal species and 12 of its bird species. Little progress has been made by the government to tackle the issue. The Mesopotamian marches in the middle and south are home to approximately 50 species of birds, and rare species of fish. The marshes are home to millions of birds and the stopover for millions of migratory birds, including flamingo, pelican and heron. At risk are some 50% of the world's marbled teal population that live in the marshes, along with 60% of the world's population of Basra reed-warbler. An essentially experimental draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, by Saddam's regime, caused there a significant drop in biological life and heated many paddies and fields to higher consumption of water and low productivity. Since the overthrow, flow is restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover, fast water runoff and drought less severe, and crop yields made more sustainable.


title: Iraq

text: Iraqi corals are some of the most extreme heat-tolerant as the seawater in this area ranges between 14 and 34 °C.


title: Iraq

text: The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution as a democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions. Aside from the federal government, there are regions (made of one or more governorates), governorates, and districts within Iraq with jurisdiction over various matters as defined by law.


title: Iraq

text: The National Alliance is the main Shia parliamentary bloc, and was established as a result of a merger of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's State of Law Coalition and the Iraqi National Alliance. The Iraqi National Movement is led by Iyad Allawi, a secular Shia widely supported by Sunnis. The party has a more consistent anti-sectarian perspective than most of its rivals. The Kurdistan List is dominated by two parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Masood Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headed by Jalal Talabani. Both parties are secular and enjoy close ties with the West.


title: Iraq

text: In 2008, according to the Failed States Index, Iraq was the world's eleventh most politically unstable country. The concentration of power in the hands of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and growing pressure on the opposition led to growing concern about the future of political rights in Iraq. Nevertheless, progress was made and the country had risen to 11th place by 2013.


title: Iraq

text: In August 2014, al-Maliki's reign came to an end. He announced on 14 August 2014 that he would stand aside so that Haider Al-Abadi, who had been nominated just days earlier by newly installed President Fuad Masum, could take over. Until that point, al-Maliki had clung to power even asking the federal court to veto the president's nomination describing it as a violation of the constitution.


title: Iraq

text: Transparency International ranks Iraq's government as the eighth-most-corrupt government in the world. Government payroll have increased from 1 million employees under Saddam Hussein to around 7 million employees in 2016. In combination with decreased oil prices, the government budget deficit is near 25% of GDP .


title: Iraq

text: Since the establishment of the no–fly zones following the Gulf War of 1990–1991, the Kurds established their own autonomous region.


title: Iraq

text: In October 2005, the new Constitution of Iraq was approved in a referendum with a 78% overall majority, although the percentage of support varied widely between the country's territories. The new constitution was backed by the Shia and Kurdish communities, but was rejected by Arab Sunnis. Under the terms of the constitution, the country conducted fresh nationwide parliamentary elections on 15 December 2005. All three major ethnic groups in Iraq voted along ethnic lines, as did Assyrian and Turcoman minorities.


title: Iraq

text: Law no. 188 of the year 1959 (Personal Status Law) made polygamy extremely difficult, granted child custody to the mother in case of divorce, prohibited repudiation and marriage under the age of 16. Article 1 of Civil Code also identifies Islamic law as a formal source of law. Iraq had no Sharia courts but civil courts used Sharia for issues of personal status including marriage and divorce. In 1995 Iraq introduced Sharia punishment for certain types of criminal offences. The code is based on French civil law as well as Sunni and Jafari (Shi'ite) interpretations of Sharia.


title: Iraq

text: In 2004, the CPA chief executive L. Paul Bremer said he would veto any constitutional draft stating that sharia is the principal basis of law. The declaration enraged many local Shia clerics, and by 2005 the United States had relented, allowing a role for sharia in the constitution to help end a stalemate on the draft constitution.


title: Iraq

text: Iraqi security forces are composed of forces serving under the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the Ministry of Defense (MOD), as well as the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau, reporting directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq, which oversees the Iraqi Special Operations Forces. MOD forces include the Iraqi Army, the Iraqi Air Force, Iraqi Navy and Peshmerga, which, along with their security subsidiaries, are responsible for the security of the Kurdistan Region. The MOD also runs a Joint Staff College, training army, navy, and air force officers, with support from the NATO Training Mission - Iraq. The college was established at Ar Rustamiyah on September 27, 2005. The center runs Junior Staff and Senior Staff Officer Courses designed for first lieutenants to majors.


title: Iraq

text: The current Iraqi armed forces was rebuilt on American foundations and with huge amounts of American military aid at all levels. The army consists of 14 divisions, all of them infantry, except for the ninth division, which is motorized infantry. Each division consists of four brigades and comprises 14,000 soldiers. Before 2003, Iraq was mostly equipped with Soviet-made military equipment, but since then the country has turned to Western suppliers.


title: Iraq

text: The Iraqi air force is designed to support ground forces with surveillance, reconnaissance and troop lift. Two reconnaissance squadrons use light aircraft, three helicopter squadrons are used to move troops and one air transportation squadron uses C-130 transport aircraft to move troops, equipment, and supplies. The air force currently has 5,000 personnel. It was planned to increase to 18,000 personnel, with 550 aircraft by 2018, but that did not happen as planned.


title: Iraq

text: As of February 2011, the navy had approximately 5,000 sailors including 800 marines. The navy consists of an operational headquarters, five afloat squadrons, and two marine battalions, designed to protect shorelines and inland waterways from insurgent infiltration.


title: Iraq

text: On 4 November 2019, more than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel left Darwin for the 10th rotation of Task Group Taji, based north of Baghdad. The Australian contingent mentors the Iraqi School of Infantry, where the Iraqi Security Forces are trained. However, Australia's contribution was reduced from 250 to 120 ADF personnel, which along with New Zealand had trained over 45,000 ISF members before that.


title: Iraq

text: On 17 November 2008, the US and Iraq agreed to a Status of Forces Agreement, as part of the broader Strategic Framework Agreement. This agreement states that "the Government of Iraq requests" US forces to temporarily remain in Iraq to "maintain security and stability" and that Iraq has jurisdiction over military contractors, and US personnel when not on US bases or on–duty.


title: Iraq

text: On 12 February 2009, Iraq officially became the 186th State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Under the provisions of this treaty, Iraq is considered a party with declared stockpiles of chemical weapons. Because of their late accession, Iraq is the only State Party exempt from the existing timeline for destruction of their chemical weapons. Specific criteria are in development to address the unique nature of Iraqi accession.


title: Iraq

text: Iran–Iraq relations have flourished since 2005 by the exchange of high level visits: Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki made frequent visits to Iran, along with Jalal Talabani visiting numerous times, to help boost bilateral co-operation in all fields. A conflict occurred in December 2009, when Iraq accused Iran of seizing an oil well on the border.


title: Iraq

text: Relations with Turkey are tense, largely because of the Kurdistan Regional Government, as clashes between Turkey and the PKK continue. In October 2011, the Turkish parliament renewed a law that gives Turkish forces the ability to pursue rebels over the border in Iraq. Turkey's "Great Anatolia Project" reduced Iraq's water supply and affected agriculture.


title: Iraq

text: On 5 January 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution that urges the government to work on expelling US troops from Iraq. The resolution was passed two days after a US drone strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, commander of the Quds Force. The resolution specifically calls for ending of a 2014 agreement allowing Washington to help Iraq against Islamic State groups by sending troops. This resolution will also signify ending an agreement with Washington to station troops in Iraq as Iran vows to retaliate after the killing. On 28 September 2020, Washington made preparations to withdraw diplomats from Iraq, as a result of Iranian-backed militias firing rockets at the American Embassy in Baghdad. The officials said that the move was seen as an escalation of American confrontation with Iran.


title: Iraq

text: According to experts, it is not within the parliament's power to issue political decisions, but rather its task is to issue legislation and laws, and therefore the decision issued was more of a recommendation or a proposal. Moreover, the government was a caretaker government, which means that its mission is to run the day-to-day affairs of the country and not to take decisions to cancel the security agreement with the United States of America or any counterparts. An Iraqi legal expert, Tariq Harb, stated that the parliament's decision has no legal effect because it did not restrict its implementation in time and left the matter to the government, which according to him is like a farce in order to absorb anger. He added that "the Speaker of Parliament did not clarify the number of voters, the number of those who said yes and the number of those who said no", and that "a law should have been issued and not a decision".


title: Iraq

text: Relations between Iraq and its Kurdish population have been sour in recent history, especially with Saddam Hussein's genocidal campaign against them in the 1980s. After uprisings during the early 90s, many Kurds fled their homeland and no-fly zones were established in northern Iraq to prevent more conflicts. Despite historically poor relations, some progress has been made, and Iraq elected its first Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, in 2005. Furthermore, Kurdish is now an official language of Iraq alongside Arabic according to Article 4 of the Constitution.


title: Iraq

text: LGBT rights in Iraq remain limited. Although decriminalised, homosexuality remains stigmatised in Iraqi society.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq is composed of nineteen governorates (or provinces) (Arabic: "muhafadhat" (singular "muhafadhah"); Kurdish: پارێزگا "Pârizgah"). The governorates are subdivided into districts (or "qadhas"), which are further divided into sub-districts (or "nawāḥī").


title: Iraq

text: Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. The lack of development in other sectors has resulted in 18%–30% unemployed and a per capita GDP of $4,812. Public sector employment accounted for nearly 60% of full-time employment in 2011. The oil export industry, which dominates the Iraqi economy, generates very little employment. Currently only a modest percentage of women (the highest estimate for 2011 was 22%) participate in the labour force.


title: Iraq

text: Prior to US occupation, Iraq's centrally planned economy prohibited foreign ownership of Iraqi businesses, ran most large industries as state-owned enterprises, and imposed large tariffs to keep out foreign goods. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority quickly began issuing many binding orders privatising Iraq's economy and opening it up to foreign investment.


title: Iraq

text: On 20 November 2004, the Paris Club of creditor nations agreed to write off 80% ($33 billion) of Iraq's $42 billion debt to Club members. Iraq's total external debt was around $120 billion at the time of the 2003 invasion, and had grown another $5 billion by 2004. The debt relief was to be implemented in three stages: two of 30% each and one of 20%.


title: Iraq

text: The official currency in Iraq is the Iraqi dinar. The Coalition Provisional Authority issued new dinar coins and notes, with the notes printed by De La Rue using modern anti-forgery techniques. Jim Cramer's 20 October 2009 endorsement of the Iraqi dinar on CNBC has further piqued interest in the investment.


title: Iraq

text: Five years after the invasion, an estimated 2.4 million people were internally displaced (with a further two million refugees outside Iraq), four million Iraqis were considered food-insecure (a quarter of children were chronically malnourished) and only a third of Iraqi children had access to safe drinking water.


title: Iraq

text: In 2022, and after more than 30 years after the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) was created to ensure restitution for Kuwait following the Iraqi invasion of 1990, the reparations body announced that Iraq has paid a total of $52.4 billion in war reparations to Kuwait.


title: Iraq

text: According to the Overseas Development Institute, international NGOs face challenges in carrying out their mission, leaving their assistance "piecemeal and largely conducted undercover, hindered by insecurity, a lack of coordinated funding, limited operational capacity and patchy information". International NGOs have been targeted and during the first 5 years, 94 aid workers were killed, 248 injured, 24 arrested or detained and 89 kidnapped or abducted.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq was an important tourist destination for many years but that changed dramatically during the war with Iran and after the 2003 invasion by US and allies. As Iraq continues to develop and stabilises, the tourism in Iraq is still facing many challenges, little has been made by the government to meet its tremendous potential as a global tourist destination, and gain the associated economic benefits, mainly due to conflicts. However, in recent years the government has made some efforts to attract tourists to the various destinations in the country and arrivals have increased to some degree. The domestic tourism has also seen improvements. Sites from Iraq's ancient past are numerous and many that are close to large cities have been excavated. Babylon has seen major recent restoration; known for its famous Ziggurat (the inspiration for the Biblical Tower of Babel), the Hanging Gardens (one of the Seven Wonders of the World), and the Ishtar Gate, making it a prime destination. Nineveh, a rival to Babylon, has also seen significant restoration and reconstruction, and lies close to Mosul. Ur, one of the first Sumerian cities, which is near Nasiriyya, has been partially restored. This is a list of examples of some significant sites in a country with a tremendous archaeological and historic wealth. Iraq is considered to be a potential location for ecotourism. The tourism in Iraq includes also making pilgrimages to holy Shia sites near Karbala and Najaf.


title: Iraq

text: With its of proved oil reserves, Iraq ranks third in the world behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia in the amount of oil reserves. Oil production levels reached 3.4 million barrels per day by December 2012. Only about 2,000 oil wells have been drilled in Iraq, compared with about 1 million wells in Texas alone. Iraq was one of the founding members of OPEC.


title: Iraq

text: During the 1970s Iraq produced up to 3.5 million barrels per day, but sanctions imposed against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990 crippled the country's oil sector. The sanctions prohibited Iraq from exporting oil until 1996 and Iraq's output declined by 85% in the years following the First Gulf War. The sanctions were lifted in 2003 after the US-led invasion removed Saddam Hussein from power, but development of Iraq's oil resources has been hampered by the ongoing conflict.


title: Iraq

text: , despite improved security and billions of dollars in oil revenue, Iraq still generates about half the electricity that customers demand, leading to protests during the hot summer months.


title: Iraq

text: The Iraq oil law, a proposed piece of legislation submitted to the Council of Representatives of Iraq in 2007, has failed to gain approval due to disagreements among Iraq's various political blocs.


title: Iraq

text: According to a US Study from May 2007, between and of Iraq's declared oil production over the past four years could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling. In 2008, Al Jazeera reported $13 billion of Iraqi oil revenues in US care was improperly accounted for, of which $2.6 billion is totally unaccounted for. Some reports that the government has reduced corruption in public procurement of oil; however, reliable reports of bribery and kickbacks to government officials persist.


title: Iraq

text: In June 2008, the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced plans to go ahead with small one- or two-year no-bid contracts to ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and BP—once partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company—along with Chevron and smaller firms to service Iraq's largest fields. These plans were cancelled in September because negotiations had stalled for so long that the work could not be completed within the time frame, according to Iraqi oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani. Several United States senators had also criticised the deal, arguing it was hindering efforts to pass the hydrocarbon law.


title: Iraq

text: On 30 June and 11 December 2009, the Iraqi ministry of oil awarded service contracts to international oil companies for some of Iraq's many oil fields. Oil fields contracted include the "super-giant" Majnoon oil field, Halfaya Field, West Qurna Field and Rumaila Field. BP and China National Petroleum Corporation won a deal to develop Rumaila, the largest Iraqi oil field.


title: Iraq

text: On 14 March 2014, the International Energy Agency said Iraq's oil output jumped by half a million barrels a day in February to average 3.6 million barrels a day. The country had not pumped that much oil since 1979, when Saddam Hussein rose to power. However, on 14 July 2014, as sectarian strife had taken hold, Kurdistan Regional Government forces seized control of the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oilfields in the north of the country, taking them from Iraq's control. Baghdad condemned the seizure and threatened "dire consequences" if the fields were not returned.


title: Iraq

text: On 2018, the UN estimated that oil accounts for 99% of Iraq's revenue. As of 2021, the oil sector provided about 92% of foreign exchange earnings.


title: Iraq

text: Three decades of war greatly cut the existing water resources management system for several major cities. This prompted widespread water supply and sanitation shortfalls thus poor water and service quality. This is combined with few businesses and households who are fully environmentally aware and legally compliant however the large lakes, as pictured, alleviate supply relative to many comparators in Western Asia beset by more regular drought. Access to potable water diverges among governorates and between urban and rural areas.


title: Iraq

text: 91% of the population has access to potable water. Forming this figure: in rural areas, 77% of people have access to improved (treated or fully naturally filtered) drinking water sources; and 98% in urban areas. Much water is discarded during treatment, due to much outmoded equipment, raising energy burden and reducing supply.


title: Iraq

text: Although many infrastructure projects had already begun, at the end of 2013 Iraq had a housing crisis. The then very war-ravaged country was set to complete 5 percent of the 2.5 million homes it needs to build by 2016 to keep up with demand, confirmed the Minister for Construction and Housing. Much building has followed but there remains strong demand for larger, and usually ideally single-family, homes in most parts of Iraq.


title: Iraq

text: The estimate of the total Iraqi population is . Iraq's population was estimated to be 2 million in 1878. In 2013 Iraq's population reached 35 million amid a post-war population boom.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq's native population is predominantly Arab, but also includes other ethnic groups such as Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Yazidis, Shabaks, Armenians, Mandaeans, Circassians, and Kawliya.


title: Iraq

text: A report by the European Parliamentary Research Service suggests that, in 2015, there were 24 million Arabs (14 million Shia and 9 million Sunni); 4.7 million Sunni Kurds (plus 500,000 Faili Kurds and 200,000 Kaka'i); 3 million (mostly Sunni) Iraqi Turkmens; 1 million Black Iraqis; 500,000 Christians (including Chaldeans, Syriacs, Assyrians and Armenians); 500,000 Yazidis; 250,000 Shabaks; 50,000 Roma; 3,000 Mandaeans; 2,000 Circassians; 1,000 of the Baháʼí Faith; and a few dozen Jews.


title: Iraq

text: According to the CIA World Factbook, citing a 1987 Iraqi government estimate, the population of Iraq is 75–80% Arab followed by 15-20% Kurds. In addition, the estimate claims that other minorities form 5% of the country's population, including the Turkmen/Turcoman, Assyrians, Yezidis, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouins, Roma, Circassians, Mandaeans, and Persians. However, the International Crisis Group points out that figures from the 1987 census, as well as the 1967, 1977, and 1997 censuses, "are all considered highly problematic, due to suspicions of regime manipulation" because Iraqi citizens were only allowed to indicate belonging to either the Arab or Kurdish ethnic groups; consequently, this skewed the number of other ethnic minorities, such as Iraq's third largest ethnic group – the Turkmens.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq has a community of 2,500 Chechens, and some 20,000 Armenians. In southern Iraq, there is a community of Iraqis of African descent, a legacy of the slavery practised in the Islamic Caliphate beginning before the Zanj Rebellion of the 9th century, and Basra's role as a key port. It is the most populous country in the Arabian Plate.


title: Iraq

text: The main languages spoken in Iraq are Mesopotamian Arabic and Kurdish, followed by the Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialect of Turkish, and the Neo-Aramaic languages (specifically Chaldean and Assyrian). Arabic and Kurdish are written with versions of the Arabic script. Since 2005, the Turkmen/Turkoman have switched from the Arabic script to the Turkish alphabet. In addition, the Neo-Aramaic languages use the Syriac script.


title: Iraq

text: Prior to the invasion in 2003, Arabic was the sole official language. Since the new Constitution of Iraq was approved in 2005, both Arabic and Kurdish are recognised (Article 4) as official languages of Iraq, while three other languages: Turkmen, Syriac and Armenian, are also recognised as minority languages. In addition, any region or province may declare other languages official if a majority of the population approves in a general referendum.


title: Iraq

text: Religions in Iraq are dominantly Abrahamic religions with the CIA World Factbook (2021) stating; that 95% were Muslim (Shia 64–69%, Sunni 29–34%), Christian, Yazidi, Mandaean, Baháʼí, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist, "Jewish", folk religion, unaffiliated, other 5% It has a mixed Shia and Sunni population. An older 2011 Pew Research Center estimates that 47~51% of Muslims in Iraq see themselves as Shia, 42% are Sunni, while 5% identify themselves as "Just a Muslim".


title: Iraq

text: The Sunni population complains of facing discrimination in almost all aspects of life by the government. However, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki denied that such discrimination occurs.


title: Iraq

text: Christianity in Iraq has its roots from the conception of the Church of the East in the 5th century AD, predating the existence of Islam in the region. Christians in Iraq are predominantly native Assyrians belonging to the Ancient Church of the East, Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church and Syriac Orthodox Church. There is also a significant population of Armenian Christians in Iraq who had fled Turkey during the Armenian genocide. Christians numbered over 1.4 million in 1987 or 8% of the estimated population of 16.3 million and 550,000 in 1947 or 12% of the population of 4.6 millions. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, violence against Christians rose, with reports of abduction, torture, bombings, and killings. The post-2003 Iraq War have displaced much of the remaining Christian community from their homeland as a result of ethnic and religious persecution at the hands of Islamic extremists.


title: Iraq

text: There are also small ethno-religious minority populations of Mandaeans, Shabaks, Yarsan and Yezidis remaining. Prior to 2003 their numbers together may have been 2 million, the majority Yarsan, a non-Islamic religion with roots in pre-Islamic and pre-Christian religion. The Iraqi Jewish community, numbering around 150,000 in 1941, has almost entirely left the country.


title: Iraq

text: The dispersion of native Iraqis to other countries is known as the Iraqi diaspora. The UN High Commission for Refugees has estimated that nearly two million Iraqis fled the country after the multinational invasion of Iraq in 2003. The UN Refugee agency estimated in 2021 that an 1.1 million were displaced within the country.


title: Iraq

text: In 2007, the UN said that about 40% of Iraq's middle class was believed to have fled and that most had fled systematic persecution and had no desire to return. Refugees are mired in poverty as they are generally barred from working in their host countries.


title: Iraq

text: Subsequently, the diaspora seemed to be returning, as security improved; the Iraqi government claimed that 46,000 refugees returned to their homes in October 2007 alone.


title: Iraq

text: In 2011, nearly 3 million Iraqis had been displaced, with 1.3 million within Iraq and 1.6 million in neighbouring countries, mainly Jordan and Syria. More than half of Iraqi Christians had fled the country since the 2003 US-led invasion. According to official United States Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics, 58,811 Iraqis had been granted refugee-status citizenship .


title: Iraq

text: After the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, numerous Iraqis in Syria returned to their native country. To escape the Syrian civil war, over 252,000 Syrian refugees of varying ethnicities have fled to Iraq since 2012.


title: Iraq

text: In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for 6.84% of the country's GDP. In 2008, there were 6.96 physicians and 13.92 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants. The life expectancy at birth was 68.49 years in 2010, or 65.13 years for males and 72.01 years for females. This is down from a peak life expectancy of 71.31 years in 1996.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq had developed a centralised free health care system in the 1970s using a hospital based, capital-intensive model of curative care. The country depended on large-scale imports of medicines, medical equipment and even nurses, paid for with oil export income, according to a "Watching Brief" report issued jointly by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in July 2003. Unlike other poorer countries, which focused on mass health care using primary care practitioners, Iraq developed a Westernised system of sophisticated hospitals with advanced medical procedures, provided by specialist physicians. The UNICEF/WHO report noted that prior to 1990, 97% of the urban dwellers and 71% of the rural population had access to free primary health care; just 2% of hospital beds were privately managed.


title: Iraq

text: Before Iraq faced economic sanctions from the UN, it already had an advanced and successful education system. However, it has now been “de-developing” in its educational success. Some say that the sanctions, whether intentionally or not, hurt the education system because of how it affected the children. Whether or not this is true, UNICEF's statistics and numbers show how Iraq's education system has room for improvement.


title: Iraq

text: In general, the education of Iraq has been improving since the MDGs were implemented. For example, enrollment numbers nearly doubled from 2000 to 2012. It went from 3.6 million to six million. The latest statistic from 2015 to 2016 showed that almost 9.2 million children were in school. Enrollment rates continue to be on a steady increase at about 4.1% each year. The sheer increase in numbers shows that there are clearly improvements of children in Iraq having access to education.


title: Iraq

text: However, the dramatic increase of the number of students in primary education has had some negative and straining effects for the education system. The budget for education makes up about only 5.7% of government spending and continues to stay at or below this percentage. Investments for schools has also been on the decline. As a result, the country now ranks at the bottom of Middle East countries in terms of education. The little funding for education makes it more difficult to improve the quality and resources for education.


title: Iraq

text: At the same time, UNICEF investigated portions of spending for education and found that some of the money has gone to waste. They found that dropout rates are increasing as well as repetition rates for children. In both Iraq Centre and KRI, the rates for dropouts are about 1.5% to 2.5%. Within these dropout rates, there is also an uneven number among boys and girls who dropout. While the rate for dropouts for boys was around 16.5%, girls were at 20.1% where it could be due to economic or family reasons. For repetition rates, percentages have almost reached 17% among all students. To put the money loss in perspective, about $1,100 is spent on each student. For each student who drops out or repeats a grade, $1,100 is lost. As a result, almost 20% of the funding for education was lost to dropouts and repetition for the year 2014–2015.


title: Iraq

text: Many of those people who dropout or have to repeat a grade do not see the economic cost for long term results. UNICEF takes note of how staying in school can in fact, increase wealth for the person and their family. While it may put a strain on the education system, it will also hinder the chances of a person receiving higher earnings in whatever career they go into.


title: Iraq

text: Other statistics show that regional differences can attribute to lower or higher enrollment rates for children in primary education. For example, UNICEF found that areas with conflict like Saladin had “more than 90% of school-age children” not in the education system. In addition, some schools were converted into refugee shelters or military bases in 2014 as conflict began to increase. The resources for education become more strained and make it harder for children to go to school and finish receiving their education. However, in 2017, there were efforts being made to open up 47 schools that had previously been closed. There has been more success in Mosul where over 380,000 are going to school again. Depending on where children live, they may or may not have the same access to education as other children.


title: Iraq

text: There are also the differing enrollment rates between boys and girls. UNICEF found that in 2013–2014, enrollment numbers for boys was at about five million while girls were at about 4.2 million. While the out-of-school rate for girls is at about 11%, boys are at less than half of that. There is still a gap between boys and girls in terms of educational opportunities. However, the rate of enrollments for girls has been increasing at a higher rate than for boys. In 2015–2016, the enrollment numbers for girls increased by 400,000 from the previous year where a large number of them were located in Iraq Centre. Not only that, UNICEF found that the increase of girls going to school was across all levels of education. Therefore, the unequal enrollment numbers between boys and girls could potentially change so that universal education can be achieved by all at equal rates.


title: Iraq

text: Although the numbers suggest a dramatic increase of enrollment rates for primary education in total, a large number of children still remain out of the education system. Many of these children fall under the category of internally displaced children due to the conflict in Syria and the takeover by ISIL. This causes a disruption for children who are attempting to go to school and holds them back from completing their education, no matter what level they are at. Internally displaced children are specifically recorded to track children who have been forced to move within their country due to these types of conflicts. About 355,000 of internally displaced children are not in the education system. 330,000 of those children live in Iraq Centre. The rates among internally displaced children continue to remain higher in Iraq Centre than other areas such as the KRI.


title: Iraq

text: With the overall increase of enrollment rates, there continues to be a large strain on the resources for education. UNICEF notes that without an increase on expenditures for education, the quality of education will continue to decrease. Early in the 2000s, the UNESCO International Bureau of Education found that the education system in Iraq had issues with standard-built school buildings, having enough teachers, implementing a standardized curricula, textbooks and technologies that are needed to help reach its educational goals. Teachers are important resources that are starting to become more and more strained with the rising number of students. Iraq Centre has a faster enrollment growth rate than teacher growth. Teachers begin to have to take in more and more students which can produce a bigger strain on the teacher and quality of education the children receive. Another large resource for education is libraries that can increase literacy and create a reading culture. However, this can only be improved through a restructuring of the education system.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq's culture has a deep heritage that extends back in time to ancient Mesopotamian culture. Iraq has one of the longest written traditions in the world including architecture, literature, music, dance, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, stonemasonry and metalworking. The culture of Iraq or Mesopotamia is one of the world's oldest cultural histories and is considered one of the most influential cultures in the world. Mesopotamian legacy went on to influence and shape the civilizations of the Old World in different ways such as inventing writing system, mathematics, time, calendar, astrology and law code. Iraq is home diverse ethnic groups and has a very long and rich heritage and have contributed to the culture differently. The country is known for its poets، architects، painters and sculptors who are among the best in the region, some of them being world-class. Iraq is known for producing fine handicrafts, including rugs and carpets among many other things.


title: Iraq

text: For centuries, the capital, Baghdad was the Medieval centre of the literary and artistic Arab world, but its artistic traditions suffered at the hands of the Mongol invaders in the 13th century. Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center of the Muslim world. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as hosting a multiethnic and multireligious environment, garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Centre of Learning".


title: Iraq

text: There were several interconnected traditions of art in ancient Iraq. The Abbasid Dynasty developed in the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 945, primarily in its heartland of Mesopotamia. The Abbasids were influenced mainly by Mesopotamian art traditions and later influenced Persian as well as Central Asian styles. Between the 8th and 13th-centuries during the Abbasid period, pottery achieved a high level of sophistication, calligraphy began to be used to decorate the surface of decorative objects and illuminated manuscripts, particularly Q'ranic texts became more complex and stylised. Iraq's first art school was established during this period, allowing artisans and crafts to flourish.


title: Iraq

text: At the height of the Abbasid period, in the late 12th century, a stylistic movement of manuscript illustration and calligraphy emerged. Now known as the "Baghdad School", this movement of Islamic art was characterised by representations of everyday life and the use of highly expressive faces rather than the stereotypical characters that had been used in the past. The school consisted of calligraphers, illustrators, transcribers and translators, who collaborated to produce illuminated manuscripts derived from non-Arabic sources. The works were primarily scientific, philosophical, social commentary or humorous entertainments.


title: Iraq

text: The architecture of Iraq has a long history, encompassing several distinct cultures and spanning a period from the 10th millennium BC and features both Mesopotamian and Abbasid architecture. Modern prominent architects include Zaha Hadid, Basil Bayati, Rifat Chadirji and Hisham N. Ashkouri among others.


title: Iraq

text: Important cultural institutions in the capital include the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra – rehearsals and performances were briefly interrupted during the Occupation of Iraq but have since returned to normal. The National Theatre of Iraq was looted during the 2003 invasion, but efforts are underway to restore it. The live theatre scene received a boost during the 1990s when UN sanctions limited the import of foreign films. As many as 30 cinemas were reported to have been converted to live stages, producing a wide range of comedies and dramatic productions.


title: Iraq

text: Institutions offering cultural education in Baghdad include the Academy of Music, Institute of Fine Arts and the Music and Ballet school Baghdad. Baghdad also features a number of museums including the National Museum of Iraq – which houses the world's largest and finest collection of artefacts and relics of Ancient Iraqi civilisations; some of which were stolen during the Occupation of Iraq. On 2021, it was announced that Iraq had reclaimed about 17,000 looted artifacts, which was considered to be the biggest repatriation.


title: Iraq

text: The capital, Ninus or Nineveh, was taken by the Medes under Cyaxares, and some 200 years after Xenophon passed over its site, then mere mounds of earth. It remained buried until 1845, when Botta and Layard discovered the ruins of the Assyrian cities. The principal remains are those of Khorsabad, N.E. of Mosul; of Nimroud, supposed to be the ancient Calah; and of Kouyunjik, in all probability the ancient Nineveh. In these cities are found fragments of several great buildings which seem to have been palace-temples. They were constructed chiefly of sun-dried bricks, and all that remains of them is the lower part of the walls, decorated with sculpture and paintings, portions of the pavements, a few indications of the elevation, and some interesting works connected with the drainage.


title: Iraq

text: The literature in Iraq is often referred to as "Mesopotamian literature" due to the flourishing of various civilisations as a result of the mixture of these cultures and has been called Mesopotamian or Babylonian literature in allusion to the geographical territory that such cultures occupied in the Middle East between the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Sumerian literature was unique because it does not belong to any known linguistic root. Its appearance began with symbols of the things denoting it, then it turned with time to the cuneiform line on tablets. The literature during this time were mainly about mythical and epic texts dealing with creation issues, the emergence of the world, the gods, descriptions of the heavens, and the lives of heroes in the wars that broke out between the nomads and the urbanites. They also deal with religious teachings, moral advice, astrology, legislation, and history. One of which was the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature. During the Abbasid Caliphate, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, which was a public academy and intellectual center hosted numerous scholars and writers. A number of stories in "One Thousand and One Nights" feature famous Abbasid figures.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq has various medieval poets, most remarkably Hariri of Basra, Mutanabbi, Abu Nuwas, and Al-Jahiz.


title: Iraq

text: In modern times, various languages are used in Iraqi literature including Arabic, Neo-Aramaic, Kurdish and Turkish, although the Arabic literature remains the most influential literature. Notably poets include Jawahiri, Safa Khulusi and Dunya Mikhail.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq is known primarily for its rich maqam heritage which has been passed down orally by the masters of the maqam in an unbroken chain of transmission leading up to the present. The Iraqi maqam is considered to be the most noble and perfect form of maqam. Al-maqam al-Iraqi is the collection of sung poems written either in one of the sixteen meters of classical Arabic or in Iraqi dialect (Zuhayri). This form of art is recognised by UNESCO as "an intangible heritage of humanity".


title: Iraq

text: Early in the 20th century, many of the most prominent musicians in Iraq were Jewish. In 1936, Iraq Radio was established with an ensemble made up entirely of Jews, with the exception of the percussion player. At the nightclubs of Baghdad, ensembles consisted of oud, qanun and two percussionists, while the same format with a ney and cello were used on the radio.


title: Iraq

text: The most famous singer of the 1930s–1940s was perhaps the Jew Salima Pasha (later Salima Murad). The respect and adoration for Pasha were unusual at the time since public performance by women was considered shameful, and most female singers were recruited from brothels.


title: Iraq

text: The most famous early composer from Iraq was Ezra Aharon, an oud player, while the most prominent instrumentalist was Yusuf Za'arur. Za'arus formed the official ensemble for the Iraqi radio station and were responsible for introducing the cello and ney into the traditional ensemble.


title: Iraq

text: Iraq was home to the second television station in the Middle East, which began during the 1950s. As part of a plan to help Iraq modernise, English telecommunications company Pye Limited built and commissioned a television broadcast station in the capital city of Baghdad.


title: Iraq

text: After the end of the full state control in 2003, there were a period of significant growth in the broadcast media in Iraq. Immediately, and the ban on satellite dishes is no longer in place, and by mid-2003, according to a BBC report, there were 20 radio stations from 0.15 to 17 television stations owned by Iraqis, and 200 Iraqi newspapers owned and operated. Significantly, there have been many of these newspapers in numbers disproportionate to the population of their locations. For example, in Najaf, which has a population of 300,000, is being published more than 30 newspapers and distributed.


title: Iraq

text: Iraqi media expert and author of a number of reports on this subject, Ibrahim Al Marashi, identifies four stages of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 where they had been taking the steps that have significant effects on the way for the later of the Iraqi media since then. Stages are: pre-invasion preparation, and the war and the actual choice of targets, the first post-war period, and a growing insurgency and hand over power to the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG) and Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.


title: Iraq

text: As of 2020, the media in Iraq is considered as one of the biggest in Middle East, having more than 100 radio stations and 150 television stations broadcasting in Arabic, English, Kurdish, Turkmen, and Neo-Aramaic.


title: Iraq

text: Iraqi cuisine can be traced back some 10,000 years – to the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Ancient Persians. Tablets found in ancient ruins in Iraq show recipes prepared in the temples during religious festivals – the first cookbooks in the world. Ancient Iraq, or "Mesopotamia", was home to many sophisticated and highly advanced civilisations, in all fields of knowledge – including the culinary arts. However, it was in the medieval era when Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate that the Iraqi kitchen reached its zenith. Today the cuisine of Iraq reflects this rich inheritance as well as strong influences from the culinary traditions of neighbouring Turkey, Iran and the Greater Syria area.


title: Iraq

text: Some characteristic ingredients of Iraqi cuisine include – vegetables such as aubergine, tomato, okra, onion, potato, courgette, garlic, peppers and chilli, cereals such as rice, bulgur wheat and barley, pulses and legumes such as lentils, chickpeas and cannellini, fruits such as dates, raisins, apricots, figs, grapes, melon, pomegranate and citrus fruits, especially lemon and lime.


title: Iraq

text: Similarly with other countries of Western Asia, chicken and especially lamb are the favourite meats. Most dishes are served with rice – usually Basmati, grown in the marshes of southern Iraq. Bulgur wheat is used in many dishes – having been a staple in the country since the days of the Ancient Assyrians.


title: Iraq

text: Football is the most popular sport in Iraq. Football is a considerable uniting factor in Iraq following years of war and unrest. Basketball, swimming, weightlifting, bodybuilding, boxing, kick boxing and tennis are also popular sports.


title: Iraq

text: The Iraqi Football Association is the governing body of football in Iraq, controlling the Iraq national football team and the Iraqi Premier League. It was founded in 1948, and has been a member of FIFA since 1950 and the Asian Football Confederation since 1971. Iraq were the 2007 AFC Asian Cup champions after defeating Saudi Arabia in the final by 1–0 thanks to a goal by captain Younis Mahmoud and they have participated in two FIFA competitions (the 1986 FIFA World Cup and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup).


title: Cobra Kai

text: Cobra Kai is an American martial arts comedy-drama television series and a sequel to the original "The Karate Kid" films by Robert Mark Kamen. The series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and is distributed by Sony Pictures Television. The series was released on YouTube Red / YouTube Premium for the first two seasons, before moving to Netflix starting with the third. The series stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, who reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence from the 1984 film "The Karate Kid" and its sequels, "The Karate Kid Part II" (1986) and "The Karate Kid Part III" (1989).


title: Cobra Kai

text: The first season launched on YouTube Red on May 2, 2018, with a second season following on April 24, 2019. After production of season three was completed, YouTube decided to stop producing scripted original programming, leaving the show without a home. Netflix acquired the series in June 2020, and has helmed production and release of the series since. The third season was released on January 1, 2021. Netflix renewed the series for a fourth season, which was released on December 31, 2021 and a fifth, which was released on September 9, 2022.


title: Cobra Kai

text: "Cobra Kai" begins in the fall of 2017, and re-examines the "Miyagi-Verse" narrative from Johnny's point of view, beginning with his decision to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo, and the rekindling of his old rivalry with Daniel. "Cobra Kai" also stars Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, Peyton List, Vanessa Rubio and Dallas Dupree Young, with Martin Kove and Thomas Ian Griffith also reprising their roles from the films.


title: Cobra Kai

text: The series attained high viewership on both YouTube and Netflix, and has received critical acclaim for its writing, performances, action sequences, humor, character development, and homage to the previous films. It has received numerous awards and nominations, with the third season being nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.


title: Cobra Kai

text: Over three decades after being defeated by Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament in "The Karate Kid" (1984), Johnny Lawrence, now in his 50s, works as a part-time handyman and lives in an apartment in Reseda, Los Angeles, having fallen far from the wealthy lifestyle in Encino that he had been accustomed to growing up, due to suffering from depression and alcoholism after being traumatized by John Kreese's assault against him in "The Karate Kid Part II" (1986). He has an estranged son named Robby from a previous relationship, whom he has abandoned.


title: Cobra Kai

text: During the 2017-2018 school year, the first season follows a down-and-out Johnny Lawrence who now lives in a small apartment in Reseda, and works odd jobs. He eventually uses karate to defend his new teenage neighbor Miguel Diaz from a group of bullies, and finally agrees to train Miguel in karate (who had been pleading with him to do so). This decision also leads Johnny to resurrect Cobra Kai karate dojo as a chance to recapture his past; however, this act reawakens his rivalry with Daniel, who was a 2-time All Valley champion and is now the owner of a highly successful car dealership chain, is married to co-owner Amanda, and has two children: Samantha and Anthony. Daniel is finally living the wealthy lifestyle he envied as a kid when he lived in Reseda. However, after his friend and mentor Mr. Miyagi died, Daniel's struggle to meaningfully connect with his children has disrupted the balance in his life. Meanwhile, Johnny's dojo attracts a group of bullied social outcasts who find camaraderie and self-confidence under his tutelage, a marked contrast to the kind of students Johnny and his friends were when training in the original Cobra Kai run by Kreese. Johnny develops a bond with Miguel in a manner that resembles the relationship between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. Cobra Kai's philosophy, however, remains mostly unchanged, though Johnny tries to infuse it with more honor than Kreese did. On the other hand, Robby gets a job at Daniel's car dealership to get back at Johnny for abandoning him. Later, he develops a rivalry with Miguel reminiscent of the rivalry between Daniel and Johnny, and on May 19, he coaches Miguel towards a win at the 2018 All-Valley Karate Tournament (which also led to a loss for Robby).


title: Cobra Kai

text: The second season takes place during the summer of 2018, following Cobra Kai's victory at the 2018 All-Valley Karate Tournament, Kreese returns and his efforts to restore the dojo to its former glory begin to interfere with Johnny's attempts to reform it. Meanwhile, Daniel reopens the Miyagi-Do dojo with Robby and Sam as his students in response to Cobra Kai's success, sparking a massive rivalry between the two dojos. Johnny also briefly reunites with original Cobra Kai members, Tommy, Bobby, and Jimmy. After a brutal school brawl on the first day of school at the end of season two, Johnny is kicked out of the Cobra Kai dojo by Kreese, and agrees to partner with Daniel to bring down the dojo.


title: Cobra Kai

text: The third season takes place during the fall of 2018, and showcases the return of characters such as Ali, Chozen and Kumiko. Next, the fourth season follows in the Winter of 2019, and revolves around their to decision to finish off Kreese once and for all by preparing for the next All-Valley Karate Tournament. However, things are complicated when Kreese brings in Terry Silver, his old partner and friend from "The Karate Kid Part III" (1989), who proves to be a more dangerous and insidious enemy than Kreese himself.


title: Cobra Kai

text: The fifth season continues in 2019, and showcases Daniel and Johnny's efforts to bring down Cobra Kai, which is now run by Silver following a cheated victory at the 2019 All-Valley Karate Tournament and Kreese being arrested after Silver frames him for attempted murder. Daniel also brings in his former rivals Chozen and Mike Barnes for help. Jessica Andrews also returns as Amanda's cousin.


title: Cobra Kai

text: The thematic genesis for "Cobra Kai" began with a few works of pop culture. First, the 2007 music video for the song "Sweep the Leg" by No More Kings stars William Zabka (who also directed the video) as a caricature of himself as Johnny, and features references to "The Karate Kid", including cameo appearances by Zabka's former "Karate Kid" co-stars. In a 2010 interview, Zabka jokingly discussed this video in the context of his vision that Johnny was the true hero of the film. Next in June 2010, Macchio appeared in Funny or Die's online short, "Wax On, F*ck Off", in which his loved ones stage an intervention to turn the former child star from a well-adjusted family man into an addict besieged with tabloid scandal in order to help his career (with frequent references to "The Karate Kid". A recurring joke in the sketch is that Macchio is confused for an adolescent. The short was lauded by "TV Guide"'s Bruce Fretts, who referred to the video as "sidesplitting" and "comic gold". Finally, in 2013, Macchio and Zabka made guest appearances as themselves in the television sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" ("The Bro Mitzvah"). In the episode, Macchio is invited to Barney Stinson's bachelor party, leading to Barney shouting that he hates Macchio and that Johnny was the real hero of "The Karate Kid". Towards the end of the episode, a clown in the party wipes off his makeup and reveals himself as Zabka. This influenced the launch of "Cobra Kai", which gives a balanced perspective for Johnny, Daniel, and other characters. Zabka continued to be a recurring character throughout the ninth season of the show.


title: Cobra Kai

text: "Cobra Kai" was greenlit in August 2017, with ten half-hour episodes, written and executive produced by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. Although the series received offers from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and AMC, it ultimately ended up on the subscription service YouTube Red. The trio was joined by executive producers James Lassiter and Caleeb Pinkett of Overbrook Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television. YouTube Premium released the first season on May 2, 2018, and the second season on April 24, 2019. The creators of the series explored moving to another platform ahead of the season two premiere, but the deal did not go through.


title: Cobra Kai

text: The third season was produced for YouTube and was initially set for a 2020 release, but in May 2020, the series left YouTube and moved to another streaming platform, ahead of its third-season premiere. As YouTube was not interested in renewing the series for a fourth season, the producers wanted to find a streaming venue that would leave that option open. The show moved to Netflix in June, taking the third season with them. Netflix released the first two seasons from YouTube on August 28, 2020, and the new third season on January 1, 2021. A fourth season was renewed, prior to season 3 being released, and was released on December 31, 2021. The fifth season premiered on September 9, 2022.


title: Cobra Kai

text: Characters from the original four films "The Karate Kid" (1984), "The Karate Kid Part II" (1986), "The Karate Kid Part III" (1989), "The Next Karate Kid" (1994) comprise the "Miyagi-verse" that shapes "Cobra Kai". Thus, after the launch of season 1, Elisabeth Shue (Ali Mills) from "The Karate Kid", Tamlyn Tomita (Kumiko) and Yuji Okumoto (Chozen Toguchi) from "The Karate Kid II", and Robyn Lively (Jessica Andrews), Thomas Ian Griffith (Terry Silver), and Sean Kanan (Mike Barnes) from "The Karate Kid III", all discussed their interest in the series.


title: Cobra Kai

text: Since 2019, there has been a discussion about the potential involvement of Hilary Swank (Julie Pierce, "The Next Karate Kid") in "Cobra Kai". When asked about her involvement, she said that it would be a chance to have a "showdown" with Ralph Macchio. In 2020, the writers added that they spoke about every character appearing in the Miyagi-verse, including Julie Pierce, but they were not sure whether she will return or not in the franchise. Later in 2022, when again asked about her potential involvement, Swank stated that she is "not in "Cobra Kai", no one's asked me to be in "Cobra Kai"...no one's called me!...but it's so funny, isn't it, that's the one thing I get asked the most and no one's called me?" A few weeks later, Ralph Macchio responded to questions about her comments by stating that "most of this rests on Jon (Hurwitz), Josh (Heald), and Hayden (Schlossberg) who create the show, and the writing staff. And we're always very collaborative and we always talk through things. They are great listeners and that's why, like I said, they care, and I care. So, I think that's why everything's working. I think there's certainly room in the Miyagiverse...You would imagine that Julie Pierce and Daniel LaRusso knew each other even though we don't have those scenes and I'm not a part of that specific film. These guys just amaze me all the time with what they're able to create, and the fact that they just don't create it for fan service. They really create stories that work and enhance characters. And then the fact that it's fan service as well is why I think it's working on all cylinders. So, there's my long answer to the short question that I really don't know, but I expect if there's an opportunity it will be taken up on."


title: Cobra Kai

text: Jon Hurwitz has also clarified that "The Karate Kid" animated series is not part of the "Miyagi-verse" canon, but an Easter egg from it appears in the season 3, in response to the question about its status within the "Karate Kid" franchise. The Easter egg was the Miyagi-Do shrine, briefly seen at Chozen Toguchi's dojo in Okinawa halfway through the season. The artifacts were recovered by Daniel LaRusso and Mister Miyagi in the short-lived "Karate Kid" animated series, which ran for thirteen episodes in 1989. Furthermore, the writers have also said that they will not be using characters from the 2010 film "The Karate Kid", as they are not a part of the "Miyagi-verse": "We've ruled that out completely. Jackie Chan is mentioned in season 1 of the show as an actor, so I think in our world, Jackie Chan is an actor and a performer. If the characters on our show have seen a movie called "The Karate Kid", they've seen that one."


title: Cobra Kai

text: In season 1, Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprised their respective "Karate Kid" roles of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. Additional "Karate Kid" actors included Randee Heller, who reprised her role as Lucille LaRusso (Daniel's mother), and Martin Kove, who revived his role as John Kreese. The cast list for season 1 included Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, and Courtney Henggeler. Ed Asner was cast in a guest role as Johnny's verbally abusive step-father, Sid Weinberg. Vanessa Rubio joined the cast as Miguel's mother.


title: Cobra Kai

text: In season 2, Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Mariduena, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, and Courtney Henggeler all returned, with Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, and Martin Kove being promoted to series regulars and newcomers Paul Walter Hauser and Peyton List joining the cast. Actors from "The Karate Kid", Rob Garrison (Tommy), Ron Thomas (Bobby), Tony O'Dell (Jimmy), and Randee Heller (Lucille LaRusso) made guest appearances during this season.


title: Cobra Kai

text: In season 3, Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Mariduena, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, and Courtney Henggeler all returned. Actors from "The Karate Kid" and "The Karate Kid II", Elisabeth Shue (Ali Mills), Ron Thomas (Bobby), Tamlyn Tomita (Kumiko), Traci Toguchi (Yuna), and Yuji Okumoto (Chozen Toguchi) all made guest appearances during this season.


title: Cobra Kai

text: In season 4, Vanessa Rubio and Peyton List were promoted to series regulars, while Dallas Dupree Young and Oona O'Brien were cast in recurring roles. In addition, Thomas Ian Griffith reprised his role as Terry Silver from "The Karate Kid III", and actors from "The Karate Kid" and "The Karate Kid II", Yuji Okumoto (Chozen Toguchi) and Randee Heller (Lucille LaRusso), made guest appearances.


title: Cobra Kai

text: In season 5, Yuji Okumoto had a recurring role as Chozen Toguchi. In addition, Sean Kanan reprised his role as Mike Barnes and Robyn Lively reprised her role as Jessica Andrews from "The Karate Kid III". Alicia Hannah-Kim also joined the cast as Kim Da-Eun. Dallas Dupree Young, who joined the show in season four as Kenny Payne, was upgraded to a series regular.


title: Cobra Kai

text: Principal photography for the first season began in October 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming took place at various locations throughout that month at places including Union City, Marietta, and the Briarcliff Campus of Emory University. In November, shooting moved to locales such as the North Atlanta Soccer Association Tophat fields in East Cobb. In December, the production was working out of Marietta and Conyers. Various exterior shots were also filmed in parts of Los Angeles such as Tarzana and Encino. Exterior locations included Golf N' Stuff in Norwalk and the South Seas Apartments in Reseda, both of which were originally featured in "The Karate Kid".


title: Cobra Kai

text: Principal photography for the second season began in September 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. In October, production continued around Atlanta with shooting also occurring in Marietta. In November, the series was filming in Union City. In December, shooting transpired at the closed Rio Bravo Cantina restaurant in Atlanta.


title: Cobra Kai

text: Principal photography for the fourth season began in February 2021 and ended in April in Atlanta, Georgia.


title: Cobra Kai

text: The series was promoted at the annual Television Critics Association's winter press tour held in January 2018, when YouTube's global head of original content Susanne Daniels described the show: "It is a half an hour format but I would call it a dramedy. I think it leans into the tone of the movies in that there are dramatic moments throughout. I think it's very faithful really in some ways to what the movie set about doing, the lessons imparted in the movie if you will. It's next generation Karate Kid."


title: Cobra Kai

text: Several trailers for the show were released from February to March, before the premiere date was revealed to be May 2.


title: Cobra Kai

text: YouTube Premium released a six-minute commercial parodying ESPN's "30 for 30" in April 2019, featuring the main cast members and select ESPN personalities analyzing the 1984 match between Daniel and Johnny. It was nominated for a Clio Award.


title: Cobra Kai

text: The series held its world premiere on April 24, 2018, at the SVA Theatre in New York City, New York, during the annual Tribeca Film Festival. Following the screening, a discussion was held with writers, directors, and executive producers Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, and Josh Heald, in addition to series stars and co-executive producers William Zabka and Ralph Macchio.


title: Cobra Kai

text: YouTube partnered with Fathom Events for special screenings of the first two episodes of the series at around 700 movie theaters across the United States. The event also included a screening of the original film.


title: Cobra Kai

text: All five seasons of "Cobra Kai" have received positive critical reviews. At the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the entire series received a 95% approval rating. On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series holds an average rating of 71 out of 100.


title: Cobra Kai

text: The first season had a positive response from critics. At Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 100% approval rating, with an average score of 7.5 out of 10 based on 49 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: ""Cobra Kai" continues the "Karate Kid" franchise with a blend of pleasantly corny nostalgia and teen angst, elevated by a cast of well-written characters." "Cobra Kai" was 2018's best-reviewed TV drama on Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic assigned the season a score of 72 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Cobra Kai

text: The second season had a positive response from critics. At the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 90% approval rating with an average score of 7.4 out of 10, based on 31 reviews. Its critical consensus reads: "While "Cobra Kai"'s subversive kick no longer carries the same gleeful impact of its inaugural season, its second round is still among the best around – no amount of mid-life crisis and teenage ennui's ever gonna keep it down." Metacritic's weighted average assigned the second season a score of 66 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Cobra Kai

text: The third season of the series had a positive response from critics. At the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 90% approval rating, with an average score of 8 out of 10 based on 51 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "By pairing its emotional punches with stronger humor, "Cobra Kai"'s third season finds itself in fine fighting form." On Metacritic with its weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Cobra Kai

text: The fourth season had a positive response from critics. It received a 95% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating, with an average score of 7.9 out of 10 based on 37 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: ""Cobra Kai" still delights in a fourth season that mines great fun from shifting alliances, chiefly the uneasy truce between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso." Metacritic's weighted average assigned the fourth season a score of 70 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Cobra Kai

text: The fifth season has received a positive response from critics. It has received a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 100%, with an average rating of 8 out of 10 based on 33 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Deftly managing an expanded roster of punchy personalities, "Cobra Kai" graduates to a black belt proficiency in heartfelt melodrama and sly humor." On Metacritic, it has received a weighted score of 78 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Cobra Kai

text: The first episode, which was posted on YouTube for free along with episode two, had been viewed 5.4 million times within the first 24 hours. While it was noted that the response had been, in part, a result of YouTube releasing the episode for free, it was noted by "Cinema Blend"s Britt Lawrence that YouTube Red's new series debuted to numbers that made rival streaming services to take notice. By October 30, 2018, ahead of the second-season premiere, YouTube was promoting the report that the first episode had then been viewed over 50 million times. The first episode was No. 8 on YouTube's list of ten top-trending videos of 2018.


title: Cobra Kai

text: According to market research company Parrot Analytics, the first season of "Cobra Kai" was the world's most in-demand streaming television show during May 2018. Parrot Analytics later reported that the second season of "Cobra Kai" was the world's most in-demand digital television show during April and through May 2019. , the season 1 premiere has over 90million views, and the season 2 premiere has over 86million views.


title: Cobra Kai

text: After the series moved to Netflix in August 2020, season 1 and season 2 of "Cobra Kai" became the most-watched series on the platform. It was the most-watched show on streaming media in the United States between August 29 and September 6, according to Nielsen ratings. During the week, the show's 20 episodes drew nearly streaming minutes in the United States. The first season was watched on Netflix by member households in its first four weeks, making "Cobra Kai" the most-streamed show on Netflix during the month of September 2020.


title: Cobra Kai

text: In February 2021, after the release of season 3, "Forbes" announced that it "kicked off 2021 as one of most viewed original series on a streaming platform". During the period of December 28, 2020January 3, 2021, it came in "second only to Netflix's "Bridgerton"", with over 2.6 billion viewing minutes. "Cobra Kai" then moved to first place during the period of January 4–10, 2021. Critics also offered cultural commentary in response to season three. Jen Yamato of "Los Angeles Times" stated that by the end of season three, there are three white men at the center of "Cobra Kai", a franchise rooted in and deeply indebted to Eastern tradition. Gustavo Arellano of "Los Angeles Times" suggested that "Cobra Kai" offers a "way forward for all of us during these tumultuous times", as he saw this uplifting season 3 finale the weekend before the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol invasion. "The Hollywood Reporter", former NBA champion and student of martial arts Kareem Abdul-Jabbar suggested that his friend and teacher, the late Bruce Lee, was linked to the influence of the original "Karate Kid" films. Finally, Albert Wu and Michelle Kuo of the "Los Angeles Review of Books" argued that while the original "Karate Kid" "film functioned as a post-Vietnam critique of American empire, staking its position explicitly: pacifism over violence, peace over war, an admittedly romanticized version of Eastern wisdom over the macho bravado of jock culture", "Cobra Kai" "models" the "unending appeal" of the "American Empire".


title: Cobra Kai

text: During the show's time on YouTube Red, "Cobra Kai" was not released on DVD, but once the show made its move to Netflix, Sony Pictures released the first and second seasons in a "Collector's Edition" DVD set on November 24, 2020 in the United States. In 2022, Sony Pictures released the third season in January and the fourth in September, both in the United States.


title: Cobra Kai

text: Madison Gate Records released an extended play entitled "Cobra Kai: Wax Off – EP" on July 23, 2021, featuring extended versions of four previously released tracks from the first two seasons soundtracks.


title: Cobra Kai

text: "Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues", a video game based on the series, was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on October 27, 2020, and for Microsoft Windows on January 5, 2021.


title: Cobra Kai

text: In 2022, Ralph Macchio published the memoir "Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me" (Dutton), in which he reflects upon the making of and legacy of the "Karate Kid" films and "Cobra Kai".


title: Imran Khan

text: Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidence in the National Assembly. He is the founder and chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).


title: Imran Khan

text: Born to a Niazi Pashtun family in Lahore, Khan graduated from Keble College, University of Oxford, England, in 1975. He began his international cricket career at age 18, in a 1971 Test series against England. Khan played until 1992, served as the team's captain intermittently between 1982 and 1992, and won the 1992 Cricket World Cup, in what is Pakistan's first and only victory in the competition. Considered one of cricket's greatest all-rounders, Khan scored 3,807 runs and took 362 wickets in Test cricket and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Khan founded cancer hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar, and Namal College in Mianwali, prior to entering politics. Founding the PTI in 1996, Khan won a seat in the National Assembly in the 2002 general election, serving as an opposition member from Mianwali until 2007. PTI boycotted the 2008 general election and became the second-largest party by popular vote in the 2013 general election. In the 2018 general election, running on a populist platform, PTI became the largest party in the National Assembly, and formed a coalition government with independents with Khan as Prime Minister.


title: Imran Khan

text: As Prime Minister, Khan addressed a balance of payments crisis with bailouts from the International Monetary Fund. He presided over a shrinking current account deficit, and limited defence spending to curtail the fiscal deficit, leading to some general economic growth. He enacted policies that increased tax collection, and investment. His government committed to a renewable energy transition, launched the Ehsaas Programme and the Plant for Pakistan initiative, and expanded the protected areas of Pakistan. He presided over the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused economic turmoil and rising inflation in the country, and threatened his political position. Despite a promised anti-corruption campaign, the perception of corruption in Pakistan worsened during Khan's time in office. He was accused of political victimisation of opponents and clamping down on freedom of expression and dissent.


title: Imran Khan

text: Amid a constitutional crisis, Khan became the first Prime Minister to be removed from office through a no-confidence motion in April 2022. In August, he was charged under anti-terror laws after accusing the police and judiciary of detaining and torturing an aide. In November, he survived an assassination attempt during a political rally in Wazirabad, Punjab.


title: Imran Khan

text: Khan was born in Lahore on 5 October 1952. Some reports suggest he was born on 25 November 1952. It was reported that 25 November was wrongly mentioned by Pakistan Cricket Board officials on his passport. He is the only son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, and his wife Shaukat Khanum, and has four sisters. Long settled in Mianwali in northwestern Punjab, his paternal family are of Pashtun ethnicity and belong to the Niazi tribe, and one of his ancestors, Haibat Khan Niazi, in the 16th century, "was one of Sher Shah Suri's leading generals, as well as being the governor of Punjab." Like his father, Khan's mother was an ethnic Pashtun, who belonged to the Burki tribe and whose ancestors had been settled in the Jalandhar district of Punjab for centuries. Following the creation of Pakistan, she migrated to Lahore with the rest of Khan's maternal relatives. Khan's maternal family has produced a number of cricketers, including those who have represented Pakistan, such as his cousins Javed Burki and Majid Khan. Maternally, Khan is also a descendant of the Sufi warrior-poet and inventor of the Pashto alphabet, Pir Roshan, who hailed from his maternal family's ancestral Kaniguram town located in South Waziristan in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. His maternal family was based in Basti Danishmanda, Jalandhar, India for about 600 years.


title: Imran Khan

text: A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up with his sisters in relatively affluent, upper middle-class circumstances and received a privileged education. He was educated at the Aitchison College and Cathedral School in Lahore, and then the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket. In 1972, he enrolled in Keble College, Oxford where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1975. An enthusiast for college cricket at Keble, Paul Hayes, was instrumental in securing the admission of Khan, after he had been turned down by Cambridge.


title: Imran Khan

text: Khan made his first-class cricket debut at the age of 16 in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969–70), Lahore B (1969–70), Lahore Greens (1970–71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970–71). Khan was part of the University of Oxford's Blues Cricket team during the 1973–1975 seasons.


title: Imran Khan

text: He played English county cricket from 1971 to 1976 for Worcestershire. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan included Dawood Industries (1975–1976) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975–1976 to 1980–1981). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.


title: Imran Khan

text: Khan made his Test cricket debut against England in June 1971 at Edgbaston. Three years later, in August 1974, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Trent Bridge for the Prudential Trophy. After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976–1977 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia. Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers in the world started to become established when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts. During the late 1970s, Khan was one of the pioneers of the reverse swing bowling technique. He imparted this trick to the bowling duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who mastered and popularised this art in later years.


title: Imran Khan

text: As a bowler, Khan initially bowled with a relatively chest-on action, at medium-pace. However he worked hard to remodel his action to a more classical type, and to strengthen his body, to enable fast bowling. Khan attained his prime as a fast bowler in January 1980 till 1988 when he became out and out fast bowler. During this span Imran picked 236 test wickets at 17.77 apiece with 18 five-wicket hauls and 5 10 wicket hauls. His bowling average and strike rate were better than Richard Hadlee (19.03), Malcolm Marshall (20.20), Dennis Lillee (24.07), Joel Garner (20.62) and Michael Holding (23.68). In January 1983, playing against India, he attained a Test bowling rating of 922 points. Although calculated retrospectively (International Cricket Council (ICC) player ratings did not exist at the time), Khan's form and performance during this period ranks third in the ICC's All-Time Test Bowling Rankings.


title: Imran Khan

text: Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second-fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He also has the second-highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 in the batting order. He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England in Melbourne, Australia. He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so. In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score was 102 not out. His best ODI bowling was 6 wickets for 14 runs, a record for the best bowling figures by any bowler in an ODI innings in a losing cause.


title: Imran Khan

text: At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year-old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team from Javed Miandad. As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the remaining 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.