Iraqi parliament extends state of emergency another month

Iraq’s Baghdad parliament today voted to extend the country’s state of emergency for 30 more days.

The state of emergency has been renewed every month since first being authorised in November 2004.

It grants security forces greater powers and affects the entire country apart from the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.

The measure allows for a night-time curfew and gives the government extra powers to make arrests without warrants and launch police and military operations when it deems them necessary.