While George Galloway, Respect Party MP, basked in the glory of his big win at the Bradford West by-election last week, the online community slowly undermined his achievement by dredging up his less glorious moments: namely, clips of the infamous Celebrity Big Brother incident where, posing as a cat, he drank milk from the hands of actress Rula Lenska.

World View: Its three main communities – Shia, Sunni and Kurd – cannot seem to run the country together, and yet none can run it alone

The Year of Revolution: As the leaders of Syria and Bahrain cling to power, Patrick Cockburn explains how they have managed to resist the protesters – and wonders whether they can survive another 12 months

The UN and the Iraqi government have agreed to relocate thousands of Iranian exiles living in a camp in north-eastern Iraq, potentially averting a showdown with its residents. The dissidents, who have not said whether they would agree to move, reported a rocket attack.

Maliki's demands for handover of rival heighten fears of sectarian strife

Not long after the "liberation" of 2003, the US-led coalition was preparing the Iraqi public for their ultimate departure. A television advert showed a bunch of boys in an excited football match, while their parents looked on with fond smiles – the portrait of a happy and contented land. In a swirl of dust, came Western troops in their armoured cars; they stopped beside the young players for a brief exchange of greetings, and then the convoy disappeared into the desert.

President Barack Obama saluted troops returning from Iraq today, declaring that the nearly nine-year conflict is ending honourably, "not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home."

The UK's military operation in Iraq will finally end this weekend when the Royal Navy completes its mission to train the country's sailors, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said.

After the first Gulf War, Max van der Stoel was the expression of the world's conscience and a thorn in the side of Saddam Hussein. Every year for eight years, the former Dutch foreign minister and special UN human rights representative wrote stinging denunciations of Saddam's abuses of his people.

A celebrity lawyer whose clients have included Saddam Hussein, Gary Glitter, Harold Shipman and Ian Brady has been arrested at his Spanish villa.