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Aswat al-Iraq

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Aswat al-Iraq
أصوات العراق
TypeIndependent News Agency
Country
Iraq
Founded2004; 20 years ago (2004)
Areaworldwide
Official website
Aswat al-Iraq News Agency (in English)

Aswat al-Iraq (in Arabic اصوات العراق, Kurdish ئه‌سوات ئه‌لعیراق) is an independent national news agency in Iraq, established in 2004.[1] Funded by the United Nations Development Program,[2] and with assistance from the Reuters Foundation and Internews,[3] it produces over 60 stories a day in Arabic, some 20 to 25 in English and 15 to 20 in the Sorani dialect of Kurdish. All stories are published on the agency's website.[4] Aswat al-Iraq means 'Voices of Iraq' in English.

Aswat's director is the Iraqi journalist and writer[5] Zuhair Al-Jezairy, who in 2008 was a visiting scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Its current operational base is in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, in the city of Irbil. The agency operates a network of reporters and stringers in all of Iraq's 18 governorates, plus regional cities of importance to Iraqi news such as Amman, Cairo, Damascus and Tehran.[6]

Its Arabic service has long been widely reprinted and used by media in Iraq and the wider Arab world, such as the London-based Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper,[7] the Jordanian newspaper Ad Dustour,[8] and the Saudi Press Agency. Its English service has been quoted in international media, such as The Washington Post,[9] The Christian Science Monitor,[10] the UK's The Guardian[11] and Germany's DPA,[12] as well the NGO Amnesty International.[13]

Three journalists who worked for Aswat al-Iraq have been killed, including Sahar Hussein al-Haideri, who in 2007 won a Kurt Schork award in International Journalism,[14] and in 2008 posthumously won an Amnesty International UK Media award.[15] Aswat al-Iraq was based in Baghdad until 2005, when it move to Cairo, citing security concerns. In Cairo it was hosted by the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. The desk moved to Irbil in the spring of 2007 and maintains a network of correspondents and editors in the Iraqi capital.[citation needed]

Aswat has served as a training school for journalism since its inception. Interviews with director Jezairy, editors, clients and supporters of the agency are online in Arabic, English and Kurdish[16]

Legally, Aswat is registered both as an offshore company in Cyprus and a non-profit organisation in the Kurdish autonomous region. Registration as an NGO in Baghdad is in process.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Farzad, Robin (July 18, 2005). "Iraq Is Set to Have Its Own News Service". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Iraq | United Nations Development Programme". UNDP. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011.
  3. ^ "Reuters Foundation develops independent news agency for Iraq". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 7, 2007.
  4. ^ "Aswat al-Iraq – Iraq's Independent National News Agency".
  5. ^ "Saqi Books 2009 catalogue" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011.
  6. ^ "UN-supported Iraqi news agency nominated for prestigious award - Iraq | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  7. ^ "القوات البريطانية في العراق: سنسلم مطار البصرة إلى العراقيين قريبا". Al Sharq al Awsat. November 12, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06.
  8. ^ "مقتل جندي أميركي غرب العراق". Ad Dustour. October 21, 2008. Archived from the original on April 8, 2013.
  9. ^ Bruno, Greg (October 3, 2008). "Awaiting Elections in war weary Iraq". The Washington Post.
  10. ^ Smith, Peter (January 24, 2008). "Iraq's flag redesign erases one of the last public symbols of the Hussein regime". The Christian Science Monitor.
  11. ^ Deans, Jason (February 14, 2008). "CBS Staff Kidnapped in Iraq". The Guardian. London.
  12. ^ "Iraq to disscuss Olympics issue with IOC: Report". Deutsche Press Agentur. July 26, 2008. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011.
  13. ^ "Craintes d'exécutions imminentes". Amnesty International. November 7, 2007.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Award for journalist killed in Iraq". The Guardian. November 15, 2007.
  15. ^ "Sahar al-Haideri Wins Amnesty Award". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  16. ^ "aswataliraq". YouTube. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
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