At the outset, I should clarify that this post is not an obituary for a friend who has died from COVID-19 or from 'complications due to COVID-19' (as we have now been accustomed to read so often in death notices). Nor is this a post about someone who has contracted COVID-19 and is on the verge of dying. Far from it, this is about losing a friend to some sort of madness that has been induced by the pandemic and its socio-economic repercussions. I believe this is an issue that merits further attention amid all the discussions about COVID-19, especially since it seems unlikely that this pandemic is going to end anytime soon. This experience has left me distraught and at a loss as to what to do.

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Publisher's introduction [Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi]: Recently there has been a big controversy following the murder of a teacher in France by a Muslim of Chechen origin, who committed the act because he had shown to his students cartoons disparaging the Prophet Muhammad. In response to French President Emmanuel Macron's public defence of 'secularism' that predates the murder, there are now calls in parts of the Muslim world to boycott French goods. The anger against Macron and France is particularly apparent in Syria, as people from Idlib to Damascus and other areas have called to defend the honour of the Prophet Muhammad. In Idlib for example there have been demonstrations against the cartoons and France.

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The restoration of national grid electricity to the areas of Ninawa province recaptured from the Islamic State in 2016-2017 has been an important aspect of the return of some form of normal life to those areas, since electricity constitutes a key public service. In Ninawa province, the Ninawa Electricity Distribution Directorate (Ninawa Electricity Distribution Branch), affiliated with the Electricity Ministry, is the body responsible for the distribution of national grid electricity to various users (e.g. residents, businesses and government offices). On 25 October 2020, I conducted an interview with the Engineer Ahmad Amjad Muhammad Ali, head of the Ninawa Centre Electricity Distribution Directorate (also called the Ninawa Centre Electricity Distribution Branch). This branch covers what is considered the centre of Ninawa province. In the interview we discussed the national grid electricity situation in the province.

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In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Proposal to develop the mechanism of work inside the Islamic courts and make document archives for them.

Presented by the office of specialist investigations and studies

Experimental copy

Aims of the plan or study

1. Unite and facilitate work and improve it inside the courts of the Islamic state

2. Preserve documents and cases from loss and tampering and not destroying and avoiding the repeated errors into which the employees fall.

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The various Hashd formations in Ninawa (Nineveh) province that have regiment numbers are often called the 'tribal Hashd' in reference to Sunni tribes in the province. However, the Hashd formations with regiment numbers in Ninawa province are not exclusively Sunni Arab. The Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU), which operates in the Ninawa plain area near the city of Mosul, is a Christian formation. On 21 October 2020, I conducted an interview with the NPU regarding its history and current role in maintaining security. It is slightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: When was the NPU formed and in which area?

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