'Pandora Papers' expose offshore assets of heads of state, govt

Yahoo – AFP, October 3, 2021

Some 35 current and former leaders are featured in leaked financial documents
analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) (AFP/Jim Watson)

More than a dozen heads of state and government, including the King of Jordan and the Czech prime minister, have hidden millions in offshore tax havens, according to an investigation published Sunday by the ICIJ media consortium. 

The so-called "Pandora Papers" investigation -- involving some 600 journalists from media including The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian -- is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world. 

Some 35 current and former leaders are featured in the documents analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) -- facing allegations ranging from corruption to money laundering and global tax avoidance. 

The documents notably expose how King Abdullah II created a network of offshore companies and tax havens to amass a $100 million property empire from Malibu, California to Washington and London. 

The BBC cited lawyers for King Abdullah saying all the properties were bought with personal wealth, and that it was common practice for high profile individuals to purchase properties via offshore companies for privacy and security reasons. 

The documents also show Czech Prime minister Andrej Babis -- facing an election later this week -- failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase a chateau worth $22 million in the south of France. 

In total, the ICIJ found links between almost 1,000 companies in offshore havens and 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including country leaders, cabinet ministers, ambassadors and others. 

More than two-thirds of the companies were set up in the British Virgin Islands. 

In most countries, the ICIJ stresses, it is not illegal to have assets offshore or to use shell companies to do business across national borders. 

But such revelations are no less of an embarrassment for leaders who may have campaigned publicly against corruption, or advocated austerity measures at home. 

Among the other revelations from the ICIJ investigation: 

-- Family and associates of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are alleged to have been secretly involved in property deals in Britain worth hundreds of millions. 

-- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and six family members are alleged to secretly own a network of offshore companies. 

-- Members of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's inner circle, including cabinet ministers and their families, are said to secretly own companies and trusts holding millions of dollars. 

-- Russian President Vladimir Putin is not directly named in the files, but he is linked via associates to secret assets in Monaco. 

The "Pandora Papers" are the latest in a series of mass ICIJ leaks of financial documents that started with LuxLeaks in 2014, and was followed by the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers and FinCen. 

The documents behind the latest investigation are drawn from financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland.

Senate Intel panel head steps aside amid COVID-19 insider-trading probe

Yahoo – AFP, May 14, 2020

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr is suspected of selling stocks
on non-public information on the threat of the coronavirus pandemic (AFP Photo/
Andrew Harnik)

Washington (AFP) - The Republican chairman of the powerful US Senate Intelligence committee stepped down from his position Thursday after the FBI seized his cellphone in a probe of alleged insider stock trading tied to the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Richard Burr would be stepping aside temporarily while the FBI investigation is ongoing.

"We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow," McConnell said in a statement.

Burr is under investigation over whether he used his insider access to highly classified intelligence to sell stocks in February -- before the coronavirus pandemic struck, and while Americans were being told the virus's threat was low.

The Los Angeles Times said federal agents wielding a warrant seized his cellphone late Wednesday at his Washington home.

Earlier they accessed Burr's personal files on his iCloud account, and information from that led them to the phone, the newspaper reported, quoting law enforcement officials.

NBC News also reported on the cellphone seizure, citing an unnamed senior law enforcement official.

Dumped stocks, warned donors

One of the most respected and relatively non-partisan Republican senators, the North Carolina lawmaker came under investigation after reports showed he had dumped stocks and warned donors of the looming COVID-19 pandemic in February -- as the White House played down the danger.

Burr, who receives almost daily briefings from the US intelligence community on threats to the country, himself wrote on the Fox News website on February 7 that the US government was "better prepared than ever" for the COVID-19 virus, assuring Americans that they were well-protected.

But on February 13 the North Carolina senator and his wife suddenly sold off between $628,000 and $1.7 million in stocks, the ProPublica media group revealed in March, citing financial filings.

On the same day, Burr's brother-in-law sold as much as $280,000 worth of shares, ProPublica reported last week.

Since then stock markets have plunged as the disease swept the world. Nearly 1.4 million Americans have been confirmed infected and over 84,000 died, more than any other country.

Burr, who receives much of the same intelligence that the White House does, clearly had a different private view of the threat than the government's public stance.

Two weeks after his share sales, Trump assured the public that the 15 US coronavirus cases so far reported could be the peak.

The same day Burr told a private gathering of wealthy donors that coronavirus was a threat akin the 1918 Spanish Flu, which killed tens of millions.

"There's one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history," he said.

UK politicians 'turned a blind eye' to child sexual abuse for decades

A report into sexual abuse against children by British politicians says that Westminster "actively shielded" suspects from investigation. One of the alleged perpetrators was the private secretary to Margaret Thatcher.

DW, 25 February 2020

Politicians Cyril Smith and David Steel in 1981 (picture-alliance/PA Wire)

British politicians turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children and actively covered up allegations over decades, an independent inquiry found on Tuesday.

The inquiry did not find evidence of an organized pedophile network. The inquiry examined the years between the 1960s and the 1990s.

The report found there had been "significant failures by Westminster institutions in their responses to allegations of child sexual abuse."

Read more: Child sex abuse: How long do the statutes of limitations run in the EU?

"This included failure to recognize it, turning a blind eye to it, actively shielding and protecting child sexual abusers and covering up allegations," the report's summary said.

Former Liberal leader David Steel, one of the most influential Liberal politicians of the twentieth century, announced his resignation from the centrist Liberal Democrat party and the House of Lords later on Tuesday. Steel was condemned in the report for failing to act despite knowing about cases of child sexual abuse.

Margaret Thatcher was among those who turned a blind eye to allegations
of child sexual abuse

Politicians 'protected from prosecution'

The 173-page report named several members of parliament, including Peter Morrison and Cyril Smith as being "known or rumored to be active in their sexual interest in children and were protected from prosecution in a number of ways."

Morrison was the private secretary to Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister in the 1980s.

The report highlighted that Thatcher was aware of Morrison having a "penchant for small boys" but did nothing about it. Similarly, David Steel was aware that Cyril Smith was a serial sex offender but did nothing about it, later recommending him for a knighthood.

The inquiry also found that the police knew enough to prosecute Smith in the 1970s, but were thwarted by senior policemen who thought such a move would be "too political."

Inquiry continues

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was set up in 2017 and is expected to take five years to be completed.

The inquiry is one of the largest and most expensive ever undertaken in Britain. The Westminster investigation is one of several investigations underway.

“We hope this report and its recommendations will lead political institutions to prioritize the needs and safety of vulnerable children," said Chair Alexis Jay

Australia's Morrison faces fresh fury for bushfire 'campaign ad'

Yahoo – AFP, January 4, 2020

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) has faced sustained anger for his
handling of the months-long bushfire crisis (AFP Photo/James ROSS)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison faced renewed criticism Saturday, after sharing bushfire themed party campaign ads that opponents condemned as "disgusting" and a respected defence association said was "milking" the crisis.

Facing sustained anger for his handling of the months-long crisis, Morrison sought to get on the front foot Saturday, announcing increased military assistance to beleaguered volunteer firefighters.

In a string of media appearances, he vowed every resource would be provided to help ease a disaster that has killed 23 people and burned swathes of the country, announcing more funding for water-bombing planes and the call up of 3,000 reservists.

But he found himself in fresh scandal late Saturday after tweeting a video heralding his announcements about the military, and his Liberal Party made a similar post linking to the party website.

Australia's bushfire crisis has killed 23 people and burned swathes of the country 

(AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

The non-partisan Australia Defence Association, a public-interest watchdog, said the Liberal Party advert was a "clear breach" of conventions keeping the military out of politics and accused the party of "milking ADF support to civil agencies fighting bushfires".

There was more fervent criticism from Morrison's political opponents for his tweet that promised "more Defence Force boots on the ground, more planes in the sky, more ships to sea, and more trucks to roll in to support the bushfire fighting effort".

It was accompanied by a military-themed video that was "authorised by S. Morrison, Liberal Party, Canberra."

Shadow minister for international development Pat Conroy accused Morrison of trying to "exploit a national tragedy" and described the ad as a "new low".

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) has vowed every resource 

will be provided to help ease the bushfire disaster (AFP Photo/James ROSS)

"To then solicit donations to the Liberal Party while millions of Aussies are giving to fire appeals is beyond belief. Note this disgusting ad was personally authorised by this scum of a PM," he tweeted.

Labor Senator Murray Watt also took to Twitter to demand Morrison "show some respect to fire victims, the fireys (firefighters), the ADF, and the people facing fire fronts right now. Take down this Liberal Party ad. Now".

Morrison was earlier forced to cut short a Hawaii holiday following a barrage of criticism for vacationing while exhausted volunteer firefighters battled blazes across the country and millions of people in Sydney choked on toxic smoke.

Criticism of Morrison's absence was widespread, sparking street protests and a flood of angry social media posts demanding #whereisscomo.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced increased military
assistance to beleaguered volunteer firefighters (AFP Photo/PETER PARKS

He returned and promptly visited bushfire-hit communities where he was heckled by residents and criticised by a party ally.

A tearful pregnant woman and a volunteer firefighter refused to shake his hand and other residents peppered him with verbal abuse and suggested, colourfully, that he leave.

"People in these situations have a mix of emotions," Morrison said playing down the interactions and stressing he had been welcomed elsewhere.

"These arms have given a lot of hugs," he said.

China bans 'custody and education' punishment for sex workers

Yahoo – AFP, 28 December 2019

China's 'custody and detention' system for sex workers will cease from December 29

Chinese lawmakers Saturday voted to abolish the "custody and education" punishment system, which allowed police to hold sex workers and their clients without charge for up to two years, state media reported.

Critics say the nearly three-decade-old system has little to do with education.

"Sex workers are subjected to police violence... forced labour, compulsory testing for sexually transmitted disease... humiliation and physical violence at these centres," said Shen Tingting, director of advocacy and policy at Asia Catalyst, an NGO working with marginalised groups in the region.

Abolishing this system is a "significant positive step," she said.

The arbitrary detention system will cease from December 29, and those held at "education centers" should be released immediately, state news agency Xinhua reported.

There has been a public push to close the centres ever since China's top legislative committee abolished its system of "re-education through labour camps" in 2013.

Shutting the labour camps -- introduced as a speedy way to handle petty offenders -- ended a practice long criticised by human rights groups.

Yet authorities retained the right to detain sex workers and their clients, and in 2014 police announced that popular actor Huang Haibo would be held for six months for having solicited a prostitute.

That prompted a rare instance of dissent from state media, which questioned the system.

Although illegal, prostitution remains widespread in China, with an estimated several million sex workers.

Under current laws prostitutes and their clients can be fined up to 5,000 yuan ($714) and face up to 15 days of administrative detention.

"Sex workers' issues seldom sits on the agenda of the government," said Shen, adding that abolishing detention centers is only a small step towards safeguarding the rights of prostitutes.

"Chinese law and policies focus on prohibition and cracking down on sex work rather than providing a framework to ensure the health and safety of sex work as a profession."

Year of trials and tribulations for Britain's royals

Yahoo – AFP, Dmitry ZAKS, December 24, 2019

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has been troubled by a series of scandals and misfortunes
in a year she described as "quite bumpy" in her Christmas Day message (AFP Photo/
Paul Edwards)

London (AFP) - It was a year of trials and tribulations for Britain's royals that Queen Elizabeth II called "quite bumpy" in her Christmas Day message.

Here are some of the scandals and misfortunes to have troubled Britain's 93-year-old monarch.

The ailing prince

The year began with the queen's husband Prince Philip overturning his Land Rover after crashing it into an oncoming car.

It ended with the 98-year-old undergoing hospital treatment for what Buckingham Palace described as a "pre-existing condition".

The January accident left a woman with a broken wrist and the prince "shocked and shaken", according to a witness.

The prince was forced to undergo a routine breath test -- which he passed.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, who is undergoing hospital treatment 

for what Buckingham Palace described as a "pre-existing condition" (AFP Photo/

Fiona HANSON)

He blamed the accident on glare from the winter sun and was soon seen driving around the private grounds of one of the royal mansions, but later voluntarily surrendered his driving licence.

Yet time has taken its toll on the queen's companion of 72 years.

He retired from public life in 2017 and had a hip replacement operation the following year.

"Once you get to that age things don't work as well," his son Charles told a reporter on Monday.

The 'favourite son'

The queen's children and grandchildren have frequently been caught up in mischief, but few of their problems have approached the one now facing Prince Andrew -- the man often referred to as the queen's "favourite son".

Andrew was dogged throughout the year by allegations that he had sex with one of the victims of US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when she was a teenager.

Andrew's attempts to clear his name in a BBC interview in November could have hardly gone worse.

Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was dogged throughout the year by allegations

he had sex with one of the victims of US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when she was 

a teenager (AFP Photo/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

The prince looked stiff and unapologetic -- a performance akin to "watching a man in quicksand", according to PR consultant Mark Borkowski.

Andrew's lines of defence included a bizarre claim that he never sweated -- his accuser said he perspired profusely -- and that he only stayed at Epstein's home because it was the "honourable" thing to do.

"There is concern in Buckingham Palace," a royal source told The Sunday Times after the interview was aired.

The prince promised to "step back from public duties" a few days later.

The bickering grandchildren

Princess Diana's sons William and Harry found comfort in each other following their mother's death in a 1997 Paris car crash.

But the two princes found themselves dragged into a tabloid scandal involving rumours of a growing rift.

Britain's Prince William (L) and Prince Harry(R) have found themselves dragged 

into a tabloid scandal involving rumours of a growing rift (AFP Photo/Tolga AKMEN)

Prince Harry admitted in October that the two were "certainly on different paths".

"Inevitably stuff happens," he said in an ITV interview that was treated as a sensational revelation by some of the newspapers.

Both Harry and his American actress wife Meghan Markle spoke about their struggles living in the public eye.

Harry took legal action against two newspapers over the alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages around the same time.

Meghan filed a separate lawsuit against a paper that published excerpts of letters her estranged father had sent to her.

The queen became embroiled in the Brexit saga after she approved the suspension 

of parliament requested by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in August (AFP Photo/

JESSICA TAYLOR)

The Brexit mess

The bitter divisions over Britain's future that have accompanied its exit from the European Union have also given the queen some grief.

She became embroiled in the saga after she approved the suspension of parliament requested by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in August, amid accusations he was trying to stop lawmakers discussing Brexit.

The Supreme Court subsequently ruled that Johnson's request was unlawful as it stopped parliament from carrying out its duties.

The queen herself holds only symbolic power -- in practice she has to follow the advice of her ministers.

But the BBC's royal correspondent Jonny Dymond called it "a hideous moment for the palace".

Iraq's embattled PM bows out as protesters mourn dead

Yahoo – AFP, December 1, 2019

After a spike in deaths last week, Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said on
Friday he would submit his resignation to parliament (AFP Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Baghdad (AFP) - The government of Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi ended Sunday after two months of violent unrest that has left more than 420 people dead and thousands mourning them in nationwide marches.

As anti-government demonstrators across the strife-torn country massed to honour the fallen activists, parliament met to accept the resignation which the 77-year-old had offered two days before.

While Abdel Mahdi stays on initially to lead a caretaker government, President Barham Saleh will now be asked to name a successor to face the challenge of resolving the political chaos that has engulfed the nation.

The protest movement is Iraq's biggest since the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein and installed a democratic system in the oil-rich but poverty-plagued nation.

Tens of thousands have vented their anger at a governing class they despise as inept, corrupt and beholden to foreign powers, especially neighbouring Iran, whose consulate in the city of Najaf was torched last Wednesday.

The rallies spread Sunday from the protest epicentre in Baghdad and the mostly Shiite south to the northern, majority-Sunni city of Mosul, where hundreds of students dressed in black organised a mourning march.

Some protesters cautiously welcomed the departure of the premier, who came to power just a year ago based on a shaky alliance between rival parties, but they demanded far more deep-rooted change.

"Abdel Mahdi should go -- and so should parliament and the political parties and Iran!" said one young demonstrator in the capital.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, whose resignation has been accepted by 

parliament after barely one year in office, will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a 

replacement has been named (AFP Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

'Carnival goes on'

Observers said Iraq's fractured political scene will struggle to reach a consensus on a new premier.

With the parliament's main Shiite blocs "fragmented, no 'largest faction exists," wrote Dlawer Ala'Aldeen, president of the Arbil-based Middle East Research Institute.

Even if they agreed on a candidate, he or she would also need the backing of the emboldened street.

"Demonstrators are hard to please," said Ala'Aldeen. "The carnival goes on and, meanwhile, violence continues."

Just before the parliamentary session began, another protester was shot dead in the capital, medical sources said.

But, in a victory for the movement, an Iraqi court sentenced a police officer to death after convicting him of killing demonstrators, the first such sentence in the two months of deadly civil unrest.

The Kut criminal court sentenced the police major to be hanged and it jailed a police lieutenant colonel for seven years over the deaths of seven protesters in the southern city on November 2, judicial sources said.

In Mosul, meanwhile, protesters were marching in solidarity with activists elsewhere in the country.

"It's the least Mosul can give to the martyrs," said Zahraa Ahmed, a dentistry student.

"The protesters are asking for their basic rights so the government should have answered from the beginning."

Previously, most Sunni-majority areas had refrained from protesting, fearing that opposing the central government would earn them the labels of being "terrorists" or supporters of Saddam.

For three years, Mosul was the heart of the Islamic State group's ultra-conservative "caliphate", and much of it still lies in ruins today.

Another student in Mosul, Hussein Kheder, carrying an Iraqi flag, said the whole country was now in agreement politically and that "now the government needs to heed the protesters' demands".

Protesters have hit the streets since early October in the largest grassroots 

movement Iraq has seen in decades, sparked by fury at poor public services, 

lack of jobs and widespread government graft (AFP Photo/Haidar HAMDANI)

'Nobody objected'

Abdel Mahdi had resisted protesters' calls for him to step down over the past two months.

But a crackdown turned the tide this week when more than 20 people were killed in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf, 40 in the hotspot of Nasiriyah and three in Baghdad.

The bloodshed prompted Iraq's influential Shiite spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, to call on parliament to drop its support for the premier.

Iraq's constitution has no provision for the resignation of a premier, and lawmaker Sarkawt Shamsaddin said Sunday that the body did not actually hold a vote.

"The speaker said that the Federal Court was consulted and the understanding is that (there is) no need to vote," he said.

The speaker had then asked if any lawmaker was against the resignation and "nobody objected".

Meanwhile, mourners also marched for the first time in Salaheddin, a Sunni-majority province north of Baghdad.

Eight Shiite-majority provinces also announced a day of mourning during which government offices would remain shut.

Clashes have continued in Najaf, where armed men in civilian clothes have fired on protesters who had torched part of a shrine where a revered religious figure is buried.

Local tribes, still tremendously influential in Iraq's south, tried to mediate a solution.

Meanwhile calm reigned in Nasiriyah, the birthplace of Abdel Mahdi.

Japan scraps cherry blossom party amid Abe cronyism criticism

Yahoo – AFP, November 13, 2019

The annual cherry blossom party has drawn an increasingly large
number of guests (AFP Photo/Toru YAMANAKA)

The Japanese government said Wednesday it would scrap next year's annual cherry blossom party after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under fire amid claims he invited too many of his own supporters.

The publicly funded event has taken place in a Tokyo park since 1952 to honour people for their achievements, with the great and the good of Japanese political life mingling under the world-famous cherry blossom trees.

But opposition politicians have taken aim at Abe, claiming he brought along 850 supporters from his local constituency for the festival reportedly costing around 55 million yen ($504,000) from the public purse.

In a surprise announcement, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the government had "listened to various opinions" and as a result decided to shelve next year's party.

Suga also pledged the government would "clarify the criteria for inviting guests and make the invitation process transparent."

The number of guests invited to the event is steadily increasing and so is the budget.

Local news agency Kyodo News said about 18,000 people took part this year -- up from between 7,000 and 10,000 from before Abe came to power in 2012.

The 55 million yen spent last year is also nearly double the budget from 2014, Kyodo added.

Japan's cherry blossom ("sakura") season is eagerly anticipated by locals and visitors alike.

The season is traditionally celebrated with "hanami", or viewing parties, in cherry blossom hotspots, with picnics organised beneath the trees.

In general, blooms begin as early as March in the southern island of Kyushu and appear as late as May in northernmost Hokkaido.

More than 60 dead as Iraq protests take new violent turn

Yahoo – AFP, October 26, 2019

Nearly 200 people have died and thousands wounded in Iraq since
anti-government protests broke out on October 1 (AFP Photo)

Baghdad (AFP) - More than 60 people have died in renewed anti-government protests across Iraq, officials said Saturday, with clashes breaking out as demonstrators turned their fury against government and paramilitary offices.

The death toll from protests this month has soared to 220, including dozens killed since Friday as they torched government buildings or offices belonging to factions of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force.

The demonstrations first erupted on October 1, with protesters railing against government corruption and unemployment, while a second wave broke out late Thursday.

The latest round of demonstrations has been notably violent, with 63 people killed and more than 2,000 wounded over just two days, according to the Iraqi Human Rights Commission.

Three protesters were killed in the capital Baghdad on Saturday, with medics and officials reporting trauma wounds sustained by tear gas canisters lobbed at demonstrators.

But the majority of victims have been in the country's Shiite-majority south, where protesters torched dozens of provincial government buildings, party offices and Hashed centres.

On Saturday, three people were shot dead while setting fire to a local official's home in the southern province of Dhi Qar, a police source told AFP.

The previous night, 12 protesters died in Diwaniyah while setting fire to the headquarters of the powerful Badr organisation.

Top Hashed commanders have threatened "revenge" after their offices were attacked, and denounced those they said aimed at sowing "discord and chaos" in the country.

In a bid to contain the violence, security forces announced curfews across most of Iraq's southern provinces -- but brief protests still took place in Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah, Babylon and Najaf.

In the southern port city of Basra, however, protesters failed to come out in large numbers after security forces strictly enforced a curfew.

Members of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force take part in a funerary 

procession in the Iraqi capital Baghdad (AFP Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Fears of 'armed spoilers'

The Hashed was founded in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group but its factions have since been ordered to incorporate into the state security services.

"Public anger is directed at them in addition to governorate councils, for they were the obvious face of 'the regime'," wrote Harith Hasan, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

But the attacks could also hint at political rivalries between the Hashed and populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has thrown his weight behind the demonstrations.

"The Sadrists, especially in their traditional strongholds such as Missan, saw this an opportunity to act against competing militias," such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Badr and Kataeb Hezbollah, Hasan said on Twitter.

The United Nations said it was "tragic" to see renewed violence but also warned against "armed spoilers".

"Armed entities sabotaging the peaceful demonstrations, eroding the government's credibility and ability to act, cannot be tolerated," said the UN top official in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

Protesters gathered in Baghdad's emblematic Tahrir (Liberation) Square on Saturday morning despite efforts by riot police to clear them with tear gas.

"It's enough -- theft, looting, gangs, mafias, deep state, whatever. Get out! Let us see a (functioning) state," said one protester, referring to perceived cronyism and corruption in the country.

"We don't want anything, just let us live," he added as puffs of smoke from tear gas rose behind him.

Iraqi women mourn for a demonstrator who was killed the previous day in 

anti-government protests in during his funeral (AFP Photo)

'It's enough!'

Oil-rich Iraq is OPEC's second-highest producer -- but one in five people live below the poverty line and youth unemployment stands at 25 percent, according to the World Bank.

About 60 percent of Iraq's 40-million-strong population is under the age of 25.

The staggering rates of joblessness and graft allegations have been at the root of protesters' anger, which the government has struggled to quell.

Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi has proposed a laundry list of reforms, including hiring drives, increased pensions and a cabinet reshuffle.

New education and health ministers were approved by parliament in a session earlier this month, the only time it was able to meet since protests began.

But a scheduled meeting of parliament on Saturday to discuss the renewed protests failed to take place due to a lack of quorum.

Protesters so far have seemed unimpressed by the government's efforts.

"They told people: 'Go home, we'll give you pensions and come up with a solution'. They tricked us," said one of the rare woman protesters on Saturday, her young son at her side.

They have even directed some of their anger at Sadr and country's top Shiite religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is deeply revered among most Iraqis.

"Sadr, Sistani -- this is a shame," a protester in Tahrir said on Saturday.

"We were hit! It's enough," he said, waving a tear gas canister fired earlier by security forces.